New Kabota LX2610

 We went and ordered a new Kabota tractor and attachments back in the summer and it got delivered on September 2, 2021. Well, at least the tractor, rear snow plow and the land plane did. We are expecting the rear mower (brush hog) next week and who knows on the rear quick disconnect according to the dealer. I really wanted the mower right away so I could mow the 12 acres of last years failed hay crop down so it won't get mixed in with next years crop and to keep the fire danger down. This new tractor has a cab with heat and air conditioning. I have used the AC already while doing some dirt moving and grading and it works great. The heater will be nice while clearing snow this winter. I find that the time on the tractor is a really special time that seems to fly by and brings me so much joy. I installed a stereo and rear LED work lights so night work will be no problem.

Oh my, I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated this site. Actually for some reason I was locked out of it. Since the last post, we have moved back to Washington, both of us are fully retired and we purchased a motorhome so we can do some traveling. The first two pictures are at the dealership when we purchased it, the next picture is our first camping trip and the last one is the motorhome in our barn. More posts to follow.

Welcome to Coarsegold

 Here is a picture of our new (new to us) home shortly after we bought it in September. The boom truck in the backyard is thinning an oak tree, they had just removed a huge oak tree that was covering most of the house. The base of that tree was about five feet from the house and we were worried about the tree breaking and falling on the roof. Also the insurance company wanted it gone before writing a policy on the house. We had the ceilings scraped (popcorn) and retextured and new carpet installed. It is so nice to be back in a one story home!

 December 7, 2013. We thought we were leaving the snow behind when we left Spokane WA, I guess it followed us. We awoke to between 4 and 6 inches of snow this morning. We don't need to go anywhere today so no big deal. It is so beautiful and it does not last very long up here. We did have at least one casualty from the snow. A rather large branch on an oak tree out in the front yard broke from the weight of the snow and is hanging down on the ground. I guess I know what I will be doing next week. Boy am I glad we had that large tree that was covering the house removed!

This is Graces' little Scotty trailer sitting between the house and my shop. Grace loves having it there so she can go out and "play" whenever she feels the urge to do so. Yesterday was a "burn day" so I spent the day at our burn pile (out behind the shop) getting rid of all the dead branches the sellers left us and the dead ones I thinned from some of the trees. Just in a nick of time! We are so glad to be back home in California! We have come to appreciate seasons and will appreciate the shorter winters here in Coarsegold.

Our Next Trailer?

 We had driven by this old Silver Streak many times over the last 5 years and commented "How Cool" it was.

 We Love the look of these older aluminum "Aircraft" looking trailers. This one never moved and the weeds were starting to overtake this little gem. I finally decided to leave a note under the door of the building where this was parked asking the owner if he would like to sell it. We got a call a couple of days later from the owner saying he did want to sell it. He told us to go by and look at the inside of the trailer to see if it was what we were looking for and then get back to him.

 We inspected it inside and out. It is a great floor plan. It doesn't appear to need any structural work, just a lot of cleaning, new flooring, mattresses and cushions. A little wood work and possibly replacing some of the sub floor. Probably some re-wiring and plumbing too.

She has some typical "bumps and bruises" for a trailer this old we like to refer to as character.
We have agreed on a price and the seller is delivering her this week.

Can't wait to get started..........Can't wait to take her camping!!!!!!

Good Bye "Old Friend"

 We finally made the decission to let our old 1954 go to a new home. It was just not right seeing her sit there in the "mancave" looking so good and ready to drive but not being used. I had lost the passion of taking her out except for the occasional drive up and down the street to keep her going.

 Grace put an ad on Craigs List back in June and then I hurt my hand and we forgot all about selling her. We got a surprise call 2 weeks ago from a gentleman who saw the ad and wanted to see the car. I told him I needed to get her out gas her up and clean the dust off her first. She fired right up and cleaned up like new.

I took him for a test drive and he loved our '54.  The best thing is, he is the president of a vintage car club in Spokane. It was just what we wanted for the '54, someone that would appreciate the beauty of the original car, not someone that wanted to "HotRod" her out. We felt great about our decission to sell her to this person. We hope they have many enjoyable outings in the future.

Hmmm, what do I want for my birthday???????

 When I asked myself that question I am sure the last thing on the list was to have a large boulder roll over and trap my finger between it and my tractor bucket......

 Well as the Dr. was looking at my finger, she mumbled "this does not look too good, I am not sure we can save it".  As she and Grace were looking at it the nurse decided to go ahead and sew it up to try and save the flesh. Grace and the Dr. were having a real gabfest. I overheard Grace ask if she was using a "French knot" while she was stitching me up. I should have made her wait in the waiting room.

I got the original bandage/wrap removed today, it looks about as bad as it feels. No one said anything about the Y shaped cut on the top of the knuckle, but it sure explains the pain coming from that area.
I keep saying I am so lucky! This could have been much worse! There are no broken bones and my pinkie is the only finger affected. Thank you Lord!

Time to Build a Fence.......

 The hardest part about building a fence is getting good help. You need someone to work with that cares about the project as much as you do.............Problem solved!

 Grace worked so hard, I was truley Amazed! From cleaning holes to delivering the posts where they needed to go to mixing all of the concrete for the job (over 3 tons worth).

 This really is a joint effort. We are working so hard on this, we literally drag ourselves in the house at the end of the each day and treat ourselves to a "Motrin Coctail".

 The holes are 3 feet deep, the posts are treated 4"X6" and the rails are 2"X6" Douglas Fir.

 It is coming along nicely, but there is still a lot of fence to install. Not to mention 2 double gates and 2 walk gates. It is a good thing I learned so much about building fences from my Dad! (And I have the Best help I could ask for!)

N.P.H.S. Class of 1971 Reunion

 I had the opportunity to go back to the "Conejo Valley" for my 40 year reunion earlier this month. So much has changed! This is our school mascot, the Panther. Such a beautiful setting in front of the main office.

 The gym now has an awesome painting of the Panther appearing to be breaking out. Such detail, someone did a great job.

 Our reunion was held at the Stagecoach Inn. This is such a beautiful setting with a re-creation of the old Timber school building and the Inn filled with antiques from earlier times. There were over 125 people attending and a good time was had by all.

 There was a surprise visit from the current cheerleaders at Newbury Park High School. These girls did such a great job, it brought back a flood of memories of rallies and football games.

 The next day we all met at the school for a tour of the campus. There are a lot of changes but I still remember walking these halls as a young boy. All of the classes and teachers we had.........seems like yesterday.

 No visit to the "Conejo Valley" would be complete without getting together with my good buddy Vic fof a round of golf. The weather could not have been better and the course was in really good shape.

To make this an even better trip, my ex business partner Josie and her husband Ron were able to join us. Talk about a great day! I was smiling for a week.
On the last day in town, I stopped by the office (Century 21 America) and met up with some of the people that have meant so much to me over the last 17 years. I just wish I could have visited with them longer!

My new Buddy

I started using my Quail call last summer when all the quail in the surrounding fields were calling each other. I managed to call them in, one of them even landed on our deck looking for me. This year, I have not had to call them. They show up in the morning and evenings. This guy walks around on the deck and sits on the garden fence during the day. I am not sure if he is the same one that sits in the top of our pine tree every morning though. He starts calling early and leaves when it starts getting dark. The wildlife here is awesome!

A relaxing Sunday morning drive

 We have been watching this old house slowly deteriorate and return to nature for the last 4 years. It is sitting out in a field all by itself. I can only imagine the former families that have called this "Home" in the past.

 I am not sure what this and the other buildings on the property were used for. Grace thinks this might have been an old dairy or cattle property. It backs up to a lake that is frozen over this time of year. Beautiful old building.

  

                A hospital near a womans prison and youth authority facility. Beautiful old brick architecture.

                                                    An old dairy farm, still being used.

                                        This is the Grange. A meeting hall for community events.

 Some really large silos out in the country. In the summer there are miles and miles of wheat, alfalfa, hay and other types of grasses out here.

This beautiful hawk let us drive right up to him and take a couple of pictures before flying off looking for his next meal.
What a great day. We do live in a very picturesque area.

The Last Day Of 2010

 As you can see, we have a winter wonderland. The temperature here this morning was -2 degrees........

 Grace's lavender field is sleeping under all that snow. Come Spring, it will explode in beautiful shades of purple...........

 The sitting / reading / thinking bench looks very lonely.......

 Grace's garden art / lawn tractor doesn't look too inviting, the flower basket on the hood looks like a big snowball. All of the fruit and the shade trees on the property are baren and sleeping as well.........

As cold and bleak as this appears, there is a quiet beauty to everything this time of year (as long as you are not out in it shoveling snow).

This has been a Wonderful year! We officially became grandparents to a beautiful little girl and hopefully by the end of 2011 we will be grandparents to another little beauty. Our daughter and son in law are awesome! Adopting 2 sweet little girls.

God has truley blessed our family. He has provided all that we need and so much more.

We look foreward to many new adventures in 2011.......

Miss Beasley

Our little Miss Beasley has decided that she needs to be as close to us as possible. She has always been the "most sociable" of the group that allow us to care for them but during this last year with her failing health she wants to be at our sides or in our laps constantly (which by the way, is OK with us).




Miss Beasley came to us as a stray some 15 years ago. She just showed up on our doorstep one day and refused to leave. We (I) tried desperately to find her owner to no avail and since our home was on a busy street we decided to make her an indoor kitty, and that was fine with her. She befriended our other kitty, "Puddams" immediatly and they became best friends. A couple of years later we "lost" Puddams to a stroke. Miss Beasley was alone for a couple of months before we decided we needed another Himmie. As some of you may know buying that one baby Himmie (Peekie) turned into rescueing two other adult Himmies (Cissy and La La) from the same breeder. Miss Beasley decided early on she was Queen of the house and did not like the new trio especially the baby Peekie. Peekie adoided Miss Beasley as much as possible but Miss Beasley seemed to enjoy going out of her way to torment her. After a couple of years "Cissy" decided enough was enough and put Miss Beasley in her place. That ended the picking on Peekie (who was much bigger than Miss Beasley). We said Good-by to Cissy last year after a long illness and La La has really come out of her "shy" shell. Peekie, La La and Beasley are good friends.



We will continue to love our "Girls", they bring us so much joy!

"WOLFFY'S"

When we moved up here in 2007, a friend told me I had to find this place because according to him they made the best hamburgers in the world. While I do enjoy a good hamburger once in a while, I did not feel the need to go out of my way to find this place. Just by chance, while out on deliveries I drove past Wolffy's and told myself I would have to stop in someday to try a burger. After all, this place is a throw back to the diners of the 50's and Grace and I love old things. We went there for lunch yesterday and I have to admit the food was really really good and there was so much of it! Also because it is a family owned and run place the service and atmosphere was a real pleasure. We will be returning many times I am sure. Thanks for the tip Jim!

New Yard Maintenance Helper

Mmmmmm this is pretty yummy!

Not bad over here either.

Oh, Hi There........

As I turned into our driveway this afternoon and looked up at the house I saw this beautiful young deer "grazing" in our front lawn. I sat and watched for a while from a distance then decided to see how close I could get. I was able to drive the truck up to about 50 feet away from him before he started to walk away. My wife was inside the house watching and taking pictures. This deer is the first one we have seen on the property in the daytime. We have seen a few at night and have seen many tracks in the mornings and have seen the damage they have done at night also. As they prepare for winter I guess they are "bulking up" eating everything they can find including our fruit trees. So far they have broken two trees and the wooden stakes they were tied to. I guess I will have to put wire cages around the rest of the trees to protect them. The deer are beautiful and we truly feel blessed to have them "visit" us.