I saw my first rattlesnake.

Well shit. We had our first planned power outage at our dream home. Due to the high winds predicted they cut us off approximately 12:17am Sunday morning.

As much as it is an inconvenience it is nothing compared to the folks currently losing their homes or the ones having to evacuate in the middle of the night.

I had rigged up an LED lantern with a car battery to provide some night time lighting.

Yesterday October 24, 2018 marked anniversary escrow closing on our dream home. We then moved in that weekend of the 28th. It doesn’t even seem we’ve been gone from Stockton that long after living there 57+ years.

This also meant we have lived at our home throughout the seasons. We’ve seen all the changes nature has to offer living up in the hills. There is a whole new appreciation for the quiet and peaceful lifestyle living.

Best move ever for us this point in our lives.

Got a new to me shop tool, whacked the shit out of my finger.

Woke up this morning with electricity. That’s a good sign. There is a massive rolling power outage being conducted by PG&E to prevent wildfires.

This is due to the many disastrous fires we’ve experienced in Northern California recently.

The next phase of shutoffs will occur at twelve noon. Hopefully our home won’t be affected like the 800,000 plus customers expects to lose power.

Wifey took this photo while walking the dogs down the street. Yes, those are wild turkeys perched on the tree limbs scoping the orange sunset. Nuts.

Go ahead, say it.

When we first moved into our home back in late October of 2018 we had this weird looking small tree by the shop. It has now grown into a huge tree with a lot of shade.

I’ve been calling this tree my Jack and the Beanstock tree based on a movie released in 1952 featuring Abbott and Costello. The tree had similar legs heart shape leaves.

I recently found out what this tree is and it’s pretty cool. Dunno if the original owners planted the tree or somehow the seeds came about and grew into what it is today.

Here’s the info I found:

Paulownia kawakamii, commonly known as the sapphire dragon tree, is a tree species in the Paulowniaceae family. The tree is native to Taiwan, eastern China, and Japan. It is deciduous and bears many large violet flowers in early spring before the leaves appear. Wikipedia

Scientific name: Paulownia kawakamii

Wifey brought me down lunch while working in the Manetarium. Spent a good chunk of the day working on the 1776cc motor that will eventually make its way to the Speedster.

Well, that’s the new name of the fenced in area. Since it has a horse shoe pit and a BBQ pit is nearby the name Pitstop seems appropriate. I’m going to have a burnt siping made with stating just that. We plan on hanging it right at the driveway entrance gate.