Ramirez summarizes the State of the Union . . .
February 2013
Maintenance Day
Here I am on the roof of the “Albatross” (our California house) sawing off a dead palm frond. I also sawed off three palm berry pods. Our eventual plan is to have the four palms removed from the property, but that won’t happen until next summer when some new financial arrangements will have been made.
In the meantime, we have to make trips to take care of some of the maintenance items. Damsel removed most of a prickly pear cactus that fell over since we last were here. It’s a pain for now, because we have to remove ourselves from our beautiful Arizona home to attend to matters here.
Breaking News
The local (Los Angeles) TV stations are all breathlessly covering the Dorner case. This is a very important news story, especially for people in the immediate San Bernardino County area where the manhunt continues.
At this time, they believe the suspect is still inside a cabin near Big Bear. The cabin appears to be on fire and the law enforcement resources are said to have the cabin surrounded.
They are not sure Dorner is still inside the burning structure.
As I write this. it is a half hour before the SOTU. If the drama in the mountains continues into the next hour, I hope that Fox LA has enough sense to stay with the breaking news rather than switching coverage to some bloviating, gun-grabbing socialist inside the beltway.
UPDATE: No way of knowing for sure until forensics clears the scene, but it appears Dorner is probably dead.
Rest Stop Scenic View
At about the half-way point across California on our way from the Colorado River to the old homestead, lies the Whitewater rest stop. Whitewater is located in the Banning pass between Mount San Gorgonio and Mount San Jacinto. This is an image of San Jacinto taken from the rest stop while we were taking a break from the grueling drive across I-10. Click on the image to enlarge.
65th Annual Gold Rush Days Parade
Some readers may recall that I missed the 64th Annual Parade due to falling on my head early the morning of the parade. Fortunately, that did not happen this morning. Damsel and I walked to the parade route (about a quarter mile from home) and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.
Billed as the fourth largest parade event in Arizona, we witnessed the passage of some of the usual and some of the most unusual entries in the event. The American Legion Color Guard (local chapter) led the parade with a herd of Watusi Longhorn Cattle in trail. Popular character actor Wilford Brimley rode in the stagecoach along with the Riders in the Sky western music ensemble and several other “Grand Marshalls.”
Many of the classic cars we saw yesterday rode in the parade along with some we had not seen. There were bands, dancers, cowboy poets and a bunch of the local merchants and businesses that passed by. A couple of unusual entries were the Watusi Bull in a Cadillac and the “Poodle Posse” toward the end. We had fun and although we could see traces of snow on the foothills, there was no rain on our parade.
More Signs of Spring
I took this photo of a Desert Mallow wildflower as we walked back from the car show. There was a honey bee deep in the bud collecting nectar. Although today was a beautiful spring-like day, the forecast calls for a chance of showers tonight and tomorrow, with cooler temperatures in the wake of the rain passage. Click on the image to enlarge.
Ocotillo and Saguaro
Last evening, some puffy clouds rolled into the area. I was at the courtyard gate when I took this photo of the ocotillo and saguaro against an interesting sky texture. Click on the image to enlarge.