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| Mar | 2005 | |||||||
On the 1st, completed irrigation system at Fuesler house.
 Fuesler irrigation system On the 2nd, worked on stopping up new access for bees in hottub, started working on refurbishing long 2x12 for Norm's owlhouse.  Frustrated bees at Norm's On the 3rd, cut out and sanded a couple of catclaw branches for use on Norm's gate in La Jolla. Tried stopping up forming beehive by Norm's garage, and continued stopping up around my hottub.  16' and 20' boards ready to be spackled and painted (other side already done)  Desert sunflowers along Henderson Canyon Road On the 4th, fine-tuned the stoppers to Norm's beehive. Hit traffic in San Diego, so re-routed to Poway theatre, and saw Million Dollar Baby, which is an excellent movie. Then lost 0.30 at poker. From the 6th to the 9th, worked on constructing components for owl house.  Jef's house on the morning of the 8th  Brittlebush blooming at el Divisadero  Truck loaded with owl house lumber, one piece nearly 20' long On the 11th, did the draw, with the help of Gary. On the 12th, with the tennis tournament going on without me, the relatives arrived. We attended the potluck and Julie danced. On the 13th, went with Julie, Thor, and Logan to Glorietta and Henderson Canyon wildflower tours. Got coffee at Peggy's. went to finals of tennis tournament. Doug helped me start final construction of owl house, doing a Borrego tour on way back. Went to TP party, where Julie danced again.  Logan, Thor, Julie in Glorietta  Nephew Logan with Uncle Jef in Glorietta Logan, Thor, Julie in Glorietta  Mom by statue mount in Glorietta On the 14th, Julie, Doug, Thor, Logan helped me erect the owl duplex at Norm's. Then went on a drive with them. We hiked to the overlook on the Bill Kenyon trail, walked around the Mine Wash village site, and hiked around the slot. On the morning of the 15th, we hiked around La Casa. Thor and Logan played a game of chess on the oversized board at La Casa. Julie, et al, drove to Ocean Beach.  Mid-valley  Julie doing sword dance at Rickards On the 14th, got relatives to help complete erection of owl duplex. Went on tour of Borrego, going to Yaqui Pass, Mine Wash, and the Slot. Peggy and Casey came over, and Julie did her dance routine for the 3rd time. Doug and Julie made "Owl burgers" -- with green chile, cheese, and grilled onion and portobellos. |
 The help after erecting owl house  Bill Kenyon overlook trail  On the 15th, walked down to La Casa, and relatives packed up and drove to Ocean Beach.  Boys playing chess  Hiking thru La Casa On the 16th, drove to San Diego, picked up X-Rays of foot at Sharp. Met Julie, et al, at the hotel and went to beach. Then left on my own to install gate handles at Norm's. Returned and then went out with Julie, et al, to Old Town, where we had a nice dinner at Casa de Pico. Then went back to O.B., where we attended their street fair, after which, I drove back to Borrego.  Ocean Beach  Inner gate handle at Norm's  Dining at Casa de Pico  Dining at Casa de Pico  At street fair, in front of Robert Johnson - Midnight in Mississippi On the 17th, after seeing the podiatrist in Borrego, drove to L.A. and spent the night.  Bottom of Montezuma On the 18th, we went to the Huntington Art Gallery and Library, but it was closed to we wandered around the Cal Tech campus and had coffee and cake at their book store, where Thor got a Weapons of Math Instruction T-shirt. The rain came while we were in the middle of Cal Tech. After driving kids back to dad's, parked on street. Then showed a few 8mm films at dad's. He never expected to see the 4 films (made from 1956 - 1960), that we saw. Then, after tossing parking ticket in car, I drove to San Diego thru nasty traffic, arriving at poker 4 hours later. Lost 7 at poker.  Thor and Logan  Tour group  Touring N edge of property  Completing tour of grounds  Dad showing the "tree" that saved him when he fell earlier in the month  Thor, dad, Julie below big landslide |
 Julie and dad at bottom of landslide -- reddish posts are 6x8s!  Looking up to top of landslide  Julie, Jef at Cal Tech  Dad, Leny, Julie, Doug at Cal Tech  Dad at left, rest in party in background  Thor, Julie, Logan, Doug  Logan went to Cal Tech  Thor went to Cal Tech On the 19th, Hank, Becca, Jimmy, Joe came by and we drove over to see the flowers on Henderson Canyon Road, and Fonts Point.  Henderson Canyon Road  Pushing off Fonts Point On the 21st tried erecting bat-house at Norm's, but when I failed, it came down and whacked me a bit. Started draining pool, and swapped out 3 door latches. On the 22nd, re-did part of filter system in Norm's pool and fixed an irrigation leak.  Re-done pool piping  El Divisadero On the 24th, did taxes. On the 25th, saw movie Sideways. Interesting. Then dropped 20 at poker. On the 26th, noticed the propane was exhausted. Not a problem with summer so close. On the 27th, completed first complete mapset for el Divisadero hilltop for tour to tennis club at the next tournament. Spent time weeding and cleaning up outside.  1 of 5 such maps On the 28th, with help of Jaroslav, installed the new extended-post bathouse at Norm's. My only uncle, Gerard, died this morning at 86.  Jaroslav helping with bat house On the 29th, attended photo shoot for Robin's book, and then re-did busted piping on Norm's pool.  ABNA hiking book photo On the 30th, drove to L.A., and spent night at dad's. On the 31st, with Elsa, picked up mom and got flowers at Costco. Then constructed an arrangement at dad's. Dad took his car and I drove mine to services in Claremont, where we met Amy, wife of Van, and some of her family, after dropping off flowers. We stayed for the mass that night. Dropped mom off at hotel, and after a glass of wine with mom, drove Elsa back to dad's.  Dad, Leny, mom, Elsa, by our flowers  Elsa, Jef, mom by our flowers | ||||||
 Spectacular flowers were everywhere on this very colorful spring. | ||||||||
| Feb | 2005 | |||||||
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On the 1st, worked at Fueslers, and helped Thomas stabilize a fallen, massive Ocotillo. Dug trenches in front. On the 2nd, extended bathouse post at Norms. Purchased, and layed about 200' of piping at Fueslers. Power went out in valley for a few hours, and this was enough to trash my computer. On the 3rd, got computer back up, but without the ability to connect to the internet. Worked a bit at Fueslers. On the 4th, worked a bit on Norm's gate, purchased irrigation materials for Fuesler project, won at tennis: 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, against Craig and Sid, lost 14 at poker. On the 5th, Paco and Lizzy stopped by and spent the night. On the 6th, went to breakfast - I had pancakes! - with Paco and Lizzy. Then played a few sets of tennis at Jaroslav's. Took rest of the day off, watching part of stuper bowl. On the 7th, started assembling irrigation valve manifold(s) at Fueslers. Continued assembling irrigation systems at the Fueslers, until the 10th. Drove Nola to San Diego on the 11th, and then did the draw for the BSTC mixed doubles tournament. On the 12th and 13th, participated in the BSTC tournament, winning only 1 of 3 matches with partner, Doug Baker from San Clemente: 1-8, 8-4, 6-8. Then played an unofficial tennis match with Borrego Bob against Borden and Ken, winning in 3 sets. HH and Linda showed up and took me to Carlees, where I had half a Rueben and a beer. Then unloaded a bike, table, and chairs on them, after HH looked at my computer (still not on the net). On the 14th - 17th, continued installing irrigation system at Fueslers. On the 14th, when I mentioned my camera was missing, Rob brought it out - a little chewed up, as his dog had carried it off. I took some pix later that day of the flower fields on Henderson Canyon Road, on the way to Norm's, where I finished painting the owl houses.  Camera inside dog's mouth?  Flowers along Henderson Canyon Road  Painted owl houses and bathouse On the 16th, took some more pix of flower fields. Later that day, played a match with partner Bruce from Point Loma against Bill Walker and George Mendenhall, winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, at La Casa. Courts, recently repainted are in primo shape! Broke string on racquet, so arranged with Jaroslav to have more durable strings (half nylon / half kevlar).  Car on Henderson Canyon Road  Field of verbenas  Desert sunflowers dominate  Desert sunflowers mixed with dune primrose |
 Lupines near east end of road  Desert sunflower On the 17th, stopped by and got results of check-up at Medical Center. Nothing wrong. Picked up re-strung raquet at Jaroslav's. On the 18th, won at tennis with Fred against Hank and Craig: 3-6, 6-0, 7-5. Lost 13 at poker. On the 19th, helped with Tennis Club rummage sale, unloading stuff left by neighbor Ken, who moved out last month. On the 20th, won in 2 tie-breakers at Jaroslav's, with partner Don Irwin. On the 21st, stayed home as it rained all day. Following are pictures from semi-stormy weather for next few days:  Clouds hugging Santa Rosas  Standing water in Borrego Sink  Clouds over Sunset Peak  Rainbow over Deep Well pool area  Rainbow over my house  Clouds clearing over house   Borrego Palm Creek flowing over Borrego Springs Road (952 Kb MOVIE) On the 22nd, resumed work at Fuesler's, nearly finishing on the 24th. Heavy rains occurred early in the morning of the 23rd. On the 25th, arranged to meet Joey, but meeting was cancelled en-route. Caught up on some shopping. Saw first 2 hours of The Aviator, which is an excellent movie, before I had to go to an early tennis (lights still not working). Fractured foot playing tennis, but managed to win 7 at poker. Hank put fixed computer in my car.  Grace, Gin, Marge at party  Dick with his birthday card  Rosemary leaving early for Borrego Sings |
On the 26th, after finding crutches, Grace came over and moved computer from car to house, but she looked to be in worse shape than me! She convinced me to get X-rays, so I made the 7 hour expedition to Grossmont. Although X-ray equipment is here in Borrego, there isn't enough business to pay for a technician! Wildflowers, especially brittlebush, were seen in great quantity on trip to San Diego. After waiting 2 hours to see doctor at Urgent Care, almost didn't get x-rays, as machine was broken, but it was fixed at last moment. Got guess at a tendon separation from my little toe's phelange mid-foot, and went away with the following 'decoration' on my foot:  Ankle stirrup and special shoe Damage was $336 with x-rays, consult, and paraphenalia. Later that night, Jim picked me up and attended a TP party at Gin's, featuring a dinner, drinks, and advance celebration for visiting Dick Linkroum's 90th birthday. Of course, the group put a couple of trick candles on chocolate cake. On the 27th, caught up with computer work, as this was first full day I had computer back, sending out Tennis newsletter. Then found Norm and Sandy's reception was going on, so caught the last hour:  Richard Mills and Jef are the 2 with broken feet  Norm and Sandy    Sandy and Norm dancing (3.3 Mb movie) On the 28th, continued catching up on paperwork. Noticed a new beehive was forming in the outside air vent of my fireplace. Re-injured foot, while plugging it up. | ||||||
| Jan | 2005 | |||||||
On the 1st, watched the rest of the fireworks from La Casa with 6 others at my NY eve party. MOVIE: finale of fireworks (2.3 Mb)
 New Years revelers On the 2nd, played 5 sets (lost 4) at Jaroslav's. Removed Festivus tree. On the 3rd, during morning rain, took care of some paperwork. Then did some work at Norm's and slipped about 6 different kinds of desert trees. On the 4th, rain continued, and snow could be seen down below 5000' in the mountains. on the 5th, finished work at the church, and did some yardwork at Norm's. On the 6th, started cleaning up Norm's workbench area in his garage and slipped some Baja plants. On the 7th, did nothing on this rainy day. On the 8th, subbed in Sandi's tournament, playing some tennis in the rain! On the 9th, completed the tennis tournament.  Sunrise this morning   At the tennis center  One of many rainbows that day  Awards presentation at Granger tournament  This evening, with mom's help, tried slipping these desert plants collected from trimmings at Norm's house -- result was TOTAL failure Played tennis on the 10th. My partner was Ken, but Bill and Border forced us to a tie-breaker, which we won. On the 10th - 14th, worked over at Norm's, doing yardwork, painting, and repairs. Also completed 2 barn owl houses. Palm Canyon Creek flowed over Borrego Springs Road each of these days, but was deepest -- about 1' deep and 50' wide on the 11th.  Jef, Ken, Borden, Bill, after match. Note rainbow and wet court!  Made a cover for swamp cooler on the 11th. |
On the 14th, did the draw for the BSTC tournament, with 40 contestants. On the 15th participated in the tournament with partner Jan: won 8-4 against Don C. and Roz, lost 4-8 against Pete A. and Elaine, beat Bonnie and Dick, 8-5, and Fred W and Peg, 8-5, making it to semifinals on Sunday.  The desert is green!!!!! On the 16th, lost semifinal match in tie-breaker to Elaine and Pete. Mom and I played a match with Roz and Ron R. (winning 6-1, 6-4). Went to TP at Rickards that night and saw the Rickards slides from their Europe/Morocco trip. On the 17th, hiked with Steve, Diane, and Mike up towards the top of the tram again, but I ran out of gas, and water, and so turned around early, only hiking about 13.5 miles, and going up/down 5000'. The others continued, but ran into some extreme ice conditions, and had to be rescued that night by search and rescue! (MAP)  Jef at his turnaround point  San Gorgonio from the trail After 1st time I returned to tram station that day, I drove down hitchhiker Terry, who gave me this drawing in exchange for the ride:  Terry's drawing On the 18th, put primer coat on roof of the Herrlins, and started draining pool at Norm's.  Primer is blue On the 19th, painted at Herlins, ripped out the pump in Norm's pool, and cleaned the filters. On the 20th, painted at Herlins, and started re-installing pool equipment at Norm's. On the 21st, worked on Norm's pool, determining that old PVC pipe had expanded and wouldn't fit new fittings. Looked at problems at Norm's, La Jolla. Lost at tennis 3-6, 4-6. Lost 3 at poker. On the 22nd, installed new valve on Norm's pool and started to replace new line. Painted at the Herrlins. |
On the 24th, painted Herrlin roof and worked more on Norm's pool. On the 25th, completed painting Herrlin roof and completed assembling pump at Norm's. Started filling pool.  Redone 2" piping in Norm's pool  On the 26th, sanded Norm's door. Sanded and varnished new recycled oak table for living room. On the 27th, checked for leaks on Norm's pool, completed finishing new table top, brought over Chilean thornless mesquite bought from Herrlins and dug out oleander on SE of lot for later transplant. Saw Safin/Federer match at Aussy Open. Pretty good tennis!!! On the 28th, planted new mesquite tree at home on SE border of property. On drive to SD, started raining. Rained pretty good in La Jolla, but still managed to partially fix gate for Norm. No tennis, but won 34 at poker.  New mesquite  Norm's place green from rains  Rain falling in puddle  Under the shelter On the 31st, started working on replacing irrigation system at Fueslers'. | ||||||
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