5 June …

 

Well … last week started out (after the blog) with preparation for the presentation to the Watermaster District Board.  For some deep psychological reason, I never get stage fright when I’m playing a part in a play, but to speak before a group, as myself, about something I am involved in … sweat, dry mouth, shakes …

I got through the presentation without vomiting or fainting, but now I find there is a lot to learn about the Watermaster situation in California.  I have much research in front of me such as in an Assembly bill creating individual Watermaster districts two members of the Board are designated as “not voters”.  Turns out that doesn’t mean they are not allowed to vote on issues before the Board but that they are not holders of water rights.

And, contrary to common belief, the Watermaster isn’t actually the
Watermaster.  The real Watermaster is the Board and the one who is in the field throwing around her position is the Deputy Watermaster.

And I’m on only the third page !!!

So the current plan is to give the Watermaster (i.e. the Board) three or four weeks to respond, then write to them again, and plan to be at their next meeting.

Maybe next time I can “act” Atticus Finch and skip all the sweat and shakes and dry mouth.

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Weather has been … you name it.  Afternoons have become warm and muggy.  I didn’t see a lupine bloom this Spring.  In the past, roadsides have been massed blue, but not this year. 

The wild roses and the California poppies are coming into bloom however, as are the Iris …

 

 

 

and the locust trees put on quite a show.

There is pine “semen” all over everything, including my bathroom window,  and folks’ allergies are in full attack.

Fire season was declared last Saturday. We have been having thunder and lightening but without appreciable rain and no fires so far.

There is beauty as well.  I can see the birch trees out my window and when there is a breeze they “quake” with colour and light.

And the BIG change … the sun is rising NORTH of the Mountain.This was the view from the downtown cam this dawn.

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One morning last week, about 0300, the dog woke everyone with frantic barking.  Mark went out to check and heard activity near the chicken house, but didn’t see anything.  There has been a rather large bear in the area, so it might have been a reconnaissance run.

Whatever it was, we still have all the chickens and it hasn’t been back.

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On a trip north last week I saw a round-up.  There must have been two hundred or so head of cattle with three cowboys … two on horseback and one in an ATV.

I also noted that the first alfalfa cutting has been done. I enjoy driving through the valley when they are mowing.  The smell of fresh cut alfalfa is therapeutic.

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My “household” project is a new kitchen set … tablecloth, napkins, place mats, pot holders, and coasters.  The theme is sunflowers in honor of the Summer Solstice.  The tablecloth is done, the napkins are ready to be hemmed, and I have started on the pot holders and coasters (crocheted).  The only problem is the quilted backing for the place mats.  Couldn’t get the material I need locally so guess I’ll have to make a trip to JoAnn’s in Medford.

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I am currently reading Gore Vidal’s “Lincoln”.  It is a massive book … a fictionalized history.  Vidal was an author who is easy to read, did a lot of research, and was a deep thinker so I trust his insights and enjoy reading him … although nearly 700 pages is a challenge.

This “biography” starts the day before the first inauguration and depends a lot on contemporary notes, letters, records, etc.  It paints a slightly different picture of Lincoln than we were taught in school. He probably was a lot more complicated than commonly believed.  But still very important.  The nicknames his staff and contemporaries had for Lincoln say a lot about those around him … the Ancient, the Tycoon, the Tyrant.

A note on the cover said that Vidal makes the point that had there not been a Lincoln, there would not be a United States. 

Am also into “The Fifth Season” by N. K. Jemison.  It’s a bit of a slog so far.  Too many new words.  I have to keep referring to the Glossary.  There is someone on the library’s waiting list, so I may just return it and give it another try later when no one’s waiting.

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Paul and I have begun planning for next spring.  We will be creating a bluebell carpet under the trees at a spot along the upper driveway.  We are ordering 100 bulbs and will plant them next fall.

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George’s birthday anniversary came and went.  He would have been 91.

I recently read a post by Keanu Reeves about grief.  The gist was …

“Grief changes shape, but it never ends. People have a misconception that you can deal with it and say, ‘It’s gone, and I’m better.’ They’re wrong. When the people you love are gone, you’re alone.”

And that reminded me of a song from the past … “Alone again, naturally.”

I am scheduled to have lunch with friends from my grief group today after attending Paul’s 1^st grade class production of Goldilocks.

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I am working on rebuilding my data base about the neighbors here on this part of Hammond Ranch.  I used to keep up-to-date records, then things changed and I left the HLA Board.  In order to rebuild, I needed to go to the Assessors Office at the Courthouse. While getting the records I need, I heard myself say “George was my husband and he’s been dead for a year and a half,” … and I wasn’t crying.

It’s true … grief changes.

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This from a book I was reading.  Good phrase … incisive …

{She} didn’t know what response was wanted, needed, expected.  Increasingly, their interactions felt like an aptitude test for which she’d not sufficiently prepared.     – Rivers Solomon

I was not able to finish the book.  Nevertheless, it is a good descriptive phrase.

So … ‘til next week …