anyone past 50 on here?

[will123]

2 hours ago, ryn2 said:

You could name them after the kids Oliver picked pockets with.

Fagen and urchin come to mind in a generic way LOL

[cdrdash]

Nice and sunny here in California.  Had a fun hike at Pescadero County Park.  Here are my photos:

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/m5LbKPp1tfgwxenRA

 

A couple are sorta blurry but I'm too lazy to fix them or delete them right now 

 

We hiked by a creek with natural crude oil in it that looks like tar.  It is called Tar Water Creek.    There is one picture of the creek with a stick I stuck in to the creek to show the sticky tar!

[Spotastic]

1 hour ago, ryn2 said:

Oh, no!  That’s sad and stressful, for you and the fowl.    I’m sorry!

Yeah, the ducks are my favorite of the birds. I know they have to be missing their brother. I'm sad, too. At least my sister-in-law brought us all some candy. 

[daveb]

It was hot and steamy here today. Good thing we were able to find shade a good portion of the time. We went to a park, a museum of death (some of it was a bit graphic for my tastes), an insectarium and butterfly encounter (one of the butterflies apparently decided my shoulder blade was a good spot to roost as I wandered around), a walking tour around a cemetery and old neighborhood with some interesting history and architecture, rode a streetcar, and topped it all off with an "impossible burger". Another great day with a great friend!   

 

Great emoji work, @Tja!

[pickles.]

10 minutes ago, daveb said:

(one of the butterflies apparently decided my shoulder blade was a good spot to roost as I wandered around)

Aww...how lovely. 🦋

[Muledeer]

25 minutes ago, daveb said:

It was hot and steamy here today. Good thing we were able to find shade a good portion of the time. We went to a park, a museum of death (some of it was a bit graphic for my tastes), an insectarium and butterfly encounter (one of the butterflies apparently decided my shoulder blade was a good spot to roost as I wandered around), a walking tour around a cemetery and old neighborhood with some interesting history and architecture, rode a streetcar, and topped it all off with an "impossible burger". Another great day with a great friend!   

 

Great emoji work, @Tja!

How well have they recovered from Katrina?  

Is the murder rate still really high?

Did you go to Bourbon Street yet?  

I have always been interested in New Orleans, but never been there.  Once, I visited Cajun country and that was an enjoyable trip.  We toured the Tobasco factory in Avery Island.  

[daveb]

8 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

How well have they recovered from Katrina?  

Pretty well, it seems. Of course, it varies. Some areas got emptied more than others. Some have improved more than others.

 

9 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

Is the murder rate still really high?

No Idea. I'm still alive.

 

9 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

Did you go to Bourbon Street yet?  

Nope. Been near it, but I'm not big on drinking, partying, "nightlife", and such.

[pickles.]

My teacher friend and I went hunting for Chanterelles up in the Columbia gorge today, on the Washington side of the river.  We went to a place where I've had good luck before, but found nary a one.  Later we crossed paths with another mushroom hunter who showed us the only one he'd found.  He thought the MSO (Mycological Society of Oregon) had already been through that area and harvested everything.

 

When accompanying a mushroom-loving friend on a hunt for the first time, I'm always deciding when a good time will be for me to confess that I don't like to eat mushrooms at all, I just love being in the forest.  I also like any activity where you are stopping and looking around a lot while in the forest, and I like taking photos of the cool flora and fauna.

 

I had decided I would remain silent until the end and then gift my friend everything in my basket, but since we didn't find any I didn't need to come clean.  Next time!

[Guest Jetsun Milarepa]

Sorry about your lovely bird friends @Spotastic, they'll be sad without their friends now.

You could write a book about this experience @tja (my name thingy has died again!)

@daveb, that sounds like a very interesting visit! I'd have loved the death museum...I like that show on TV 'Unusual deaths'...it's quite enlightening.

Ah, well, off to do battle with the tech again.....😐

 

 

[Skycaptain]

@Spotastic, sorry to hear that you lost a duck. Especially as now that hawk will know that there's food around you it won't go away in a hurry.

 

@cdrdash, great photos. Does that stream have any connection with the tar pits?

 

@daveb, as @chandrakirti, says that place sounds interesting. Wa it a museoleum? 😋 😋 

 

There seems to have been a hatchet burying in the furry corner, they were grooming each other this morning 

[Tja]

12 hours ago, Muledeer said:

I hope it all comes together for you TJA

Thanks, Muledeer!

[Tja]

8 hours ago, daveb said:

Great emoji work, @Tja!

I like to make the effort...sometimes.

[Tja]

3 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

You could write a book about this experience @tja

Yeah...For Whom The Bell Tolls.

[will123]

@Spotastic Sorry to hear what happened to the ducks. Any idea how they would react to a new duck?

 

Friends have a beagle and they dogsat another for a month. Their beagle didn't like the guest, but when it left theirs moped around looking for it.

[jay williams]

7 hours ago, ms. mortricia said:

My teacher friend and I went hunting for Chanterelles up in the Columbia gorge today, on the Washington side of the river.  We went to a place where I've had good luck before, but found nary a one.  Later we crossed paths with another mushroom hunter who showed us the only one he'd found.  He thought the MSO (Mycological Society of Oregon) had already been through that area and harvested everything.

 

When accompanying a mushroom-loving friend on a hunt for the first time, I'm always deciding when a good time will be for me to confess that I don't like to eat mushrooms at all, I just love being in the forest.  I also like any activity where you are stopping and looking around a lot while in the forest, and I like taking photos of the cool flora and fauna.

 

I had decided I would remain silent until the end and then gift my friend everything in my basket, but since we didn't find any I didn't need to come clean.  Next time!

Not sure why you are shy about revealing a lack of taste for eating mushrooms. Hiking and being in the woods is a great reason to go hunting mushrooms. For that matter, one does not have to like the taste of mushrooms, in order to appreciate them. I don't eat wildflowers, but I love to hunt for them. 

[Spotastic]

14 hours ago, Muledeer said:

Is the murder rate still really high?

124 so far this year, so that would be a yes. It's still usually in the top 30 every year. Coming from the neighborhood I did that used to be the most dangerous city in the US for many years, I tend to keep track of crime statistics.

 

10 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

Sorry about your lovely bird friends @Spotastic, they'll be sad without their friends now.

You could write a book about this experience @tja (my name thingy has died again!)

 

 

Thanks. And I know you were telling @Tja he could write a book, but the funny thing is my wife is planning on writing a book about our time on the farm. She was saying that our 'adventure' yesterday would likely be a chapter in it.

 

4 hours ago, will123 said:

@Spotastic Sorry to hear what happened to the ducks. Any idea how they would react to a [new addition?] 

I accidentally deleted too far and filled in the end of the quote with what I thought was there. I don't think anybody is looking at getting any replacements any time soon. I'm honestly not sure how they would react, but they're big Peking ducks and a smaller one might get hit too hard in play.

[ryn2]

A book about the Farm Experience sounds like a great idea.

[Tunhope]

I like looking at mushrooms too @ms. mortricia. I will pick and cook a few types,if I'm 100% sure I've identified them correctly. This is a great time for them in my neck of the woods.

I think your emojis are wonderful @Tja too. It will be some time before I'll be able to display an equal skill! (As in, realistically  , never)

All that talk about snow is making me feel very cold. I've still got my summer weight duvet cover on the bed. I'm not a fan of winter. The clocks go forward soon - one of my least favourite days of the year.

Do you use your ducks as guards @Spotastic  or for eggs ? I had a friend who kept ducks and geese to warn of prowlers. They were better than guard dogs. I'm sorry you had all that trouble with them and the hens. @Skycaptain Regarding the Weir in Chester ,there's a video on You Tube at the moment ( search  Talisker) that shows a waterfall on Skye flowing upward due to storm Callum ( blowing upwards really ) At least I think that's what's happening. I saw it in Spanish and I may be completely wrong!

[Guest Jetsun Milarepa]

Recently I read a book called 'the secret Life of Cows' @Spotastic. It was lovely, detailing all the stories about the bovine families living there. I think your other half should start right away! I'd buy it for sure.

 

Mmmm... I love mushrooms @ms. mortricia and @jay williams, although some of those very large plate-like fungi are really beautiful, especially when they look like a staircase on the side of a tree.

@Tja, unfortunately you might have to procure a sign for over your front door...'abandon hope all ye who enter here'. (nah- crossed fingers that it gets sorted out , even f it takes a bit of time.

[Muledeer]

1 hour ago, ryn2 said:

A book about the Farm Experience sounds like a great idea.

So far I remember stories about missing cats, a dead calf, dying chickens and now the duck that got chicken-hawked.  Each one of those stories could be a chapter in your wife's book, @Spotastic, and those are just the animal stories.  I'm sure there are crop failures and other misadventures that are common with farm life.  

Too bad you didn't find any fungus, @ms. mortricia.  It has been about three years since there have harvestable mushrooms around here.  The rainy season has either been too early, too late, or not at all for their special conditions for growth.  I went out and bought a food dehydrator the last time mushrooms were abundant, and have never used it again since then.  

[Muledeer]

1 minute ago, chandrakirti said:

Recently I read a book called 'the secret Life of Cows' @Spotastic. It was lovely, detailing all the stories about the bovine families living there.

I'm not sure I could ever enjoy eating beef again if I read that book!

[Tja]

3 hours ago, Tunhope said:

I think your emojis are wonderful @Tja too. It will be some time before I'll be able to display an equal skill! 

Thank you, @Tunhope. If I can do it, you can do it. I mean...it's not as if I were using magic.

 

1 hour ago, chandrakirti said:

@Tja, unfortunately you might have to procure a sign for over your front door...'abandon hope all ye who enter here'.

Appropriate, for this time of year.

[Spotastic]

3 hours ago, Tunhope said:

Do you use your ducks as guards @Spotastic  or for eggs ? I had a friend who kept ducks and geese to warn of prowlers. They were better than guard dogs. I'm sorry you had all that trouble with them and the hens.

The original plan was for eggs, but they're all male, so they are the unofficial guards. They're mostly treated like pets, and they seem to be everyone's favorite of the many birds my sister has acquired over the last few months. They follow me back and forth whenever I walk through the yard like dogs. 

[Cobie]

23 hours ago, Tja said:

... have to go through the mail,

find all the paperwork,

get it sent to the mortgage company,

set up an inspection,

set a date for construction,

set a date for plumbing ...

...

Sigh, that’s quite a list, a lot of work still to do. I hope it will all go very smoothly from now on. 🍀 At least you have a good attitude. 

 

19 hours ago, daveb said:

... Another great day with a great friend!   

Sounds great. Enjoy. 😎

 

10 hours ago, Tja said:

Yeah...For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Ha, ha, had to Google that, 💀, but you are still alive and kicking. It will all get done eventually. 🍀

[will123]

3 hours ago, Spotastic said:

The original plan was for eggs, but they're all male, so they are the unofficial guards. They're mostly treated like pets, and they seem to be everyone's favorite of the many birds my sister has acquired over the last few months. They follow me back and forth whenever I walk through the yard like dogs. 

I remeber a farm during my childhood that had geese. The gander kept an eye on the barnyard like a dog.

[daveb]

13 hours ago, Tja said:

Yeah...For Whom The Bell Tolls.

I was thinking Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse, but that's about building a new house, or The Money Pit, but that's about a newly purchased house.

 

Today we went on a riverboat cruise, went to the battlefield where the "Battle of New Orleans" was fought in the War of 1812, got caught in some heavy downpours, walked around the French Quarter, rode on a mule-drawn carriage, walked along Bourbon Street, got some gelato (well, I did), and walked plenty.  

 

p.s. It's so steamy here today my glasses kept getting fogged up. And this evening windows on buildings are getting fogged up. I'm not built for steam.

[cdrdash]

I'm sleeping on my new bed but the saga of the bed continues.   When the fellow came around on Saturday with the missing part to put the bed together, he found that the middle support was broken.  However, he was able to put it together so I can sleep on it without the middle support.  It will be OK in the short term.  So I'm on the phone again with Mancini Sleep World to get another part ordered.  Today they called me to arrange for another fellow to come out and put the new support on the bed.  I scheduled them to come on Friday, which happens to be my day off Friday.  I'm a bit miffed that for the 3rd day I am going to have to stay home instead of being able to go out and play. 

 

And the saga continued a bit when I got home today.  There was a note on my door on the back of the Mancini order request that I needed to clean up my mess.   What?   Turns out the service person on Saturday, just dumped the bad part with all the nuts and bolts in the card board box outside of the dumpster and left it there.  They are very strict in my HOA about properly disposing of trash.  And I pride myself on following those rules!   I quickly headed to the garbage bin after work today and properly broke it down and threw it in the garbage bin.   I will explain to the next service person that he/she needs to properly dispose of their garbage!!   Mancini Sleep World service people are not going to be getting a good review from me.  But I am happy with the sales people.  They have been apologizing left and right and get right on getting the replacement parts.

 

Hopefully Friday will wrap up the great bed saga 🏁

 

[pickles.]

14 hours ago, jay williams said:

Not sure why you are shy about revealing a lack of taste for eating mushrooms. Hiking and being in the woods is a great reason to go hunting mushrooms. For that matter, one does not have to like the taste of mushrooms, in order to appreciate them. I don't eat wildflowers, but I love to hunt for them. 

You are so right!  And I'll never worry again. 🍄❤️🍄

 

In a follow-up to my story, after I got home a neighbor who had been up near Mt. Hood harvesting chanterelles was offering them to a few of us who were outside.  What a coincidence!  He was happy to give me some for my teacher friend, so I took them right over and she was busy frying them up for dinner when I left.

[will123]

@cdrdash You're lucky that they allow furniture assembly in your HOA LOL. When I belonged to an RV forum, a common complaint was the 'special people' (I won't used the overused derogatory term) who take living in a HOA very seriously and would travel around with a clip board and tape measure.

 

"Your trailer is a foot too long to be on your property"

"The tongue of your trailer is protruding past the front of your house"

"Your trailer is three feet too close to the sidewalk (not that it impeded use of the sidewalk)"

 

I understand the need for bylaws, but one has to wonder. One person commented that even though his family (with children) was permissible in the HOA, they were made to feel very uncomfortable by the longer term residents. I'm pretty sure the family eventually moved away. A thought was that certain people get the cold shoulder by the special people and eventually move away to be replaced by like-minded individuals.

 

Have you (or any other HOA dwellers) noticed this?

 

On a closer note, neighbours of mine were looking at a 'gated' community to move to. When they did, it was just to a house on a public street. When I asked them why they didn't moved to the original community they replied, "Too many rules". Not that they were disruptive in the least. They were great neighbours and the rest of us missed them, but downsizing as they got closer to retirement. The one rule they mentioned was that no children could stay over (they had five grandchildren).

[cdrdash]

19 hours ago, Skycaptain said:

 

@cdrdash, great photos. Does that stream have any connection with the tar pits?

 

Here is another blurb from the park brochure:

 

"Pescadero Creek Park sits atop a deposit of natural gas and oil. Natural gas occasionally bubbles up through seams near Hoffman Creek producing a strong gas odor. Crude oil pools up in the channel of Tarwater Creek, and seeps into Jones Gulch Creek staining the rocks. Oil exploration was attempted in the 1970’s but failed to hit the pool. Natural gas under San Mateo County has been estimated at 10 billion cubic feet but no exploration wells have been attempted in the park.”

 

No mention of tar pits.  There are some in southern California but I have never see them.