Nana’s garden in Vermont, June 2004. We would have been back there for my 30th high school reunion and visiting her up in Barre at the time.
So much color!
Names For The Mountains Due East Of Us
Some time back, probably two months or more ago, I speculated idly about the names of the mountains due east of us. Looking over our backyard wall, past the water tanks and high-tension power lines:
Most prominent, on the right, there’s a mountain with three peaks. Off in the distance to the left is a taller peak, which has occasionally had snow on the top this winter.
I hadn’t gotten far in searching the internet and various map sites to see where they might be clearly identified, but then I stumbled on the information in Google Earth while looking for something else.
The nearby triple peaked mountain is called The Pinnacles, and it has a number of hiking trails out of the Mojave River Forks Regional Park. Several of them going all the way to the top are rated “Moderate” or “Difficult,” so I may not be hiking any of them this weekend.
Behind The Pinnacles from our viewpoint, off to the northeast, is Butler Peak, which apparently goes up to 8,537 feet, thus explaining the snow. There are trails there as well, but again, not this weekend.
Hidden from our location, off due east behind The Pinnacles, are Keller Peak and then San Gorgonio Mountain, and off to the southeast outside of Palm Springs is Mt San Jacinto, with the Palm Springs Aerial Tram leading up to the top. We’ve done that.
It’s nice to have names. It helps me feel oriented.
Filed under Forever Home, Photography
Squirrels
At first there was one, then two pretty regularly. For a couple of days there were definitely three.
They are usually on the wall, in the sun, first thing in the morning.
I’ve expressed some skepticism in the past about the safety of these locations given the presence of hawks and owls in the area.
But, there they were, pretty much every day. Often one, sometimes two on the wall at once with the third down on the ground eating leftover bird seed.
Sometimes I would see them in full “sploot” mode, spread eagled on top of the wall, soaking up photons.
Sometimes one of them would be off on the end of the wall, looking for activity in the neighbor’s yard.
But they were skittish. If they saw me at all in the window, taking pictures, they were down the trellis in a flash.
Down to the ground, then into their hidey hole under the pergola.
Proof that there were at least two – the third one was out but they never got close enough together for me to get all of them.
There must have been something different about the lighting on this occasion, with some overcast and the Sun higher, later in the day. They were in the planter just outside of the kitchen window, but didn’t spook at all when I came up to the glass to shoot pictures, seemed to not see me even through they were much closer than when they’re on the wall.
And then all of them have vanished. I have no clue what or why, but it’s been about ten days since I’ve seen any of them. Not three, or two, or one squirrel. For the last week and change, ZERO squirrels.
Hawk? They moved, temporarily or otherwise, to another yard or spot out in the empty lots surrounding us? They’re hibernating? (Do they do that?)
Circle of life? Who knows.
If/when they show back up, the camera is ready. The birdseed is everywhere. The pergola awaits.
Filed under Critters, Forever Home, Photography
Pergola By Moonlight
Not tonight, the lunar cycle has moved on by about a quarter, but at this point it was high and bright.
There’s something awesome and mysterious and magical about the bright moonlight, the world turned blue and silver.
The cold helps the mood. So do the train horns off a mile or so in the distance.
Filed under Astronomy, Forever Home, Photography
It Might Be Called…
A couple days ago I was curious about the circles cut out of our concrete patio and lined with paving stones, wondering if there was a specific name for them.
Google is nothing but AI bullshit these days and ID’s it as a fire pit. WRONG!
However, looking at it as a landscaping feature and searching for that came up with a whole slew of landscaping contractors who referred to it as…
…A “TREE CIRCLE!”
That may not definitive, but I like it so I’m going to use that term. It’s a tiny bit whimsical, like a fae fairy circle but done in concrete, rebar, and industrial paving stones! The juxtaposition is every so tasty!
Filed under Forever Home, Photography
An Offering To The Corvid Gods
We have a decent number of crows and ravens around, including at least two pairs that are “neighborhood” crows.
I don’t really have a focused plan to recruit a personal air force of corvid minions, but I do recognize that they’re smart, they recognize and remember people, and they like food.
Once or twice a week I’ll drop a handful of grapes out on the turf. (Doesn’t it look nice now that we got a gardener to clean up the weeds?) It might take a day or two but they’ll vanish. And when we first moved in the crows always sat on the roof of the neighbors across the street – now I see them more often on our roof or on the house next to us but on the side overlooking our driveway and yard.
I’m an Odin in training! As are they!
Filed under Birds, Forever Home, Photography
Sundown Behind The Mountain
Today is Thursday. (Right?) Thursday night is take-the-trash-barrels-to-the-curb night because Friday morning at 7:00 AM is trash pickup.
It was cloudy and I was taking the barrels out right at sunset. With the dimmer sunlight due to the clouds, I noticed that the Sun was setting almost directly behind the peak of Mt. San Antonio, otherwise known as “Old Baldy.”
The coloring on the sunset was sort of blase, but knowing this now I’ll have to watch for a more spectacular sunset around this time of year (and presumably, one other time) when the celestial mechanics align.
Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Sunsets
Is There A Word For…
These little in-ground planters?
I’m curious, but I don’t know how to phrase that question for Google.
Unlike the thistle (and thorns) over by the fence, this one was full of these cute little flowers.
Eventually I would like to get a big rose bush or something else in here, maybe another fruit tree. (It’s over next to the pear tree and the apple tree.) But for now it was pretty little yellow desert flowers.
Filed under Flowers, Forever Home, Photography
Thistle
Along with home ownership (despite it being the awesome Forever Home) comes maintenance. I mentioned a while back that we were starting to get grass growing out in the front yard, coming up through the rocks & gravel. It was cute at first. It stopped being cute a while back when the grass spread all over and the weeds joined the party.
Before the nice neighbors who we like were moved to say anything “polite,” and before I tried to kill myself doing yard work like I’m 50 years younger using time that I don’t have and haven’t had in 50 years, we brought in a pro today.
But before he got here, I went out and took some “before” pictures, and found a few that are flower-like, in a desert, hardscrabble, tough-as-nails sort of way.
Out in the back yard I found this thistle of some sort.
The good news is that Eddie did a great job at a reasonable price and will be back every two weeks to keep this sort of thing from happening again.
Congratulations! The Money Pit now has its own gardener!
Filed under Flowers, Forever Home, Photography
Proof Of Life – February 02nd
Wow, after the utter shitshow of January, following pretty much ALL of 2025, I had hopes for a bit more calm in February.
HA!
That might have been delusional.
My bad.
Filed under Photography, Weather
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 