My wife put two boxes of baking soda in a big ziplock bag in a cupboard near the stove. Something she saw on the internet. The very next day she was toasting a sandwich in the toaster oven and the grease ignited. Flames coming out so she grabs the bag and dumped a little baking soda on it and put it out instantly! Not enough time to even set off the smoke alarm.
So I recommend everyone do this to be prepared for kitchen flare ups. Visit the dollar store and pick up some baking soda to have handy just in case you need it. She saved my sandwich even. My hero! (no pun intended)
The hills are the greenest I have seen them in January since 1969. Still a little standing water here and there trying to soak in. Taking advantage of the dry weather to do a little weeding but the backyard is still mud.
The big problem is going to be this summer when the tall grass dries out becoming fuel for wildfires.
Been having fun with this website for identifying what is flying over and can monitor aviation from the local airport to jets overhead cruising at altitude.
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/
Had to take advantage of the 70 degree weather to prune some roses out front. Only a t shirt needed, Oliver barking to let the neighborhood pooches know that he was out.
Some clearing so I did a little bit of weeding. Never seen the ground this soft. Walking on the lawn and can feel the tree roots underneath my feet on the lawn. Lots of weeds coming up on the edge of the roads, wild mustard nearly six feet high.
Dry months coming and fuel for the wildfires will probably cause the most dangerous conditions I have ever seen.
Took a little time between showers to fertilize the roses with some Ironite. New canes are coming out here and there and I like to encourage them to grow, even though it is still cooler than normal. The sun will come out eventually as it did for the daffodils and now the tulips which close up when it rains.
My daughter who is back from the UK for a while treated us to some Bubble and Squeak. Made from leftovers from our Easter dinner.
Ham, lamb, stuffing and cheesy potatoes fried in butter and seasoned with love making it a crunchy bowl full with gravy on top.
Her husband is an English chef who coached her via Face Time Video.
Weeding of the lawn finally finished so had the ash tree in the front trimmed. Time to turn the irrigation system on and prepare for lawn mowing season.
Want to go up the mountain tomorrow to get some coffee and a snack. About a 30% chance of 1-2” snow accumulation whatever that means.
Celebrating our 36th anniversary yesterday but I was working late.
The hills are turning brown now as the grass dries up. The wheat fields for the dry farmers are golden tipped and it looks like a big bumper crop for those who planted this year (only about 50% of the actual acreage was sown and that should drive up the price).
Alfalfa growing on the dairy farms was so thick early on that sheep were brought in to chow down on it. Now they’re making hay and it’s under irrigation.
The fields that weren’t planted are a flouro green from far away where the wild mustard took over, even eclipsing the tumbleweeds where wild grasses grow.
Not as many weeds this year except for the spotted spurge which was came out after the last storm.
The roses are booming from the feeding I gave them.
Heard a few lightning strikes over the mountains this afternoon as crackling on the AM radio.
Lots of aviation traffic as the balloon and wine festival is this weekend.
Got the lawn mowed before the Holiday Weekend. Glad it’s cooler than normal so it’s green but not too thick. Leaves from the neighbor’s tree in back mixed with dark earthworm soil would make great compost for someone with a garden.
Woke up to chainsaw going on in the back. Thought the giant nuisance tree in the neighbor’s yard was going away. Not so; another neighbor who is on the north side of the tree just cut what was hanging over his pool.
Maybe a few less leaves for the next year or so, maybe he will get the hint.
Three fires in a row now. Battled by 5 Sky Crane helicopters, two circling spotter Beechcraft twins complimented by an OV10, with phoscheck drops by the DC10.
Fire crews are continuing to battle several large fires in Riverside County. The largest one, the “Rabbit Fire”, broke out in the area of Jack Rabbit Trail and Gilman Springs Road east of Mys…
ktla.com
Now being joined by an MD87, DE HAVILLAND DHC-6 Twin Otter, and a British Aerospace 146-200 Quiet Trader.
Another fire to the west:
Took a trip to Palm Springs to pick up my daughter at the airport. Decided to eat at Sherman’s Deli and Bakery nearby. We ate outside right at closing time and the heat and humidity was pretty bad, but the food was good and the timing for her arrival worked out perfectly. Oliver and I got some roast beef while my wife had pastrami and we got our daughter a patty melt.
The desserts were outstanding: huge pieces of carrot and German chocolate cake.
Two days worth of food leftovers.
Most everything west of CA Route 79 was blackened by the fire but it looks like they saved the reserve east of the highway.
A brush fire burning near Temecula has charred more than 2,200 acres with very little containment as of Sunday morning, authorities said. The Bonny Fire was first reported around 2:45 p.m. Thursday…
Now we’re in the smoke advisory area. Looks like only two skycranes battling the flames currently because nothing much out there iis going to burn except wilderness (state of California for you). Here we go again.
The Bonny Fire is expected to spread significantly as crews battle amid "extreme fire conditions," an official said.
patch.com
Now joined by two Grumman S2 trackers from Hemet’s Ryan Field. The fire is about 20 miles SSE of here in the rolling hills over in the next zip code. A staging area for the ground attack was established by last night just E of Diamond Valley Lake. Going S from here it looks like Sage Rd is open but a wind shift could change things in a hurry.
A Chinook now in the air could be bringing in ground crews faster than using Sage Rd. It’s a slow, hot, twisting ride to the fire.
Looks like they’re using nearby Lake Riverside as the water source for the helicopters.