TOURIST IN MY OWN TOWN.

My car needed an oil change, it is a hybrid meaning gas/electric car, so, of course it needs regular maintenance. I decided to have it done right close in town at  7 am and walk around town and look at it from a tourists perspective. A coffee klatch was enjoying coffee and sweet treats at Aria Bakery. And another group was sitting outside at tables at Grounds.


It used to be the coffee crowd gathered at the “famous” Murphys Hotel. They were empty both outside and in. Change is the only constant in life, so ’tis said.


Not all change is pleasant. The necessity to have to chain a table to prevent theft at this one time coffee shop turned real estate company made me sad. In fact when we first moved to town, I remember a rancher complaining that he hung his long-sleeved shirt on the fence when it got warm, only to have it stolen and he groaned about the changes with new people moving in.



I forget how charming it is to have a creek running through town. I took a similar picture at a campground in Monroe, Washington. But I had never looked closely over the bridge in town. Trees and vines and burbling waters sluicing over the rocks.


On the opposite side of the bridge, the folks who live there have built up an inviting patio with a water wheel to run their barbecue spit.


The bench at this candle shop was left unchained. Maybe it is all a matter of trust.


In the backyard of an old friend, since deceased, is this unusual tree.


He told me it came from another country as a seed in the pocket of a miner headed for the gold fields. He had no idea what it is. The light green pods are beautiful and unusual. I tried to grow one from the seed and failed. I’m going to try again.


A cute idea to paint a rusting old sprinkling can and hang it on the fence with a plant in it.


A cluster of bird houses is always a good idea. Made for very small birds, decorative and useful enough to foil a cat from reaching into one.


An appropriate sign for a store that sells bathroom machineries. They are most unusual and I always haul people inside for a look. Probably the most fascinating store in Murphys. Plus, the employees believe they have a ghost.


On one of the back streets stands a rustic gold miner’s shack, a fairly large one compared to others I’ve seen. It was occupied by a Miwuk Indian man when I first moved to Murphys. He had a chair in the Murphys Hotel where he sat everyday and told stories to anyone who would listen.  Gone, now, too.


Whenever I see a beautiful sunflower I automatically think of  Van Gogh,  such a pleasant thought.


This corner covered with a showy clematis vine made a worthy picture. Part of my somewhat intense scrutiny of downtown gardens was triggered by having lunch with a friend about June 1st. We wandered town and I happened upon a lavender colored rose that was also very fragrant. I wanted to find it again, hoping I could talk the owner into giving me a cutting from it. It is rare to find a fragrant rose these days. But I couldn’t find anyone around town who knows this rose, or could help me find it. I smelled a lot of blah roses.


An obvious antique something or other decorates another garden. But what is it?  I looked and looked at it without discovering a use for it. I suppose it could be a fence “post” corner. Maybe someone else knows?


After my car was finished, I drove to the chiropractor’s health center in Tuolumne County. Change is a constant? This climbing wall was once 12 feet tall. It has grown to 45 feet tall. Wow!  Not for the timid. Good exercise no doubt and a competitive sport . I’d like to see it in action. Maybe someday.

SMALL TREASURES

Yesterday, I referred to a big black asteroid as a comet, and I stand corrected.  And, last night the moon and Jupiter were shining so brightly, my bedroom was completely navigable in the dark. I appreciate small treasures. Today I leave for Sacramento to attend to business and then look after  my two youngest grandsons over the next  four days. They too, are small treasures and I always learn something from them.

My photo file contains small treasures, a few of which I’ll post today. It never ceases to amaze me how different each builder chose to make a small, friendly edifice for our feathered friends.

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In the fall, birds really appreciate  additional food a feeder supplies. It must be kept clean.

Bird feeders are fundamentally the same, yet individual as well.
I had my windows washed on the outside yesterday. Now, I must be careful that the birds do not batter themselves on a too clean window. I’ve learned how to stop it when it happens. I cover the window from the inside with cardboard for a week or so. The sun’s position changes and the birds no longer are fooled into thinking they are flying into the reflected woody area behind them.  Birds are another small treasure that inhabit my yard. I keep water for them and a bird bath. And, I’ve decided to never own another cat. Cats are plentiful and the birds take a beating.

BIRDS, BATS, FEEDERS, OSPREYS...

There was a time when birds of all types flew and sounded in and about the yard, on the road, and wherever we moved about. Its getting harder and harder to find them now. These finches crowding the bird feeder are a welcome sight. Audubon once observed that song birds were so numerous when he caught birds to paint, flocks taking flight could blacken the summer sky in front of him. We've come a long way down since then. I keep that in mind when I see a bird in the wild or those attracted to a feeder. Efforts to save bird habitat are working. We now see ospreys nesting in the mother lode. Neighbors are putting up western blue bird boxes. Saturday, in Sonora, the Audubon Society is selling various sized birdhouses, bat houses and bird feeders at the West America Bank parking lot 14729 Mono Way, East Sonora. The American Native Plant Society is also having its annual sale at the same time. No time was given but you can check www.centralsierraaudubon.org. on line.