Waldo's Best Day (so far)

Somebody always acts up in a group photo. In this one, it wasn't Waldo!

One of Ann and Paul's very large oak trees down the street fell down with a resounding crack. We took the grandkids in their pajamas, and the dog, and walked down there to see what we could see, which was very little. All was quiet, although we could see that what had once been their lovely patio now appears to be a mass of branches. We will find out what happened soon, since we are all surrounded by oak trees here.

A big live oak fell next to the house behind us when we lived on Magnolia Street and completely crushed a car which was parked on the street in front of the house. Apparently it had gotten too much irrigation water, the roots rotted and one clear day it simply pulled out of the ground and toppled over.

Of all the grandchildren, the two "littles" are still the perfect age for our property's attractions. When they weren't in the "pool", they were under the arbor catching lizards or picking vegetables out of the garden. In the open field where we walked with Ozzie, they loved the treehouse, which looks like it has been been built by generations of kids, and the creek where they could fish for tadpoles and newts.

When OilMan was a boy, he and his friends would go out in the morning and roam around the hills all day, getting back in time for dinner. I believe when I took today's picture, perhaps OilMan had forgotten for a moment that he is nearing three quarters of a century and was reliving his youth.

Today, many of the hills are covered in houses, and it isn't considered safe for kids to roam around by themselves all day with nothing but their own imaginations to keep them entertained. It is a pleasure for us to know that Maya and Owen can play outside here by themselves while we relax on the porch with coffee and the Sunday paper.