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| Mar | 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Feb | 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the 1st, spent the entire day at Bashford's. In the afternoon, we checked out the hot & warm pools. We saw a couple of "black bombers" - the nasty horseflies from livestock in the nearby agricultural fields. We finished up the rest of the salad and fish tacos that we prepared before we left.  Jef walked doggies this morning into the "Labyrinth"  We continued into the junkyard part of the property  An old fire engine  More old vehicles  Hot water flowing out of Bashfords  Looking east to the mountain  The labyrinth  Back at our camp  Puppies were tied to picnic table during the day  At the hot spa   Kathy seems to be sprouting a couple of screaming kids like Stacey & Holley - or weird reflexions  Panorama showing the hot & warm pools  Jef walked doggies up to frontage road that was the downhill berm preventing flooding should there be a break in the All American Canal  Note the lack of foliage on the mountain(except in the draws) - indicating solid rock  Bashfords from above  A field of apricot mallows!  The All American Canal  Break in the canal to allow flash floods past without knocking out the canal  These flowers are like poppies, but are probably some kind of primrose  Sand blazing stars over here have much larger flowers than in Borrego  Sand blazing stars  Notch-leaf phacelia in bloom  That primrose again  Panorama looking west  Doggies descending on road made up of river rock  2 doves fighting for a perch  Doggies resting after hike  Looking to be a good sunset  Our camp         Brittlebush blooming by our camp   One of the interesting vehicles driving around the camp  Kathy toasting tortillas for our fish tacos  Our camp at night  On the 2nd, we walked the doggies before packing up and leaving Bashfords. As the zipper to the tent broke the day before, the doggies spent the nite in the car. Kathy had some diahhrea, so each of the 2 nites we were here, she drove the 100+ yards to the bathroom at all hours of the nite. We left the tent in the dumpster, as the new bed didn't fit it so well. We drove straight back home.  Hawks circling above us this morning    Desert cedars  Kathy & Daisy in the junkyard  Fire truck still has its hoses!  Colour is mineral residue of outgoing hot water  One of the bulletin boards  We saw this geyser (blown water line?) as we neared Mecca On the 3rd, Kathy returned to work a long day with 5 patients, including 2 new ones. On the 4th, Lupita gave Kathy cooking lessons, making beans, salsa, pasta salad, and a stringbean beef dish. Jef did some filing and other paperwork.  Stick bug on inside of Kym's screen door  Desert dandelions have started to pop On the 5th, Kathy returned to work a full day at the office with 4 patients. On the 6th, drove Kathy to MD in SD. Shopped on the way home.  Sunrise this morning   Returned from SD, stopped to capture Fonts Point before sun disappeared. On the 7th, Kathy resumed walking. We walked around the circle and did one spur - about a mile. We cooked stuffed bell peppers for dinner and had them with the Morgans.  Kathy on hike  Desert dandelions near split level house  Pepper near top of circle  Looking west from end of Lightning spur  Morgans came over for dinner  On the 8th, took Kathy & puppies on a 2.5 mile walk to old country club.  Grilled freitata sandwich this morning  Both brittlebush & dandelions blooming in our front yard On the 9th, drove Kathy to dentist & we shopped on the way home. On the 10th, Kathy had a full day at the office. On the 11th, Jef drove to SD to dental appt. Got cleaning, but implant was infected, so no progress on that.  Sunrise this morning  2 baby birds in hummingbird nest right outside our front door  A cloudy day   Big Rock house  Looks like progress has been made by Holley in rennovation  Panorama near Henshaw with low clouds & 1st glimpse of sun this day  Sunny Palomar Mtn  Drizzled on me half the way home up to here (Ranchita)  At top of grade I see blue sky!  Panorama at Crawford overlook  Anti-crepuscular rays over Travelers Peak  Panorama of whole valley  Brittlebush blooming at Crawford   Near bottom of grade I saw this small rainbow segment - to the right in this pic |
 Downtown Borrego  Desert dandelion & brown=eyed primrose  Cool clouds to east - this is intersection of BS Rd & Tilting T On the 12th, a very full day at the office for Kathy. Jef did some work at Sewanee house.  Weeded & located an irrigation leak  Kathy called to let me know of a rapidly fading sunset  On the 13th, we took doggies for a walk in Coyote Canyon - 1h 15m, about 2.5 miles.  Our front yard on this partly cloudy day  Starting our hike in Coyote Canyon  Flowers were somewhat muted along the wash  Some flowers managed to survive in the wash  Pepper by a Jimson weed flower the size of her head  Bird tracks in wash  Lupine, cheesebush & brittlebush all blooming  Weather behind Kathy actually dumped a fair amount at our house this afternoon - even had some hale!  Weather   Interesting crack patterns in the wash  It actually started raining on us!  Pepper puppy with rain spots in wash  Desert dandelion & lupine blooms in the wash  Broomrape parasite!  Popcorn flowers  Bank is taller than Pepper!  Ground nearly all wet at this point  Kathy wanted a pic of her all wet - she is slightly damp  Desert sunflower, verbena & dune primrose  Nearing Jeep, which I parked in the middle of the wash - fortuneately no flash flood  View from Jeep after our post-hike "Miller time". Think the rain didn't fall on the Jeep on our hike  Saw this cool flower-lined dirt road off of DiGiorgio - looked cooler before it got rained on   On the 14th, drove Kathy to MD in Escondido & shopped on the way home.  Craters in front yard indicate possible hail prior day  At Big Rock house after meeting with Holley & Alvaro  Kym forgot to tell me about SpaceX launch until 20 minutes afterward, but managed this pic at that time On the 15th, walked over & took a few pix in our neighborhood. Then did some weeding & irrigation repairs at Sewanee house and did Broken Arrow to Wagon loop - about 3 miles - with Kathy & puppies. Then dined at the Krazy Koyote with Pam & Jaime.  Sunrise this morning         Wispy clouds today partially obstructed the sun  Across the street, looking back to our house    Headed to sand dune at the end of Box S  A few verbena in our area  Started on this animal trail onto sand dune  Looking S to Glorietta         Looking along ridge of old sand dune  A few purple mat blooms      A few desert chickory   Fremont pincushions       Tried fixing a couple of broken irrigation lines at Sewanee  This bush at our next door neighbor looks like it might be native to CA   Really tall ocotillo on Broken Arrow  This house has some unusual things in their front yard   Dancing saguaro statue by a peyote statue  Celebrating Jaime & Pam's 60th anniversary at the Krazy Koyote   Eating dinner  Jaime had dessert  Leaving the restaurant |
  Fancy check-in area as if there were many more than 7 rooms available at this hotel On the 16th, we did a lot of cooking: enchiladas, beans, and salsa, especially since it rained and winded all afternoon outside.  Kathy in bed with puppies  Enchilada will last several days On the 17th, sun rose after a rainy night. Kathy had a full day at the office. Jef did more weeding at WStar house.  Sunrise  Puddle in driveway  Olympic sized puddle in front yard   Rain persisted in the mountains this day  Sunset coming  A windy evening  On the 18th, being a windy day, we mostly stayed home & took it easy, until we went to the office and worked out for an hour.  Wind & rain thrashed back yard early this morning  Sunrise  Note wind caused ripples in puddles in driveway with double rainbow over the house    Rainbow as viewed from back window  Even in this relatively safe area, turbulence knocked down all ficus trees in front patio, including the one with the hummingbird nest  Possibly the mommy hummingbird looking for missing baby hummingbirds  Empty hummingbird nest  Thimble sticking out in notch as viewed from the office this afternoon  Snow-capped Toro Peak On the 19th, Kathy was too achy-breaky to work, so cancelled a full day & we mostly hung out at home on another cool & windy day.  Sunrise this morning  Coolness & wind prevented desert dandelions from fully opening this day  Nice clouds  View from the sand dune  Still raining in the mountains      Wind coming from north blew over these trash cans   Windy morning    A winderful day  Brittle bush in full bloom at this neighbor's place  Tom hauled this old target into his yard from somewhere in the desert  Kathy noticed we are developing a new leak in the living room On the 20th, after another bad wind storm during the night, we mostly took it easy at home with it still being windy outside.  Daisy noting all our potted ficus had blown over during the night  A fairly big branch blew down in back yard  Our pool also succumbed to the wind  Blown down ficus trees  While cleaning up debris, found this baby hummingbird about 20' from its nest after it had been blown out of nest 2 nights ago - it was still barely alive, so  Put it back in the nest...  ...but found it had keeled over & died when I checked a couple hours later On the 21st, drove to Santee & met Shimon & Flaco at the Big Rock house. We checked out the house and hiked a couple of miles in Mission Trails, but couldn't go more than about 200' vertical before Shimon had to turn around, as he is still recovering from a lung illness. Jef did some yard clean up and then drove to poker at Frank's new house in east Santee. Jef won 3 at poker before driving home with practically no traffic this night.  Took pic of desert dandelions and snow on Toro at this neighboring lot just after starting drive to SD   Found out that practically the whole underground plumbing was being replaced  New beam in living room  Still have flowers blooming in the back yard  Master bathroom walls and closet walls have been framed  Shimon in garage with mysterious big rock  We returned on our hike at the edge of Big Rock Park  Tennis courts have been ruined and downgraded to pickleball courts, but appear to be very popular for a change  Creek going behind our back yard  Crossing the creek at the Rancho Fanita trailhead  Little waterfall  We hiked a little further on other side of creek   Last check of house  Holley's old bedroom  Bedroom by garage  This is the only bedroom with insulation in the walls  Living room wall being re-wired - note the absense of insulation  Panorama in living room  After somewhat cleaning up front yard  Panorama from Frank's hilltop abode looking north  Before setting up for poker  Jacuzzi with a view  Looking down on Santee & Lakeside from Frank's place this evening On the 22nd, finally got rid of the wind and it started warming up. Jef took doggies & Kathy on a 2.2 mile walk doing a pole-line road north of Broken Arrow. Jef burned some medical records, part of big branch that fell down, and part of the X-mas tree this evening. On the 23rd, mostly took it easy at home, but met with tax people online and that is going now. Also went on 1h 40m hike up easier Glorietta Canyon hike with Kathy & doggies, making all the way to the "end". | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Jan | 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the 1st, rained fairly hard most of the day, so stayed home & soaked up water leaking in sunroom & taking it easy.  One of 6 bucket-full of water soaked up from sunroom  Very wet out there!  Low clouds all day    Got a couple things from the store  Webo is peak on left, San Ysidro Mtn on right  A couple of ravens checking out dates in palm trees  Noticed this bubble in ceiling paint with water dripping from it  Placed ice chest to catch water from leak On the 2nd, a mostly cloudy day. We took doggies on 4 mile, 2.5 hour walk to town to drop off xmas card(3 kings) to Stacey (which her mom has been doing for decades). Kathy had bad back pain the whole way, so we had to rest a minute for every 2 minutes of walking.  Sun trying to poke thru at sunrise, but clouds won out for the rest of the day   Depth of water indicates we had 1.5" of rain  Circled area is where new leak is located  Newly painted room   Panorama of backyard from roof  Close up of area of possible leak  WStar house at start of walk  Low clouds by Indianhead   Front "lawn" On the 3rd, Jef walked to town and met Kathy at the office where they worked out for another 1.5 hours.  Back "lawn"  Meter still heading north  house viewed from the rear  Shortcut trail to rocking chair  Sunset this evening near end of our workout   Sunset after our workout  On the 4th, Jef went to Sewanee and did some weeding. Kathy went to Pam & Jaime's and helped with housecleaning. Jef joined and helped later & we had pizza there this evening.  Clouds this morning  Sewanee's back yard "lawn"  Panorama by elephant statues  Rain in mountains (Jef got a few sprinkles just before arriving at Pam's)   Pam, Jaime & Kathy   Moon above sloth statue on drive home  Moon after arriving home to WStar  Moonbow looking towards Montezuma On the 5th, mostly took it easy. We cooked albondigas this afternoon.  Sunrise this morning  Toro still shrouded in clouds  Cool clouds this day    We made a batch of Albondigas this evening On the 6th, a cool and cloudy day where we mostly took it easy at home.  On the 7th, we mostly stayed home, but did take doggies on a 2 mile walk a couple times around our circle as it was sunny with little wind.   Our lawn is pretty verdant now   At WStar & Tilting T  Heading up EStar with Daisy  Kathy managed Pepper most of the way  Split level house on sand dune    Sand dune is covered with "lawn"  Looking toward Indianhead near top of circle on EStar  Kathy arriving home On the 8th, Kathy saw a couple patients at the office. Jef walked to the Mall and hit the PO on the way home.  Entering canyon behind old country club  This (probably invasive) weed is a problem at our houses and is also out in the wild  Nearing the end of the canyon  Saw a few birds fly by  They appear to have been hawks  The trail to exit the wash  Panorama at the pass  Lupine in bloom at bottom of spur trail  A desert lily has come up at this point along the trail for many years On the 9th, Jef did some burning of dead branches & diagnosis of electrical problem at Sewanee house. Kathy broke her back cleaning house, but was mostly "out of it" all day. On the 10th, took Kathy to Escondido for MD appointment & MRI in Mission Valley, doing some shopping on the way home.  Coldest it's been all season On the 11th, took it easy at home. On the 12th, Jef walked to town, picked up mail and got a couple things at the Pantry.  Meter still heading north  Sand blazing star in bloom  Panorama at the top  Walked home the easy way - the fountain was running at the Catholic church On the 13th, A+ Roofing came by and patched the roof. Kathy worked at the office & Jef did chores at home.  A little sunset this evening On the 14th, Jef went over and did some weeding at Sewanee house. Kathy cancelled the walk this afternoon due to the "no-see-ums". Jef didn't want to work out, so we resolved to work out on Friday the 16th.  Jef shadow after dropping trash at the end of the driveway  Checking out patching job on roof where ceiling had been leaking  A patch was also placed around sunroom roof edge, where water appears during big storms  Drywall tape was placed before this spongy thick white stuff was applied  At Sewanee house, the plants surrounding this old log seem to be whispering bells On the 15th, Kathy had a full day at the office. Jef stayed home and did chores, but walked to office to help with new patient paperwork this afternoon.  Brittlebush blooming  Rock daisy blooming at base of trail out of wash  Desert hibiscus bloom fully extended  Desert ground cherry  View from the top  Start of descent  Note how green base of Fonts is  1st desert dandelion On the 16th, Jef drove Kathy to MD in SD. Kathy drove to Ramona from there where we did some shopping before Jef drove home to Borrego. On the 17th, mostly took it easy at home.  Sunrise this morning   On the 18th, mostly took it easy at home, doing some clean up and weeding in front yard.  This black acacia is leaning on fence and roots are exposed On the 19th, Jef dropped Camry at Tito's for maintenance & then walked home. Later drove black Jeep there & exchanged with Camry.  Left Camry at Tito's  Saw this solid wall of green across from Roadrunner - a 6' tall growth of weeds in the channel draining from the Roadrunner |
   Most of the terrain was similar to this on walk home  Dunno what weed this is  Saw 2 pairs of pants on walk home  Old fence around abandoned driving range  Panorama from middle of driving range  3 of the 4 tires I saw dumped along my cross country route  Saw this and another patch of broken glass  Took this trail on final 1/2 mile on walk home  This little (yellow) primrose and fillery were blooms I saw along the way  Walked Daisy around circle after Kathy was unable to continue and she decided Pepper needed a new harness  Hummingbird on nest by front door On the 20th, Kathy returned to work, seeing 5 patients. Jef met Dave at Sewanee & did weeding. Dave found problem with laundry room electricity was that it was on a GFI circuit. On the 21st, Jef & Kathy worked out at the office.  Sunrise this morning   On the 22nd, Kathy returned to work. Jef walked to town to do some banking and get mail, and walked back home the longer route.  Clouds this morning  Meter still going north  Brittlebush flowers with desert hibiscus blooms behind  Notchleaf phacelia in bloom  Creosote blooming looking north from spur trail  Limestone implies this was probably underwater a million years ago or so  Heading up trail beyond point I usually turn off to go home  Panorama  Note the big tennis ball in front of old tennis club  North slopes are still pretty green    Creosote blooms with old tennis club in background   Heading down this ridge to wash - sun is starting to come out   The steep trail to pass I normally go is in this pic  More easily seen in middle of this pic  After reaching wash On the 23rd, mostly took it easy at home, doing chores.  Walked doggies, doing a pole line on 2nd lap, doing about 2 miles this afternoon On the 24th, after seeing a facebook post on the "Obsidian Wave", we suggested we go there after Flaco arrived. We then went to Bombay Beach for a great sunset before driving home.  Looking north to the Salton Sea from Obsidian Butte - I think the middle with dark rocks contain the "obsidian wave"  Panorama from Obsidian Butte looking south and showing all the nearby geothermal power plants  Panorama with our car in the middle left - Kathy was talking to other people, who were rock hounds, while Flaco & Jef were atop the butte  Flaco & Jef  Heading back down  We walked down to the beach to check out this mostly obsidian area  Flaco helped Kathy down to the beach while oblivious Jef snapped pix  Small obsidian sample  Kathy & Flaco  These might be bird blinds for photographers  Beach panorama  Kathy picked up some small samples   Kathy walking with her rockhound hammer  The beach was entirely composed of barnacles!    Kathy with obsidian sample & Jef     Kathy needed to go to bathroom, so stopped at this gas station in Niland  Besides this collarless dog, we were amused with a crazy person digging a bottle from the trash and using it as a light saber against a phantom menace. We had to help Kathy find her wallet, as she temporarily lost it in the bathroom  Arriving in Bombay Beach  Sample pieces of Bombay Beach art   Cool clouds forming  This will turn into a great sunset     We didn't check this out, but looks like a good viewing point on 2nd floor  270° panorama of SW corner of berm surrounding the town  Bridge made out of a trailer  The sunset is starting   We discover the parking area for the beach  Jef took this pic of stranded boat, perhaps a Spanish sailing vessel from the time of Cabrillo?     Conditions may exist with Flaco      A couple of guys drove by on their unicycles   Sea monster arm is high & dry, as the lake level has been going down    Flaco on the grounded cube raft  Jef catching the now high & dry fish   The other thing  This sea might be gone someday, but the oceans will remain  Uh, oh. A pirate pyrimid!  Kathy was talking with the guy in this van while Flaco & Jef took pix - she wanted to buy a wind chimes, but we didn't have enuff cash, so Kathy promised to be back in a week  We had a drink at the Ski Inn, after finding the Legion was closed - note the dollars decorating the walls & ceiling  Flaco playing Semer's(Kathy's dad) old Silvertone, which hadn't been played for over 50 years, and was still in perfect tune!  Kathy & Flaco jammed a little |
 We dined on Canneloni this evening On the 25th, Kathy took it easy at home while Flaco & Jef hiked Ant Hill. Later that day, after Flaco left, Kathy & Jef walked the puppies on a new pole-line road for over 3 miles. Jef walked about 10 miles this day.  Briefly stopped at Henderson Canyon flower fields before the hike   Flaco at left in this panorama  Flaco starting the hike  Saw these 2 parasailors a few times on our hike  One of, perhaps, 100 desert lily plants we saw on this hike  Parasailors in front of Fonts Point(L) and Ant Hill(R)  Actually saw these other hikers!  Baby ant hills on way to Ant Hill  Patch of 8 desert lilies  We were about to walk on this dirt road when the 2 parasailors, following the road, passed right by us!     Desert sunflower  Dune primrose  Lots of Sahara mustard as we near the hilly part of the hike    Toro Peak  Hit this fence line, but followed it a bit before crossing it at a low point, such as this  Flaco getting something from pack   When Flaco was about to put on more suntan lotion, I offered my bandana to protect his neck  Flaco sporting his new headgear   Desert lily bloom amid verbena field  Flaco noticed this chuckwalla when it moved  Another big patch of desert lily  Creosote blooms with verbena field in background  After reaching the ridge leading up to the peak  Panorama with Ant Hill at left and flower field on south slope of ridge  Upper reaches of this flower field are brown-eyed primrose   Flaco approaching the peak    Flaco at the peak. Jef called Julie & Kathy, but noone answered  Badlands panorama from the peak  Heading back down  Heading into the Valley of Flowers      Montezuma Grade & Borrego in distance. Green in middle ground might be mostly Sahara mustard  Sahara mustard    Summary of Ant Hill hike - about 6.5 miles  Summary of hike with doggies - about 3.2 miles On the 26th, took it easy doing chores at home. On the 27th, Kathy returned to work. Jef walked to Tito's to pick up black Jeep, taking a new route.  Meter still heading north  After continuing x-country from Walking H, saw this abandonned wellhead  Terrain to be traversed  Chinchweed that bloomed so spectacularly in this area in October is all dead now  Crossed this drainage choked with vegetation  This might be the new invasive Valeria weed - this one about 5' tall  Old pumphouse along DiGiorgio Rd  Slab of an abandonned house  Wellhead implies this was a pumphouse  The drainage I crossed over emptied on east side of DiGiorgio Rd in a 6' deep trench - dammed up before enterring an even bigger 12' deep drainage - perhaps to have more water seep in here, not far from that pump house  Where the main drainage comes from DiGiorgio - I believe this is when Palm Canyon creeks makes it this far  Looking down the drainage channel - I believe this was made to prevent flooding at the Borrego Springs Resort  Panorama of this channel  Found this kite, which I later found out to be part of a $700 kite Steve had lost a year ago  Turned out to be Steve's number  Use your imagination.... No Trespassing, perhaps?  Kathy had me look at the sunset this evening - just caught the tail end of it     On the 28th, drove Kathy to MD in Rancho Mirage. We went on an hour hike from city hall afterwards, before shopping and driving home.  Sunrise this morning  Starting hike above the city hall  City hall is composed of buildings to the left  Sitting at the first lookout  Next leg of hike took us to a water tank where we turned and came back  Back at the lookout  Words of wisdom  Our viewing bench  Flowers at Henderson Canyon as the sunset continues to fade     On the 29th, another work day for Kathy. Jef did some weeding at Sewanee.  Sunrise this morning  On the 30th, did chores at home all day. On the 31st, packed up and drove to Niland to get wind chimes Kathy couldn't get weekend before and camped at Bashford's Hot Springs Resort.  At Bashfords - we set up tent before heading to Bombay Beach  We parked at "Last car that parked here is still missing" space, as Steve was packing up - managed to buy the wind chimes  Steve bagging chimes for Kathy   Tesseract projection  Setting sun    Roon rising about porta-potties  Sun setting at left in this panorama with moon rising at right   We spent an hour or so listening to a great band playing at the "trash dance" this evening at Bashford's rec room | |||||||||||||||||||||
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2Q'26