Last week we had a whole stream of 100 deg plus days. The last few days has been “watermelon mornings, and strawberry wine afternoons.” They say that Spring is the best time to fall in love, but if you are already in love in the Fall, you’ve got all Winter to enjoy it. Spring and Summer just seem to be too busy, and there are just too many interesting things to do without having to fall in love in the middle of it all.
I’ve got my four cord of wood already split and stacked. The wood heaters are all clean and ready to use. I just cleaned the roof and all the gutters and downspouts. I even have most of the tools that I have scattered all over the yard picked up, so I’m ready for the “Mud Season.”
As soon as the rains start, I can sit in front of the heater with my feet resting on the hassock, toasting in the warm glow of the fireplace, while staring out the window and bitching about the %#$*&^% RAIN!
Frickin’ rain… I hate the rain, and the cold. Give me a day with sunshine any day. They say that we need rain to make the Redwoods grow, but I think that I could settle for smaller redwoods and less rain. I’ve never seen an ugly small Redwood, have you. See… we could use less rain.I do like the smell of the first rains of the fall. The wet leaves and grass make the air smell so sweet that you want to drink it in the place of your morning coffee. The deer seem to look forward to all the young sprouts that shoot up. Last year I saw one nibbling on a Redwood sprout. Is that legal? Most evenings you can still hear the evening bugs sending out their love signals like they are saying “this is your last chance, if you want me, come get me, it’s now or never”.
The buzzards have already “towered up” and headed south. The locals will know what that is, the newcomers will wonder what the hell that I’m talking about, or have another name for it. I’m already seeing a few fall birds coming back for the winter. The South Fork of the Eel canyon is one place that the Robins leave in the summer and come back in the fall to get drunk on our fermented Pyrocantha, and Madrone berries.
They say that ducks and geese are coming back, but I don’t see the great flocks of them flying over Garberville like I used to. They are all over the place in Eureka, but they seem to stop there now. Maybe they stopped flying over Mendocino because of the large human population that is in the area that they have there now.
Back when there were fish in the South Fork, my wife and I would choose an Osprey nest to watch for the season, but the nest sites seem to be going away also.
I guess that I’d better go gather some acorns before they get wet and start to rot, or start to sprout. I’m going to add some clay to them this year just to see if it really makes them sweeter.
So… are you ready for Winter?
e
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12 comments:
something shifted yesterday. found out from my distant cousin beverely haydon jacobs that my 3g grandfather joe simmerely married a rachel drennen that they can trace all the way back to antrim, ireland. and the drennens and joe lived in bedford, pa about 60 miles west of carlise pa where my dads ancestors lived near the indian school that jim thorpe played for. she said that her great grandfather john david taylor haydon was the younger brother of tom preston haydon. john was married to mollie simmerley my great grandfather's sister. my great uncle guy whose aunt was mollie married lillian mercy greene on oct 28, 1908. and mollie's son, maurice lee haydon married maude victoria greene, lillians sister on dec 9, 1908. so my two male cousin ancestors married two sisters. one of whom is beverelys great grandfather. uncle guy had a boy named ben with lillian before they got divorced. ben married ruth who is 98 years old and whom i talked with on the phone yesterday. uncle guy married ruth devilbiss next and had howard and helen who married luther sherbourn, ross's uncle. i talked to ross on the phone too. howard married joy who was ben's wife ruth's sister. so that's two half brother's married to sisters. so cousins and brothers married to sisters. anyways beverely told me that tom haydon got arrested for stealing back his own horse. and any other information about his arrest would be appreciated. but i sorta like her story best. i don't like being the bearer of bad bullshistory. also found out that josie simmerely, john's younger sister's son married into the long family, of long's drugstore fame. so its been a tuff day digging up the buried treasure out here on simmerly flat.
It's funny you mentioned the buzzards Ernie. I'm at a little over 46° N. latitude here and yesterday I saw my first two buzzards since moving here. I was really surprised and though about the fall weather moving into Humb. and Mendo. and the buzzards leaving for the winter. I always did miss them and was happy to see their return in the spring.
Oregon
Each state has an Offical State BIRD! Here in TEHAMA COUNTY,we have an Official County Bird the Turkey Vulture!!!
it appears that SPYROCK and I are shirt tail cousins???
I have just recently discovered that I have a Wintu friend who's family was from the Weaverville area, but I haven't had the time to ask her if she is any relation to Becky Haydon.
Ernie... Saw several buzzards (Turkey Vultures) today working over a tasty deceased deer north of P-ville. I do like to see them "tower up" when they are leaving. The ravens have a big celebration when that happens. We always said the Vultures wintered in Mexico but I was surprised years ago when they were abundant in the Central Valley in mid winter. Maybe they just pop over the hills to get away from the big storms. They seem to sneak back for a few days if we have some sunny January weather. Cute little guys.
That's great Spyrock. I know how rewarding a feeling it is to find out so much. All that would make a fine chart.
Great find, Spy. Enjoyed the reading. A couple of my family were double related but some were married in.
Anyone know where OMR is? His last post sounded like he was gone forever. Where are you OMR??? it's time to come back home.
Cousin
Ernie, Any post about winter coming should make me frantic about the remodel and the wood not stacked but somehow yours just made me long to sit in front of the fire and bitch about the rain. (and maybe read a good local history book.)
Ern. Yer darned Osprey came to our property a couple of years ago and nibbled up most of the trout we'd planted in one of the ponds. Since I know where they came from I'll tell them to go back to G'ville, alright? Tell them to stay home. You might owe me $600.
Cousin
It makes me smile to think about planted trout. I never had a pond to plant in so always would sneak in during the early mornings (yeah, at day break, before most folks get up unless they are told to "roll over", and get my trout.
I remember seeing Ernie standing up to his knees in the Eel River at Fish Crick when I was going to work at Duncans mill. That was back before the freeway days when it was okay to drive a truck and trailer through Richardsons Grove. I'm getting off track here,, back to the stocked ponds. I never did figure why people do that sort of thing as they seem to just talk about having a pond with trout in there and never go fishin'. Besides, how many of y'all ate pond trout fed Purina Trout Chow. I'll give y'all a hint. They taste close to cats fed Purina Lion Chow.
I like the idea Ernie had of the wild, Fish Crick trout fresh off the hook.
Oregon
Those were the good old days, when you could catch a dozen 6"-10" trout before breakfast.
That was before newcomers. (hippies and squawfish)
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