It's been a long time since I've been here

Last summer wasn't about travel in California. Last summer was about family history and making new family history.

I traveled to Tennessee to find my grandfather's roots. What an amazing journey that was and where the Home Place was and the surrounding area is now ingrained in my memory. Coming from the browns of California, the greens of Tennessee were incredible. From there I went to Missouri to visit my son and brother but I also got some time to see where my grandmother was from.

We also made new family history when we met two more of my husband's siblings. We stopped for a day in Amarillo, Tx to meet Darla and then in Diamond, Mo to meet David. We spend several day visiting his new brother, Rick and sister, Frances in Albuquerque and saw where his grandparents lived. This is all new to him because up until 2 years ago, he had no idea where his biological family was.

But it appears that I am back to California. I took on the role as "California Dreamin' Contributor" for Squidoo. I'm not quite sure what that means yet but I know California.

No new pictures

I guess I was in such a hurry to get out of California, it didn't occur to me to take pictures. Besides, we went a different way and how many pictures can you take of the desert? We took the 10 to the 62 which runs all the way to Parker, Arizona. There is nothing out there but whoop-ti-dos and cactus. Now that I have been to Tennessee, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, it's time to do something California. School starts in one week so we will need to do something soon. Maybe we'll go to the beach.

Getting ready for a road trip

I recently returned from a family history research trip to Tennessee and soon we will be off on a road trip to Missouri.  While none of the places we will be visiting are in California, I find I have no pictures of the trip to the Arizona border on Interstate 40. I guess we drive it so often, it doesn't occur to me to take pictures of something that has become boring.

There are many things to see and do between our home and the border so this trip, I will be making an effort to document some of those places. Route 66 runs from San Bernardino to the Arizona border and yet, I have not taken the time to see the historical sites along the way. They probably don't grab my attention because as children, Route 66 was our route to Texas to visit family. I can drive this in my sleep so it's time to make it interesting again.

Hummingbird update

I had a lovely vacation in Tennessee with my cousin Patty. We tracked down the home place and although disappointed that the house was gone, we did find the foundation. Tennessee is an incredibly beautiful state and coming from the browns in California, the greens of Tennessee were refreshing. Still, in the back of my mind was my hummingbird family.

We had two eggs and I expected them to hatch when I was away from home. 

 

It was with total delight that the afternoon before I left, our little eggs hatched. Although the picture could be clearer, Mom was too close to get a better picture. We try not to upset her. The two fuzzy caterpillar shapes are our babies.

These pictures were taken yesterday. They are a definite "Feed Me!"

Every day they get bigger and I know it won't be long before they leave. We are enjoying every minute.

Hummingbird Eggs

Darn! I am leaving tomorrow for an 8-day family history adventure in the hills of Tennessee. Not darn that I am leaving but the gestation period for hummingbird eggs is 14 to 23 days and I am probably going to miss the eggs hatching. Fortunately, my husband will be home so he can monitor our new babies.

I did the research and the eggs are now almost two weeks old. I also read that hummingbird dad's don't nest but our hummingbird dad does. While he doesn't spend a lot of time there, he will cover for the hummingbird mom. 

In the meantime, our cactus has bloomed again. I have pictures of my grandson next to the cactus when it and he were small. I take pictures of it every time it blooms. So, here is yesterday's picture. The blooms only last one day. 

 It's time to pack for the trip. Just checked the eggs. Still haven't hatched. Dad was sitting on the nest while mom chased away another bird. It's a baby and just hatched from another nest on the porch. It sound like wild kingdom outside!

Hummingbirds

 We have lots of birds in our area. We have the noisy black birds, the crows and the little birds with the red chest. I don't know what they are but they have nests in our trees and awnings.

Then, we have the hummingbirds. When we moved here years ago, I looked them up. The pair that we currently have nesting are Anna's hummingbirds. Our porch is covered in honeysyvle so it is a constant food source. This year they have taken up housekeepoing on the front porch post.

I am not quite sure how I missed the beginning of the nest building but one day I noticed the momma hummingbird bringing little bits of fluff and tucking it into the nest. I was shocked. The nest is out in the open. Earlier this month the mom and dad spent time coming up to the dog and I on the porch and checking us out. Our dog is oblivious to birds so they were satisfied they were safe.

I posted the picture below on Facebook yesterday. I am surprised at the interest. I guess it's not everyday that a hummingbird sits for a picture but they don't move unless we get too close. So here is the daddy sitting on the eggs. It is going to be another scorcher today, topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit but mom and dad will be there taking turns. It is shady in the afternoon so at least they aren't in direct sunlight. They are such a treat to watch.

 I am waiting for an opportunity to check out what is in the nest. Although it is only 6 feet away, we have stopped using the front porch steps because we don't want to scare them. They let us know they are not far away so I am biding my time for a closeup.

It's raining

It's May 6th. We are past the rainy season. It was 100 degrees for two days last week. Most of us are nursing some sort of sunburn.

Usually when they say it's going to rain, we don't pay much attention. We are also less likely to get rain than the LA area. We have different micro-climates so rain in one place doesn't mean it will make it to us. Our news breaks down the weather to separate Valleys-Inland Empire, Mountains, High Desert and Los Angeles Basin. Right now, the Doppler shows rain in our area but dry in Temecula.

Rain is a big deal here. We don't see a lot of it and it makes everything look better. The wet earth smells good. And, I just remembered, they plowed the field across the street last week. All those tumbleweeds they plowed under will get a head start with the rain and provide us with another bumper crop to climb into our yard in the fall.

Oh well, time to get the boy up. He has an umbrella he can take to the bus stop. He's had it several years and only used it twice so he'll be excited. Small things make us happy.