Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Took a short 10 minute drive to one of the better places to birdwatch in Northern California. I'll fill this out later, but suffice to say we saw some fall flora and fauna.

Walking through the building Complex itself, we picked up some of the newly-minted brochures. The trail was just under two miles, and the weather was perfect, so we took our time and in doing that got to see a lot of the small creatures that inhabit the area.

Last Night

Eureka was looking pretty good last evening, although the turnout was less than I've seen on past Arts Alive evenings. The first thing we saw, of course, was a family of raccoons at a street corner a block from the Morris Graves. The mother and her three kits were on safari, looking for whatever they could scrounge up. We could get within 5 or 6 feet of them, and they would chirp at us, totally unafraid. We stayed close until we saw them cross the street and disappear in a yard dense with foliage. Hopefully they were able to stay away from street traffic.

The Morris Graves was, well, quite familiar. The shows were basically the same as this time last year - same show, different art. It was good seeing a lot of familiar faces - talked to some old friends.

We then cruised down to First Street Gallery, which is owned and operated by the University. Whimsical sculpture and eco-indigenous paintings were the topic there. Again, not nearly as busy as in past openings.

After a couple of drinks, we just cruised around the rest of the evening, enjoying talking about, well, art-related topics. Imagine that.

Super-Nice Fall Day

Boy and I are watching "Shrek" while I cook a pork chop casserole for an early dinner. After his mother takes him later this evening, I'm going out, the first time in, well, forever. It's Arts Alive in Eureka, so every gallery and art-related shop in town will be happening!

Last night was the Harvest Moon. October is shaping up to be a great month.

Mother and Baby, Doing Fine

Sometimes I realize that maybe it's better to just let life go on in the way it was meant to be.

I Wish My Ex's Lived In Texas

...and my kids lived with me.

And Then...

A kind voice, a look, a soft touch, a smile... magic happens when least expected...

Long Night Last

For whatever reason, Boober keeps hopping into bet with her baby firmly clenched in her teeth, and drops it on me. I guess she wants me to watch it for a while while she goes off and eats, walks around, etc. She always comes back after a few minutes and takes over, but it's a little unnerving with such a small baby next to me - its eyes aren't even open yet. I'm afraid I'm going to roll over on it, so I don't get much sleep.

I've been thinking about a lot of things lately. Maybe it's fall, but I'm feeling wistful about the past. Sometimes I miss my old life to the point where it actually hurts inside. Transition is, well, rough.

Kitten is Getting Bigger

Boober just woke me by dropping her baby on my chest. Quite the odd experience! I stroked it with my finger until it fell asleep, with Boober sitting next to me, purring. I'm not quite sure what the meaning of all that was, but I think Boober is getting kind of lonely in the armoire and wanted to move operations to my bed. I set kitten back on the original kitty bed, and Boober jumped in. I'll see when I go back if she decided to stay or not.

That baby sure is cute...

Dropping down into the coastal valleys, the sun set over the Pacific in waves and tremors. I think I need to start getting out more - there is so much to see and so little time.

After climbing out of the river the road skirted the high pasture areas in the back of Redwood National Park. Standing along a ridgeline was a magnificent herd of Roosevelt elk, native to this area. Being fall, the bull was bugling his prowess across the hills, warning away any others from his harem of cows.

It was cool.

Full Day

Traveled a lot of miles today. Did some work on the Yurok reservation, and took the back way back home, passing over the Klamath and into the deep, dark, woods. Climbing a hill on a rutted gravel road, I came across an unusual sight - a vehicle in the trees, totally burned, and the woods around on fire. Of course, no one wants to think the worst, so I pulled over to check it out.

In the trees I could hear a chain saw, and then noticed a guy scooping dirt up with what looked like a metal BBQ half. I grabbed the other half that was lying in the road, and together we kept throwing dirt and rocks on the burning brush and trees while his buddy cut down a lot of the undergrowth which was just starting to catch. About this time the driver, a young lad, came out of the woods and tried to explain that his vehicle had caught fire while he was driving and somehow, after he got out and looked under the hood at the burning engine, rolled off the road and into the woods, bursting into flames. Whatever.

About this time the Yurok Res Cops pulled up and got out their fire extinguisher, which didn't do much. I left after talking with them, as they told me a pumper was on its way. I passed it about two more miles up the hill.

New Life

Boober started acting different about 7:45 last evening. She kept jumping in my lap, looking into my eyes, and crying a high-pitched little cry. I thought it might be time for her to have babies, so I took her to the spot I had made for her in the amoire. After jumping in and out a few dozen times, she finally curled up and started purring like crazy. I petted her as she got closer, and popped the sac of the first baby around 10PM when it wouldn't break by itself. I went to sleep about midnight, and thought she had had only one kitten, but when I changed her bedding this morning I found a tiny, crumpled body beneath her. I couldn't tell if the baby had been stillborn, but it looked quite forlorn and small. I buried it beside Goober.

Mother and baby doing fine.

It was so warm today...

That anyone with some sense took a siesta.

Organization

Why is it that everything has to happen at once? Actually, in this case it's a good thing. Business projects are solidifying, and school is ramping up for midterms just at a time when I can deal with it.

Boy has been hilarious lately. I somewhat pity the girls when he is 16 or so - they won't stand a chance. Hee-hee-hee...

His sister is turning out to be strong-minded in her own way. She would make an excellent attorney, unfortunately. The world has more than enough of those idiots, so she may hopefully end up working at something else that takes a lot of persistance and drive. She has plenty of both.

Looking forward to the end of the week in order to get some things finished.

An Afternoon at the Park

Took Boy and the Girl to Sequoia Park playground for some R&R. The road was open, the first time since the big winds took down lots of trees January 1. Boy got to play on the "Big Kids" playground equipment while his sister and I had a few laughs watching him navigate. It was pretty swell. I wish his Mom were there to see it.

My Outside Office

I think I'm going to be liking this phase of work.

Another Day Out

Perfect day. Working tomorrow as well.

Working Outside

Spent the day working outside in the cool, clean air. The site was in the mountains above town, and the Fall colors are really starting to kick in, and are at school as well. The days have that feeling of hard weather ahead, but for now it's the best time of the year, in my opinion.

Boy has been quite funny. He's with his Mom for a few days; I can hardly wait to see him again. In the meantime, my daughter and I have plans to do some good stuff. Yeah, things could be worse. I am grateful.

It's All Running!

Fuel pump is running sure and silent. Now to start repairing the little things.

Someone is cruising up our street at various times and smashing things like car windows, turn signals, and the like. Broke out the back window on my neighbor's truck, smashed the turn signal light on the other neighbor's car. Slashed about 20 tires a few months ago.

What do people like that think as they commit these acts?

Trapped

Nothing can be easy. Need a part to complete my repair. Ford dealer only. Two days. $62.00.

Give me a break already.

Looks like I'll be bumming rides for a couple of days.

Other than that, it's all good!