Johnny's Travels: Spring 2024

 Johnny is just home from yet another trip to help out our kids. First trip was to California to help Munazza and Kestrel brainstorm and create a backdrop for a Ren Xue retreat they help with each year. This year it is in California. Other retreats have been held in France, New Zealand, etc. Munazza is the computer guru for the people who attend via livestream. Kestrel is the sound guru. But this year the folks who run Ren Xue wanted to have the essential backdrop to be created specifically for the Northwest retreat and be kept in storage until next year's Northwest retreat. That proved easier ordered than accomplished. So Munazza called on Johnny's expertise to help. I think he had a good time doing it and the result was wonderful, although it took a lot of people a lot of time to accomplish it.

Johnny left here by Amtrak on March 25th. His first stop was to see Faiza, Munazza's sister, at her condo in El Cerrito. She had lots of odd jobs for him to do plus lots of food. She loves to cook for him! After a few days there, Steve picked him up and took him home to San Carlos, where he was until April 4, diligently working on the backdrop with Munazza et al.

This photo was taken of the backdrop hanging in their house so you can see through it. At the retreat it was against a wall and looked lovely. Plus they had figured out how to keep the wrinkles out. 

Here's the hard-working crew at S&M's house. Notice that Johnny has shrunk while his grandsons have zoomed upward.

from the left: Jupiter (the dog), Kestrel, Munazza, Cedrus, Johnny, Steve

Here is the backdrop at the retreat, before the attendees arrived...

Johnny's train was delayed leaving California by what seems to have become not unusual... an attempted suicide by someone throwing themselves in front of the train. Johnny napped in the train station for several hours waiting for the train to arrive and take him northward. It finally did and he arrived in Salem on April 4th.

He then spent a week at home getting haying equipment ready... and replacing our leaky kitchen faucet. On Friday, April 11th, Johnny headed north on Amtrak to Seattle to help with repairs on Kevin and Jessica's house. The train was delayed several hours getting to Salem from the south since "a trespasser had made contact with the equipment", as Amtrak reported. Just as someone had in California before his return trip.

Johnny did what he had planned to do and came home on April 23rd... after a long hold-up on the train after someone attempted suicide inside the train this time.

Jessica sent a photo of the new roof that had been installed before, during and after Johnny's trip. It looked lovely.

 

I had high hopes he'd stay home for awhile, but major problems were discovered in K&J's house that occurred long before the new roof went on. They needed lots of help from friends and workers and from Johnny. So back he went on  May 11th, worked long hours along with everyone else up there (and eating Jessica's wonderful food!) and came home on May 22. This time the delay on Amtrak was shorter since it was just a tree that had fallen across the tracks, not a person.

Meanwhile, back on the farm, goats were kidding like crazy and I've been keeping very busy here. Johnny is now home, unloading the barkdust on our paths that he brought home on the flat bed trailer before all this traveling happened. Hopefully, if and when the sky quits leaking, he'll be able to cut, rake and bale hay. Although he is also working in his shop on things to send or take up to Kevin and Jessica's for further repairs... so who knows...

Catching Up

Once again, I've fallen behind in my farm chronicles. It's always busy on the farm but lately it's been busier than ever... partly because there is, most of the time, just one of us here doing all the work... me. Johnny has been off in Washington State helping Kevin and Jessica with a monumental house fixing project. I've been home trying to fend off the grass and weeds that have buried all the flower beds and garden. Plus attend goats that are giving birth... lots of them. Okay, those are my excuses, or some of them. Another standard excuse of late is my crotchety hip which makes getting around a challenge. Thank goodness for my EZ Go (electric golf cart) that takes me almost everywhere on the farm without hurting my hip.

The story in photos...

Most every morning while milking goats, I keep a list of what birds I see out the windows and send that to e-bird as an "incidental" list. When I get a chance, I take photos of the birds I see to document my sightings. Below is a Black-headed Grosbeak, common on our feeders. And a Rufous Hummingbird by the nectar feeder.

 

 

 

 When Johnny is home, I drag him to the coast with me for one of my surveys. On this survey, I photographed a Pelican on a Rock. I don't regularly survey pelicans but this guy was begging to be in my blog post.

 

 At home, I sometimes drive my EZ Go around the flower meadow I've been creating between south field and Agency Creek. This day I found one lonely camas about to open. I hope to get more growing there. We have many in the arboretum that I started some years back.

No EZ Go needed in the greenhouse. Veggie starts are getting ready for transplanting and the many epi hanging cacti are blooming. This rather spectacular (but out of focus) epiphyllum in the greenhouse was huge but didn't last long.

Back in the goat barn, these twins at first were rejected by their first time mom, but she finally figured out what she was supposed to do and is an attentive mother now.

 

 Back in the greenhouse, the Amaryllis are opening...

 And a second spectacular epi opened from a different plant than the one pictured above. Many more are in bloom now. I'll take more photos another day...