Racing in Tornado Alley

      I’m married to a motor-head who claims to be “the best driver never to race in the Indy 500.” So we went to the race on Sunday in spite of the dire weather forecast. As we were getting ready to go up to our seats, we saw everyone evacuating from the upstairs. A sign cautioned everyone to take shelter.. When we did go up, we watched the rain coming closer and closer on satellite—the northern tip of a monster storm that spawned tornadoes in all the states south of us.

A weather advisory telling everyone to take shelter on the ground floor beneath the stands, and to "Activate your personal safety plan."

     The rain hit us just about race time, and poured sheets of rain over the track. It was a deluge! 

Safe to go back to your seats!

Two hours later, the speedway announced they would dry the track with gigantic blowers and start the race around 4:00. They did! The track dryers were amazing—like leaf blowers with rocket engines.

Wouldn't these come in handy on the lawn?

This dryer sounded like a jet engine!

   

 

 The race took about 3 1/2 hours. Josef Newgarden won—his second in a row. Quite a history making race! The cutest moment was when their adorable toddler decided to copy mom and dad by kissing the bricks. The fans went wild. 

Josef kissing the bricks, before his wife and little one joined him.

 It took us three hours to get out of the parking lot, then drive back to our Airbnb in the second wave of blinding rain. We were safely back at midnight. So glad to get through that day!

A Visit to Zaferia Organic Community Garden

This weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting the Zaferia Organic Community Gardens in Long Beach. This was my third visit to the gardens, and each time I have been amazed at the lush garden plots growing there. The gardeners are a creative group, growing flowers and vegetables together in raised beds and a variety of quirky containers. The gardeners I spoke with were very friendly, happy to discuss their gardens with visitors. Most said this was a place of solace for them, as well as providing good vegetables to eat and share.  I am always amazed at how things grow in Southern California. Here I saw 6 foot high dill plants, five foot high borage plants in full bloom, hosting hundreds of bees, and Brussels sprouts sharing beds with artichokes and strawberries. And in the background--palm trees waving in the breezes.

This garden included a mailbox, a peacock planter, and gloves sitting on fence posts.

A pair of monster hands are nestled in this watering can!

Artichokes, nasturtiums, and kale are all growing together happily.

I love the stair step buildings backing a plot brimming with sweet peas.

When I got home, I checked on Mother Robin and her two hungry chicks. She is staying busy keeping them fed with bugs and worms. I love watching them bob their tufted heads above the rim of the nest. Mama gives me the stink eye whenever I look out the window at her, so I'm trying to keep a low profile.

 

An Update on the Mother Robin

     I'm happy to report that Mama Robin's chicks have hatched, and her deadbeat mate has flown in to help her with them. The two of them are flying off to search for goodies and busily filling those gaping baby beaks.

Mother's Day in the Garden

This week I witnessed two bird moms working very hard to raise their babies.

The first is a robin who built her nest on the inner frame of my patio umbrella. We had it open at the time, and she must have thought this was a perfect spot to build--a sturdy framework, shade from the sun, and protection from the rain. I have been missing the birds I knew in my Kentucky yard, so I was so happy that she had chosen our yard that I left the nest in place.

That little robin has sat on that nest for almost two weeks now. We have had several days of high winds which rotated the umbrella around and around. She still hung on. Now our days are getting hotter, and I see her standing in the nest with her mouth open to cool off.  Her mate doesn't come by to feed her, so she has to fly off a few times each day to hunt. I have kept our bird bath filled with fresh clean water for her. I've learned not to bump my head on the edge of the umbrella when I'm watering my plants. Now I'm a bit worried for her, because it seems her babies should have hatched by now. I hope she isn't sitting on nonviable eggs.

The second bird mom was a dove. Doves like to build their nests on platforms, so they often build under the eaves of houses in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, these ledges aren't as sheltered as the birds might think. They're subject to high winds, which we have been experiencing lately.

I was walking out to my trash bins when I saw a pile of sticks and straw sitting on top of the green waste bin. I thought it was something my husband had cleared up from the yard. But as I looked closer, I saw that under the straw were two dead baby doves. They were almost fully feathered, their mouths open as if waiting for something to eat. I looked up above me, and I saw a mother dove looking down at me. She was just quietly sitting there, unable to leave her babies. I thought how hard she must have worked to get them to this stage, just days from being able to fly. The wind must have blown the nest down from my neighbor's eaves. How awful to build a nest, lay eggs, care for the eggs and then care for the babies--and then lose them. It broke my heart!

I ordered a dove box from a maker on Etsy. It has a roof and a platform for building a nest. In addition, it has a little guard rail to keep the nest safely in place. I know just where to hang it. I hope her next brood is able to make it to full maturity.

California Dreaming

 

                                                On the way to California                  Photo by Sandy Denny

I have been away for the last six months because my husband, mother and I were in the process of moving everything we own (we’ll ignore the storage units in Kentucky for now) to our new home in California. All that downsizing I did over the last year? Completely inadequate! I should have been downsizing intensively for two or three years. There’s nothing like carrying all your stuff to give you a better perspective on its true value to you. 

With the help of my dear sister-in-law Sandy and my brother-in-law Monte, we drove our cars across the country to Sacramento to meet the moving trucks. Our move-in date was in the middle of July, the high temperatures were 102-105 degrees, and we had more boxes than we could fit in our house. Some of the boxes had to sit in the back yard until we could unpack and make room for them! 

Later this summer, after hauling boxes of books upstairs all day, I took a vow to refrain from buying any more books for a year. So far, I have kept that promise. It really hasn’t been too difficult, because the Sacramento library is excellent. I actually read more books last year than I did the year before. And I am enjoying the process of putting a book on hold and waiting for my turn to read it. At present, I am #154 out of 560 people waiting to read Prince Harry’s book Spare.  I don’t mind the wait, because it makes the experience of reading the book more special. And when I’m finished, I can give the book back to the library instead of having it sit on my shelf gathering dust.