PLAYING CATCH UP

Jim left my house on Thursday to slowly make the drive to Rogue River, where my new house is under construction.

You can see the berm I had put in to protect hoses that carry well water from my upper lot to this one. It is a huge project because of our serious drought. I have three new soaker hoses, connectors, two new 100 foot hoses and two fifty foot hoses hoping to keep my plants alive during this projected 10 year drought.

I made the long drive on Saturday to rendezvous with Jim. Saves me the price of a hotel for the days that I’m here and is a good stop on his way north to Washington.

The front deck is partly in place.

The living room paint is dry, waiting for electrical installation.

Master bathroom.

Master bedroom.

Walking toward the 2nd bedroom/office at the opposite end of the house.

Laundry.

I didn’t take a picture of the kitchen. I guess I got distracted by this little buck, shyly peeking around the storage shed.

He settled right in next to construction materials by the fence and looked at us as though we were invading his home site.

Go away, he seemed to say. And then, he was joined later by a brother who bolted when we got too close. Jim tossed them some lettuce that was getting old. One buck  took a bite and decided he liked grass better.

We took a walk to my old swimming hole. The water was clear, reflecting sun shining through the trees. This is a year round creek, tributary of the Rogue River.

We tromped the property to the second  gate and looked back at the house from afar. The former owner told me the property doesn’t flood where I wanted to build my house, but the county wouldn’t allow any other site except the narrow place the old mobile sat. But, a skinny little house will make an easy to maintain retirement home. It is covered with wild flowers in the spring and is zoned farm land. With chickens, a couple goats and a garden;  and steel head and trout in the river, sounds good to me.

Later in the day, I bought  my lighting fixtures. We couldn’t fit them all in my little car, so we’ll go back for the rest today. Got my flooring ordered which will arrive in a week. The cabinets get installed on Wednesday, electrical finished on Thursday, the day I drive back to Murphys. I’ll be making a return trip after my grandson’s graduation.

A WILDFLOWER ALBUM GOOD-BYE.

2014-4-9-RoadsideWildflowers

 

My friend Jan and I went to see wild flowers when we veered to Jackson. Here they are in an album along with those from Tuolumne County. Hope you enjoy them. This will probably be my last blog until I return from Turkey. Much to do. Can’t wait to share my photos from Istanbul and the countryside.  Hope we have good weather.

ACROSS THE RIVER

I crossed over  the Stanislaus river to sign my taxes  for e-filing, and to pick up my paperwork, an especially beautiful drive at this time of year. No traffic to speak of.  I could stop in the middle of the road and take pictures.  After descending into the canyon, the bridge is in front of me.

Here I got out and aimed for that bright patch of green on the opposite bank.

The rain has given the wild flowers a boost.

Roadside lupines taller than I’ve ever seen them.

Mosses thick and lush.

Redbud blooming everywhere.

A bit of bright orange caught my eye.  Though I couldn’t identify it, I admire its tenacity as it seems to choose inhospitable rocky places to grow and show off some color.

The weather was supposed to be sunny yesterday. Instead it was drear, but it didn’t affect my pleasure in my trip across the river. The foothills of Calaveras and Tuolumne County are beautiful in the spring. (You can click on these photos to make them bigger.)

BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY, A GRAND IDEA

The 479 mile long Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th birthday this year. It connects the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Its Mission is to preserve the natural scenery and resources along its rural Southern Appalachian way as well as provide recreational opportunities for the public. Built with public road workers and public contractors during the Roosevelt New Deal when people were out of work during the Great Depression. It was the first parkway to recognize the new American pastime of leisure road trips.  Probably looked a bit like this car club we saw as we drove down from the ridge’s crest.

The parkway not only provided leisure for travelers, and helped preserve a rural  way of life along with rare endangered animals, plants, frogs, fish, flowers and birds, scenic easements restricted development while  allowing the continuation of traditional agriculture. We now recognize something so unique and valuable to all of us.

Old wooden split rail fencing still stands along the parkway as it offers natural beauty and long views into the rolling hills.

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Wayside stops, turnouts, bridges of stone, and campgrounds were built originally by the CCC. Now maintained by the National Park Service.
The stops have information, gift shops, wild flower walks, hikes and the quiet we learn to expect from nature.

The best part is the estimated financial impact on the counties and states the parkway passes through, estimated at 2.3 billion dollars yearly. A notable achievement.