The Sierra Nevada range, and Mammoth Lakes specifically, had record snow! Sometimes the storms would close the highways for days. I love cross country skate skiing on the groomed trails in Mammoth Lakes, so I commuted up there quite a few days this winter.
There was even enough snow to ski in the Inyo Mountains and White Mountains, so I tootled around in those ranges, too. And I also went a couple times in the woods at the top of Sherwin Grade, above Bishop. I even skied around our neighborhood during one snow storm!
I made so many soups, stews and curries to keep us cozy. I got tired of hot liquidy meals about the time the temperatures switched to warm. Now we’re on to hearty salads. I can hardly wait to have a greenhouse and larger vegetable garden!
Ziggy was congested for months and started loosing interest in food, so we took him to the local vet a couple times for tests. Finally, we took a trip to a specialist in Rancho Cucamonga and found out he had cancer. A positive thing about that trip was that the vet flushed his sinuses out and he perked right back to his normal always-hungry, life-loving self. So that made the decision easier to treat him. We went to a veterinary cancer specialist in Tustin for 3 days of radiation. I called it our Radiation Vacation to put a positive spin on it. It has been over 2 months and he is doing pretty great. We still need to help him clear his nose a few times a week, but that is no big deal. Whew!
My parents visited us. My mom was getting some fingers straightened at a hand specialist on the coast, and then they popped over to say hi. It was excellent to see them again.
Jon was approved for a CT scan and was able to visit with a doctor to figure out his injury from last year. Now he knows more, which is great. And he visited an awesome DPT who set him up with specific stretches and also said yoga is really good. So we upped our yoga frequency (thanks, Lizzy!), which I’ve been meaning to do for a year or more. In the tiny house, we’ve found that yoga must be done by both or neither of us, because all the floor space is used up. Good stuff!
I helped at Manzanar a couple work weekends so far this year and during their annual Pilgrimage. We are recreating the foliage in Merritt Park, which was a beautiful oasis constructed by the incarcerees. We dug many trenches and laid pipe and sprinklers. We replanted Wilder Apple Orchard. Roses and more trees are coming later this year. Much later, the ponds will be resealed and filled with water again.
We got the wings back on Jon’s plane! It has been a long time grounded for that poor old girl, even though she did get a ride behind Sweetheart when we moved here. She looks much more perky now.
We’ve been seeing a few vivid patches of wildflowers around. They’ll be moving their way up the slopes to the mountains. I’m sure my next non-construction post will be all about them!
