Dry

Dry and drier. We saw some clouds today and there was a very light sprinkle of moisture that lasted less than 15 minutes. Nothing else is in the forecasts. There is no snow to measure and some experts are saying that California has just one years worth of water left. Things are going to get ugly here in the West. The western states have a historical record of water wars and the coming years 'wars' may eclipse all the previous water wars.

Sadly, the state doesn't even have an accounting of how much groundwater is in the state nor does it know the locations and volume of any aquifers. Water 'rights' in the state are extremely vague and written more than a century ago. They were written to protect the water needed for the mining interests at that time...think 49'ers. Lawyers and judges will be very busy this year.

Why haven't the 47 Senators that signed the seditious letter to Iran been threatened with arrest? I'm not so gullible that I believe that they would actually be arrested. But I do believe that the Attorney General and the President should make it clear to the 47 that they have crossed a line. I think that the rest of the world is watching.

Very Local news...our fence is falling down. We have about 175 feet of old (13 years?) wooden fence that has seen the last of its life and is in danger of falling over. When we lived in Orland we had similar situation but a providential wind storm blew the fence over and our insurance paid for it's reconstruction. I don't see a fierce wind storm in our immediate future so I'm calling the local contractors and asking for bids.

The weight loss program continues. I'm close to 195 now. I would be feeling great if it weren't for the fact that the right Piriformis nerve block I received about 6 months ago has faded away and I'm at the mercy of the 'Pain Monster'. I knew that the block would only be good for a limited time but I was hoping that I might be the exception. Wrong. So I have an appointment with the pain doctor in about two weeks; I'm back to  using more Norco than usual for the time being. I normally use 6 to 8 a week and now it's 4 or 5 a day. I haven't stopped going to the gym though; the gym is my salvation! I'm up to 5 days a week now and three of those days I use the pool as well as the gym. Don't think that I'm one of those 'gym rats' that spends hours and hours in the gym; admiring their own pec's and lat's. I'm into cardio health exercise and doing something to keep my COPD at bay. I'm into flexing my lungs and not my biceps.

We are also looking at removing our lawns and putting in drought resistant plants.  Lawns are not natural. I've been saying that for years and only once have I been successful at making that argument work for me. My wife has always loved a lawn so we have had one for most of our married life. But one time, in Roseville, I was able to convince her that the front lawn should go. And it was gone; replaced by beautifully designed drought resistant landscaping. When we sold the house we assumed that the landscaping would remain; but no, the new owners (the bank, because the initial buyers faced foreclosure within 6 months) paid to remove it all and install a lawn. Both sad and stupid. But this time I already have her support for the lawn removal. Our daughter owns a nursery so we should get a good deal on the plants and we will save all sorts of money because we can cut off the expensive lawn service we are using. Mow and blow. That's what they do.