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| California Poppies |
Here it is May 3rd and we are still in the Yosemite area. We haven't driven over to Yosemite yet but hope to within
the next few days. We have been there many times but each time you see something new. We took a tour of the Escapees
park here in Coarsegold and really enjoy all the wonders that California has to offer. Sometimes we are so busy with
our daily routines to just step back and take in the beauty of this state. One of the most beautiful things is California
Poppies in bloom.
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| Acorn Woodpeckers |
While on our tour we came across a tree where Acorn Woodpeckers were busy at work. I did some research on the internet
and found a few interesting facts about this bird. They are hoarders. Several groups of birds will occupy one
tree and gather acorns. They create a granary by drilling holes in a dead tree, or a dead branch on a live tree, and
stuffing acorns into them. The acorns are visible, and the group defends the tree against potential robbers. The acorns are
part of their diet along with insects, seeds and sometimes tree sap. They are quite common in this area. If you
look closely at the picture I took, you can see the acorns stuffed in the holes the woodpecker drilled in the bark.
We both found this woodpecker to be very interesting. I plan on going back and taking some close ups of the bird using
the 35mm. Hope to get some closer pictures.
Further along on the park tour we saw fields of lupin. I took some pictures but they didn't come out to my satisfaction.
The colors were faded. We saw beautiful Iris and Rock Roses in bloom. There are a couple creeks on the property.
There isn't much water in them because of the lack of rain this past winter in California. By June, the creeks will
be dry and all of the grasses will be brown...a golden brown. That's why we are called the golden state because of the
golden color of the hills in the summer plus the fact that gold was found in California. The rock formations were carved
out by glaciers many, many, many years ago. Skip took the opportunity to look for gold but only found a piece of fools
gold. Skip has been doing some volunteering and helping take down trees and shred tree branches.
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| Iris |
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| Creek |
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| Rock Roses |
May 17th We are now at Shelly's. Graduations will be the first week in June so we will be here until
after the parties. We settled in quite nicely. Having lived here for 8 1/2 years helps with the getting around
but there are many changes. We drove to Salinas to the high school swim meet. Ryne and Brandon both are on the
team. Ryne is a Senior and Brandon is a Sophomore. Ryne took 2nd place in his race and Brandon took 2 first places
in his races. Brandon was also in a relay that took first place. Their high school won the meet. They were
featured in the local paper...Ryne in a picture throwing the coach in the water and Brandon about how he raced. I copied
what they said about Brandon so I could share it with everyone:
One
of the most impressive swims on the day came from sophomore Brandon, who won two events in addition to swimming on two winning
relays. In the 500 freestyle, he beat the CCS qualifying mark by more than 20 seconds. His time of 4:49.09 topped the qualifying
time of 5:10.99.
"I started out pretty good but got tired half way through," Brandon said. "I kind of knew I could do it. I just swam
and it happened."
The next day found us 80 miles north in Pleasanton to watch Brett place soccer. The team did not win but in my
opinion played an outstanding game. Brett will be spending Memorial Day Weekend in Colorado at the Olympic Training
Camp.
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| Ryne |
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| Brandon |
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| Brett |
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| Paige |
May 28th We are back in Tracy and keeping busy. Paige had a dance competition in San Jose and did an
outstanding job. I took a few pictures...1152 to be exact. Of course, I will put one on the site. Sue had
lunch with the Bob's in Los Gatos. Deborah is moving to southern California and we wanted to wish her well. It
was fun to get together. Skip has been doing some work at the local Elks lodge. Brett is in Colorado and from
the daily reports from her, she is doing a good job. Shelly and family are in southern CA where the children are swimming
in competition. Brandon won the 1500 meter race. He is amazing. He always has energy left at the end of
this long race. Skip and Wade had to put in a new water heater in the house yesterday. Other than that not much
going on.
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| Sue, Aleta, Amy, Judy, Norma, Shirley, Sue, Denise, Deborah, Melanie |
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