Pic-of-the-Month for August and September 2021

 Hello Friends,

Have you been wondering what we've been up to this summer?  Probably not, but I'm going to share with you anyhow, since if you don't follow me on Facebook, you haven't heard much since late July.  

Here it is nearing the end of September, and we are getting ready to head south, like all good snowbirds do!  Especially since we had a really nice rainstorm, and snow in the mountains this weekend.  This is the view from the "Purkey Ranch" where we spend a lot of our summers.  Last week, the Three Sisters had NO snow on them.  This covering is the result of rain and snow Friday through Sunday.  And no smoke!  The rain may have put out some of the fires, or at least helped a lot!  The temperature here this morning was 26F!  BRRRR!!!

Now I just have to remember what we've done this summer!  Thankfully, I have a few photos to help me! 

First major camping trip: Hart Mountain

We joined George and Carolyn Sackinger, and their grandson JJ for our annual trip to Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge.  Of course, we had to start out the trip with a visit to Cowboy Dinner Tree near Silver Lake.  It's always an adventure in eating when we go there; and eating and eating and eating.  The steaks we had lasted several weeks (in the freezer) for lots of meals.

The cat in the picture above ended up sitting right next to me at dinner time, waiting for a little sample.  (Fat chance, Kitty Cat.  I don't feed animals from my table!) 

We went on to Hart Mountain the next day, and set up in our "favorite" camp site.   They'd even mowed the grass for us!  

The wildflowers were blooming nicely, and there were lots of butterflies around.  The hot springs felt wonderful, as always.  See our July 2021 album for more photos of wildflowers, a blown out tire on our truck, and other sights along the way, including a cattle drive!

2nd Camping Trip: We went west for our next camping trip with Mel and Katie into the Willamette Forest near Clear Lake.  Mel spent many years working in that area, and knows it well, including where the huckleberries grow.  We spent 3 days picking huckleberries, several hours a day, and ended up with a nice supply to bring south!  We've also eaten quite a few already.  They make a nice addition to the peach pies I've been baking!  

Pictures of that trip, with many more wildflowers, and a Huckleberry Hound, are in the August 2020 album.

3rd Trip for Family and Friends:  Since we were "half way" there, we continued west to Salem and spent a couple weeks there and in Eugene visiting with friends and family.  We got to celebrate Ben's brother Greg's birthday with him and his family and Dan and Laura and visited my brother Rich.  Tom and Karan had fixed a nice new trailer spot for us next to his new pumphouse, with electrical and water hook-ups.  Only problem with this visit is that the corn wasn't quite ripe yet, but Tom still gave us a few ears that he had hunted around for!  And yes, it was delicious!

Pretty nice camping spot there!  

Fourth Camping Trip:  We went by ourselves to explore Central and Eastern Oregon.  We camped at Clyde Holliday State park near Mt. Vernon, which is a lovely place.  We took several drives up into the mountains from our camp spot and saw some beautiful country.  

On the way back to Bend, via Hwy 395, Burns and Hwy 20, we stopped at Glass Butte so Ben could get in some Obsidian Rock Hounding.  He found some nice pieces, and has been cutting some with brother Ken's rock saw.  Who knows, they might end up being a pretty piece of jewelry?!

Unfortunately, it ended up being very smokey there, as it was in the Bend area due to forest fires further west.  We had at least a week of very unhealthy smoke conditions. 

Fifth Camping Trip:

We decided to not attend the Pendleton Roundup this year, even though we had tickets that had rolled over from 2020.  But we also decided we wanted to go visit my niece Anne and her hubby Mike in Athena, and other friends in Walla Walla.  So, we went there the week before the Roundup, and had a great time. (Thanks to great-nephew Quinn, we also sold our 2020 tickets for the price on the ticket!!)   Our friends Dick and Julie invited us up on Saturday, when there was a CAR SHOW in town!  First one we've been to in several years, and it was a lot of fun.  We saw some great cars there, and were kind of sorry we couldn't display a few of ours!  See 2021-September album for some cool cars.

Anne and Mike have a new puppy, a NewfyDoodle!  His name is Samson, but he looks nothing like our old Sam!  I think he looks more like the Muppet Animal!!  Especially when he shakes that big head of his! He is huge, but  he and Zoey got along just fine, after the first day of across the fence introductions.  The only pet Zoey didn't get along with was their cat Horatio, who is the real boss of the place!  We managed to get Zoey to keep her distance from the cat, with a lot of effort. 

We left Athena on Monday, and met up with the Sackingers at Cottonwood Canyon State Park on Hwy 206, between Wasco and Condon.  What a beautiful place on the John Day River.  The river was quite low, but the scenery was great, and the hiking was great too;  mostly on one level along the river.

From here, we returned to Clyde Holliday State Park to spend a couple nights.  We explored around the area, including Thomas Condon Paleontology Center and the Cant Ranch.  Both very interesting places.  I didn't realize that most of the ranchers in the early 1900's raised sheep, not cattle.  Pictured below is Sheep Rock.  Maybe it looks like a sheep?  Or maybe because there were always sheep on it?  This was the view from the back of the ranch house.

The ranch house was closed due to COVID-19, but we could see what a beautiful place it was.  We explored the grounds and saw some typical farm implements (including a large sheep shearing section of the barn) and the original orchard (where we could pick and eat any fruit we'd like without climbing the trees).  More pictures of both places are in the 2021-September album.

So, we're back at the Purkey Ranch for the duration of our time here, getting things bought and packed and final doctor appointments.  We hope to leave October 4, and join up with friends Jill and Rudy in El Cajon on the 6th, cross the border and join up with Mel and Katie in Tecate.  Vamos!  Let's go!  Another adventure is in store!  

Zoey has had an interesting summer, with numerous vet visits early on.  She had a problem with her upper back (near her neck) and would scream (literally) whenever we picked her up to put her in our out of the trailer or truck.  She was on prednisone, muscle relaxant, and pain pills for 3 or 4 weeks.  She started doing better when we did our Willamette Forest camping trip (maybe the huckleberries did it?)  Anyhow, she's still wobbly, and always will be, but at least she's off all meds (she did like that cheese I wrapped her pills in!)  

By the way, Ben has been busy all summer with the Feeding the Hungry COVID-19 program in Baja.  So far, 80 families who have been affected by COVID in the area have been helped with food vouchers from the local grocery store in Los Barriles.  There are probably more out there, but they are hard to communicate with since the hurricane, and many don't have phones.  Ben keeps track of all the questionnaires, the various families, their problems, and approves the issuance of vouchers.  Dalia, who speaks Spanish and English, interviews all the people via telephone and lets Ben know about them.  Gordon, a friend who lives year round in LB, puts a voucher package together of 4 vouchers (worth about $50) and delivers them to a place where a representative for the family (without COVID) picks them up.  It's a well greased system, and is working well.  The good news is that several families we've checked back with say "we're fine, give the vouchers to someone who needs them worse than us".  We're hoping the number of cases is receding at this point...time will tell.  

Thanks for making it through this epic story of our summer adventures.  I promise you won't hear from us until October sometime, but we will always respond to your correspondence to us.  

Until the next time I get ambitious!

Your Snowbird amigos,

Harriet, Ben and Zoey

 

Pic-of-the-Month For July 22, 2021

 Hello Friends,

Ben, Zoey and I are in Oregon.  We are finally getting some cooler nighttime temperatures.  It has been unusually hot for Oregon this summer.  Drought, forest fires, and smoke seems to be the normal Oregon summer, unfortunately.  Right now it is clear here in the Bend area, but the biggest forest fire in the US is south of us near Bly, the Bootleg Fire.  It is bigger than the state of Rhode Island!  That area is where Ben hunted deer years ago with good friend Warren Ausland.  It's very sad that the gorgeous area is burned.  

We took our first little camping trip, after completing various doctor appointments, to a favorite camping spot on the Crooked River.  It was very quiet and peaceful, and there was no cell service or WIFI, so our quiet time was uninterrupted!  

 

 Even Zoey is visiting the doctor... again, we're not sure what she did, but she cries in pain every time we lift her in or out of the trailer house or the pickup (she cannot jump at all due to her injury 5 years ago).  She even starts crying before we pick her up, because she knows it's going to hurt.  The Vet we've seen has her on various meds, but we're not seeing much improvement, so we took her for her 3rd visit Friday afternoon.  We are headed out for a week-long camping trip starting on Sunday, so we hope she starts feeling better soon.  She can walk, but doesn't go far, and the Vet recommended kennel rest.  Since she doesn't have a kennel, she gets trailer house rest!   This picture of her is from the other day when this young boy asked if he could pet her.  They got along very well.  She got lots of petting, he got lots of kisses!  Anyhow, we're trying to be very careful with her, and hope she does well on our wilderness camping trip in her come-along kennel (the trailer house!) 

Speaking of trailer house... we found a small used trailer to tow down to Baja with us to use on camping trips down there!  It's single axle, has AC, a toilet and shower, microwave, a good sized refrigerator, a queen sized tent bed (advertised to sleep 8!!), and even a smart TV.  There is some "fixing up" to do, but it should work really well for where we'd like to go in Baja.  Today we bought some items we need for it, and I have cleaned out some excess things from our Oregon trailer to put in it; kitchen towels, extra utensils, coffee mugs, etc.  Also, I'm excited that I'll have a nice sized RV refrigerator to bring things down to Baja, like Tillamook cheese and salted butter!!  Maybe even frozen Marion berries!  Yum!  

In the meantime, while sitting in Ben's brother's driveway in our trailer, Ben has been very busy on a Baja project (That's why I'm writing this for July).   Just in the last 48 hours, 36 people have died as a result of COVID-19 in Baja California Sur (BCS), the highest death rate so far there during the pandemic.  We were told by Adam Greenburg, who heads up a non-profit for Baja projects called Leaders2Give, that people with COVID-19 needed help, and could the organization that Ben and I head up, called "Feeding the Hungry" assist people who were sick and out of work due to COVID-19?  Ben spent many hours figuring out how to get it done by our team in BCS while he was here in Oregon.  He came up with advertising, and a questionnaire for two Spanish/English speaking ladies to complete while interviewing likely candidates via phone who needed help.  We have another assistant in Baja who handles the funds and the vouchers or "coupons" we supply, each worth about $12.50 US.  Each family who qualifies receives 4 vouchers, or $50 worth for groceries, medicine, or whatever they need most.  Right now, Ben is reviewing applicant family #28, with more coming in daily.  Adam is doing most of the fund raising for us.  Here is a post Adam made the other day on "Everything Los Barriles" in Facebook.  If you would like to make a small contribution, we and the Mexican community would appreciate it very much! (FYI, his comment about "dozens of applications was a bit high at the moment, but they did 11 yesterday!)

"Friends: The Feeding the Hungry Program for Los Barriles residents struggling with Covid is receiving dozens of applications every day. Unless donations ramp up its simply unsustainable. Please consider making tax deductible donation to Leaders2Give.org today by selecting Feeding the Hungry from the giving menu and help our community stay strong. Thank you !"

If you'd like more information about Feeding the Hungry, check out this blog: Feeding the Hungry

We have managed to have some fun times since we got here. Friends from Walla Walla visited with us on their way through Sisters. Julie and Dick also got to go to our friend Katie's Garden Art show early in the day, and bought a beautiful piece of art. We attended the show later that night to help as we could. She had some amazing art displayed and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Tony and Janet bought a nice painting, too.

Ben had a birthday party with his "twin" Janet (who is two years younger), and I have gone shopping in Fabric stores and clothing stores and thrift stores...and also my friend Janet's store, Gypsy Wind. I helped her on the day of the Sister's Quilt show, which was held this year after being cancelled last year. She rewarded me with some very pretty clothing from her shop.

After our mini camping trip on the Crooked River, Ben backed our trailer into my cousin John's RV spot by his house in Prineville, and we spent Sunday visiting with him and Allyson.  We completely missed them last year, so it was great to connect again.  

Ben went hiking one day with his brother Ken, and nephew and niece Bryan and Beth.  They hiked into Steelhead Falls on the Deschutes River.  (I had another medical appointment that day, so did my hiking in the fabric store afterwards!)

I finished my quilt that I intended to use in our trailer, and decided it really wouldn't work well in here (it's also been way too warm at nights to use it!)  I certainly didn't want to leave it in the trailer over the winter (possibility of mice!) so I re-homed it as a wedding gift to our niece Beth.  She loves it, and I'm sure she'll enjoy using it very much.  (We couldn't hold it upright, so sideways is what you get!)  

 

We planned on going to the Willamette Valley (Eugene and Salem areas) in early August, but we've been delayed a bit due to more  doctor appointments for Ben, and a camping request from friends.  We will get there!  Honest!  We'll try to spend time there in September, too, although we do plan on going to the Pendleton Roundup in mid-September.  So many people to see and things to do, so little time!  

I've created a July 2021 photo album with a few more pictures; hopefully, most of them have a caption to explain them.  Enjoy!

Hope to see you later this summer!

Your Baja friends in Oregon,

Harriet, Ben & Zoey

 

Pic-of-the-Month for June 20, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

The end of June is quickly approaching, as is our exit from Baja for cooler climates.  It has been HOT here this last week, and we've been wondering why we're still here, when we could pack up and leave in our truck anytime.  However, we have a few outstanding things to get done, so we'll stick to our schedule of leaving next Saturday.  But when the thermometer got up to here last Sunday, it was very tempting to leave immediately!

All last week the temps were in the 90's.  Thank goodness we have AC in our bedroom so we can sleep at night.  Today, temps are pleasant 80's and we even had a rain shower or two this morning.  That was very refreshing! 

We have gotten a lot of projects accomplished this year.  The most recent was getting some new storm shutters, mostly upstairs and one on a large window downstairs.

The upstairs has always been a bit of a problem due to the design of the house.  The two sliding glass doors on the bedrooms open on to a large deck, but there is no access to the downstairs from there, so once the shutters are attached from the outside, the only way to get down is via ladder.  I told Ben he's getting too old to do ladders like that, and that we needed a shutter that would close on the inside.  So, one slider has an accordion shutter that locks from the inside.  The rest have stacking panels that are somewhat translucent.  

The view above is from outside; this window has three vertical panels.  The view to the left is from the inside looking out to the large patio over our carport (that has no stairway).  I think it looks great.  That window has three horizontal stacking panels. 

We also have a set of panels for our largest living room window, whose existing wooden shutter was heavy and clumsy to handle, and is getting eaten by termites!  

It took the shutter company several times to come and adjust things before we were completely happy, but they were always willing to come out and fix things.  The last time they were here, we supervised closely so that we knew for sure they were doing it right and we were getting what we paid for.  And yes, it was hot the days they were here.  They wear masks most of the time, and often the long sleeved shirts.  Makes me hot just to think about long sleeved shirts! 

 

 

Another project that finally got done is our new water hookup.  It took a lot of effort on the part of Ben and our new neighbor Brian (who is over seas currently) to get Brian's plumber, the water company and a back hoe operator all at the same place at the same time, and agreeing to hook us all up.  It did happen, although it took a lot of digging to find that elusive water line!  (It was actually between where Ben is standing the the guy to his left.  They dug most of the way across the road, first!)  It's all good now, and we are very happy with our new consistent water supply (a rarity in parts of Baja near here).  

Ben finished up the rocking chair project, and it looks good.  We'll be delivering it to La Paz when we leave town, most likely. I think he did a fantastic job adding rockers to a chair that didn't have rockers to start with! 

Ben also managed to get 4 vehicles in the shop; 3 Model A's and the Willy's Jeep.  Yeah, my new little car gets to stay outside this summer, but at least it will be in the carport under cover.  

We will have a house sitter this summer, and also exciting for us, a gardener who will show up every Saturday.  Ricardo worked the last couple of weeks, several hours a day, whipping our garden into shape (it needed a lot of work).  He also hauled off all the clippings and weeds.  He's excited to work for us, and I think it looks the best it has in ages.  Poor guy came at 4pm and worked 2 hours in the heat of the day.  Phew!  (Our past gardeners haven't been regular about showing up, if they came at all!)  

Our neighbor's Mango tree has a branch over our wall, and I've been busy processing mangos; freezing some, and drying some.  I've also given away many of them.  They are small, but sweet and delicious.  

Mango Margarita, anyone?

I finished the baby quilt I made for our new grand-nephew, Xavier Purkey.  I'll be getting it back from the quilters when we get up to Oregon.  I think it turned out ok.  Certainly is colorful! 

 

We will stop in Loreto next Saturday night to enjoy the Hotel Oasis Saturday Night Clam Feed.  😋  We usually take three days traveling through Baja, and plan to cross the border on Tuesday morning at Tecate.  If you follow me on Facebook, I'll probably be posting highlights of our trip as we travel.  It's hard to get Ben to stop to let me get decent pictures, but I'll do what I can!!  

We are looking forward to seeing many of you Oregonians and Washingtonians this summer, as opposed to last year!  We've had our vaccinations, and we're ready to be a bit more social.  If you want to see us, and didn't let us know after the last p-o-t-m, let us know! 

This may be the last update for a while if Ben doesn't uphold his end of the deal to write these in the summer.  Complain to him if you don't hear from us in July, August or September!!  You should know our e-mail!  

More pictures are in our June 2021 album.

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos de Baja

Harriet, Ben & Zoey 

Pic-of-the-Month for May 27, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

Where, oh where does the time go?  Can you believe it is already the end of May, and just one month until the end of our Baja season for this year.  We plan to head north on June 26 (always a Saturday so Ben can enjoy the Clam Feed at Oasis Hotel in Loreto at the end of our first travel day!!)  Until then, there are things for us to do here, including trying to stay cool!  Maybe I could/should get Ben to go swimming?!?  Looks pretty nice right now.  Temps have been in the 80's to 90's now.  Yes, that's a LOW temperature of 80!  It's about this time of year that I start missing cool Oregon nights.  

This was my view this morning as I was getting in my 2+ mile daily walk.  As I was thinking "phew, it's getting warm...this soft sand is hard to walk in...that sun is sure bright in my eyes", I decided what a blessing it is to live here and be able to walk every day in this beautiful place!  I could be walking in the cold rain, or inside some mall (dangerous if I'm carrying money!  I might have to stop and shop!)  Instead, I get to enjoy this.  Now, if that doesn't entice some of you down to visit, I give up! I just hope my tennis shoes hold up for another month...both pairs are getting pretty tattered!  By the way, Zoey is doing her shorter route these days.  It's just too hot for a black dog (she tells me) to go that far.  Especially one who refuses to get anywhere close to the water to cool off!   

We finally, finally took the '56 Jeep out for an adventure ride to Muertos Bay north of here.  The coast road can barely be called a road in some parts.  Very steep, very rocky, extremely narrow (you hope like everything no one will be coming from the other direction as there are few places to pass).  The good thing is, the Jeep ran exactly like it should have.  The new carburetor worked very well, and the nice new electric fan kept the radiator cool.  (Didn't keep us too cool!  It was quite a hot day!)  We went with 4 other couples in their rigs, and all had a great time.  The reward is there is a restaurant at Muertos Bay, so we all tanked up before the trip back home.  

  The start of the "rough" road.  First thing is up a steep, steep grade.  

Then over some rough, narrow road (Ben says this was one of the good parts!)  Notice the drop off on my side!  

We made it to Muertos Bay, had lunch with everyone, then Ben and I decided to go back via Hwy 1 (San Antonio and San Bartolo) instead of over the rough rocky part.  It took us 3 hours (with a couple rest stops) to get from the start to Muertes Bay, and a little less than one hour to get back home after putting more air in our tires at a gas station in Los Planes.  More pictures of our trip are in our May 2021 photo album.

What else are we doing?  Ben always has several projects going.  I think the car collection is mostly done, but there is always maintenance.  He's been working on a couple of wood-working projects, including adding rockers to an old Mexican chair.  He rebuilt one for our friend Rosy a couple years ago, and added a nice leather seat from Miraflores leather works.  Rosy and Hector Manuel found another chair to match it, other than it didn't have rockers on it.  So, Ben added those, is in the process of refinishing the wood, and will then take it to Miraflores to get the leather seat added.  It should look very nice when he's done.  He's also cleaning up the garden...we got a lot of nice vegetables out of it this year, and he's already ordered seeds for next year!  The burros have been enjoying the old corn stalks, green bean vines, lettuce and whatever else we can give them.  It's very dry here this year (not much summer rain last year), so the wild burros are suffering, as are the free-range cattle and goats.

I've been doing my "spring" quilting.  I made one for Ben and I for our Oregon trailer bed, and I'm making one for a grand nephew who should be making his appearance any moment now.  I used the same pattern on both, but the baby quilt is a bit more colorful!  The big one includes some squares that I embroidered, and that took several years to get done!  So, the cutting and piecing took less than a month, but that hand-work slowed me down a bit.  (I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the embroidery anyway...this seemed like a great option).  

I managed to get the big one done in time to send it north with the couple who will do the finishing; batting, backing and machine quilting.  They happen to live down here near us in the winter, and go back to Oregon and their quilting business in the summer.  (That must be why I do my quilting in the spring!)  

And here are the basic blocks in the baby quilt.  I'm thinking of stopping at 6 blocks, since I'm running out of cute prints!  We'll see how ambitious I am.  By the way, this pattern is called "Bear's Paw".  

As I said earlier, we are planning on leaving the end of June.  In the meantime, we have a few dental appointments, a quilt to finish, new water line to hook up (come on, water company!) and a freezer to get as empty as possible.   

We hope to be able to visit many more of you this summer than last summer.  We have had our vaccinations, and are good to go!  If you'd like to see us, send us a note, or call us, and we'll see what we can work out.  We'd love to see you.  

Like I said, more pictures are in our May 2021 album for your enjoyment.  Maybe I'll get another "Pic-of" out in June.  Or maybe I'll wait until early July.  😏  

Tus amigos en Baja

Harriet, Ben and Zoey

Pic-of-the-Month for April 25, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

It's been another busy month for us, and we are getting a lot accomplished.  The best news is that we got our 2nd Pfizer vaccinations, and had no reactions at all.  We are feeling very good about that!  Yes, we will still be wearing our masks when we need to, and are watching the numbers and waiting for herd immunity before we wander far and wide.  

You may remember we had our casa built here in 2002.  We had palapas (palm leaf roofing) installed on several outside areas of our home at that time.  Amazing to believe, but they can last 20 years, barring hurricane damage and fire.  The one on the north side of our casa covering our veranda had some hurricane damage in 2005 (Hurricane John) and survived several others that weren't quite as destructive as John.  But after all these years, it was starting to get holes and leaked here and there.  We got several bids from local contractors and chose Antonio Flores.  

His crew came last Monday and removed all the old leaves, and cleaned up after themselves!  They even hauled them all to the dump!  They also removed the aluminum flashing at the top of the roof, as Ben wants that all replaced.  The existing structure of palm beams and Palo de Arco cross sticks are in great shape, as is the leather that holds it on except in a few spots where it got wet.  The next day a different crew came with pickup loads of palm leaves and prepared them to attach on the structure.  They trim them with a sharp machete, wet them down, and attach a Datil tie (Datil is a very tough fibrous plant...the leaf is trimmed into strips).  They then haul them over and hand them up to the master worker (Antonio's son, Antonio).  He works in his stocking feet, and has an extra board to sit on for comfort. 

I've included a video in our April 2021 album, so you can see how it's done.  Looks like a lot of bending over to me! And yes, he's in his stocking feet.   

They are almost done.  We are just waiting for them to replace a board on the very top most of the way around the edge.  (They had to cut it down, mill it, and cut it to length.)  Then they will put up the final few rows of palm, attach the aluminum flashing, and put on a nice heavy net to hold it all down.  

We can't wait to get out and enjoy our veranda again! We eat most of our meals out there this time of year, sit and watch the birds, and use the lounge chair for reading and naps.  

Our friends Jill and Rudy finally made it here.  They were originally planning on coming in November, but with Covid and flight restrictions and her job and lots of other things, they finally made it at the beginning on April.  We did a few fun things, and they spent most of their time looking for a little (affordable) place here.  And they were successful!  We will be seeing a lot more of them in the future.  They said they'd like to travel down with us next fall, as their new place should close in July.  (Just ask them how much they enjoyed relaxing on our veranda!!)  

The garden is still going like crazy.  We have enough tomatoes (mostly little ones) to feed an army!  I've canned a bunch of beans, but they're still producing like crazy.  We're on our third corn crop, third or 4th radish crop, 4th lettuce crop, 4th Cilantro crop, who knows which squash crop of various kinds, and a few more cucumbers, too .... and there are a few more beets for Ben to process, too!  Hope we have enough jars for him.  

Another project that is "almost" done is that our new neighbor is starting to prepare for his construction project next fall.  He had a power / water monument put in and Brian and Ben decided they could work together.  The water company wants us to move our meter out of our "private property" (the meter isn't on private property, but we can't explain that!)  Anyhow, Brian said we could use his monument for our water meter, too.  All good!  Anyhow, Fernando, who is in charge of the project, got the monument built, put  in all the proper pipes and electrical fittings, hired a backhoe to dig a couple ditches, and we are now ready for the water company to come move our meter AND for CFE (the power company) to hook up the electrical for Brian.  In the meantime, while digging the ditch the backhoe broke the existing city water line (oops!) and we had a flood.  We also found another water hookup that they'd put in years ago for the lot next to us.  We couldn't figure out what in the world that line was for until we thought about it a bit.  But it sure didn't help breaking that one, too, when we already had a flood!  Oh, and that was one of those days when Ben was in La Paz.  Fernando, bare foot and wading in mud with shovel in hand, said "this is not a good day"!!!  All was patched in the end, and we have some new water pipes and faucets on the west side of our new lot....just in case we want to water something over there.  Just waiting for the water company to come move our meter and attach us to the correct water line.  

The dog followed me home from Rancho Buena Vista this day!

There was an absolutely fantastic sunset the other night, and I'll share one of those photos with you here.  The rest are in the April 2021 album.

We have no guests scheduled between now and when we head north in late June.  If you want to brave some airports (or drive down)! we'd be happy to see you.  We are missing our new good friend Maria who left for the US on a slowly meandering trip through Baja about a week ago.  We loved her willingness to cook, and learned several delicious new recipes.  We finally got the books back in bookcases, which Ben just finished building, in one of the upstairs guest rooms.  And a new picture was hung in that room.  So, we are set!  Start planning your next Baja vacation!

We are still missing Sam, but Zoey is learning to make up for it by standing under the cutting board in the kitchen, and generally being underfoot.  

Hasta la proxima mes!

Harriet, Ben and Zoey

 
  

Pic-of-the-Month for March 19, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

We have some good news....and some sad news.  The good news is that we got our first Pfizer vaccinations yesterday here in Baja for Covid-19.  The sad news is that we had to put our dachshund Sam down on March 7.  He would have been 14 in April.

Here's a picture of Sam in one of his favorite places...sharing an old lounge chair on the veranda with Zoey, and with his signature look: tongue out.  (Zoey's look is her "go fast" ears folded back!)

He had some health issues, and he was having some trouble walking, slowly losing control of his hind quarters.  On Saturday the 6th, he found a cat in our yard, and did the "final chase".  I heard some loud yips, and when I found him in the yard, he couldn't walk at all.  We spent most of the night up with him, and he was frustrated and in some pain.  We decided to put him down on Sunday.  The vet who did it for us was very caring and gentle with him (and us!)  We are all missing him a lot.  He's been such a big part of our lives (following me EVERYWHERE except my morning walks), traveling thousands of miles with us every year, and a friend of many.  And no, we are not getting a replacement pup, so don't even suggest it!  When we travel this summer, it will be a lighter load with just Zoey and her accoutrements.   

The good news:  We managed to get signed up and notified of Covid vaccinations available for us folks over 60.  It's quite a story, but some comments I've heard from folks tell me it's not uncommon anywhere in the world.  Here's the paragraph you can skip if you don't want to go through our frustration with us!

On Monday we were notified by email that vaccines would be available in Santiago Tuesday, La Ribera Wednesday, and Los Barriles Thursday. We tried Tuesday in Santiago since we were already there paying property taxes, were sent away because even though we live in that county, they said we could get our shots in Los Barriles on Thursday. On Wednesday, we went to La Ribera, signed up, and waited 4 or more hours and finally gave up and went home when they said they would continue the next day. We went back the next morning, and they said "if we didn't call you last night, you're out of luck. We're out of vaccinations". He suggested Miraflores, so we went there and arrived at about 8:30. We signed up (got numbers 83 and 84). We had time to find a breakfast restaurant, went back to wait with the crowds and found a friend there to visit with while we waited (she was just getting inside when we were leaving). It was really pretty efficient. When our numbers were called, we got signed in, had our temps taken, were accompanied to a room for the vaccination (with 5 nurses in attendance!) then led to a room to wait 15 minutes. We were then allowed outside for 15 more minutes. They also gave us a follow up date of April 8. We are SO HAPPY! Not so funny thing is, Los Barriles vaccinations got cancelled for Thursday. So glad we found the Miraflores group to help us.

This is the Centro de Salud in Miraflores. It is 21 miles from our home, but we think it was worth the trip!

Our garden continues to grow and produce an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers, squash, beans, lettuce, carrots, and some corn. Oh....and beets! I've never grown them myself (maybe because of childhood memories of weeding beets out in the hot sun?), but Ben decided he needed some. He has already canned two batches of pickled beets, and is hoping to do some more next week.

Aren't they pretty? Quite tasty, too. If they last long enough, we might have to bring a few jars north with us this summer!

I'm hoping also that I'll be able to easily find canning lids this summer. They sure were in short supply last year.

To the right is a sampling of our daily tomato crop. And there are many more left on the bushes! Bite sized and yummy.

We got a new skylight installed last week over the opening outside our kitchen door. When it rains, we get puddles outside that door, and it was always a mess and dangerously slippery. I've been trying to come up with something to put over that area that wouldn't cut out the light. I saw our local glass company advertise something similar and decided it was time to do it to our house. I couldn't believe it when the guy installing the framework was wearing a harness! First time I've ever seen that in Mexico. However, I'm not sure what in the world he attached the line to on the bathroom roof. Ryan suggested it was probably hooked to the water pipe to the solar panel, or maybe the support bracket. Then...see that ladder leaning against the wall? That's what they used to climb up there and attach the safety rope. We watched him climb up there to disconnect it, and it made us very nervous! It's a climb and jump I could have done in my teens and twenties, maybe. Now? Not a chance. I don't even do ladders!

This is what it looks like from below --> I like it a lot. Now I want it to rain a little bit so I can check it out. They did have a very nice scaffolding that they used in the process. 😉

Burros!  We have burros in the barrio, and there are two babies right now.  Every day, they come by our place and bray loudly so we'll come out and feed them some yummy garden leftovers.  They are pretty insistent, and I've seen one of the Mamas kicking the male out of the way.  She gets first choice or else!!

This baby boy is the newest, and the littlest one I've ever seen.  

I have created a 2021 March album with these and more pictures if you'd like to look.  And don't forget to check out the cute grandkids!!  Sure wish they lived a little bit closer than half way around the world.  

We are looking forward to friends Jill and Rudy arriving in early April for a nice long visit.  Our friend Maria is still here with us.  We are appreciating her cooking skills and she keeps improving and winning in Mexican Train, too!  

We hope that you are all staying healthy and getting vaccinated.  It is a great relief to us to have that first shot done.  It will make traveling this summer so much more enjoyable.   

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Zoey and Maria

Pic-of-the-Month for February 24, 2021

 Hola Amigos,

February has almost ended, so it's time to get a Pic-of-the-Month out for you.  

That's Ben and I out on the point, taking a selfie!  

Ben and I are fine, other than Ben had a cold that he generously passed along to me, and friends Mel and Katie while they were here.  Ben always gets over colds quickly.  The rest of us, not so fast!  I'm still coughing a bit, but finally feeling much better. Then, just when I was starting to feel better, we decided to hike up Flat Top Hill near Rancho Leonero.  We made it just fine, but on the way back down (near to top), I slipped and fell and landed on my face and scraped my lip, and twisted my ankle in the process.  Well dang!  We made it down ok, just a lot slower than normal.  Fortunately, our friend Maria found me a walking cane to use, which helped a lot.  As for Katie and Mel's recovery, Katie says they've slowed down their trip north quite a bit to recover, rest and enjoy some warmer weather before they get to the Rogue River for a month of Steelhead fishing in March.  Ben is feeling bad about passing his germs around.  

Our garden is still doing well and producing lots of veggies, although some of the squash bushes are looking pretty tired!  We finally figured out what was getting to our corn, and being very thorough about stripping the cobs....it was the birds!  Every kind of bird; Orioles, Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxias, Cactus Wren!!!  Ben's solution was to use bird netting, and when the birds got in after his first attempt, he covered our entire garden area with bird netting.  He was fortunate to find what he wanted in La Paz, and was able to go back and get more when the first attempt didn't work.  It is now nice and tight.  (Lots and lots of zip ties were used in the construction of this beautiful structure!)    We just hope the bees can find their way in!!   Some corn in our second planting is just about ready.  

The Jeep.... oh yes, there's always something about the Jeep!  Ben has towed it to La Paz, and it is in Edgar Majalca's shop getting painted!!!  (He did the 1930 Model A Roadster for us).    AND... he ordered a nice big fan from the US and had it shipped down here.  A man in a shop next to Majalca's, who builds and repairs Baja Race cars, is making a cowl for the fan and installing it in the Jeep.  We HOPE that this is the solution to it overheating and stalling out when we're going slow on rough roads.  The new paint won't help much, but it will certainly look better!  Ben selected some colors that Edgar suggested, but you'll have to wait to see what it looks like after it's finished.  

We enjoyed our time with cousins Tom and Karan, even though it was short.  I do know they will be back one of these days...they are Baja lovers for sure.   Unfortunately, my friend Jill and Rudy have delayed yet again (her work now!)  Hopefully, they'll be able to get some time soon.  The airport here now has a COVID testing station set up.  You need to get a test before you fly out now, and they have it well set up.  Tom and Karan used it the first week it started, and were pleased with how easy it was.  

By the way, Covid vaccines are starting to become available here for those of us over 60.  I've tried to sign up, but haven't been successful on the computer app yet.  I guess I'll go into the clinic and ask for help!  (Can't believe I can't get a computer app to work!)  We'd probably feel better about traveling if we could get the vaccines before we head to Oregon this summer.  I have signed us up for Oregon, but Deschutes county is slow getting them.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens.  I think things are slowing down a bit here, but we do see several things closing down when employees get Covid.

Our friend Maria is still here, and will probably be here for a while yet.  She is a fantastic cook, and Ben and I have been enjoying her willingness to cook for us.  Ben is afraid I'm getting very spoiled...and I probably am.  It was really nice having her help when I was sick with the cold, and the sore ankle, too.  She's introduced us to a lot of her favorite Mexican foods, and she likes to fix an afternoon appetizer for us several times a week.  

I mean, really.... this is so much better for you than chips and salsa, right?  

Our orchids are starting to bloom again, and we have a lot of them sending out bud shoots.  Here's the first one to "re-bloom".

If you'd like to see more photos of our garden and activities in February, check out the February 2021 album.  And of course, a few pics of our cute grandkids! 😏

We hope that you are all staying healthy, getting your vaccines as they're available, and enjoying life as it's happening in 2021.  We're looking forward to a bit warmer weather in March, and maybe getting the Jeep back.  Thanks for being our friends, and keep in touch!  We'd love to hear from you, too!

Tus amigos de Baja,

Harriet, Ben, Sam & Zoey (and Maria!)