The Hill That Would Not Hold

(re-run from 2024) My neighbors’ hill collapsed fifteen months ago in the crazy January rains of 2023. For months nothing was happening, and I concluded that a lot of guys had looked at the hill and had either refused to bid the job or had bid it way too high. A bulldozer appeared in November,… Continue reading The Hill That Would Not Hold

Weed, Water, Thrift

I just got home from an intense 48 hours of going to the beach, watering all my potted plants (gophers), and collecting more teacups for my dining-room side hustle selling dishes. It looked like sunshine, but only the first half day. After that, clouds and more clouds, but good for working in the yard weather.… Continue reading Weed, Water, Thrift

Poop on the Patio

(re-run) It’s been raining ever since 2023 started, pretty much nonstop. We aren’t used to this in sunny California. We’ve been in a twenty-year drought for well, twenty years. Usually Seattle gets this weather, not us. I can’t walk the dogs. I can’t work in the yard. But I can feed the critters and watch… Continue reading Poop on the Patio

The Joke Is On Us

(re-run) For twenty years, we heard the same thing: drought, longer fire seasons, save water. Blah, blah, blah. Last year the state of California had no measurable snow pack for the first time in 160 years, since people started keeping track of those things. The reservoirs were lower than ever. Then came 2023. The New… Continue reading The Joke Is On Us

The Joke Is On Us

For twenty years, we heard the same thing: drought, longer fire seasons, save water. Blah, blah, blah. Last year the state of California had no measurable snow pack for the first time in 160 years, since people started keeping track of those things. The reservoirs were lower than ever. Then came 2023. The New Year’s… Continue reading The Joke Is On Us

Poop on the Patio

It’s been raining ever since 2023 started, pretty much nonstop. We aren’t used to this in sunny California. We’ve been in a twenty-year drought for well, twenty years. Usually Seattle gets this weather, not us. I can’t walk the dogs. I can’t work in the yard. But I can feed the critters and watch them… Continue reading Poop on the Patio