A quick visit back to Yuba City....too quick but wonderful!

Here are a bunch of pics in no particular order. This is a tangerine tree that keeps a lot of people happy each year. It looks like someone just finished off the few left at the top.

The summers in Yuba City was basically rainless but it finally rained on my 2nd day there. The roses were beautiful-right after a rain. My parents apologised that I came so late in the year that I missed the real beauty of their garden. I didn't even notice. I thought it was great at this time of year. Autumn is my favorite time anyway.

My dad tries to relax and it's always a team effort. He isn't in his chair but for a few short minutes before they all pile on. When my mom first started raising Dachshunds, my dad's take was that they didn't deserve to be called dogs as their legs weren't long enough. I was amazed when the smaller girl jumped up on his greenhouse shelf. These dogs don't let those short legs limit them from jumping high!

From the green house. He used to have more Orchids but now he has a lot of cactus of all sizes,shapes and interest. I think this a jade and I don't know the tall one's name. Maybe it's a cactus?

By the outdoor jacuzzi . That stump used to be a walnut tree.





Sleepy dogs

summer squash

just a sample of the abundant cactus life. It was everywhere! I think that one is called Old Man's Beard.






One more rose.

Mom and dad- This wall was carved by my dad a few years back.

I couldn't get enough of these roses.

The oranges started to split but they will taste great anyway.

My dad was into fitness as a young man. I found these in the corner of the green house. I remember not being able to lift these as a kid. He just filled paint cans with cement. Great idea!

Shasta Daisies. My mom was raised in a company town in McCloud, Calif. It was run by a lumber baron
that owned the town, everything and everybody. She always had these daisies on the hillsides as a child. My Grandpa was a lumber jack in those days.

I picked up quite a few of these and stuffed them in my suitcase.

Dad.s shop .

He loves these shoes. I pointed out that they were actually two different shoes and didn't even match. Never the less, they keep his feet dry,at least most of his feet, minus the toes.

One of my favorite pics

His greenhouse

a small plant in a abalone shell

Wicker furniture just feels better with scraps of carpet!

This used to be in the front of the house.

Otis and Dad. He's their oldest dog and my Dad's constant companion- even at work.

Dad was 21 and mom was 17 when it all started. He had just come home from the Navy and WWII.

My Grandpa wasn't real happy they eloped but made my mom promise to at least finish highschool. Grandpa put the shotgun away but never liked my dad very much. My mom was the only girl in her family.













A Reflection on my visit home last week........

It is always such a unique experience to return to the place of one's childhood. I lived in the same city until I was 15, traveled all the backroads, riverbotttoms and explored anything looking remotely interesting on the back of my independent- minded Pinto horse, Ringo. My parents picked me up at the Sacramento airport and drove home on the back country roads to show me how things haven't changed. I was jolted inside but kept a straight face. I had ridden those dusty roads on Ringo bareback on hot summer days- just to get a Popsicle or orange soda. It was the highlight of my day to enjoy a Popsicle while looking at all the permanent merchandise that had sat on Charlie's markets shelves forever. Charlie really never seemed to get anything new and didn't seem like he even thought about it. Everything was just sitting on those old wooden shelves slowly becoming antiques.

Well, I couldn't really believe Charlie's Market was still there but the street looked as it did when I was viewing it from horseback 40 odd years ago.

It's good to take those trips back. I came from a heritage of rice patties, fruit and nut orchards, endless quiet roads and the Sutter Buttes- the smallest and most beautiful mountain range in the world. I want to mention that the Buttes are rather unspoiled and have remained beautiful . The current and long lasting landowners,if not actually the original settlers, are the cantankerous diamondback rattlers. They are known for their intolerance of tourists and progress of any kind. They are in cahoots of some sort with the black-widow spider. They are the villains of my childhood that snuck into my dreams by night and always seem to be on the lookout for me by day. I made it easy tho. Once my dad bought me a horse, I was a kid that went anywhere and everywhere. I bumped into all kinds of country dangers. I even developed a reputation of sorts as a Pomegranate Pirate. My handmade saddlebags were full of anything tasty that happened to be hanging off a tree and no one was around. That's how I got so tall so young and as it was, probably got on the wrong side of the law eventually. I got my early training as a fruit and nut rustler. Of course, I never told my parents all this. I kept quiet, looked innocent and my parents trusted me.

Parents- that is a little warning about when your kids smile a little bit too big and have a hard time making eye contact.

Anyway, I did have a lot of emotions on my trip back. It was great. My parents are my heroes, having put up with us kids and all of hair and hackle raising antics. Somehow, we all seemed to have turned out ok and are alive. My dad can't see much but their property is a garden and orchard that is a treat to the eyes and palate. I spent hours in their garden- just taking pictures ( and eating) fruits and nuts. I no longer have a horse to roam the countryside so I had to keep my pilfering limited to my parent's backyard. I arrived in Houston with a suitcase of Pomegranates and a big bag of walnuts....leaving all my extra clothes behind!

So , on my birthday this year, I have to say, I have the best parents in the world. Not only did they raise us, but they raised half of the neighbor kids throughout the years. They always had open doors and open hearts and still do- a sample to us all.