– I am NOT referring to the burritos and Jalapenos.    lol

This website will be undergoing some upgrading for a bit so please bare with me as I am not very computer literate.  Seems every time I take a break from this blogging stuff I forget what little I have learned in addition to how upgrades often don’t go as smoothly as anticipated.  Learning new stuff is great but perilous if not absolutely confident about what you’re doing.

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NEWS NOTE:  Yesterday’s LDPCSD Board of Directors vote to rescind Resolution 2013-4 (prohibiting additional CSD water service to properties outside the Place of Use under Water License 11395 and Merced Irrigation District’s Place of Use restrictions per L11395), has evidently been deferred to committee to ascertain specific information regarding these properties. The matter is anticipated to be reconsidered by the board in approximately two months.

RAIN?

I started moving around at 0430hrs this morning due to howling wind through a partially opened bedroom window. Shaking off the evaporating memories of sleep, my nostrils filled with breezy swirls of that aromatic hint of precipitation. Do you know what I mean? (remember Lee Michaels? Lol) That unmistakable smell of rain on the earth, trees, paved highways, and such?

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Only a few sporadic drops have fallen so far, but with a continued forecast of “chance of rain” for the next couple of days, let’s hope more is on the way.   Especially in the higher elevations where every crystal of ice and snow will be needed for the approaching warmer weather.

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SAVED IT AGAIN
Well, at least I saved the deck umbrella this time as I have lost a few of them through the years due to the common and very strong wind gusts up here. This year I drilled a hole through the metal umbrella stand pipe just below the hole in the table so I could place a large bolt through the pipe so upward air movement wouldn’t allow it to “take off” again like last year’s umbrella excitement.

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During a developing storm last year I was rushing to get outside because I could see the umbrella and stand pole violently moving up and down repeatedly. The umbrella/stand would rattle and shake wildly back and forth then quickly jump up due to the lifting wind under that crude 12 foot diameter sail. When the wind lessened and the upward movement ceased, gravity pulled it back to earth approximately two-three feet with a shuddering thump of the stand on the wood deck.

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I had just passed through the open sliding glass door to the deck when an exceptionally strong gust blasted the whole umbrella straight up into the air – with the stand completely clearing the table! It was in flight! Straight up like a 12 foot diameter bloated canvas rocket launched by nature’s laws of physics at Cape Don Pedro.

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I instinctively grabbed the stand pole (about eye level and still going up) with both hands in a panicked baseball bat type grip and physically struggled to gain “flight control” of this extremely powerful “aircraft” which had a final destination of its own planned. Following the brief, but significant struggle, I successfully executed a “semi-controlled crash” back to the deck with only minimal umbrella damage.

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After my heart rate had slowed and the tingling shiver sensation of fear running up and down my back and neck had subsided, I realized just how fortunate I had been. Those annoying “extra pounds” were finally appreciated for the assistance in keeping my dumb ass on the deck!

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Had any one of a number of variables been different, I could easily envision an age appropriate humorous news report of the resulting accident:

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“Local Don Pedro Resident “Mary Poppins” To Area Hospital”

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My best to you and yours, Lew

PS:  Speaking of old songs (Lee Michaels), remember  Monty Python’s movie: “THE MEANING OF LIFE” and : THE UNIVERSE SONG ?