Yesterday on I-5 02-20-10

Yes, another boring day of "road trip" photos and not very good ones at that. But, you have to admit the clouds are nice!

The second predominate crop are grapes. All the vineyards are brown right now - marching off to the horizon. These are mostly table grapes, or so I am told.

This is raw land covered with sagebrush and other wild plants. There is less and less each year and I wonder where the water will come from to irrigate all these crops.

Other soft fruit trees are starting to bloom, just not as many of these orchards as there are almonds. These could be plums, nectarines, prunes - whatever.

These trees are probably peaches. They are cut flat on top and pruned so the branches spread out like an upside down tripod. I'll have a good chance to see the development of blossoms since I go home for seven days and then drive up again. Gosh, I may even stop the car to take a few pictures!

North again on I-5 02-19-10

This is a quick trip up to visit Mary and attend the opening of the Joan Schulze forty year retrospective at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles on Sunday. Light traffic today, even though it is Friday, and no rain so far.

It was quite a glorious drive because the almonds are blooming and the number of almond orchards along the highway is amazing. To the left of center in this picture are a few bee hives, but there were literally fields of bee hives a little further up the road. I couldn't get a picture - maybe on the way home.

I enjoyed seeing all the different size, shapes and colors of clouds - this picture is taken due north so the sun is shining on the left sides of the clouds. I was just passing Lost Hills, mostly just services for the vehicles traveling I-5, where CA Hwy 46 crosses - 46 is sometimes referred to as the James Dean Hwy because it was along that road that he had his fatal auto accident in the mid-1950s

Don't know how well this will enlarge as I cropped it from a much wider view.

Doesn't look like much - green stuff and sky. But see that faintly pink layer just below the horizon? Almond orchards in bloom. Everywhere I looked, more almond trees. Not much in the way of wildflowers yet - a few patches of wild radish and what I think were Goldfields. Maybe next week when I drive up again there will be color on the hillsides and along the highway verge. I know most people think I am a little wacko because I love the drive from Grapevine to Santa Nella on I-5 - there is always something interesting to see.

At Corky's house 02-18-10

I am not at Corky's this evening, I took these pictures a few days ago when I spent an evening with him while his parents went to the musical theatre. Unless I am spending the night I usually set up my computer in the breakfast room and set Corky's bed nearby. Sometimes he stays in the other room, laying against the door into the garage - as if someone would come home and he wouldn't know it. It must be hard for him since he can no longer hear.

I can access their high-speed from anywhere in the house, but if I am upstairs I must carry Corky down and back up when he needs to go out, or it is time for his medications. Now that I have fallen once I have a terrible fear of falling again and hurting him or hurting myself worse than the first time.

He seems happy just to be close by and he has his 'lamb' for company in his bed. It is the weirdest looking lamb I have ever seen, however it is HIS lamb and he doesn't care if it is weird or not. Actually, he never plays with his toys, there is a huge basketful in the corner of the family room, but will run to get one if someone is leaving the house and he doesn't want them to go. He runs back with something and presents it to the person departing. Since he doesn't really want to play I have never understood his point, perhaps even a few minutes delay is good enough for him. If I am the one who is leaving he will refuse to give me a kiss or even look at me - he can be cruel! I probably won't see him again until late in March due to my travels and his parents travels, but I can occasionally check in on the 'Corky Cam' which is set up to show him in the front office where he stays when his parents need to go out and his nanny is not available to stay with him. He is never alone more than a couple hours, but he doesn't like to stay alone at all. Too late to retrain him now.

Made with Love 02-17-10

The quilts at the Valley Quilters Quilt Show are generally very traditional and generally very well made. There is much more machine work now than there was at the first show thirty years ago, but the group seems to respect that there are many different styles and ways of making a quilt. This year there was at least one quilt that featured felting and several that included paint in various forms, however most of the quilts were pieced and appliqued by hand or machine using commercial cotton fabrics. I think one reason Liz and I enjoy going is that it takes us back to the era of quilt making that we remember from years ago. There are about one hundred quilts, a few garments/accessories, sometimes antique or vintage quilts and some very welcoming, friendly guild members. Unlike the huge shows we sometimes attend, this one does not leave us wilting and exhausted at the end of the day - refreshing.

"My Guardian Angels" made for BJ Jones by her friends to support her in her fight against cancer. This is a quilt made with love and expressing the styles and talents of the individual quilters who made the blocks. Appliqued, pieced, embroidered, and machine quilted it is a cherished expression of loving friends. It was my favorite quilt at the show.

It won't win any design competitions, but, oh-my-goodness, those thousands of stitches taken with love and understanding. They will be treasured forever.

One-foot square from TCQC 02-15-10

"Nite Song" Nanette Fleischman 2009 12"W x 12"L

Raw-edge applique of bird over pieced block. Machine pieced and quilted. Eye is irregular bead.

This charming quilt was part of the SAQA online auction in 2009. I cannot seem to adjust the color to make the color more true, it is more red than pink. Her idea of putting the log cabin block in the corner makes all the difference in the completed design. I find the asymmetry more pleasing that if the log cabin was a"'bull's eye".

I know nothing about Nanette except that she lives in North Carolina and belongs to SAQA and to the Alliance for America Quilts. My research has not turned up a website or a blog for her. She has made quilts for other fund raising online auctions which you can see at the URLs below.

http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/myquilts/quilt.php?num=05

http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/projects/galleries/Put%20a%20Roof%20Over%20Our%20Head/1-6-20/Carolina%20Canopy

Somehow I didn't think yesterday was Sunday - sometimes I just get lost in time! Sorry.

Color for Valentine's Day 02-14-10

It was a summer day with temperature up to 82F and it was very clear. If I had some extra time I might have gone searching for that "perfect" shot of the snow capped mountains. With the temperature soaring they are not as snow capped as last week, but the snowboarding is reported to still be great. Liz and I stayed in suburbia and had coffee at Starbuck's. This tropical Bird of Paradise was so brilliant in the landscaped area of the parking lot. There weren't a lot of blooms, just enough so that they would be noticed. In a few weeks I suppose there will be hundreds of blooms. Such graphic blossoms.

I stopped for gas at the cheapest station around and had to wait in line for a pump. But it was worth it when this 'chrome king' pulled up in the next line. The angle doesn't show how RED it is, perfect for Valentine's day. I think this is a 1957 Dodge - a Coronet Lancer, perhaps. I guessed the Dodge part, but had to Google to get the model. A perfect car for perfect SCalifornia sunshine. Sure takes me back to my early days in SCal - I moved here in 1957.

This old geezer wasn't really friendly, although I did tell him what a great car he had. He probably thought I was trying to pick him up! He somewhat resembles Liz's husband Dale with the facial hair.

Happy Valentine's Day 02-14-10

To each of you, wherever you may be, love and hugs for Valentine's Day. Del

Goats! 02-13-10

It was very hazy in the Inland Empire (the media name for the area NWW of LA) on Friday, might have been fog due to the water saturated ground. It also was not as green as it usually is for this annual trip and we did not see any gamboling lambs or colts. But we did see goats. I have noticed in my travels the abundance of goats everywhere I go. Goat milk? Goat cheese? Maybe there is an increase in people who are lactose intolerant, I know I am one, and goat or sheep milk is okay for us.

This was our first view of the goats when we stopped at a traffic signal on the edge of Hemet, CA (about 65 miles from where we live in Orange County, CA.)

We pulled over and walked back to the fence surrounding the goats. As you can tell this is not rural - maybe "early" suburbs. Liz was breaking in her new camera and took a lot of pictures.

A doe and her five brown-headed kids. I looked through a bunch of websites showing different goat breeds, but didn't find any "brown-headed" ones. The closest image was the Boer goat, which has similar coloring and floppy ears. [After Suzanne posted her comment I check out some pictures of Nubian goats and I think that is what these are.] There was a billy goat who chased the goats away from us, from the fence altogether, but he was really upset and we stepped away from the fence lest he try to butt us and damage the fence (or us), so no picture of him.

This was a very friendly doe - she stuck her nose right through the fence and sang us a little song. She didn't seem as afraid of the billy as the other does. I didn't know that goats talk and sing until someone sent me this video some weeks ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5j218ibqL4

They didn't want to pose for us, but went about their goat business as usual.

Best shot of one of the kids. They sure were cute and did kick up their heels a bit. Mostly they were interested in eating the grass.

We saw one small patch of wild mustard, but no other blooming plants or trees (other than those that bloom pretty much all year). Guess the cold and rain have delayed blooming.