The "Sand" Fire

A fire broke out late Friday afternoon in Amador county in almost the exact location we were visiting (wine tasting with friends) earlier that day.   It quickly grew into a huge plume as photographed with my new Christmas/Birthday lens!   A wide-angle.!

The plume and everything to the left is smoke!

Atmospheric River!

We've floating away out in Cali in what has been termed an "atmostpheric river"....  crazy amount of rain over the past few days....

Fair Time

We surprised the kids with a trip to the State Fair this morning.  Jack kept guessing we were going to the Jelly Belly factory which was the last travel surprise.   We did a lot of stuff in our 3 hours at the fair.  Jack and Elle both scored bandanas for completing their Smokey Bear / Forest Fire prevention passport - which is more work than you'd think!  Jack also learned about the Bernoulli Principle.   We rode the monorail and even so a real Monster Truck!

These Ads Don't Get Much Play in Arkansas

The Clouds of the Dog Days

While the dog days of summer rarely bring rain to us here in NorCal we do get a few more clouds. These were particularly cool.

These ads don't get much play in Arkansas....

Rain Rain Go Away

We've had tons of rain the past week or so. At this point we are several inches above normal for the year (fiscal year for rain around here ends in June). They are saying the ski places are likely staying open into May. Here's a shot of a fairway from the Cameron Park Country Club!

Surnise

The rainy season makes for more clouds and some treats when it comes to sunrises and sunsets... The sunrises tend to last for only a minute or two before the sun emerges from the Sierras.

 

Wal-Mart in California

Out in California Wal-Marts are somewhat less frequent then you find down south. Folsom, for example, a town bigger than Jonesboro, only contains 1 somewhat wimpy and run-down Wal-Mart. Don't take my word for it... here's a "Yelp" review from a chick in Houston who was unimpressed with our Wal-Mart.



Jonesboro, by comparison, contains two Super Wal-Marts.

We'll start to catch up soon. Our city council just approved a plan allowing our existing Wal-Mart to expand and become "Super" while also improving its facade. Here's what the final product is supposed to look like.

Now this is CA Weather!

Looks like the rainy season is ending out here in CA!

Spring is Here!

We've started the Spring planting with new annuals in the pots and a few trees/perennials in the back. Jack, of course, helped.



The pot nears completion...



We also took a risk and planted some herbs and tomatoes. Hopefully no more frosts...

Empty Lot Across the Street

There's an empty lot across the street from us that is generally not much to look at. The other day, however, after a day of rain the sun was out and it was pretty cool with the reflection of the oak tree in the puddle.

Christmas Morning Report - Folsom, CA

As of 7:15am not a creature is stirring...not even a beagle.

It does, however, appear that Santa Claus made it by at some point last night.

Snow! In Sacramento!!!

Snow in Michigan? Yawn. Snow in Nebraska? Tell me if it exceeds 10 inches. Even Arkansas gets a little snow on occasion. But in Folsom, California (at an elevation of ~200 feet above sea level) snow is more rare than hen's teeth.

Last night, however, it was supposed to come and by 3:00am it was falling like a banshee. We ended up with about an inch in total and it was mostly melted by noon.



Ranger, an old veteran of snow from his days in Colorado, is right at home.



Jack is intrigued initially, then declares that he doesn't really like snow!

The 2009 California State Fair - with the bear!

We took Jack to the state fair this morning... The theme of the fair this year is Weird, Wild & Wacky - though this special flag puts wonderful in the mix as well.

One of the feature performers at this year's fair is MC Hammer. Sadly for MC - more folks seemed to be turning up looking to name the baby mule than to hear him perform.



Our highlights included the animal exhibits including the petting zoo which featured a Kangaroo! (or at least a marsupial of sorts). Jack also had got into an arguement with a llama!


And here's a snap of his new kangaroo friend.

The food at the fair is probably worthy of a whole different blog post but the summary would go something like this: expensive and fried. We had one of the famous cinnamon rolls and a big pickle!

All in all it was a fun morning at the fair with the bear...

Hurry up Fall!

We've had our typical hot stretches this summer though all in all it hasn't been horrible. I happened to have the camera in the car and snapped a couple of snaps on a scorcher. I'm posting the 107 (may need to click to see). The 109 degree picture taken the same afternoon didn't come out quite as well. Happy that Fall is nearly upon us!