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Thursday, March 29, 2012

WooHoo!!!





Guess who I get to see this weekend!!!




Two of my beautiful grand daughters!!!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Our Little Corner of the World...




"What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
Henry David Thoreau


This is the community of Crowley Lake...some pretty nice houses for some pretty great 
prices right now...(sadly, because of the realty downturn)...
but what do you think...
is this a tolerable location???




I've begun to post again on 
Continuing in the Eastern Mediterranean with Pompeii...

Monday, March 26, 2012

I Guess it's True...


...spring is somewhere around the corner!!!



For those of you who had a hard time seeing the leaf buds in my
Saturday post...here they are...
up close and personal!!!


Sunday, March 25, 2012

The Black Swan...




The swan, like the soul of the poet,
By the dull world is ill understood."

Are you familiar with the "black swan theory"...
no...it doesn't have anything to do with the color of this swan...
It has to do with surprise events...

A black swan event is...
an event that is a surprise,
the event has a major impact,
and after it is first noticed, hindsight is used to
rationalize and assume that it could have been expected...

My black swan event while in Kauaii...

We saw this beautiful black beauty in
Poipou...south of the airport,  in a pond outside of the Hyatt Regency.
It was almost completely dark out, but the water was reflecting
the light of the street lamps and I decided to take a chance...
Who knew there were black swans...
but if I'd thought about it...I would have known!!!


For more participants in James' Weekend Reflections...click here!!!


The black swan theory was found in Wikepedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Earth...Teach Me...





"Earth, teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth, teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth, teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone.
Earth, teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring."
William Alexander

If you look closely, the beginnings of leaf buds are actually showing
up on the trees!!!  Snow or no snow, black and white aside,
spring is beginning to show itself,
 even at 8000 feet in the Sierras!!!


For more participants in the Weekend in Black and White...click here...

Thursday, March 22, 2012

OK...so...Why???





This afternoon I was in Bishop with a bit of time to kill and
a dog who needed a walk...
I drove out Line St. towards the White Mountains to see
if there was somewhere I wanted to walk with Kelly...
As I was driving along the foothills of the range, 
I noticed that about every 50 yards there was 
this structure...fence...??? 
A wood frame with cris crossed barbed wire...
no fence...
no wall...
just these every so often, apparently equidistant!

Perhaps my ranching blog friend Linda, might have a clue...
I sure don't!!!

Do check out Linda's blog...she and "bossman" are ranchers
in Alberta Canada...
her blog is fascinating, fun, and has great photography...
I'm a big fan!!!



Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Just a Short Jaunt from Sacramento...



...is the only rural Chinese town left in the United States...
It was founded in 1915 and was occupied almost entirely by 
Chinese until relatively recently...
In 1990 it made it onto the National Historic Registry.
It was a thriving rural town in the 20's-40's with over 600 
Chinese residents and about 1000 seasonal farm workers.

"J"
ABC Wednesday...


Our Journey began at Al the Wops for lunch...
Al's has been a thriving stopping point for food and cocktails 
since 1934.  Now, when we were there, there were just a few Jovial
customers probably due to the rain and it being the middle of the week and all.


My Jewel of a tour guide (my cousin) told me that Al's place is a favorite for...
you guessed it...Biker's!!!  It's also been known to be a hang out for various 
folk of the political persuasion on a Jaunty Journey out of town (the capitol)!


Now...according to the brochure, in it's heyday, Locke 
had as many as 4 grocery stores and numerous dry goods stores...
I peeked in the window, and didn't see what looked to be a 
grocery store currently...(which is probably a good thing)


Also in reading about Locke, I found that many of the buildings are in Jeopardy,
as in quite dilapidated and in drastic need of repair.  If you are interested, 
there is a foundation dedicated to the restoration work...


My cousin and I agreed that it might not be a good idea to go out on this
deck when the weather is better...as we might be in Jeopardy of Joining 
those on the first floor rather quickly...


I also peeked into the windows in this building and did see evidence that
it was indeed set up like a Chinese herbalists office, but didn't look like it was 
necessarily in use at the moment.

It was raining fairly steadily when we visited Locke so it looked all the more dreary.  
It's very sad to me that this little town has gone to such disrepair as it does have
a very interesting history.  

For more information...click here...


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Winter before it struck!!!



Half Dome, Yosemite, California, January 2012

"Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden
wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space."
Ansel Adams




For more participants in Our World Tuesday...click here!

Monday, March 19, 2012

A Touch of Spring...





"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."
Proverb

Spring was definitely blooming in Sacramento...despite the rain!


While in Mammoth...
the winter storm we've been waiting for all winter finally arrived...






For those who have followed my travels on 
I've finally started posting again!!!
Join me on the Celebrity Equinox on the way 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

I Can Leave...Right???




"I'm stuck in Folsom Prison, 
And time keeps draggin' on,
But that train keeps a-rollin,'
On down to San Antone."
Johnny Cash



My cousin works in an art gallery in Folsom...so while TheChief
was in conference, I took off with the 'cuz and his darling wife to 
visit the gallery...and...well...we were there...and it was a dreary day and all...
so we headed on out to Folsom Prison...



Fortunately we were wearing appropriate attire...


And we're neither Crips nor Bloods, and weren't there to visit anybody who was...


We did visit the little museum on the outskirts of the area we non-visitors could visit...
It is actually a museum honoring the prison guards...with lot's of interesting 
pieces of old equipment and stories of visitors both famous and infamous...


Across the street was the post office...
there were actually a smattering of post boxes on the wall...
not sure whose they were...

It was beginning to rain a bit harder at this point and we 
decided it was time to leave...
and we thanked our lucky stars we were able to leave!!!


Friday, March 16, 2012

Spring is Blooming in Sacramento....




"I said to the almond tree, "Friend, speak to me of God,"
and the almond tree blossomed."
Nikos Kazantazakis


One of the perks of our trip to Sacramento were all the flowers...
I've forgotten how beautiful spring is when it's just breaking out into bloom!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Heading Home...






The last time TheChief and I were here in Sacramento, we had the opportunity for
an awesome private tour of the capitol with my cousin...who worked in the assembly for
many, many years!!! 
I had the opportunity then to go up to the very top in the cuppola...
but never made it past this level...my vertigo kicked in and I just couldn't go up any further...
 But TheChief and my cousin-in-law climbed to the top and enjoyed a phenomenal view!!!

We're heading back to Mammoth today...hopefully with a bit of a break in the weather...
Hope you enjoyed coming along with us to Kauaii and here in Sacramento!!!




Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Incredible...

"I"
ABC Wednesday



An intricate and iconic building.  It would be illogical to go to Sacramento and not
visit this irresistable building...even in inclement weather!





Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My World Started in California...






right back where I started from..."


Did you know that California Here I Come is the unofficial state song of California?
It was written in 1921 for the Broadway musical Bombo with Al Jolson, by Buddy DeSylva
and Joseph Meyer.

No matter where I've lived, I've always been a Californian...

We're spending a few days in Sacramento, the state captitol of California...





Monday, March 12, 2012

Crimson Splendor...





"It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor.
Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity."
Horace

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Shine Your Light...






"We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does.
Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining-they just shine."
Dwight L. Moody





Friday, March 9, 2012

Golden Light, Golden Life...






"Life is the fire that burns and the sun that gives light.
Life is the wind and the rain and the thunder in the sky.
Life is matter and is earth, 
what is and what is not,
and what is beyond is in eternity."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

One thing about a lot of rain...there are also plenty of clouds!




Thursday, March 8, 2012

Rainy Days...



The view from our room!!!  


We were in Kauaii from Saturday the 25th to Saturday the 3rd...
As soon as the plane door opened, it began to rain...
and it rained...
and it rained...
and it rained...
thunder and lightning all night long...
to the tune of at least 7 inches in a 24 hour period.

I just found out that the sister of a friend of ours lives on Kauaii...
she posted pictures today of the rain storms since we've been back here...
over 21 inches of rain since we left the island...

There's a reason the wettest spot in the world is in the middle of this island...

Fortunately for us, the majority of the week we were there was good...
cloudy, and some rain each day...but not like that first day...
and certainly not like it's been these past few days.





Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Happy in Hawaii!!!

The real "H" in
ABC Wednesday



A happy couple enjoying Hawaii...
We first encountered this young couple at the main vista point for
Waiamea Canyon.
She was quite bubbly and talkative....
When we first saw them, they were engaged in conversation with a couple from Russia...
a couple of days later we ran into them on our way to the boat for 
our boat trip up the NaPaali coast.   


Monday, March 5, 2012

Aloha!!!





"Flowers don't worry how they're going to bloom.
They just open up and turn toward the light
and that makes them beautiful."
Jim Carrey


Last year, shortly after the record breaking December snowfall, TheChief and I
attended the annual fundraiser dinner for the noon Rotary Club of Mammoth...
With pen to paper, TheChief placed a bid on a week at the condominium of
friend's Trish and Jerry...on the island of Kauaii...
Our bid won...so our money went to a good cause, and this last week we spent a delightful
week away from the cold and snow of Mammoth...
and on the beautiful shore of Kapaa on the Island of Kauaii!!!
Thank you Trish and Jerry...we had a delightful time!!!


For more participants in Macro Monday...click here...


Sunday, March 4, 2012

Quiet Contemplation...





Flamingo, Los Angeles Zoo, California


"The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness
and the power of contemplation
rather than upon mere survival."
Aristotle


I'm taking a break from my regular Mammoth posts...
I hope you enjoy these shots I chose from my archives!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Stairway to the Past...




Hsi Lai Temple, Hacienda Heights, California

"Life is a series of steps.  Things are done gradually.
Once in a while there is a giant step, 
but most of the time we are taking small, 
seemingly insignificant steps on the stairway of life."
Ralph Ransom



I'm taking a break from my regular Mammoth posts...
I hope you enjoy these shots I chose from my archives!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Thursday, March 1, 2012

In the Present Moment...




Hsi Lai Temple, Hacienda Heights, California

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment."
Buddha


I'm taking a break from my regular Mammoth posts...
I hope you enjoy these shots I chose from my archives!