All the Comforts of Home

Lysander demonstrates proper siesta technique.

The month of May brought big changes around here: 

1) we had our first truly hot weather, 

2) we finally got electricity in the motorhome, and 

3) (most exciting of all) we now have a working phone!!  Right next to the couch!  

With any luck, internet access is soon to follow.  No more driving ten miles just to make calls and check our email at the library.  Best of all, we can finally kick our useless cell phones to the curb.  Bob’s phone has already been decommissioned, and mine is soon to follow.  If our new number hasn’t found its way into your inbox yet, shoot us an email! 

Little Motorhome in the Big Woods.

The biggest change of all is that in order to acquire these luxuries, we had to move the motorhome to another property nearby.  We are now enjoying a living/working partnership with George and Theresa Catlin on their enchanting 70 acres off of Hwy 49.  The domesticated animals here are limited to cats so far, but we see and hear our many wild neighbors daily: countless lizards, squirrels, gophers, and field mice; acorn woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and songbirds; snakes, tree frogs, and a pack of coyotes that like to run laughing past the house at around 2 in the morning.  

Acorn woodpeckers are THE bird around here.   They have a crazy laugh to go with their crazy white eyes.

Bob is helping George to complete a replica of George’s father’s barn, which will provide a guest/living space upstairs and the shop space downstairs that Bob has needed for so long.  They painted the exterior this week, transforming the structure into a truly graceful addition to the property, even in its unfinished state. 

There is plenty of work for me in the established garden area here, and plenty of booming brassicas and salad greens for us to help devour.  Now that the hot weather has arrived I try to limit my garden work to mornings and early evenings, but a quick midday salad trip often turns into 45 minutes of weeding or mulching or hummingbird-watching or…

Ahh, arugula nectar.  Does it taste peppery?

I found this little guy camping out in the broccoli rabe.

I’m also getting a little paid work in the bed and breakfast that George and Theresa run out of their house, called One Light (http://one-light.us/).  They have some travelling planned for this summer, so it works out well for everyone for Bob & me to learn the B&B biz—something we’ve been curious about for some time already!  Yosemite draws literally millions of people to this area every year, and the B&Bs tend to fill up fast with visitors who want locals’ insight into enjoying the park and surrounding areas.  Many of the guests at One Light are from overseas, which is extra fun.  I’m brushing up my German with the help of some novels written by a relative of George’s which were picked up by a German publisher and translated.  

By far the best part of living at a working bed and breakfast, however, is that there is a pool.  Oh man, it is so awesome to fall into on a hot day.  Because an outdoor pool surrounded by trees takes a lot of upkeep, Bob and I are also learning Pool Maintenance 101 from George.  It’s the perfect excuse to don a suit and get up there every afternoon to, you know, check the water quality :)

I dare you guys not to visit us now!