Dec. 29th, 2009

It is a cold and damp morning today.  It is 44 F at 8:30 am and it is supposed to just get colder and wetter as the day go on.  I don’t think I will take a walk this morning since it is drizzling right now.  I think it will be a good day to stay inside and laze around all day.

I went to the Doctor for my 6 month check up yesterday and everything is good.  Of course she still wants me to lose more weight (I’ve lost 14 lbs in the past year), stop drinking, eat more vegetables, eat more fruits and on and on with all the good healthy stuff that we all know we are supposed to do but a guy has got to have some fun, right?  Overall she was happy with the check up and so was I.

I have been spending a lot of time on the computer the past few days.  I bought some software that is supposed to allow me to copy VHS movies to DVDs and also copy LPs to CDs.  All well and good but it didn’t work and then when I tried to play a recorded CD, the CD drive on my computer was not recognized.  I researched the problem and it seems that the new software is causing the register to be corrupt.  I tried several things but finally I uninstalled the software and did a few more things and I got the drive to work.  I have an email in to the software company to see what they can do to help me.  At least now I am back to where I was before installing the software so no harm was done.

I got an email from Hans in Germany who saw the pictures of Gerlinde’s cactus and remembered that it was yesterday that Gerlinde passed away.  How eerie that I found the budding cactus again on the anniversary of her death.

Dec. 28th 2009

I didn’t do much yesterday except for watching football and trying to set up my computer to be able to copy VHS tapes and LPs to DVDs and CDs.  The old programs I had before don’t seem to work with Windows-7.  I guess that is one disadvantage to trying to stay current with the latest operating systems but then they tell you that your computer security is not up to date if you don’t stay current.  Maybe it is just a way to make you buy new software and updates.  I guess it worked on me.

Basketball and Football were good yesterday with both the Spurs and the Cowboys winning.  The Spurs are looking better and the Cowboys are in the playoffs with a chance to win their division next week.

This morning I went out for my walk and found these budding cactus again.  I haven’t seen them for a long time.  I call them Gerlinde’s cactus because the first time I saw them was the day that I got the news that Gerlinde had passed away.  Maybe it is fitting that they are rare and you don’t find them very often.  Gerlinde was rare and you certainly don’t find many like her very often.  RIP

Dec. 26th 2009

It was cold this morning, down to 32 F when I got up about 6:30 and it still 42 F at 9:30 am but I went on my walk anyhow.  I just put on a few layers of clothes and a warm jacket and off I went.  I walked down to Pebble Beach since I hadn’t been down there since getting back from Thailand.  I walked past Margaret and Jack’s house and picked up Mosquito and Blue.  They are always ready for a  walk with anyone.

Pebble Beach has really changed.  I guess the last big rain caused all of the stones or pebbles to wash down river or to the left as you walk down the path.

 

If you look closely, you can see the path that we take going down to Pebble Beach.  The area directly in front used to be all Pebbles and it would run to the left and the right of the path.

Now most of the pebbles are to the left and only a few are to the right.

Most of the pebbles are in a big pile to the left of the path

Of course Blue had to get in the water regardless of how cold it was, he doesn’t feel the cold.  He kept whining at me to throw a rock so he could go chase it but he was wet enough.  Besides he likes to come out of the water and stand next to you and shake.  I wasn’t falling for that trick.

Mosquito was there but not in the water.  He is too smart for that.

On the way back I saw this Christmas Cactus

I think it is too late for the Chili Petines this year.  I have seen a lot of plants with Chili Petines on them but they are all dried up.  I guess the first freeze got to them.

Christmas Day 2009

I got up this morning and went for my little walk.  I had gotten out of the habit of walking while in Thailand and I need to get back in the habit of walking as much as possible.  The morning was crisp and cold and it was a nice walk  but nothing really exciting happened other than just the usual Mother Nature type things which are nice.

Later in the morning, I walked down to Jake’s Bluff to say Merry Christmas to Jake.  Boy, I need to get down there and clean that area up.  There are dead branches all over and the vines are starting to come up too making it hard to walk without getting caught.

I walked on down to the river where the swing used to be and stood there a while reflecting on some old times.  I kept hearing noises like something walking in the brush.  I would look around and not see anything and then I would hear it again.  With my bad hearing in my right ear, it is hard to judge where sounds are coming from so I don’t know which way to look.  Finally I looked across the river and there were horses on the other bank.  I am not sure when they started running horses over there but they sure have some now.

Then I walked back up to Four Corners and started walking towards the Picnic area and Darren yelled at me so I waited for him.  He had been out hunting his pigs again this morning but he took a break and walked with me to Scenic Overlook and then we went back through the Picnic area and then came on home.  It was a nice walk.

I am getting ready to go down to Margaret and Jack’s and have dinner with the family.  It has been a good day.

Darren’s Pig Hunt

There have been a lot of wild pigs seen on the property lately.  A friend of Jackie got three in a trap and a friend of Jack’s shot one.  Darren has been trying to shot one with a bow and arrow.  Jack is feeding them on the road up from Four Corners towards the gate.

Darren has set up his blind and has been spending a lot of time in it reflecting on life and other things.  He has seen “Bobby” the Linx cat we have running around here and a few other wild animals.  Last night he managed to shoot a pig but it ran off.  He trailed it for a little ways but lost track of it.

He has also got a chair that he can lift up into one of the trees out there and sit up high and watch for pigs and reflect on life.  The funny part about all this is that Jack almost has them trained to come to him when he feeds them but of course, Jack is not carrying a bow and arrow or a gun so they must know they are safe.