Ultralight

Thank you to everyone who visited yesterday and left such nice comments on my nine year blip. No wonder I keep finding something to blip every day. I continue to be convinced that everyone has a story to tell and that they are all important. When we moved here I ran across a  box of old letters written by my grandparents. They were mostly about everyday subjects but were still a fascinating window into a time before computers, social media, or even the telephone. We can all leave an important record just by describing our daily lives during such rapidly changing times. Keep blipping everybody! 

The wildlife around here continues to make a  living despite the loss of so many trees which has caused a dramatic change in their habitat. We watched the turkeys heading up what's left of the driveway next door, the jays and the acorn woodpeckers squabbling over the birdseed and the deer that still traverse the field behind us on their way down to the creek for water. The ground squirrels continue to thrive despite our best efforts to discourage them from tunneling under everything. 

There are no more quail because their favorite nesting spots underneath hedges all burned. Our olive hedge has come back from bare black sticks in the ground to substantial bushes, but not quite ready for quail occupancy yet. The deer used to eat the roses off the bushes down by the street as soon as they bloomed, but for some reason they don't touch them anymore.The tree squirrels drink from the birdbath and the finches bathe in the fountain.  Spike fell into the pond in front when he went to get a drink from it. He was pretty pretty surprised and beat a hasty retreat. It remains to be seen if he goes near it again

We walked down to Dana and Jim's this morning but there was something wrong with Spike's harness and he was exhausting to walk. Dana dug out Blake's old training harness, put it on Spike and walked him around the house and the garden. He behaved perfectly. Dana can now add 'dog whisperer' to her list of talents.

The ultralight made another appearance this afternoon. It's entertaining to watch as the engine is turned off as the  wind catches the sail and on again so it can rise back up again. I managed to get a picture as it came down to land in the field behind our fence. It's not a great picture but I liked the angles and textures. We put the reeds up against the fence pending the planting of a vine to blur the view of the eyesore house on the other side. All work seems to have ground to a halt once again....