Tsunami Tide Takes A Toll On Santa Cruz, California

Every now and then I’ll get an email from my cousin, Larry, who I used to be so close to while growing up, but other than an occassional email I don’t hear much from him or any other member of that part of the family.  Their house was just a few blocks up from us, we were close in age and had a lot in common with each other back then so we became pretty darned close there for most of our childhood. As with so many families, they up and moved all the way across the country to beautiful Santa Cruz, California, which has got to be the most beautiful place that I’ve ever set eyes on, and I rarely get to see him or anyone else in his family for that matter. The last time I saw them was a few Christmasses ago, when they decided to fly in from Santa Cruz, spend a week doing the traditional family festivities and events and then they all flew back home in time to bring in the new year, so they were here for a good long week or so.

Anyway come to find out that Crescent City, Santa Cruz has been hit hard by by the tsunami from Japan and now we are all concerned for all of their safety during all of this. My cousin always joked about the possibility of something like this, of course in the back of every one’s mind was playing exactly what we are experiencing right now. According to the online edition of the LA Times one person is feared dead, while four people were swept into the sea. The harbor is destroyed and Highway #101 is now closed down. We have been trying to contact any of my cousin’s family, but of course we haven’t been able to get through, so it is a waiting game at this point, and we are in it for the long haul for family.

A Touching Nativity Scene To Ponder

A Nativity Scene was erected in a church yard last weekend, sometime during the night some folks came across this scene.

An abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose baby Jesus as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so he was there all night.

Don’t you agree that we should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus’ lap from time to time.

This is too sweet not to share and no one mentioned that the dog breed is a “shepherd!”

A thank you to my sister for sending this to me last night!

I Didn’t Know That . . .

Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country..
Ninety percent of the world’s ice covers Antarctica .
This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world.
As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert;
The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches.
Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice.),
Antarctica is the driest place on the planet,
With an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.

Thank God for The Comedy Channel & Sinbad

Most people got to enjoy a three day weekend, with pay over the 4th of July. This isn’t the case for anyone who runs a farm, as I do. The work still needs to be done no matter what day or holiday it is. I did manage to cut the hours back just a bit and got to get in out of the heat that has been just crazy for the past couple of weeks. Our spring was cut short big time this year and we headed straight into the 90’s and the 100’s just like that.

I was glad that the Comedy Channel had nothing but comedians on all weekend long. I do believe that laughter is the best medicine and watching these stand up comedians gave me some decent laughter, which was really appreciated and needed over the weekend. Sinbad was the best of them all and I hope to see more of him. He hasn’t been around much lately and hopefully with make a serious come back once and for all.

Cool Waters

It has been so hot these past couple of days, it’s been a real killer considering it is still only May. We have been told that since it was such a bad winter that a bad summer will follow. I think someone actually knew what they were talking about.

The farm animals have been miserable as well. I’ve been trying extra hard to keep plenty of cool water available to them as much as possible. And I’ve been washing the vehicles more than usual just to have the opportunity to get some relief with the cool waters that come out of the hose for myself in the mean time.

Summer Time Blues

The days are all ready getting shorter, summer is on it’s way out. Way too much to do with so little time. I miss my life!

  

Moving Along…

Man have things been hopping around the farm, as I knew it would. The weather has been perfect for the spring time planting season and I’ve gotten a lot done before the rains came this morning. The rain’s timing couldn’t have been any better. I’ve been doing most of the work myself and I haven’t been getting much sleep and lord knows I haven’t been eating well either, but things have been moving right along.

My stomach has been giving me some issues for a few months now, and now that I’m so busy, run down and not eating the right foods, so I’m looking into a natural colon cleanse product. I understand that it can do wonders for so many health issues, so I’m taking the time tonight to check out some information on the Internet about this process and the products that are out there that will do the job safely and efficiently.

Harvest

I have to admit that I’m not the most creative pumpkin carver on Earth. I have carved pumpkins for many years, but they tend to be average pumpkin faces. You know, the triangle eyes and the toothless evil grin. So I appreciate the talent when someone makes a more clever face, like these. Just need a little imagination and good effort.

This years harvest will be an interesting one, only time will tell how well the place fairs this year, being the first year I’ve had the responsibility of the whole kit and caboodle. But I’m looking forward to it and praying for good weather!

 

doublepumpkins

Fleas are Ready

With so many animals around the house and farm, flea control is a big issue. With the warm weather coming up ahead the fleas are ready to invade at any moment and I want to be ready and on top of the issue. The Internet has come into play, once again, with good dog flea treatment information that has given me good ideas concerning these cruel pests that drive the farm dogs and cats absolutely crazy each season.

Power Issues

The past few days the winds have been tremendous and have been playing havoc on many people and businesses alike. Last night we lost power for several hours, which was a real drag considering that I rely so heavily on electricity for so many things around the house and the farm. After waiting for over 20 minutes to see if the power would come back on, which it didn’t, I used my Bic lighter and I found the flashlight that is kept by the kitchen door and managed to find my way to one of  the many out buildings, only to find the generator that my dad had on hand for such occasions as this. Much to my dismay I could not get the darn thing started and got very frustrated with the whole thing and stomped back into the house to start a fire in the fireplace, to help with heat and to provide some much needed light as well.

Power Generators are a good thing to have for emergencies such as this and I am now looking online at the Diesel Generators that are recommended for their longevity and lower operating costs. I am finding that I have much to learn about the different types of these useful power generating pieces of electrical equipment, I had no idea that there were so many to choose from, such as the gaseous generators, portable & mobile generators, Electric Generators, agricultural generators, switchable voltage generators, switchable voltage generators, and the list goes on from there. I’m just grateful that I know that the diesel types are the best and I’m sticking to that story.