Fruit Trees

Landscape trees are planted for their beauty, function as shade givers, and are planted to be there for generations.
Here in the land of commercial fruit trees, we look at trees from a different perspective. A walnut tree, for instance, will produce a cost-effective crop from somewhere between three and twenty years. Then it is pulled out, replaced by a new tree that will, again, produce in about three years. Same thing with all other crop trees. You might say, it's like growing beans, when the plant is spent, till it under.
About thirty years ago someone gave each of us in the family, for lack of inspiration, a fruit tree as a Christmas gift. For a while we had spring cherries. until two years ago we had walnuts to pick up every year.
All these years we ate Satsuma Plums. Dark gray on the outside, deep plum color on the inside. It produces a tremendous amount of fruit every year. Several hundred pounds, enough to keep us, our dogs, the neighbors happy.
This year some branches have snapped as the branches were too heavy with fruit to support them.
This tree has certainly outlived its expected productive life.

Oh, the cat has nothing to do with the story. It's just a cute picture of a big guy hanging out in a kids chair.

Playing with Mud

Once in a while even adults enjoy playing with mud.

Some years ago Mosker sent me a box with the supplies to make pavers. Included are letters to add some poetry or remembrance.

When my cousins visited, I asked them to inscribe a paver. They stopped their sunbathing to do that. After much discussion they came to an agreement, stamped a greeting, a thanks, their names, the date.
The paver is leaning against a little fence now, holding it in place. The paver catches my eye when I pass and I think of their visit.

From now on everyone spending at least one night here will be asked to play with mud.

Party On

So, the smoke has pretty much cleared. Air quality isn't great, but so much more reasonable.

My family came here on the weekend to help celebrate yet another year of my life. Food and drink, conversation and games.
On the "real" day my good friend took me to lunch at the Il Fornio restaurant in Roseville. One of our favorite "fancy" places.
Then on Friday I will take a special young lady, along with some very nice neighborhood kids to the new swim complex in Yuba City for a session. Fast food after as a very special treat.
Did I say they are nice kids? They offered to do chores for me after that. Such as filling in dog-dug holes in the yard, shredding papers in my office, crushing cans, mulching flowers. I'll think of more. (Shhh, I've been saving jobs just for this day)

The cakes are gone, the cookies last and we party on!

Once in a Life Time

When my son was a little boy he would listen to story tapes to help him fall asleep.
He listened to one, frequently, about the 1883 eruption of the volcano Krakatoa. One of the effects of that eruption was that the ash entered the atmosphere, reflected sunlight, cooled the Earth's temperature, eventually came down as acid rain.
I am not suggesting that our fires remotely compare to Krakatoa, but some similarities abound. At sunrise and sunset the sun has been bright red. Although it's light out now, there is no sunshine. Indeed it is much cooler -OK, less hot- than it was projected to be today, were it not for the smoke cover.
Outdoor activities have been cancelled, and should be. No concert in the park. The swim complex is closed.
We are actually located in between three fires. One in Napa, One in El Dorado County, (between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe), The third near the town of Paradise, not too far from Chico. (Again, there was a large fire just last month.) We spoke with a fire crew from the LA area yesterday. They said that the smoke's like this for one hundred miles south.
If one were to combine all the land that has burned, we'd have two-thirds of the area of Switzerland! Thank goodness, that's a small country.
Unlike the years it took for the after-effects of Krakatoa to clear, when these fires are out, a good breeze should clear our air. We will be able to go back outside and enjoy our outdoor life.

The Little Guy

Sadly, Azi could not recover.
We miss him very much.