Morning view

This morning when I looked out the bedroom window, a big gorgeous oak tree got my attention. These trees have worked out a way to stay alive even during drought times.

There is a patch of five—count 'em, FIVE!—digger pines* along the road. All are dead, offering themselves up to be processed into firewood. Unfortunately all five are situated so that when they fall, they take out several hundred yards (several hundred meters) of wire fence. At least the fence is wire, not wood.

As the picture shows, the grasses and forbs are drying out. Soon they will become nothing more than a huge fire hazard, so my days will be spent clearing at least a hundred feet (30.5 meters) around the house, then around the garage, then around the solar array. At least it gives me a chance to give our new trimmer a workout, after which we will put it away in the garage and replace the hanging globe lamp on the back porch with something more crash-resistant.

*Also called bull pines or gray pines. Scientific-minded folk call them Pinus sabiniana Dougl, but who pays attention to those guys?