Bakersfield Morning - Sunday 8/24/2008 (Part 1)

We didn't speed out of Bakersfield in the morning. Enjoyed the included breakfast at the Residence Inn by Marriott where we spent the night. Cruised Barnes & Noble with some good coffee in hand, and then hit Great American Antiques. We spent a couple of hours looking around.

Hydra's interested in finding a better deal on a salt & pepper set something like this one, which his family had when he was a kid.


Having watched all those William Powell movies from the 1930s recently, I was particularly attracted to these stylish playing cards.

But I don't need any more in my house.


I would think this potty chair would scare off most kids!


Never let it be said that we left any of our resources undeveloped. There were several oil wells in the midst of the grape vines. They grow table grapes around here.


Who would stay in the Rank... Er RancHotel in Tehachapi?

I know it's supposed to be Ranchotel, but I swear to you it doesn't read like that.


My. That is personal storage.



The old and the new, east of Tehachapi.


I used to be a little conflicted about these things. They are huge. When we were in the midst of a field of them outside of Palm Springs years ago (Hydra was acting in a student film,) they were really disturbing.

Now I can see the beauty of them.

On the Road - Thursday 8/7/2008

Hydra brought me roses in a vase that fit perfectly in the cup holder of the Tahoe. As soon as I got done working from home, we set off for camping with our music friends. It was an awful workday. I actually cried when I realized I'd missed sending out an entire report and had to... Oh, it doesn't matter.

The roses are in celebration of our 21st anniversary, which will be tomorrow. Perfect!



I just find this interesting. There are some kind of seedlings getting a moister start under these strips of plastic in the fields along the 126.

If a Tree Falls - Friday 5/23/2008

I took this photo because I thought it was kind of amazing how this old car was turned into an agricultural vehicle by cutting the roof off of it and taking the doors out.

But it also shows what the weather was like. What is this weather all about anyway? Just a few days ago we were at that 100 degree wedding reception. Now we're camping and the daytime temps are in the 60s at best.

Did someone move Southern California while we weren't looking?



The only person who heard this tree go down in the night was a nearby tent camper. She thought it must be a might big animal and wisely didn't go check it out.

It must have just eased on over.

The people in the next site exclaimed that they were supposed to be in that site, but they'd gotten into the wrong one by mistake. Several people decided that this is proof that there really is a god.

Being in charge of campsite reservations, I was aware that the guy who was supposed to be there wasn't due in until later in the day. I wasn't really happy that I couldn't confirm The Miracle of the Trees.

This is the camp manager and her husband cutting up the tree and hauling it off. I really adore this woman. She's so straightforward and smart. We always have at least one good conversation when I see her 3-4 times a year at the campground.

You're Going to Have to Bear With Me - Wednesday 3/21/2007

Well. Or actually you can choose not to bear with me. Between working way too hard, trying to book rooms in France, and problems with Blogger, I haven't been posting as frequently as I mean to.

And when I do, I'm likely to show you stuff like this because, frankly, I'm still a bit obsessed with the recent fire. The sky was so gorgeous Wednesday afternoon that it called me out for a hike. You can see our brick step at the bottom of this shot.


Meanwhile, elsewhere in the yard, spring is right on schedule. Oh, the salad dressings and beverages I'll make with this mint later.

I adore fresh mint. Where I grew up, it was a major crop a generation earlier. Mint and onions. It grew wild in the ditches and hedgerows when I was a kid. When my dad was a pre-teen he and friends would be hired to "stomp mint." Kind of like stomping grapes, but the mint had been boiled and they were pressing the liquour out of it.