Updates

You may be wondering why I don't update my blog as much when I am at The Ranch. One reason is that I don't have a decent enough internet connection here in the house (I can piggyback on Glass Guy's connection -- he has a security webcam in his shop and he can "spy" on intruders from his home -- but a big oak-covered rock we call Treasure Island blocks the connection when I am inside the house.) The other reason is that there is just too much keeping me away from my laptop.

Last week was Bat Fighting Week, for example. Since we returned to find the bats living in our house again, we've been on a humane (at least I think so...) eviction campaign. We've been trying to make them leave at night to go feeding and then after we think they're gone, we block the entrance again.

"Heeeeey, there's a whole lot of yummy stuff out here.....don't you want to taste any of these juicy bugs?"

It's kind of like enticing unwanted guests out and then locking your door.

Now we've sealed most of the spaces with insulating foam, leaving just a small exit. Seemed easier than P's suggestion of catching a snake and getting it up there. I don't hear the bats anymore, so I think they're all gone.

This week is Getting Oak House Ready for the McC's week. Lots of cleaning, fixing screens, spackling, caulking (yeah!) and painting. And buying some household appliances -- something I loath doing. But it keeps us indoors more and that's a good thing because although the days are gorgeous, the winds have been blowing smoke from the Monterey County fires our direction and it smelled like a campfire all over the ranch yesterday morning.