THIS'S AND THAT'S

When we first moved to true northern California almost 6 years ago it was fun to see the sites. I was wowed the first time I saw this flag flying high above Interstate 5 that runs the length of the state going north /south. It is always a breath taking site and always a breeze that ruffles her feathers so to speak showing how large it is.

We have had a lot of this lately . Thunder on occasion with no lighting in these foothills. For which we are grateful as there is little to no rain hitting the ground but the air smells like it is. Dry lighting isn't what we like to see when the grasses are dry all around us since it often is the cause of wildfires. We do have a minimum of 100 feet defensive space around house and barns but that at times won't be enough.

Please excuse my swollen tootsies.  Last Friday as I was putting the goats and Pyrs to bed for the evening I got strung and bitten numerous times by a "meat bee" who is technically a member of the yellow jacket family. They are scavengers by nature and we see them each summer to one degree or another. I kind of did this to myself as there hadn't been but a half dozen around so far this year and I wasn't thinking when I found a fledgling sparrow floating in a water bucket on the fence line earlier. I picked it up out of the water and tossed to the side a few feet intending to retrieve it for placement further out the next day. By the time I went back out that evening the word was out and these little scavengers (think hyena's with wings) were doing their job and sent out a scout to give me a warning. It felt like a knife was rotating in my toes, swelling commenced immediately and by Sunday it was creeping up my leg and itching like mad. I had been bitten multiple times the summer of 2012 when I was tending the critters while Geoffrey was hospitalized. To the extent that I have apparently developed an allergic reaction to them. Not a good thing.Finally now a week later I am doing much better. The photo above was taken on the first morning after the bite and here is a link for some light reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket
And in case anyone is wondering I have no history of reacting to honeybee stings.

This is my latest project. It is a four shaft Nilus LeClarc table loom called Dorothy. This is one of the earlier models and I have had it a few years. Getting it ready for a new project.  A scarf of organic cotton gradient colors. Pictures as time allows.

I will interject a "Geoffrey update" if I have one. Today I do . He is recovering nicely from a diagnostic surgery and we are still dealing with CLL (chronic lymphatic leukemia) not Mantel Cell. Next step is a bone marrow biopsy for diagnostic purposes and then finally later this month a meeting with the oncologist to determine a treatment plan. He is napping more often and not as active as time passes but in good humor and trying to keep things normal as possible. Me too.