ANOTHER BIRTHDAY

 Another birthday and I ask myself one question, "at 76 how did I make this far?"   My dad made it to the age of 57 after having a heart attack in 1979.    Most his ancestors died of heart disease and strokes.    My mom made it to 70 after ending her battle with cancer in 1994.   All my siblings are still alive, but we all have our fair share of health issues.    There are two exception in the family.   My grand father on my mother's side of the family made it into his 90's.  He survived World War I and enjoyed a little gin before dinner.  A great uncle on my dad's side of the family lived into his 90's.    He always enjoyed a good cigar and a shot of whiskey after lunch.  Maybe they knew the secret to a long life.   Think I will celebrate the day with a good beer.  

HOPI PRAYER

 As I was going through some of Celia's belongings, I came across a card with this Indian prayer, Titled Hopi Prayer:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.  I am not there, I do not sleep, I am a thousand winds that blow.   I am the diamond glints on snow.  I am the sunlight on the ripened grain.   I am the gentle Autumn's rain. 

When you awaken in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.   I am the stars that shine at night.  Do not stand at my grave and cry:  I am not there, I did not die.

WATER

My water supply is dependent on rain water collected off the shop metal roof during the wet season, usually November through March.   A little over an inch of rain will fill the 500 gallon tank next to the shop and is pumped up to the house water tank, which holds 2500 gallons.   Sometimes there is more water than can be used and it overflows.   All water collected after March is stored for summer use, about 5000 gallons in three tanks, mostly for watering plants and fire protection.   During the dry season from May into October, water is delivered by truck that carries 2200 gallons that is owned by Jerry Harris under the name, "The Water Boy."  The water comes from the city of Oakland and cost $75/truck load based on the hauling distance.   Early in the dry season Jerry can deliver water within one or two days after calling him for a delivery.   Yesterday I called him for a delivery and got his voice mail.   About 9:30 pm last night, after he got home after delivering water all day, he returned my call telling me he could not bring a load until Friday afternoon and said it is crazy with wells and springs going dry.   He operates two trucks and at times one truck is busy delivering potable water to fire camps.   

There are 10 families living on this mountain and only two have dependable wells and the water quality is not good, high in sulfur.  One neighbor had a spring that went dry last month, first time since 1987.  Two other neighbors have seasonal wells that went dry early this year.    My last load of water was June 5th and there is about 400 gallons in the house tank as of yesterday, which will get me through until Friday.   Daily usage is about 45 gallons this time of year.  

If you need water, plan ahead, times are tough.    

CRICKETS

 Last night was the first sound of crickets for this year.   Looking back at my weather records the first sound of crickets for 2020 was July 26th and for 2019 it was July 25th.    Not sure what this means, change in weather, early signs of Fall or just wishful thinking?   Anyone else hear crickets?  

BRINGING IN THE WOOD

Putting firewood in the wood sheds is usually a job I do in late September and early October before the Fall rains arrive.   Much of this wood was cut and piled outside from all the down trees on our property from the big snow storm of 2019

Over the last few weeks I have started hauling the wood to the sheds, both here and by the cabin on the lower 10 acres in the early mornings before the heat of the day.   There are other priorities, such as cleaning house, paper work and painting that needs to be done, but this is more fun for me and besides I can do all the other stuff in the heat of the afternoons.  The problems with that thought is my eye lids get heavy about mid afternoon and a nap becomes the priority.      

Who knows, maybe the fall rains will come early this year.  We can only hope.  

HORNER"S

 On my return trip from Eugene yesterday, I stopped by Horner's Equipment store on old Highway 99 north of Cottage Gove.   It has probably been 16 to 17 years since I have been in this place.   This store has everything most men dream of--power equipment, chain saws, axes, wedges, forestry supplies, work clothing, boots, all kinds of parts and a repair shop.  When I walked in the store it was like going back in time with the same man and woman waiting on customers behind the counter.    The same old historical equipment hanging on the walls giving the place that rustic look.    Behind the counter there is complete chaos with parts on the floor, some on the counter and paper work scattered in between it all.    You're lucky to find a place to set down the merchandise you have purchased.    The woman was busy with a customer, so I went up to the counter where the man was on the phone.    He told the person on the phone he would have to get back to them as he hung up.    He asked me how my day was going, then proceeded to tell me how he could no longer find parts in a book and had to go on the computer to find what people wanted, I replied, "nothing is simple anymore" he agreed.   

It's good to see some places in this world never change.  

BLACKBERRY WINE

 As I walked around this morning, I noticed the blackberries are ripening.   This reminded me of a story that may have been told before, but it is good for me to tell it again.   

When Celia and I lived in Cottage Grove from 2000 to 2006, there was a blackberry patch on an undeveloped lot behind our house at the end of Ash Street.   Celia would freeze many of the berries, but somewhere she found a recipe for making blackberry wine that involved adding yeast, maybe something else, pouring the contents into old wine bottles that we had accumulated some how, and putting balloons over the openings and placing them in dark areas of the house until the balloons deflated.    I don't recall the number of bottles filled, but do remember some turned to vinegar.   A year or two past and one summer afternoon we were sitting on the back patio enjoying a nice day.    I got to thinking about some of those  bottles she had placed in a closets a year or two ago and mentioned it to Celia.   We went into the house and found a couple of them.   After opening one bottle and tasting it we were impressed with the taste and proceeded to drink it all.   After feeling no pain we retreated in to the house and I will leave the rest of the story to your imagination.  

Wonder where that recipe is?

LIFE WITH AN iPhone

 For the last 20+ years I have been using a Motorola cell phone that was given to me by Verizon when the world went digital and they informed me that my old analog phone would no longer work.  It is amazing this Motorola phone operated all those years on the original battery, which is a good thing because they probably stopped making batteries for this model decades ago.  

Over a month ago one of my sisters gave me an iPhone to bring me out of the dark ages and have better contact with the outside world now that I'm living in the woods by myself.   All five of my siblings have some kind of a smart phone and me being the oldest I'm probably overdue for an upgrade.   It took some friends and family members to show me some of the features and functions of this device.   Still have much to learn about it, hard to teach an old man new tricks, especially one from the Neanderthal age.  

Now it has become a bad habit since I can watch the latest news, weather and different programs on YouTube whenever taking a break from the daily business of life.    The phone seems to know what programs I like, such as the family farm channels, tractor shows, blue grass and folk music.       

Now I can feel like part of the crowd in a waiting room looking at my iPhone instead of being the only one looking at a magazine.   

2021 FIRE SEASON

Here it is the middle of July and the number of fires burning are equivalent to what we have seen in past years by the end August and September.  At this rate the big question is, will there be enough resources to handle all the fires that may be burning by late summer?    Initial attack crews are vital in early suppression of fires before they get out of hand and turn into mega fires.   The public, especially private land owners may be the initial attack crews as agency fire fighters might not be available.   Are you prepared with a fire extinguisher,  shovel in your vehicle, sprinklers on your roof, a 5 gallon pump can in a pickup truck and enough water in reserve for an emergency.   If you have to evacuate do have an exist route, a plan to inform friends and family of where you would go and a bag ready with prescription drugs, important papers, some personal belongings and some cash?   Don't forget a plan for your animals.    A last resort may be to invest in a fire shelter if you can not escape a fire.    These can protect from radiating heat and provide breathable air, since most people die in a fire from suffocation.    

Above all, be safe!

      

MY MORNING WALK

Before the heat of the day I try to get in a morning walk around our property or on the road that goes out to our 90 year neighbor's place at the end of the road.   Whenever my walk is on one of the many trails on our property, I take loppers along with me to cut any vegetation encroaching on the trails or to cut  invasive species.    This tool also serves as a weapon in case a wild turkey hen, cougar or maybe a bigfoot that might do me harm.   These walks start out with a vigorous pace, then slow down as I begin to notice a tree in need of having blackberries cut away from it or berry vines extending out into the trail.    Sometimes I find myself tip toeing through the poison oak off the trail trying to get to a tree in need of release from blackberries or a stray scotch broom that needs to be cut.     Within an hour I lose track of where I am at and make my way back to the trail and continue on my way.   Along the way a bird or deer will catch my eye or there is a sound in the brush that makes me nervous of the unknown.   

How easy it is to get distracted from our goals and lose our way, much similar to our journey through life I guess.    

GETTING ORGANIZED

Being organized was not one of our greatest talents.   Celia had her clutter and I had mine.   We had our own distinct areas where we were responsible for our own piles of clutter, be it mail, magazines, books, pictures, albums, whatever.  Even on the dining room table we kept our clutter separate, Celia had one end and I had the other.  Whenever it started falling on the floor we knew it was time to clean things up or move it to another room.  

The office was especially the center of chaos.   Celia did much research work dealing with scientific  subjects, environmental issues, art work, health, gardening and more.  She developed a filing system for much of it, but over the years more accumulated on the deck top, and any flat surface available.   I was responsible for many piles on the office floor, including my writings, map collection, forestry issues and my research into family genealogy.    At times we made a joint effort to get the office in order, but within an hour we suffered burnout and decided we had better things to do that were more enjoyable.

After Celia passed away my son and daughter, along with Celia's two daughters chipped in together and prepaid for 15 hours for a professional organizer, by the name of Rita Prothero to help me make order out of chaos.   We knew Rita from her role as the county road cleanup coordinator for the Friends of Kanipe Park and also had known her dad, Jim Long.   

My first appointment with Rita was Saturday, July 3rd for four hours.   Just knowing Rita was coming motivated me to prepare for her arrival by sorting the best I could in order to have a starting point.   Rita can work as fast as the client can make decisions and her filing system is simple--action file, archive file and the recycle bin.  It is amazing how much goes in that recycling bin, especially all that stuff that has been around for years and we thought we could not live without.  The great accomplish of the day was clearing off the dining room table right down to the table cloth.   Then, Rita asked the question, "when was that last washed?"   I had no idea, must have been years ago and off to the clothes washer it went.   After clearing off the table we moved to the office and it took an hour or more to get stuff off the floor and the deck organized.   Now it actually can be used for what it was intended for--a working deck.    There is more work to be done in the office, including the closets in that room.   Rita will return next Saturday, and I dare not create any piles of clutter between now and then.  

GRIEF

 An old friend of Celia's sent me a card of condolence and a small book titled Experiencing GRIEF, by H. Norman Wright.   The book describes the journey through grief and the tangled ball of emotions that we experience in the grieving process.   We all grieve differently, there is no set of rules or guide lines to follow.  

For me, I have experienced the loss of  pets, my parents, grandparents, other relatives and some close friends.   Time was the great healer in most of those circumstances.   Their memories will always be with me.  The loss of Celia is more difficult, maybe because of my age, life experiences, being more emotionally sensitive to the joys and sorrows of life, and above for the relationship we had together for nearly 24 years.   We both looked back on it as divine intervention in how we found each other.  

The most gut wrenching thing for me now is looking at pictures of the good days with Celia and I break down in tears, both out of sorrow for what I lost and for the joy we once had.   Those memories will always be with me.   Writing about this is part of grieving for me.  Maybe the reader will benefit from my grief.

The following is taken from the back cover of this book:  "At one time or another, we will all find ourselves facing a dark journey--the passage through grief.   The sign posts along the road--shock, rage, despair--may not offer comfort, but understanding them will help us to our ultimate destination--release and peace."