The first trip, Ben and Mel went fishing and caught a couple fish (nice sized Dorado and another one I've forgotten). I was planning on doing some hiking, but wasn't feeling up to par after suffering from a nasty cold, so I stayed in camp and read, relaxed and did some needle work.
The second trip, this last weekend (which was also our 55th wedding anniversary), the fishing wasn't successful, but we had a great time watching an off-road race that came by there, the Baja300. Ben took our shade tent, and he and Mel set it up near the road and took our camp chairs and a table. Lots of fun! And man, did those cars raise a lot of dust! Fortunately, sometimes it went to the other side of the road, but we got it sometimes, too. (See a couple videos in the January 2023 album for the race cars coming by.) The tires and gas across the road are for the CanDoo race pit, just in case.
Anyhow, it was another fun trip. Ate well, (too much, usually!), and took some hikes this time since I'm feeling better.
We had company visit us for a few days mid-month. Our niece Chrys Purkey came down for a quick trip (a Christmas gift from her significant other who stayed home with their two boys). She's great company, knows her way around, and loves to hike into town and back from our house. Hopefully, next time she comes we'll be more healthy and feel like doing more with her, or at least send her in the right direction for things to do. The picture below is Chrys passing Rancho Buena Vista, on her way to points south, maybe 3 or more miles. I was taking my normal route, and this is where I leave the beach.
I'm on my way to my walking goal this year of 650 miles, although the first part of January was a bust due to my cough and cold. I managed to get out this morning and complete my January goal of 55 miles. Hopefully, the rest of the year will be easier because I can spread it out a bit!
One of the discouraging things that happened this month is that a rogue cow got into our yard somehow one night (our neighbor has some very suspicious fence lines), and ate most of my Hibiscus, the roses, a few bean plants, cucumbers, and some Zinnias. To get out, she jumped over our new gate, and kind of knocked down one of the posts there. We've asked the neighbor to fix his fences, and he has, mostly. There are still a few very weak areas, and we'll keep an eye on it. Surprisingly, I had a Hibiscus bloom last week. I guess she missed that one in the dark!
Zoey's 12th birthday is coming up in February, and she is really showing her age. She's also been diagnosed with Cushing's Disease ( a serious health condition in dogs that occurs when the adrenal glands overproduce cortisol (cortisone) in the animal's body.) We are treating it, but have no idea how long she can survive with it as it is not curable. Right now, possibly due to the Cushing's and a low immunity system, we are fighting an ear infection with her. Ugh. Poor thing. She still always wants to go out walking with me in the mornings; she goes less than a 1/2 mile, but she's still walking.....SLOWLY! She also manages to get over to visit the builders working on our neighbor's new house. Especially when they're having a meal!! That's one of the symptoms of Cushing's. Always hungry and thirsty.
Our garden is looking wonderful. We have huge amount of lettuce right now, and we're working on the 4th crop of radishes, hope to have more cucumbers come on, and Ben's tomato plants are loaded, but still mostly green. We've also got beets, the green beans are climbing the wires (not blooming yet), and the peas he planted are doing very well, too. We've got some squash that are almost ripe (they look like pumpkins, but are called Amber Cup, or Sunshine Kabocha.)
Left to right: Peas, two rows of lettuce, 2 rows of beets and then tomato plants.
Hasta la proxima mes,
Tus amigos en Baja
Harriet, Ben & Zoey
PS. Again, the picture album is at 2023 January!
