LAKE ALMANOR, January 2008

I just returned from Lake Almanor where we (my sister and bro-in-law) spent a lot of time watching snow fall and taking photos of the beautiful scenery. As you'll see from the pics, there was a lot of snow which in itself is unusual ... the area (in Plumas County, CA) doesn't normally receive this much snow at all.



This is a view from the house .. the white area is sandy beach .. the last day we were there, the lake was covered in snow .. there's a pic of that later on.



This is one of the smaller rivers in the area .. not to be confused with the creeks meandering throughout.



Here's another small river (or large creek) .. what an exceptionally beautiful area it's in.






This is taken from the upper floor of the house .. the white area is snow ON the lake itself.






Another photo of the snow-covered lake ... it actually looks like a large pasture covered in snow. The ducks were confined to the small pools of water dotted around the lake.





This was taken from the car on the way home .. I took lots of photos so, hopefully, one will be used for this year's Christmas card.



We had to stop by this snow bank for pics. I'm there so you can see the height of the bank.



Just off I-5 near Woodland, there are a few protected wetland areas. In the winter, Snow Geese in the thousands come down from northern Canada to escape the harsh weather and they don't return until Spring. This is just one of the areas we stopped by. The birds in flight are mallards ... there were also several other species of waterfowl, but none as spectacular as the Snow Geese.

HOME ... BLACKPOOL ...

My sister just came back from a quick week-long trip home ... it was my mother's wish that her ashes be scattered in the same cemetery that her mother's ashes were scattered, so the job fell upon my sister. .. The weather, needless to say, was typical English winter weather .. wet and breezy.



Blackpool is known for its Tower .. among many other things. The tower was built shortly after the Eiffel Tower ... at the end of the 19th century .. it's about 518' high. There's so much to tell about it - better if you go to http://www.blackpooltourism.com/ and check out my home town.



Blackpool has three piers jutting out into the Irish Sea .. this is the north pier. Lots to do at the end of the piers .. games, arcades, food, shows, fun!


This is the largest and fastest roller coaster in Europe .. it's called The Big One .. it's part of the 'Pleasure Beach' which is a huge carnival/boardwalk, open year round. In the foreground are some of the 'Illuminations' which is another thing my home town is famous for. My family spent many, many fun filled days there ... oh the memories ...




My parents lived here when I was born (in Blackpool) .. at that time is was known as Abbey Road Post Office but the post office is no more, although the shop sells every else that it did when my parents owned it. I don't really remember it but I am going to visit it when I'm over there for sure!



This is the Halfway House ... a really nice pub that my dad used to frequent. They have awesome food (as do most larger pubs in England) and they give you lots of it. It's on the corner of Squires Gate Lane and St. Anne's Road in Blackpool ... well worth a visit if you're in the area.

It's great seeing photos of places I knew but it just makes me homesick. Good job I'm going over there soon!

Foiled!

My squirrel feeder has been replaced .. the cedar box was put on the fire after the platform was eaten away by "Stupid" (see 'Black Squirrels' entry below).
I purchased a brushed metal feeder and installed it in exactly the same place the cedar feeder was hanging.



"Stupid" paid a visit yesterday, right after I put it up ... he stood on his hind legs to look from the bottom, then he jumped on top of it and looked down, returned to the railing and stared at it from the front, then from the back, jumped on top again and finally gave up and took off. Nothing to chew on, no food easily accessible. Foiled at last!
Even the Chickadees came over to see if they could get the food.
I'm waiting for the black squirrels to pay a visit .. I'm sure they'll figure out how to get in there ... they can see the food through the Plexiglas front and can reach in through the holes above it, or they can raise the lid like they did on the cedar feeder.
In any event, this one should last a lot longer!

New Nephew

Here I am holding my newest nephew, William ... going to be called Will ... he's not even a month old yet! The photo was taken at his home .. by my sister. You need to understand my sister in order to understand the look on my face! I believe she owns 8 cameras now and there isn't a moment's peace when she's around and there are young family members present! or any family members .. or friends .. or animals! Get the picture? (pardon the pun)

Black Squirrels

I put up this squirrel feeder outside my kitchen window ... when it gets damp, the wood swells and the lid wont close, but it still keeps the food dry.
We have a lot of grey squirrels around here and two black ones ... they're so entertaining.
This is one of the blacks who's getting food the correct way .. lift the lid and help yourself! We have one grey squirrel ("Stupid") who doesn't quite get it .. "here's your sign" ... he couldn't figure out how to get to the food so he started chewing the wood .. up and down both sides and across the lid ... then he started on the platform ... it's down to a small square now about 2" x 2" .... and even when the lid was sticking up, he couldn't see how to get to the food! His solution: he sits ON the lid, bends over and picks up food from the platform in front.
I hope he doesn't procreate!

2008 ... A New Year

Our first storm of the season hit January 3rd and we, along with thousands of other people, lost electricity at 7:50 am Friday, 4th and service wasn't restored until 5:15 pm Saturday, 5th ... a total of over 33 hours without electricity. Fortunately, we had stocked up on battery lamps, oil lamps, candles and finally a nice big generator which allowed our fridges and freezer to maintain temperature, and two TVs and electric heaters to keep us from moaning too much.
January 6 brought a visit from my stepson, Les and my grand-daughters, Jade and Jasmin.


This is a photo of Jade, holding Jack the corgi pup, me, Jasmin and Les .. taken in my sister's sun-room.



Here's Jasmin and Jade with Jack ... they showered him with lots of TLC.