Sierra Nevada and clouds~SkyWatch Friday~062714

We had to leave our cabin near June Lake one afternoon to drive to Mammoth Lakes for groceries.  I pulled the car over on the way back and took a photo of these clouds over the pine trees.  SkyWatch Friday for June 27, 2014.   To visit SWF, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Lone Pine

I didn't get many photos of Lone Pine this trip.  We  took a leisurely drive out a couple of roads on our way to Tahoe, but coming home, hubby wasn't feeling well and I had an 8 hour drive, so we didn't even pull off Highway 395.  We usually spend some time in Lone Pine.  I DID stop at the visitor center, but I didn't buy anything there, either...maybe next trip!

No fishing from bridge!

We spent a week up in the Sierras after the end of school.  The last day, a mother appeared exactly as the bell was ringing at the end of school and the kids scattered, only to return for a slice of pizza.  I never really got to say goodbye to any of them!   :-(  That made me sad.  It was CHAOS!

Anyway, I spent the weekend at home and I did go up Sunday to visit the horses.  It was just a brief visit.  Everybody was fine.  I'll go up and see them either tomorrow or Friday and spend the day with them.

We left last Monday morning and spent the night in Ridgecrest.  That's a 3 hour drive from our home.  From there, it is an easy drive up to the beginning of the Sierras.  We stopped in Lone Pine for breakfast and ate lunch at Walker Burger in Walker.  Then we headed up Highway 89?  (I think...) up past the Carson River.  That is such beautiful country!

We pulled into South Lake Tahoe, went to Raley's, and bought groceries for dinner and breakfast.  Our room at the Marriott Timeshare had a complete kitchen, so we didn't have to eat out at all.

Short vacation after the end of school

We took a short vacation after school.  It was delightful to get out of the desert and head and dust and head up to South Lake Tahoe.  We drove up Highway 395 and stopped at some of our favorite places along the way.  When we got to Lake Tahoe, I saw dark clouds off in the distance and, sure enough, that afternoon we had HAIL and RAIN!  WOW!

 I love this dinosaur and odd house, which are in Olancha, CA.

 Just a few of the wild sunflowers growing along the roads.  These were in Lone Pine.

 Eastern Sierras from a cafe outdoor seating area in Lone Pine.

 The boats at Silver Lake.

East fork of the Carson River near Lake Tahoe.

One 1/2 day of school, then I'm FREE for the summer!

One 1/2 day more left of school this year.  Believe me, it has been A LONG YEAR.  The majority of my students this year were low, low, low academically and DID NOT want to learn a damn thing.  Period.  And, they let me know it.  They had the IQ of a flea, the attention span of a gnat, and the concentration of a rabid squirrel.  But, you know, by May, I realized I would miss the little buggers!  And, the last two weeks, I wrapped up their academic learning and spent several days doing science experiments with them.  We mixed baking soda and water and one boy squirted it accidentally all down the front of me.  We made oobleck and I spent 3 days vacuuming my room to get all the powder out of the carpet.  We looked at everyday objects from photos on the Internet...things like a split end, salt & pepper, and pores of skin.  We watched several episodes of Bill Nye the Science Guy through my iPad.  They researched hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, sharks, flowers, bats, maps, and even Presidents of the U.S. on their iPads and made presentations.  The bottom line is this:  I'm actually going to miss them!

One of my brightest boys today put his head down on his desk and just started crying (3rd grader)...I asked him, that afternoon, what happened and he told me he hasn't seen his dad in 5 years.  Dad has a new wife and a new son...HOW in the HELL do you respond to that?  I told him my husband doesn't EVER remember seeing HIS own father, but that when our kids were born, he decided to be the best dad he could for them....After talking to this kid for a while, I sat with him and we drew our sunflower art project together.  I hope I gave him a little bit of hope.  Isn't that what being a teacher is all about?

I do wish these kids will come back and visit me next year.  And, will I be a pile of tears as they leave?   YOU BETCHA!

It's gonna be HOT, HOT, HOT this weekend!

I remember some years when we haven't even had to turn on our air conditioner until after July 4th.  This year isn't one of them.  It was running full blast in May.  Especially on the days when the temps were over 100 degrees.  Both hubby and I can take high 90's, but triple digits DO US IN.  And, this whole week, the temps have been 100+.  104, 106, even 108 here...ugh.  That's TOO HOT TOO EARLY!  But, fortunately, the nights have been pleasant.  This weekend, it will be up to 110 degrees here.  UGH!  Even the birds are panting at that temperature.  SUMMER IS HERE, unfortunately, and there is no relief in sight.

 This is one of my sunflowers in our back yard here in the desert.  I still have 5 that are blooming.

 Clouds over Deep Canyon last weekend.  We've had very few clouds lately...just heat.

 This is one of the crows up at the horse ranch.  There are a couple of pair of them.

Hummingbirds at one of the 4 feeders up at the ranch.  Some of these are this year's babies!   :-)

42nd anniversary!

Yesterday was our 42nd wedding anniversary!  We met in September of 1971 and were married in June of 1972.  42 years and two children and now 2 grandchildren!   :-)

Love you, honey!

A visit with the horses today

Well, I made it up to the horse ranch today.  Last weekend, over Memorial Day, we took our grown kids and the grandkitds up to a cabin we rented in Idyllwild, but we were ALL feeling lousy.  Our grandson had strep throat and a fever of 102 degrees so his parents drove him down the hill to urgent care and he got some meds.  Hubby and I were just feeling crummy.  NO energy, headaches, difficulty breathing.  We don't usually get altitude sickness at 8,000 feet, so I'm not sure what it was~maybe a virus?  It was really a waste of a weekend.  We didn't enjoy the cabin, we came back tired, and it took us both a whole week to recover.  Ugh.

The horses are getting shiny now that they've all shed their winter coats.  Gigondas and Lucille are the most shiny.  Scout still has some hair to lose and Quad looks thin.  He needs to have his teeth floated, but that will have to wait until school is over in 10 days.  The little colt is GROWING!  I caught him taking a nap in the sun today!

 Gigondas.

 The orphaned colt.

 Quad.

 Sunni.

Lucille

Of course, Scout wouldn't cooperate today, so no decent photos of her...the BRAT!