Lily Peak~SkyWatch Friday~060515

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I went for a 2 hour drive while hubby was resting in the cabin.  It was good to get out and do some exploring.  I found 3 yard sales that I liked and I purchased a few odds & ends.  I also drove up one street that had a wonderful view of Lily Rock.  The clouds were quickly moving in and by the time I took several photos, the rock was completely surrounded by clouds and it disappeared.  I'm glad I had a chance to view it beforehand.  SkyWatch Friday for June 5, 2015.  To visit SkyWatch Friday, please go here:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

The passing of a fellow blogger

It was with great sadness that I read of Wayne Scott's passing this morning on Al's blog, Travel with the Bayfield Bunch.

Here's the link to Al's post:    http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2015/06/sadly-today-we-lost-another-fellow-rv.html?showComment=1433249091579#c4124397685575632698

I never met Wayne, but I corresponded with him several times and enjoyed his sense of humor.  He was only 59 years old and died from pulmonary fibrosis.  That's a little unnerving as I've had pneumonia 4x and I do have lung tissue damage and even now, my lungs don't work at full capacity.

Wayne always seemed so nice.  Even facing a lung transplant, he was upbeat and his humor could be heard through his writing.

May he find peace in the next life.

Here is the link to Wayne's blog:   http://turnwhentheroaddoes.com/2015/05/22/current-outlook/

Quiet weekend

Well, I had a quiet weekend.  Saturday I was too pooped to go anywhere or DO anything, so I stayed home.  It was about 104 degrees here, too, so it was too hot.

Sunday I went out and did some weed wacking early in the morning.  Then, I stayed inside (again) all day, but got my laundry and dishes done.    Again, it was too hot to do much.

My sunflowers are in full bloom right now, but, with this heat, a few are wilting.  Birds are enjoying their seeds.

Fences, fences, and more fences~Good Fences~052915

Every once in a while, I like to drive through Garner Valley and see all the 5 acre ranches up there.  It is on the way to Idyllwild anyway, so last weekend, we drove through it.  We used to own 5 acres there, when I was pregnant with our first child, but we had to sell it.  We couldn't afford a newborn and payments on the land...sigh... So, now I just admire all the home and fences up there and remember when we had our own land.  Good Fences for Friday, May 29, 2015.   To visit Good Fences, please go to:   http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/

Koi and cabin

 This is the main lodge.  We didn't stay at this lodge.

 The koi pond.

 The grandson got to feed the koi!  He was very excited!

This was our cabin.  It is nestled in the forest, away from the other cabins and away from the main lodge.

We all sure had a blast at the cabin this weekend.  It is privately owned by a family, but they rent it out over holiday weekends.  Apparently there were there the previous week and they had logs in the fireplace all ready for us.  Friday night was quite chilly.  By Saturday morning, we were ALL shivering!  It's such a huge cabin!  There is a fireplace and an electric heater in the living room, so that is always the warmest room.  The upstairs bedroom also has a heater, and there are some wall heaters in the downstairs bedroom suite.  We went through $100 worth of wood over the 3 nights...can you believe it?  Idyllwild doesn't allow folks to bring their own food due to the pine borer invasion, and prices in town are, well... pricey!  Hubby first bought 3 boxes of firewood from the store in town.  They were $10.00 each.  That lasted one night.  He bought 3 bundles of firewood from a local dealer for $10.00 each the second night.  By the 3rd night, he bought a barrel full of hardwood. That cost $45.00, so he spent about $100 for the 3 nights just on firewood for the fireplace!   It was worth it, however, as we all huddled around it in the mornings.  The rest of the house was just too cold.  By the 2nd morning, however, it was warmer.

Hello there little fella!

I was surprised to see this little fella next to the cabin a couple of mornings.  This was right where the bobcat walked by...There was a smaller one, too, and LOTS of squirrels.  The 2 year old even said "squirrel", although it sounded like "whirrel"...she can't say the "sq'...

Bobcat!

So, Sunday morning our daughter was having a cup of coffee with me and I opened up the kitchen curtains up at the cabin in Idyllwild and there it was...a bobcat!  He/she was right on the front porch!  Fortunately, daughter had her iPhone with her and snapped a few pics of it, including this one.  Now, this was about 6:15 a.m.  I'd been up since 5:00, puttering around, making a fresh fire in the fireplace, bringing in wood, and doing the dishes from the previous night.  He/she just wandered up to the porch, wandered right by the front door where the two of us were standing inside, and then up the hill to the cabins above ours.  They were all empty for the weekend.  I knew he/she was around because the blue jays were squawking and I saw one of them fly down from a branch to one closer to the ground.  Then it disappeared.  This is probably the same bobcat which was sighted the day before, up at the main compound.  We were staying in a separate cabin, further down by the creek.

We did hear that there are 3 bobcats in the area and the locals are upset because one lady lost 2 of her cats.  Monday morning, we heard a gun go off  early in the morning and we were wondering if somebody shot a bobcat...