Where did Twenty Years go?

In two days my only child turns twenty. 

She has grown into an intelligent, caring and responsible young adult. She is passionate and caring. She loves dogs (especially German Shepherd Dogs). She is a talented artist.

It seems so fast. Twenty years ago on a cloudy and humid day, she came into our lives and I can't imagine life without her. She has done many things with me. I took her from a very young age to O'Neill Regional Park and she has "volunteered" with me from that first day. "Volunteered" because when she was very young, well, she rode on my back and just smiled at everyone. 

Acorn Day at O'Neill Regional Park October 1997, I was a Ranger Reserve and I made her a matching Uniform.

For her first birthday, a Ranger at O'Neill, Sara Girard (yep, she's where part of why Sara is Sara) took this picture and wrote a special article.

Sara and our dog Romeo (we adopted him when they both were about four years old) were very close.

 

So, last November when we had to say good-bye to our nineteen year old dog, it was especially difficult for her. 

Hard to believe they are the same kid and dog!

We joined Girl Scouts, discovered Geocaching and lots and lots of time in Nature together. We shared Geocaching with Dad/Husband and spent many hours in Lake Tahoe, another love of Sara's searching for hidden containers.

Once, while we were Geocaching in Tahoe near the place we often stayed, A thunder storm rolled overhead. We decided to end the hike and get back indoors. She's holding a Travel Bug - a special item sometimes found in larger Geocache containers - The travel bug is a stuffed skunk we found in 2006 and she is named Sammy the Skunk. Sara fell in love with her so we asked the owner if she could adopt Sammy, thankfully Tommy Trojan said yes but made Sara promise to always take care of her. 

Twenty years has gone so fast but, also slow at times. Happy Birthday, Sara! I love you more than you can know.  

 

   

Weird People

So I have this pseudo friend on Facebook, he tries to strike up conversations every time he notices me online.Mostly, I find it annoying, although there are times that I am so bored that I engage his conversations. He can't spell his way out of a paper bag (or maybe he just doesn't care - and definitely doesn't use spell-check OR auto correct). It is this trait that makes it entertaining.

Today, he asks what I "have going". I tell him, "same as always, find a Geocache  
 and eat yogurt and reading a book."  "Boy yu realy like that geo thing". Yes, yes I do! I feel like typing "you want to make something of it?!" but, don't want to encourage him right now. 

Then he launches into the strange. Saying something about "I new it was yu al along, you hvnt changd" and then something about special diets and remembering when "us went to Walmart and yu askd for specal food". His spelling is TERRIBLE.  

You knew it was WHO? 
WHO do you think I am??!  
WHAT special food??? 
WHEN THE HELL did I even EVER go ANYWHERE with this guy??? 

NEVER, I have not even actually met him, He CLAIMED to have gone to my high school when in reality, he went to the :new: one that opened while I was attending the one I went to. 

Someone told me once that "he thinks you are Angie". HUH?! Seriously?? How the heck? WHY?

He ALWAYS is telling me about this "Angie" and how he "misses her so much it's unreal" He is always saying that. Always. He also is always "so bord its unreal". 
I really don't care. I am sick of hearing the same thing every time he chats. I tell him the same thing every time too. Try Geocaching. He never does. He doesn't need to know ANYthing more about me. I Geocache. I like being outdoors. That's enough. 

Mostly, I ignore him. I told him after his comments about "not changing" and the "special food" thing, that I was busy. He continued to send messages, I ignored him. He's quiet for now. But, he'll be back.

Seriously dude, we didn't go to the same school. I KNOW people who did go to the same Junior High school as you. I went to Cerro Villa, not Peralta. Unless you decide to go to a Geocaching Event where there are many of my friends AND my family... we are NEVER going to "meet up". EVER.

Jezebel

Last month a post on YMBAG (You Might Be A Geocacher (if)... ) It had to do with a Mystery Cache in Florida that has d been UN-FOUND for EIGHT years! Well, a flurry of activity began to happen. Many cachers started chating with Jezebel, a Chatbot. She and she alone (her creator and placer of the cache also knew) knew the location of the hidden cache. The cache and the Chatbot were named "Jezebel".Jezebel, A Mystery Cache  The cache is now archived. This is because one cacher persuaded Jezebel to give her the "exact cords" to the cache location. She had been "chatting with" Jezebel on and off for several years. With all the activity, I guess something finally clicked and she was able to string together the correct words in such a way the they triggered Jezebel's program to finally reveal the mystery.

Since I am in California, even if I HAD figured out how to chat with Jezebel I doubt I would have made the trip to be FTF. The finder actually lived in Florida and drove some 400 miles to be FTF and ultimately THE ONLY finder of Jezebel.

It was great to be part of the final flurry of activity. I even have my our Chatbot now. I have much to learn and I suppose that IF I ever figure out how to program it, I might figure out HOW the creator of Jezebel hid the information within her code.

Julie & Julia - Why can't I blog every day?

So I finally saw the movie. wish I had known about the blog. I have Julia's cookbook. It is large and VERY heavy. I used to watch the TV show. I learned many things from that show. I always wished I had a kitchen like Julia's.I still do not have a copper bowl to whisk my egg whites.

As for followers to my blog, I doubt that I have any viewers or readers other than those who visit the blog through Waymarking.com so I know where Julie was coming from. I would be shocked and delighted to learn that someone actually reads this.

I should commit myself to blog daily. I geocache daily so why can't I blog? Mostly because I don't have anything "interesting to blog about" on a daily basis. I don't do anything interesting. I get up every day, walk the dog, get my daughter to school, find a cache or maybe two and come home. I do some house work (which is boring) read email and play games on FaceBook. Pick up my daughter and find something to make for dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. None of that is "interesting".

My daughter and I monitor Western Bluebird Nesting boxes in O'Neill Regional Park and I have a few boxes in three parks near home. It has been a strange year.  Our best box in O'Neill has fledged 4 chicks already and today when I checked, Momma is sitting on 5 new eggs!  

Our box by the creek has momma and 5 eggs as well. I am worried about that one as I think they SHOULD have hatched by now. Her first clutch died and we don't know why.

 

Our box in Monte Vista fledged at least 4 chicks and they too have another five eggs as of yesterday.  AND the box I hung from the eaves of our HOUSE has a nest in it too! Sometime between last Tuesday and yesterday, they little birds built a nest! The female was sitting on the box yesterday when we were leaving for school. She had her beak FULL of grass. My husband saw the male on the bird house when he was leaving for work.

We placed a new geacache in honor or memory of the TEN trees (and that box location) that were removed last November to make way for a NEW Park Monument sign. I made it a Multi Cache with in the field puzzles. "For Ten Trees" http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5WBAZ_for-ten-trees?guid=ab5fa02c-3a29-491b-8dc9-77beef010d61  I am very happy with the fishing leader that I used for the final as it is nearly invisible!  I also like having a cache so close to home. If another cacher has trouble, I am usually home and can go help them if they need help.

I have had some cachers comment that they wouldn't have figured out this "puzzle" with out a hint form myself or a fellow cacher who had already firgured it out. It makes perfect sense to me. But, I was the one who came up with it. I don't mean for this cache to be difficult, I just want to point out the corner where TEN trees were cut down so that the City could have a "Landscape Enhancement" for the park.

I will try to blog more regularly.  I continue to wonder how blogs get discovered and then become popular.

Until next time - watch for the bluebirds and cache on.

M122

I was at our monthly Girl Scout Service Unit Meeting a week ago.  We had a Guest Speaker from the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. She told us about the programs the agency offers, concentrating on the ones geared towards kids. On page 15 of their "Activity Guide" book "IRVINE RANCH Natural Landmarks ~Let's Go Outside!~"  was a box for OUR HIKES! Yes, the ones my daughter & I have lead for nearly 18 years. My daughter will be turning 18 in September and SHE has been on most of the hikes with me. She has never lead one but, she is always there to help out.

Well, I had to tell all the leaders that if they wanted to do THAT activity, that we are the Docents on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays. 

After the meeting one of the Leaders came over to me to get my information and to show me some pictures and a video that a friend of hers had posted to Facebook.  The video wouldn't play but, the pictures were of a collared (radio collar) cougar!  OH! MY! Her friend had set cameras out and captured this cat on video! 

Last September, we lost a dear Ranger and friend.  She had taught me almost everything that I know about these beautiful cats including how to read their tracks.  The weekend after she passed away my Girl Scout Service Unit was camping out in O'Neill Regional Park. I toll my troop on a hike to find a Geocache in the park. We took Hoffman Homestead Trail out to the Monastery.  Along the way, we found cougar tracks.  I have lost my calipers that I used to measure the tracks when I'd find them. So, I took pictures.

I felt the presence of Donna even thought it was a Cougar track.  I don't know but, perhaps these tracks are from that same cat.

At her Celebration of Life service we met some of her colleagues. Some who she worked with in the Cougar Studies that placed the collars on the cougars. 

I contacted one of them and asked him if he might know which cat had been captured on the camera.  He replied to me that he indeed knew.  M122.  He's a 2 to 2 1/2 year old male.  He covers long ranges trying to find a place to call "his own". 

I was able to get the guy with the camera connected with the guy who placed the collar. They are now exchanging information about M122. The data from his collar transmits about once an hour. Having him on video adds much to his information.
It was a great week.

One outta Five

During FIFA World Sup, Munzee is doing a special icon of the FIFA soccer (futbol) called COPA DO MUNZA,  704 of them are bouncing in "existing" "active" regular Munzees on six hour "timers",   They remain on one Munzee until they are captured (or the timer runs out) then they bounce off to another.  When captured, a total of 23 points are split randomly between the one who owns the Munzee and the one who captures it.
So far I have captured six. Never getting more than 10 points.  I have also had issues with half of the FIFA balls that are near me being on Munzees that are actually unscannable or completely missing. Frustrating to say the least.   OH! the 704 and the 23 are supposed to be significant of something but, I am not sure what.  23 is the number of players on each team roster. 

Today, one pops up rather close to my house.  It happened to be in an area that I KNOW most of the Munzee are either gone or removed.  My daughter tells me to go for it anyway.  It turns out that it is in the set that are on the TRAIL not the streets so there was hope.  Still, these Munzee were deployed at least two years ago and I didn't have much hope. 

The easiest, fastest way to this part of the trail is to park in a residential neighborhood and go up a slope (or the concrete downdrains).  I drove over and parked.  Tried the Downdrain.  It is extra wide and rather slick so, I opt for the dirt slope.  Soon enough I was on the Bell View Trail within feet of the first of five Munzees that I figured I would try to find as they were near the one with the FIFA ball.  First one was to have been on the trail sign... um, NOPE! That's great.   Following my phone's target for the one I need to get...  Small tree  At the center there is nothing.  I widen my search after all, I am also a Geocacher and seldom are the coordinates "DEAD ON".   AH-HA - there it is.  Fingers crossed that weather has not damaged it beyond scanning.  Click the scan button.  "DING!"  The happy sound of a successful scan AND 9 points for the FIFA ball too.  Actually the message was something like "GOOOOOOOOOOAAL!!!! you captured 9 points on the Copa Do Munzo.... " something like that.   My phone was reading a bit off for the center of the location circle but, I GOT IT!   I proceed on up the trail. 

Ah the sound of Phainopepla in the trees.  It is Summertime in the Chaparral. What IS a phainopepla? Follow that link to know more.  But, in short, the male is a shiny black bird with a crest on its head.  Like a cardinal but, black!  The female is charcoal grey. Both have red eyes.  They eat insects and Mistletoe berries.  They live HERE during the summer.   They are one of my favorite birds.  I continued to hear them the entire time I was on the trail.

Next, is a Munzee called "Tree again"  I search in a wide circle and find nothing.  I add (deploy) a Munzee  A bigger tree, between that and the one where I scored the GOOOOOOAAL.  There are little biting flies everywhere today. Annoying! Still, I want to find another Munzee out here.  Tree trail - Again the target circle must be off.  I found nothing.  I try for one more.  There was room to deploy another new one "baby oak" between it and "Tree trail".  Bell trail tree gave me nothing.  I wonder if any of the four that I DID not find are really there.  They shouldn't be difficult if they were like "Small tree".

I head back down the trail confirming that my new ones show up where they should. (on my phone anyway).  Enjoying the breeze and the sounds of the phainopepla and the other birds.  Happy that at least the one Munzee that I actually came for WAS there and scannable.

GOOOOOOOAAL!!!!
These specials will continue through July 13th, the end of World Cup.

Doggie Doo Stations

We went to Tahoe/Nevada for our Spring Break.  We have recently begun playing Munzee.  Similar to Geocaching because you need a "smart phone" with GPS capabilities OR a GPS with the Munzee APP loaded onto it.  What do these two things have to do with each other?

Well, In our home neighborhood, I have been deploying Munzees on the MANY "Doggie Doo" Stations (those boxes either metal or plastic that are full of baggies to use for the disposal of your pets' "stuff").  I am still (not sure why) amazed by the amount of "stuff" that is EVERYWHERE, despite the fact that these stations are EVERYWHERE too.  Even in Nevada!  I deployed a Munzee or two or three in Nevada at these stations because, just like here at home, there is Doggie stuff sometimes just yards away from these stations. 

I am getting more and more annoyed by people who can't pick up after their pets.  A lady in my neighborhood started yelling at ME when I had the baggie ON MY HAND, waiting for my dog to finish... REALLY?  Why can't she do that to the people who WALK AWAY??  Like who ever it was that left a "present" on our lawn.  Romeo found it.  Romeo sniffed it. Romeo has to sniff every single pile that he encounters.  This makes walking him take an eternity and sometimes he gets so involved with the sniffing that he forgets why WE are walking and promptly pesters me for another "out" as soon as we are home and his leash is taken off.

AND that brings me to another thing...
LEASH LAWS -- they are for ALL DOGS not just mine.

Waymark Visited, Again

sigh...

once again I have not blogged since we received the alert that our Waymark (to this blog) had been visited.

Nothing much new. 

Bluebird season again.  Someone in our club already has chicks in at least TWO of her boxes and we only have five eggs on one box.   Oh well, maybe next year.

I finally have an instrument that can play the Munzee game.  AND we are in a clan,  We started on March 23rd and are level 14 as of today.

Going to Tahoe soon and hope to roll Munzee into the Geocaching we will do there.  There are also Waymarks and Letterboxes but, I fear that I am the only one who cares about them.

The next to last LOTR geocache published yesterday and none of my family even wants to go look.  (I am not sure that I want to go alone for it).

Everyone else is happy to be playing their video games.  Which reminds me, Foxhound finally got me to play some Fable III.  I made it to my second achievement.  At least in this game there is a "trail" to follow.  Still I just do not get these kinds of games.  I want to go outdoors.  Only my dog wants to join me but, he can't go with me all the time.  He LOVES sniffing EVERYthing.  This makes it nearly impossible for me to do anything but let him sniff.  At least it is a slow pace (usually) so I can take in all the scenery.  Listen to the birds.  Watch the birds.  Stuff like that.

I wish I could remember to blog more.
Until next time our Waymark Blog is visited...
 

Once Again - "TIme Passages"...

Honestly, I don't have an excuse.  

I just don't make the time to blog.  Saw a post from a friend and decided to come check it out.

Then, remembered that I have not been here (again) in a long time.

So, Foxhound & I just completed the Geocaching - 31 days of caching Challenge - at least one cache a day for the month of August.  

Fun!  

AND we managed to snag NINE "FTFs" which is amazing because of a cacher in our area who seems to get all of the new caches before I even know about them!

August was one of the few months that we already had every day filled on "the grid".  It was still fun to get at least one cache a day.  

Now, in September, we have many days that have yet to be filled even though we have been caching since November of 2005!  We are doing our best to get those days filled.  School is going to soon get in the way. 

The past week plus has been horrible hot and humid stuff.  Wish it would end soon.  Today however, we had a little rain burst while we were driving to the Mall to enjoy THEIR air-conditioning.  Foxhound was beyond happy! 

October is JAZZ FEST on Catalina. The first three weekends every October.  Last year, we went ON my birthday *I went for FREE* courtesy of the Catalina Express.  I bought tickets for the rest of my family and three tickets to the Noon show as well.  AND the Wooden Nickel Restaurant fed ME for FREE too.  Everyone there that day whose BDay is October 20th had a Birthday Ribbon.  THAT was pretty cool being with so many other "1020's" 
This year, Just Foxhound & I will be going *both for FREE* courtesy of my most favorite Radio Station ***KSBR***  Monday's JazzTrax artist of the day was Craig Chaquico... (oh how I wish he was the show for Oct 5th noon).  I entered on the station' web site.  The next day, I thought I remembered something was happening on that date so I didn't enter.  Same for Wednesday.  BUT, yesterday I get home to a message from Judy Davila (KSBR) saying that I WON!!!!  I looked on the calendars and can't find what ever it was I thought was happening on the 5th.  Roman Street & David Benoit*goin' to Catalina!* 
This will be the forth time I think, I love live music and the venue is so cool - the Casino on Catalina.

That's it for now... gonna escape the heat and go for an Owl Hike this evening.  
 

Lake Tahoe for a Week!

Well most of it anyway - then to Sonoma County for a few days - gonna be another hot one I fear - but it is Vacation - and if it's hot then there will be lots of time at the pool - which I don't really like - I can't see without glasses - and don't wear contacts any more - so can't really swim in the pool :(

There might be geocaching and horse back riding too


time will tell

More Geocaching

Friday foxhound and I took Pidude 26 caching - there was a fire at the Fisher Plaza, the building that houses the servers for Geocaching dot com so that causes us to change how we cached. Saturday - GC was back and we came up with some caches for today - Sunday. Pidude found one called "i've fallen and I can't get up" - there are at least eight caches in that immediate area - which i told him - "if we go for that one - we have to look for htese others" "Why?" he asks - I say "If you are going to be passing them and haven't found them yet - ya gotta look for them!" and besides - one of the ATW80 caches (China) was there too -

We ended up only finding 4 of the eight - DNF'd one - decided to not bushwhack one and completely pass on two others (including "I've fallen") too steep and too hot - but we all had fun and Pidude still wants more - so that's the good thing!

the day geocaching "stood still"

so we were going to take a friend geocaching today - but a fire in the Fisher Plaza stopped the original plans - We went to an old favorite park that has two caches that we know of and found those two "letterboxing style" and PiDude26 wants to do more! hoping for the servers to return by tomorrow... we had a great day - anyway - we ran into an old Ranger friend - one we hadn't seen in over a year - one we love and we introduced her to our friend - PiDude26.... we found one "new" cache and discovered two that have been muggled since the last time we found them. he's ready for more - so hoping for the servers (all of them in the building - not just the GC one) to be restored tomorrow!

TUFF CACHE

we tried twice to find a new cache - it is a nano and there is a decoy - found that one - we even had fellow cachers "Boondockers" AND Cepheus7 with us... Pacholik came back after we'd left and found it - darn... gotta go back next weekend - maybe even meet up with the Boondockers again...

weekend...

Foxhound is sleeping - Cepheus7 - he's been up "made dinner" Carnitas in the Crock Pot and he's back to bed - Romeo - he's curled up in the chair next to me - his favorite spot -
Me - bloggin' listening to KSBR - me time - only time I get any.

I want us to go an find some of the Country Caches for the ARW80 series tomorrow - but I want all three of us to go - together - some cachers have already completed the challenge!! They started last Sunday - we saw them at "England" - the cached 72 hours straight!! found all the Countries and the Continents AND "The World"! Some fellow cachers - must be jealous - 'cause they are questioning if these guys had visited ALL the caches themselves... these two say in their logs that others joined them for some caches - I was uncertain about the final "World" if some just tagged along or what - but, if you have 72 hours and you devote it all to finding the caches and solving the puzzles - then - great!! And if you don't have the time - great too - and just because a cacher doesn't log on line - doesn't mean they haven't physically BEEN to the cache - maybe they didn't have access IN THE FIELD to go online for each cache - WE don't - WE must wait till we get home to the computer! So just bcuz a cache- (the Continent Puzzles and THE WORLD Puzzle) isn't logged on line - or any of the COUNTRIES for that matter - doesn't mean these two cachers had not been there...
Sour grapes - yummy yummy!

Off the "s box"

I really like this time of day - KSBR - me an' my dog - sleeping in the chair next to me....

Walk in the park

Going to take the new Ranger on one of the paved road/trails today - going to see if we can get approval for a "new cache"
There is a new SERIES out too - ATW80 80 Caches in total?? one is on the road we are going on - gonna take the Ranger all the way there - first then to our site -

Met Ranger Raul and walked down the road. About a mile to a new Cache - I told him it just published and that I was certain that no one had asked to place it. As we approached GZ - there were two other people there - acting very much like Geocachers... Flashed my GPRs at them as we WERE with a Uniformed person... The Ranger seemed impressed with the entire Geocaching thing - might even look into it himself we think. signed the cache ourselves and he approved of its placement. Headed back towards the car/truck. Found the location for OUR cache and Raul watched as we placed it - came home and posted it it is active already - and about five to seven cacers have looked already!