I got to the ranch first and managed to get this picture of Katherine driving in. Following her was her friend Wendy with a huge truck and trailer full of her belongings.
When I left, I took a slightly different route home so I could stop by my brother's house in Forest Ranch, near Chico. Jerry has been very busy with a landscaping project. He hauled in 20 pickup loads of dirt and built up his lawn area.
So now he has twice as much to mow. He cut into the side of the hill and made a stone fence, and used stones to hold the dirt he'd moved in for the lawn area. He also dug trenches and put in underground sprinklers and drip systems all around the house.
The place is absolutely gorgeous.
I stayed overnight, then left for home the next morning. One place on the road that was especially pretty right now is just north of Yuba City. The huge oleanders that line both sides of the highway are in full bloom. The road looks like a tunnel of flowers.
Oleanders used to be the primary landscape plant along California freeways, but most have been torn out over the years and replaced with a concrete barrier.
Nearer to Sacramento I saw 6 different crop dusters out spraying the rice fields. I wonder why they were working on Sunday?
The crop duster at home flies over my house at 5:30 a.m. These guys were flying at noon. Maybe ours works early to avoid work-bound traffic. Some of the drivers from Rancho Murieta are totally stupid about crop dusters, they call and complain as if they'd spotted a foreign enemy invading the homeland. If you live and farm in a rural area and someone gets the bright idea to put a housing development nearby, fight it with everything you have. There is absolutely no benefit to a farming community to have dorks driving through it.
So that's where I've been this week. I have also been to water aerobics and pilates. I built a temporary pen for my young birds. I have tried to stay away while Bob attempts to put up drywall on the back porch. If he doesn't try, he'll never learn (she says, gritting her teeth).
Everything that was left in the garage has been taken out and stacked in the carport so the garage could be rewired. Everything from the back porch has been stacked in the kitchen and dining room. And now the jobs are dragging along. Bob's drywall helper isn't available every day. The electrician is waiting for the electric company to come and inspect the job before anything can be put back into the garage. I'm already really tired of having stuff laying around everywhere. I can't find anything.
Oh well, at least the jobs have been started after years of being put off. I'll be happy when they're finished. I'll just keep repeating that to myself.
6 comments:
What kind of blooms are on the concrete barriers? (sarcasm) The tunnel of oleanders is magnificent.
In Birmingham, the city or road dept decided to remove trees from the median because someone might run off the road and hit one, leaving the city liable. So, they replaced the trees with concrete barriers. That made no sense.
Maybe Bob was practicing with the Legos before he started on the job? Like you say, at least you have it all started!
Another nice post Jan. Your brother's place looks gorgeous - and so peaceful. Shame that Katherine will be so far away from you now.
PP, on I-5 north of Sacramento the medians are planted with grass that is cut and baled and used for livestock feed. Right now they're dry, yellow stubble, but it's neat and clean. On Hwy 99, which used to be the only main thoroughfare between northern and southern California, the medians were mostly oleanders. Over the years they were not maintained (thank you Caltrans) and they were looking pretty raggedy. And while they blocked the lights coming from the other direction, they didn't block cars and trucks from slamming through them.
YP, my brother and sister-in-law have built themselves a perfect little hideaway in the mountains. They're at 3000 feet elevation, so they get a little snow, but it's generally cooler and the air is cleaner up that high. It's a great place to visit. Katherine is still as near as the phone, as far as texting goes, which is mostly how we have communicated. Even as I type I hear my iPhone signaling a text from her, and she's in Atlanta. Gossip knows no boundaries.
Love those pictures of our yard! They almost look better than in person!! Thanks!
Wife of your brother!
Wife of my Brother - Is Jerry still obsessing about the little broadleaf seedlings that are popping up in his lawn, or has he been out there picking them out with a pair of tweezers?
I had to read parts of this to Terry. You are a very good writer...and if a person farms...then we understand why you say what you say!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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