Crazy Spring!

This spring has had some crazy weather! Can you believe that on May 23rd, this is what our garden looked like? I am so glad we never got rid of all the bucket toys from when Dominic was little...they came in handy!
Although the snow was melted by mid-afternoon, Scott has continued to cover his tomatoes and peppers for the past 2 nights because of frost and it looks like it may continue through the week. We didn't cover the corn rows and it seems like the little guys are doing okay. Hopefully all the bean, squash and other seeds that are in the ground that haven't sprouted yet survive the cold spell. Crazy, eh?

Newest addition....

After loosing our beloved Lady in late July, we were not planning on getting another horse. However, an opportunity presented itself and we could not pass up the deal. Free...I here you all saying nothing is free. You're absolutely right, more hay to buy for sure! On November 9th, Milo, a 10 year old gelding came to live at the Coleman Ranch. He has settled in quite nicely and he and Pumpkin have already become buddies. She actually called out for him yesterday while he was hanging at the back fence meeting the neighbors horses and he turned and ran to the front of the property to be with her. Guess she really needed his companionship. Here are a couple of shots of Milo...yep he's a big boy!

Have you seen my trash can?

Okay....here it is trash day. So we put the trash out and when I came home from work, the trash can was not sitting in the normal place. I usually pick it up and throw it in the back of the truck to bring it down the road. But it wasn't there. So....I'm thinking my nice neighbor pulled it down the road for us since we have been taking care of their horses quite a bit lately...that's another story. Well, it was not by the garage, not in the backyard, not sitting anywhere! I called the neighbors and no one saw anyone picking up our trashcan. Well holy crap! Someone must have stole it right out in broad daylight with cars driving right by them. I have heard of folks who live in town having them stolen, but not out by our neck of the woods. I guess someone really needed it more than us. So now let the games begin....I am calling the trash company tomorrow to see if we can get a new one without having to pay again. In the meantime, if anyone sees our trashcan (looks just like the one pictured here) let us know!!!!

Too close to home!

Yesterday, August 29th around 3:30pm I was talking on the phone with my daughter Joni about the fires in Southern California. We were talking about how dry everything is and how scary this fire season is going to be. Then my call waiting clicked on and it was my cousin calling to ask me what was burning by our house. I walked out in to the front yard and there it was! A fire starting on top of the hills across the road from us in the Alpine Forest area. The smoke was billowing and we could see the flames. We know the area up there pretty well because we used to ride our horses up to that ridge. Pretty scary, but in a matter of minutes the helicopter was dipping in the lake and making drops. They got a handle on it quickly and luckily there were no homes lost. Still don't know what caused the fire. Here are pictures taken from our front yard.

It was a bit breezy, but not too bad so the fire stayed pretty low and burned mostly underbrush.

The helicopter was racing back and forth - good thing the lake is close.

The Kern County fire department was able to contain it to 12 acres. It sure looked bigger than that from our view.

Just a reminder to all my loved ones who live in possible fire areas, be prepared!

Lot's of Poppies!

This has been the best year yet for poppies around our place. Guess all the snow we had this year helped. I love looking out both the front and back windows and seeing the beautiful bright orange. I did not plant any of these seeds. There were a few when we first moved in and I just keep letting them pop and spread. Here are some shots of the state flower, the California Poppy.

Can you believe it, there is a white poppy mixed in with them. I have never seen a white poppy.

View from the front windows.

Last year we put all the dead plants in the fire pit. Guess the seeds popped when we burned them down they popped and left us with a blanket of orange!

Airstreams in the news......

The company I work for has had a lot of press lately. We were on CNN, Fox News, and BBC. The coolest spot was on the BBC network. Check out the link below for the coverage.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/7960093.stm

It's been a while.....

Well, it's been a long while since I've posted so I thought I better get a little something on here. We went to North Carolina to celebrate Charlotte's first birthday at the end of January. We had a great time just hanging out with the east coast Coleman family. Here are some pictures.

Scott taking Charlotte for a walk in her cool car.

Charlotte like me alot after I put this shirt on and she could play with the beads.

Charlotte digs in to her Elmo cake.

Isn't the Elmo cake cool!

Winter Wonderland....

I am going to let these pictures speak for themselves. They were taken on Thursday, December 18th. We are supposed to get more snow this week. I sure hope it holds out for when Dominic gets here the weekend after Christmas.

First Snow of the Season....

Wow, I looked at the date of my last blog....it's been way too long! Working full time again is tough....I don't get to play as much as I'd like to. Sooooo, here are a few photos of our beautiful snowfall that we woke up to this morning. We had a dusting on Saturday, but it was all gone by Sunday mid morning. The weather folks have been saying we were going to get it, and finally it came in over Sunday night. It's been snowing on and off all day and we are expecting more tonight and over the next couple of days. It's an early White Christmas, but we love it!

I didn't go outside - just opened the back door and flashed!

Looks like about 3 inches piled up on the rail and table.

This was last week at sunrise - when the storms were starting to move in. Yep...that's right, I said sunrise. Beautiful!

And this is what was waiting when I came home from work early to beat the second wave of snow. Guess there's nothing better to do.....so Hermie the hound and daddy took a nap.

End of Summer Harvest

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Guess I've been busier than I thought I was this summer. And summer has really flown by fast this year. Our garden wasn't as fruitful this year as in years past. Our corn crop was pretty small, but we were able to share with family and friends and still have a few ears to freeze for those cold winter days ahead. Our tomatoes have finally gotten to the point where I can start freezing them. We have been enjoying lots of BLT's and now it's time to get them ready for winter sauces. I used to can them, but once I got my Seal-a-Meal, no more sweating over the canner for this gal! Here is a shot of today's harvest. The yellow tomatoes are called Jubilee and they are yummy! They make great salsa, very sweet! I better get busy!

Born to be Wild!!!!!

What an adventure I had this weekend. It was the annual Funds for Freedom Mountain Bike Run that started here in Tehachapi from the local VFW. Well, since I started working at the motorcycle shop, I figured I would volunteer as a worker for our booth and I am glad I did. What an amazing site to see the estimated 1500 riders take off for their 160 mile run. I have never attended an event like this and it was an experience I will never forget. I have a whole new respect for the biker population. These folks are dedicated to not only their sport, but also for raising money for our vets and troops. They are also an interesting bunch! It was great entertainment just people watching. We were extremely busy in our booth and I was crowned the chaps lady since each time I showed up at the booth for my shift, I was approached by women to help them try on their chaps! Sold all the chaps we had with us! I was also impressed by how gentlemanly the guys were. I was expecting awful things, but they were all very polite and I wasn't even exposing any of my body parts:). If you have a chance to ever go to see one of these events, its worth the time to see at least the start of the runs. The rumble of the engines is an awesome sound and the patriotism shown by all is what America is all about! I have captured some of the event in pictures, but they do not do it justice. It's one of those....had to be there kind of things, especially the rumble of the engines, too cool!

Old glory was hung high in the beautiful Tehachapi Sky. When the trumpeters played the national anthem, you could have heard a pin drop!

The entrance to the event at the VFW

A sample of the bikes lined up on Tehachapi Blvd. For those of you familiar with Tehachapi Blvd., picture 6 rows across of Harley's from Curry Street, all the way down to the Best Western Motel. That's about 4 city blocks long.

Leather and bandanas were the preferred attire for the day
Apparently, if you start in the front of the pack, you have to have horns on your helmet so everyone can see you
Boobs are the best bottle holders when riding a bike. I saw lots of this all day long, even when they weren't riding.
Start your bikes! These were the escorts for the first leg of the ride which took them in to California City where the second set of escorts took over with the missing man flag.
Everybody was ready to roll! They come out in rows of two working left to right. It took about 15 minutes for all the bikes to roll out.
As the bikes kept rolling past, I noticed that most folks standing on the sidelines were indulging in the morning drink of choice....a bloody mary!
Girl Power!

Busy in the Booth!
The Monaghan Motorsports crew at work in the booth. I was busy out taking pictures while they kept selling!

This is the attire that I will be wearing at next year's event. Scott has also asked that I wear this look more often.

Dominic turns 8!

Sorry about the lateness of this post. Dominic turned 8 years old on June 10th and we celebrated his birthday on June 7th. Kristen pulled together a great beach party at the sailing center at Alamitos Bay. The weather was great and the food was perfect! Kristen grilled up some awesome tropical chicken kabobs and to go with the tropical theme she made a tropical pasta salad....yummy. I would have never thought to put fruit in a pasta salad but it works!

Dominic's friends from school came and they built a great sand castle with moats and everything, but the highlight of the party was the super soaker squirt guns. Seemed like it was boys ganging up on the girls at one point, but I think the girls loved it! Here are a few pictures from the day. I can't believe 8 years have passed by so quickly.

Aunt Joni and Uncle Dan

Boys and their toys!
Opening presents while the kids keep working on the sand castle.
Dominic read every card and thanked each person for their gifts. His mom is teaching him good manners
The mad rush for the cupcakes! they disappeared fast and they were tasty...I had 2 myself.

Aunt Joni helps Dominic gather all his gifts.

Dominic's First Communion

Well, yes I am a bit behind, but I am catching up now. Dominic took his first communion on May 10th. It was an interesting service and I learned a lot about Catholic ways that day. I have never attended a first communion before. Dom's entire class was involved and they all participated in reading bible verses, thanking teachers and helpers and then they all sang together. It was a nice day and then we celebrated at Cirevellos Pizza afterwards. Here are a few key photos

Dominic with his class before the service

All the kids singing-notice Dominic, he's looking right.

5 generations there that day.

Dominic hams it up-Kristen made the cake, it was yummy!