Annie in love?

It seems that my cat, Annie, is in a serious relationship with the mountain lion statue.
I was coming up the road, from my walk, and there she was touching noses with the statue. She saw me and the silliness began.
"Who's your friend Annie?"

When I said this, she rubbed her face on its head and got kind of goofy....

she started rubbing back and forth like animals do when they like each other. 

I think it's time to get her another feline companion. She's having fantasies. She has been alone too long.

Revival of an old Chinese building

Do you remember when my friend first moved to Isleton and I took some pictures of some of the buildings on the main street in town? One of the buildings was the Bing Kong Tong Society Building.

And this was the condition it was in until the beginning of last year. 

Well... take a look at it now.

This is what a few dedicated people can do with the help of ...

... its local Historical Society, stabilization grants, SHRA(Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency ) and The California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE).
The inside still needs to be finished but this may be the beginning of saving these old buildings from falling into decay.
This building has been restored to its former historical splendor, with gold leafed wood symbols on the second floor that were meticulously recreated by a local artisan who lives in town.

The attention to details was considerable, right down to the light fixtures and metal siding.

This building now represents Isleton's history with the respect it deserves.

Wordless Wednesday: Birding on Staten Island Rd near Walnut Grove, CA.

Yes, I'm kind of Fungophobic

Yesterday I returned home from celebrating Christmas with my family, in the Bay Area. It was fun, busy and enjoyable. So enjoyable, in fact, that I didn't take any pictures. I can't believe it. This is a first. There will be no photos of the wonderful dinner that my sister hosted, no pictures of the Beans playing with their new toys, not one selfie or close up of the other family members who were with us. I don't even know what to say. I left the camera in the car and NEVER used it.
I'm a failure as an event photographer. But, I had a great time and enjoyed my short visit.

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve day, I wrapped presents. I made a lemon Bundt cake, packed my stuff up and piled it all into the car for my trip on Christmas morning. But the first thing I did was to go for a hike.

 It was cold, foggy and beautiful.
At the top of the hill the fog lifted a little, so I just sat on a favorite downed log...
and spent some quiet time with mother nature.

This log is always covered with these wonderful Bracket fungi, or shelf fungi. 

This one is called Ganoderma. It can  grow large thick shelves that may contribute to the death of the tree, and then feed off the wood for years after. This tree has been laying here for years and these fungi are always here on it. Their hardiness means they are very resilient and can live a long time,  developing beautiful multi-coloured circles of color that are actually annual growth rings.

The Oaks are covered with many different mosses, lichens and tiny ferns, mostly on their north sides.

The Poison Oak vines uses the trees for support and climbs all over the trunks and into the branches,

... covering some trees like a corset. The trees that fell in the wind storm a couple of weeks ago, were old ones that didn't have the poison oak growing around them. I think the vine acts as a support system for the trees and give them strength against the winter weather.

I walked up the ridge to an Oak tree that I had noticed before, because it has a multitude of mushrooms underneath it. It's a healthy, average looking oak tree that, for some reason, has an abundance of different mushrooms growing below it.

I stepped lightly around the tree and took some pictures of the amazing assortment of mushrooms that live under this tree.

There are pretty brown ones that look very fragile and somewhat rubbery. Same with the little cap mushrooms behind this one. I think the little ones are called Deadly Galerina and they would kill you with their deadly toxin. But, I'm not sure.. and there lies the dilemma.
There are some that look like pretty rocks...

odd shaped potatoes?

These two, very different mushrooms, seem to be having a serious relationship.

But, they all look dangerous to me,
except for this one...

These are the most abundant kind that are growing under the tree.
This one starts growing up through the earth like a brown ball of leaves...

 Then you begin to see the white top.

 It carries the grass and leaves with it as it grows out of the ground.

Finally the mushroom looses its coat of leaves and becomes a rather good sized mushroom with a really white stem, white cap and yellow gills.
This one looks good enough to eat... but who knows.

The cap has a beautiful, undulating shape.

Many of the caps seem to be broken off...

..which would indicate that something has tried to eat them. I guess this could have happen when the mushroom was pushing through the ground, but it sure looks like a critter has taken a bite out of them.

The rain and sunshine is producing a lot of mushrooms this year. They're everywhere.
This one is on the slope behind our house.

It's a monster. It arrives every year. We never touch it.

I love looking for mushrooms. It's like a scavenger hunt and there are so many different  kinds.
I don't know what any of these mushrooms are and I would rather not think that I do. It's safer to take pictures of them than to make a decision about the good and bad ones, eat them and end up sick... or worse.
My Italian family knew which were OK. They showed me when I was little, gave me books, explained which was which... but still... I just don't trust myself to know.

This is a wonderful pastime... photographing mushrooms.

So I think I will just lay on the ground and watch them grow... and buy the good ones in the store.

Wishes for you

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~

 

From our house to yours... Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Baking bread. birthday wishes and creature comforts

I baked some nut breads for Christmas today. The house, this evening, still carries the fragrance of orange peel, spices, pecans, walnuts and bourbon.

The three on the left are pecan/ orange rind/ bourbon bread. The ones on the right are walnut/ orange rind/ cinnamon.The pecan bread mixture seemed more dense and baked up much higher. Interesting... Same recipe with different nuts. Could a tablespoon of bourbon make the dough rise higher? Don't know.
I love these paper bakeware pans. They are pretty and perfect for giving out as gifts. This brand is called Welcome Home. You can buy them on Amazon.

Another storm moved in today. Wind and rain... I didn't know how much I missed this weather. I curled up in the afternoon and took a nap with the dogs (A perk of retirement) and fell asleep listening to the wild weather outside. After dinner I read my latest Mary Oliver book of poems, called Blue Horses. A birthday gift to myself a few weeks ago.

Cutter, happy to just be nearby, lay sleeping on the sofa.

sharing with me, the joys of his creature comforts.


Today is also my youngest grandson's birthday. He is eight years old. How fast they grow. It seems like he was, just a little while back, this toddler, eating dirt in our vegetable garden...

 but he's growing up so fast.

Happy Birthday little man. We love you.

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas is coming