Halftime

If you think about Summer as June-July-August, we are halfway through.   Summer activities, festivals, fairs, family vacations are all in full swing.   In our area, the California Mid-State Fair kicks off this week.   It's always had a small town feel with some long time traditions that people look forward to.   The fair always kicked off with a cattle drive through town.   I believe last year was the first year ever that it won't take place.   I don't remember the reason but I think it had to do with the gathering point becoming unavailable because the land had been sold.   Sad that another symbol of this being ranch country has gone away.   

Another thing that has changed this year for our fair is that they will now be conducting metal detecting scans.   *sigh*   We all know what they're looking for.   Weapons.   We are a county of small communities that have seen the growth of gang related activities.   I'm sure in light of all the violence and attacks on policemen, there is a concern about that as well.   

I hope everything goes smoothly at the fair, that everyone enjoys the great concerts that hit the stage, and the food.   Oh yes, the fair food.   I didn't go to the fair last year but will probably walk through the exhibits this year.   And yes, even though I've been eating more healthy recently, I must have something that is absolutely sinful and decadent.   The cinnamon rolls are unreal.   That will probably be my indulgence.   If they ever take the cinnamon rolls away from the fair, there will be hell to pay.   The lines are long, the rolls are fresh from the oven, and they send you instantly into a sugar coma.   But who cares?   It's the fair.

We had a few things on our list that we wanted/needed to complete early in June.   They didn't happen in as timely a way as we'd hoped, but the third of three should be completed this week.   We'v been going through a refinance and it has dragged into the most ridiculous process you can imagine.   After the past 3 weeks of sorting through the delays and lack of communication, it is supposed to finalize very very soon.   As we suspected, there was an incompetent employee in the middle of it all, and we were informed yesterday that she was let go for not doing her job.   

And so it's halftime.   I haven't been out with my camera much.   I have been riding a lot and that's a good thing.   Erik has been trying to keep our trees alive in spite of a county-wide gopher invasion this year.   We have lost nearly all of our fruit trees and they are now trying to kill our Pony Plums.   Over the weekend our 20 Fuji apples on a young tree completely disappeared....overnight.   There are pieces of branches on the ground and we suspect a deer came through for a snack.   I feel sometimes that we're out on the prairie and fighting against the elements at every turn.   Crazy.   We'd like to have a nicely manicured property but it's expensive and frustrating.   But we persevere.   And cross our fingers.

So life is always a mixed bag, isn't it?   All the horrific things going on in our world, yet people just trying to enjoy life and experience the Summer fun for themselves and their families.   My wish is that things quiet down and the second half is more peaceful than the first.   



Comments

Tabor said…
So sorry for the loss of your fruit. I know how that feels and it is a fine balance our lives or theirs. Just like the loss of a cattle place. We impact and they impact back.
Lynne said…
Right about now I feel the YEAR entering the other half . . .
our plantings seem to take on a drier, coming to the end, early parched look . . .
Yet . . . there I am . . . helping them to hold on just a few more weeks . . .
Sorry for your loss of the fruit . . .
Happy you are enjoying your rides!
Pepper Medley said…
At our other home, a neighbor lost all of the apple trees he planted to the deer. They stripped off branches and bark as though they were play things. I'll just buy any fruit I want at the market rather than throwing money on fruit trees out the window. At least that's what it feels like to lose a fruit tree. We are completely SICK TO DEATH of summertime. May as well be living back in Arizona considering the heatwave we have been having. Never ending. Time to move someplace cooler/colder I suppose.
This N That said…
Too bad about your fruit..Enjoy the fair and the cinnamon rolls..They sound yummy...I hope your refinancing goes smoothly from here on out..what a pain!! Great that you've been doing a lot of riding..Enjoy!!
I avoid the fair like the plague; not a big fan of crowds, so definitely not my cup of tea. Plus it does not change much from year to year, so I do feel like I've seen it all already. On the home front, I know how much it hurts to lose trees you've worked hard to grow, the gophers sure are capable of inflicting terrible damage in a short period of time! And I hope you're right about summer being halfway through, I measure it from May - October so even by my reckoning we're nearing the halfway point....shorter days ahead! Yay!
Daryl said…
i dont want to think of summer (and my fridaycations) as being half over ... big sigh .. and i am sorry to hear about the gophers ... and deer ... it does seem as if you're in the wilderness which can be nice ... or not ... thats a great photo, very tranquil .. escape into it

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