Summer's last blast?

I'm SO anxious for this dang heat to end!  Yesterday was 108 and today will be 106.  Then, by the middle of next week, mid 90's, but then the temps go up again.  Grrrrrr!  COME ON!  It's been a long, hot summer and I'm ready for fall!

I put up some fall leaves from Michael's on our west window.  I have to cover it during the summer because it gets the full blast of afternoon sun.  I actually have 2 layers of insulation on it:  first, the black mesh which is SUPPOSED to keep out 95% of the sun's rays and heat (it does work!), and then I added the leftover wooden boards from our fence that fall over last spring.  I couldn't just toss them!

I drove to Temecula Friday morning to babysit the granddaughter (20 months) so her mom could go out on a job interview.  She was fine.  We played silly games together.  I left our dog at home with hubby because they can't have a dog at their rental house.  So, SOMEBODY had to babysit the dog.

Well, hubby let her out Friday night, after feeding her, and he forgot about her for an hour. He went to let her in and...NO DOG!  She didn't come to the back side door.  Now, our back yard is completely fenced, but the one night we BOTH drove to Temecula 2 weeks ago, Ripley managed to scratch two of the boards on the side gate.  She didn't get out, but she tore up the gate.  I did a temporary repair on it, but I didn't nail the boards back in or replace the ones that needed to be replaced.  So, he got worried.  He got out his flashlight and searched the back yard.  NO Ripley.  He called her.  No dog.  he finally opened up the front door, and GUESS WHO was sitting there, wagging her tail?

Good thing he didn't tell me or I would have had a heart attack!  We are just one block away from one of the busiest streets in town and I always worry that she'll get out and go out there and get hit by a car.  So, I have another 10,000 new gray hairs!

The breakout artist!  That's the front fence before one of our eucalyptus trees fell over on it during a wind storm last spring and destroyed it.

Water~Lots of water!

Just 30 minutes from our home is the Whitewater Preserve, which is part of the Wildlands Conservacy.  They also have some acreage up by Oak Glen, but that will be another trip.  On Tuesday hubby and I drove up to Whitewater.

It was eerily quiet, especially after the Labor Day weekend.  One of the rangers said that weekend was ... chaos.  I can imagine...every picnic table filled, kids running around and screaming...Ugh.  No thanks!

We had the place nearly to ourselves and it was delightful!  I especially enjoyed being able to walk around and take photos of all the ponds there.

 This is the pond right next to the ranger station.  It's a very NICE ranger station!

 Looking out down one of the bigger ponds...

 Quietness!  Ahhhhhh!

 Bubbles in the water from the mini waterfall!

 Peace

A single leaf floating on one of the ponds.

Whitewater Preserve visit

Now that we are both retired, except for babysitting duty, hubby and I have pretty much our time to ourselves.  So, yesterday we headed up to the Whitewater Rock & Supply Co to buy some rocks for the grandson's rock collection 2nd grade project.  I found some obsidian, limestone, green quartz, and a rock from Baja, CA.  I even got to ride around in their golf cart because the limestone was WAY far away!

After that, since we were in the area, we headed up to the Whitewater Preserve, which is part of the Wildlands Conservacy.  The Whitewater River was running quite a bit, but the road was open.  It often runs over the road and at times closes it, but not yesterday.

After the crowds of Labor Day, the preserve was nearly completely empty yesterday.  Thank goodness!  Phew!  We LOVED the quietness.  No dogs, no screaming kids...it was heaven!

We both wandered around and took our time taking photos.  The sycamores haven't started turning their leaves to fall colors yet, but a ranger said they are shedding so much, they have to clean out the pools now on a daily basis.  We usually go up there late November, early December and by then, the leaves are gorgeous.

Here are a few photos from yesterday: (more to come...)

Idyllwild break

Hubby and I took a 4 day break and drove up to Idyllwild.  We rented our favorite cabin up there for 3 nights and took the dog with us.  The Silver Pines Lodge, near the middle of town, but on a quiet street, is dog friendly and Ripley has been there before.  Besides, it was 115 down here in the desert.  Who wouldn't want to leave town?

We arrived Tuesday afternoon.  It was in the 90's up in the mountains, but we turned on the swamp cooler and awaited the 4 p.m. cool down.  And, yes, it was right on time!  Out we went to the back porch to enjoy some wine, cheese, crackers, and grapes.  The blue jays hadn't shown up yet, or the gray squirrels either.

By morning, however, they were all there.  We were also visited by a family of woodpeckers, 3 rabbits, a cute little chipmunk, and even a flicker!  I brought a peanut butter suet thing and I stuck it in the tree closest to the porch and the birds enjoyed it, so I left it there.

Hubby even saw a meteorite on the last evening!  I saw 3 deer right in the middle of downtown and once, when I was out taking Ripley for a walk, a hawk sailed right by me!  It was close enough I could have reached out and touched it, if I wasn't holding onto the dog!

It was a nice break and I'm glad we got out of the desert those hot, hot days.  Temps are now back into the 107/108 range and nights are FINALLY down into the high 70's here.  Looks like our summer heat wave may be over!  We've had monsoon storms the last couple of days, too.

~Cheers~

 This was the buck.  There were 2 does with him.  They crossed the street right in front of me in town!

 Little chippers!

 One of the woodpeckers.  There was a family group of 4...

 What are YOU looking at?

A week's break from the heat and then...

We have had wonderful mornings here all this week (so far).  I even went out this morning and raked up tons of mesquite pods, raked the now-defunct strip of non-grass next to the driveway, and pulled more weeds out of my flower patch out front.  I'm trying to get that area ready for my fall plantings!  I can hardly wait!!!  But, in the meantime, I really do need to clean it out.  I've ordered the following seeds: California poppies, desert lupine, wild sunflowers (for next spring), and a couple of desert and full sun mixtures.

So, the front yard is starting to shape up quickly.

I have 4 hummingbirds (3 males and 1 female) who have managed to weather the summer heat here, so I have to clean out their feeders every other day.  I cleaned and filled them all up this morning.  I make my own mixture of sugar and water.  I don't like to use the commercial ones...too many artificial ingredients.

In the meantime, we have armies of ants in the house!  I found a trail yesterday after the damn dog emptied out the kitchen trash onto our living room floor!  Grrrrrrr!  I vacuumed up ants all afternoon.  I don't like to use pesticides at all.  First, my husband is EXREMELY sensitive to them and also, with all the birds around, I am hesitant to use them.  I did sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the carpet, and then I had to vacuum all of that up, too!  It did seem to do the job.  However, I see ant hills outside and I am going to have to spray those.  Otherwise, I have 10,000 ants INSIDE!  Ugh!

Our daughter is already back at school and our grandson, too.  My old district will start next week.  I'm so thankful I don't work any more!  (...doing the happy dance...)Ugh.  I doubt I would have made it through another year.  30 is long enough, don't you think?

~Cheers!

morning clouds coming over from Arizona yesterday morning...

Purging and cleaning

I've been officially retired since April 30th, which now makes it the beginning of my 15th week of retirement this week.  15 WEEKS!  My gosh!  WHERE did the time go?

I've managed to donate about 4 carloads of school stuff to charity.  I have about 1 more carload of stuff.  I got rid of old boxes of crayons, colored pencils, erasers, rubber stamps, books, books, and more books.  Boxes of pencils went, as well as composition books.  It was good to purge all that!

I still have stuff lined up in the hallway, however.  Frankly, it has been TOO DANG HOT here to even venture outside after 9:00 a.m. and by late afternoons, I'm too tired to drag myself out of the house.  This week, however, we have mornings down in the 78 to 79 degree range, so this would be a good week to get my last load of stuff to charity.

THEN, like Carson over at the 7 MSN...http://www.the7msnranch.com/2016/08/putting-my-house-in-order_8.html, I can start on the house.  Really?  I have 4 different dish sets of 4 plates each.  It's just hubby and I now, so WHY do I need 16 plates? I need to clean out our coffee mugs and donate a BUNCH of them.  Again, why do I have 20 coffee mugs?

I have managed to clean out the pantry.  And, I've made one sweep through my closet.  THAT resulted in 7 big bags for charity.  NO MORE skirts!  Ugh!  I bought skirt after skirt and then I didn't wear them because they didn't have pockets!   (...pulling out hair...)

We tend to hibernate during the summer months here in our desert because of the heat.  Really, WHO wants to go outside when it is 117 degrees?  Or 112?  Even 109 is unbearable.  By Wednesday, this week, however, it should be down to about 103.  I think I can deal with that!

~Cheers~

Anza and Aguanga

When hubby and I visit our son and his family in Temecula, we travel through Anza and Aguanga.  Neither one is a large town.  Anza has a post office, a store, a hardware store, a Dairy Queen, and some small businesses.  Aguanga has... a post office and one store.

However, the scenery is absolutely beautiful as one travels down Highway 79.  I can't wait for fall, when the cottonwoods turn yellow.  The road winds through some badlands, but along the way is the metal sculpture garden.  I don't always stop there, but I always enjoy it when I do.  And, now Temecula will have a certified farmers' market every Tuesday, so that sounds like a good day to be in Temecula, eh?