Springtime Thursdsy

[Colliemom]

Good Morning everyone. Waking up to another sunny day here in northern Michigan, with promise of more to come. Has been chilly though but warmer air is on the way. Winter is over here. Oh, we might get another snow sometime yet, but it won’t be around long. The Coast Guard is breaking ice in the shipping channels and the Sault Locks are opening Sunday for the shipping season. RV dealers are busy selling rigs and shows are popping up here and there. The snowbirds are trickling home. The other sure sign is, Beth is getting ready to head north

Nothing exciting going on here, just finishing up little inside projects and my scrapbook. Willbe spending more time outside as the westher warms. An’t do a whole lot till last of snow is gone and ground thaws, but have some small trees to thin out in my woods out back, so will work in that.

Hope you all have a nice day. Those on the roads, safe travels. Prayers to those in need.

[Bethers]

Oh, Sue, you made me smile! After my week's delay, I still headed to this regional park I had planned as my kick off north for three days. I truly love a couple of them and stopping at this one on the start of my trek north was to be a splurge for me. Unfortunately, this won't go on my list as equal to the two I love. But no regrets. I'm going to head out shortly and hope the trail I pick makes me happy!

Clouds were in position for what could have been a fantastic sunset last night. It didn't pan out... Beautiful, but the clouds fizzled LOL. Momentarily, it was beautiful.

[Cudedog]

. . . RV dealers are busy selling rigs and shows are popping up here and there. . .

I can identify with that! Still on the Great Trailer Hunt. Have (mostly!) decided to go with new. Have found one or two of the "bunkhouse" models on that I am interested in (units three or four years old), but the way they are priced, a new unit is only about a thousand dollars more. So still pondering!!

It is pouring and pelting with rain here as I write (Thank goodness! We really need the rain, and it is very late in our rainy season.) Coming down so hard that you can't tell the cats from the dogs! A bit of hail mixed in with it too, now and again.

Since it was raining so hard here yesterday also (about 1" of rain on Wednesday), I sat on the couch planning my June/July Oregon trip (camps before and after the Bullard's Beach GTG) and pretty much have the reservations locked. I prefer the fabulous Oregon State Campgrounds, and even one of these (Tumalo State Park) is already full for the June dates I wanted, even so early in the year! I was lucky enough to score three days at Tumalo last year, just days before the eclipse (there had been a cancellation at the last minute, or I never would have gotten in). So made alternative reservations. Will continue to watch Tumalo, if something opens up I can change my schedule.

Word to the wise! If anyone is planning a stay at Oregon State Parks this summer, better think about getting your reservations lined up now!!

Also spent some time yesterday setting up an Excel spreadsheet for my much-anticipated, first-time-ever, trip to Yellowstone. Looking at maps, I think I can get myself there in about four days, driving about four (or sometimes five) hours per day. Still jello, for sure, but one can hope!!

Anyone here planning on a Yellowstone trip this spring or summer?

Stay dry!

Anne

[SoCalGalcas]

Annie, I would love, love, love to follow you to Yellowstone. But, yes there is a but. With my daughter and her situation, I cannot make plans nor reservations for the summer. It is complicated. However, if the Rock Creek pans fall, I will be following you. I too love volcanoes. Have you heard anything about more volcanoes erupting this summer because of ....
.something erupting on the sun? One of the blogs I follow is filled with engineers and scientists of which I understand very little!!!
No rain here yet!
Lyn

[Cudedog]

Annie, I would love, love, love to follow you to Yellowstone. But, yes there is a but. With my daughter and her situation, I cannot make plans nor reservations for the summer. It is complicated. However, if the Rock Creek pans fall, I will be following you. I too love volcanoes. Have you heard anything about more volcanoes erupting this summer because of ....
.something erupting on the sun? One of the blogs I follow is filled with engineers and scientists of which I understand very little!!!
No rain here yet!
Lyn

Lyn, that would be wonderful. I really enjoyed meeting you at the Eagle Lake GTG last summer, and have always admired your adventurous spirit!! So sorry about your daughter, I hope that she continues to do well.

Now about volcanoes (I'll bet you will be sorry that you asked!) what people generally don't realize is that there is a volcano, somewhere on the planet, that is erupting every day. Generally more than one - often a lot more than one!

Kilauea, a shield volcano in Hawaii, has been in a constant state of eruption for more than thirty years. And this eruption is still ongoing, and gives no sign of stopping. Mauna Loa, also in Hawaii, is giving some signs that it may be waking up. Japan, over the last few years, seems to have one or another of it's volcanoes erupting nearly every month or so. And the list could go on for pages!

Then there is one of my favorites, a Cascade volcano that is still considered to be "active" - a volcano that I can drive to in about two hours: mighty Lassen Peak.

Type "most active volcanoes in the world" into the Google search window, and prepare be amazed at what you will see!!

Ours is a very active planet geologically. Check out this article possibly correlating solar activity with volcanic eruption:

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2003ESASP.535..393S

Volcanoes! Be still my heart!!

Anne

[BarbaraRose]

It has been raining here all morning. A nice steady rain. Will make my weeds grow even taller . Many of them are nettles which won't be fun to remove. There are a few bottles of weed killer in the shed that I will have to see if they are still good and try those.

I work later this after noon. Yesterday went pretty good. Did 9 haircuts. Was very tired by the time I headed home tho.

The kitties are chasing each other around the house now. So fun to watch!

Hope you all have a good day!

[Cudedog]

It has been raining here all morning. A nice steady rain. Will make my weeds grow even taller . Many of them are nettles which won't be fun to remove. There are a few bottles of weed killer in the shed that I will have to see if they are still good and try those.

Be VERY careful with using any kind of weed killer around cats (and other pets and animals). Even the kind labeled "safe for pets". (Yeah, right.)

Any kind of herbicide (weed killer) is especially dangerous for cats.

Why?

A cat will go out into the yard, "do the business" in a bare spot in the yard (bare because herbicide has been applied there) and then cover it up, later licking the paws to clean the dirt from them. The dirt that still has traces of herbicide - because that spot in the yard is still bare. Or maybe the cat will go out onto a bare spot in the yard (bare because herbicide has been applied there) and roll a bit in the dirt for a good scratch. The cat will later lick the dirt from the fir to groom itself.

Being the lazy type, I once unthinkingly used a "pet safe" herbicide (weed killer) in my flower garden, thinking nothing of it when my cat often exhibited the above two behaviors. Normal cat activity, as it were.

Within the month my cat was dead.

Beware.

Anne

[monik7]

I was watching a TV program about a group working to maintain some hiking trails in the San Francisco Bay Area. They made a point of saying they used vinegar to kill weeds. Not sure how well it works, but I doubt they’d continue using it if it didn’t. Might be worth a try Barbie.
Sandi

[BarbaraRose]

Thanks for the advice. My cats don't go outside at all and I haven't seen any stray cats around or neighbor cats. My yard is pretty much crushed rock or wood chips all over, and the weeds are coming thru them (obviously no plastic was put underneath it). That said, I don't like chemicals either so will check into the vinegar treatment. There are a lot of weeds tho. Eventually, I will be removing the rock and wood chips and lay down plastic before putting new stuff (?) down. But that will be awhile before I get to that.