On my morning walk I saw a huge coyote run across the street into my friend’s yard. I marveled at his beauty and wasn’t afraid like I’ve been before with a coyote sighting. His speed told me he wanted to get far away from us.
Olive the cat and I watched quail in our backyard. They were squawking and fighting as they scouted for birdseed. I’m amazed at how quickly the babies grew up. All the quail are the same size now. I wonder if the quail stay together as families from newborn chicks through adulthood?
I’ve been fascinated watching Harris hawks glide and circle above my backyard. I’ve tried to video them, but it’s difficult because the sun is in my eyes and I can’t see if I’m capturing them. Perhaps I shouldn’t put birdseed out because it attracts the quail — who then are prey for the hawks. I should have learned my lessons when the hawk crashed into a window and broke it!
I went to the hardware and grocery store and everything I needed was in stock. In the spring there were empty shelves. I remember looking for Tater Tots for weeks, but they weren’t available. We were having friends over for burgers and I wanted to serve Tater Tots.
During the pandemic, I would grocery shop for my dad who was in his late 80s (he’s 90 now). We didn’t feel it was safe for him at his age to go out. I felt like I was putting my life in danger grocery shopping. They were always out of my dad’s favorite Jimmy Dean’s sausage, egg and cheese biscuits.
Who would have thought Tater Tots and Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches would be in demand during a pandemic?
Quail in the backyard.
Watching a Harris hawk circling in the sky.
Besides toilet paper, what do you remember having trouble finding during the pandemic?
I’d be a dog owner if it wasn’t for Olive, who doesn’t like any dogs except for Angus, our yellow lab RIP.
I’m working on our neighborhood newsletter — the final one for 2022. At the annual meeting and quarterly board meeting, residents voiced their concerns. Can you guess what the number one issue was?
Dog poop.
Seriously, I walk our neighborhood streets every morning. There is more dog poop on the streets and sidewalks than when we moved here in 2020. One morning there was dog poop on our driveway.
It’s weird. Who doesn’t pick up after their pets? This is a nice neighborhood and people take care of their yards and homes. Neighbors are retired professionals, successful trades people with empty nests or younger working families with kids and dogs.
A neighbor, who has a well-behaved labradoodle who is being trained as a therapy dog, asked me to put something in the newsletter about dog poop. She told me that one of her friends in a nearby neighborhood addressed this by DNA testing every dog — and then testing poop. The guilty were slapped with a $500 fine.
DNA testing? The neighbor thought that was over the top, but said other ideas were having bags at the park and putting up cameras — plus fines.
The neighborhood isn’t big on cameras. It seems too Orweillian.
We do have lots of wildlife here. I looked up javelina and coyote poop. I read it looks similar to mid-sized dogs. Maybe it’s not bad dog owners but wild animals?
Walking through the neighborhood, we stop and pet dogs who are out with their owners. Both the dogs and the neighbors don’t seem like the type to leave pet droppings around.
On a brighter note, thank goodness our number one issue isn’t crime or homeless!
What suggestions do you have for our task force tackling dog poop?
Our good friends, who live at the beach, returned from a trip to Italy right before our beach vacation.
I didn’t expect my friend to bring me something from Italy, but she did. She brought me hand soap that has a rich rose scent. I thought that was so thoughtful. I wouldn’t think to do that, especially trying to get gifts into my suitcase.
The soap has been sitting in it’s lovely wrapper for weeks on my bathroom counter.
I thought about putting it in the guest bathroom where guests could use it. My mom always had special soaps in our guest bathroom — carved little blue roses or scented soaps.
I thought to myself, wouldn’t my friend want me to enjoy it? My other thought was that it’s too nice to use at my own sink daily to wash my hands. It definitely belongs in the guest bath.
Also, I don’t have a soap dish to hold it. it’s a large block of soap.
A quick trip to Target solved that issue. Now I’m luxuriating in the wonderful feel and scent of rose soap imported from Italy and I think of my friend — every time I wash my hands.
Why do we have nice things for guests, but don’t feel like we should use them ourselves?
A few of the brands we’ve been loyal to for generations.
Do you find yourself automatically buying brands that you grew up with? I do. My mom was a firm believer that Best Foods is the best mayo. My dad, a former dentist, trusted Crest.
This is called brand loyalty. More specifically generational transfer of brand loyalty.
When I got married I was appalled to discover my husband’s family and mine didn’t share the same brands. It was a battle I mostly won — with the exception of laundry and bath soap. I came from a Cheer family, my husband used Tide. I was raised to believe that “All Temp A Cheer” was a superior product. My husband has sensitive skin and can only tolerate Tide. Now we use Tide Free & Gentle.
Investopedia had some highlights about why brand loyalty is so vital to companies. Here’s an excerpt:
As Harvard Business Review (HBR) has reported, companies with high scores on two often-overlooked (and closely related) market research metrics—brand loyalty and customer loyalty—not only grow revenues 2.5 times faster than industry peers, but also deliver two to five times the returns to shareholders over 10-year time frames.1 The fact that brand loyalty—a long-term commitment to make repeat purchases of a particular brand—is not dependent on price makes this metric a particularly powerful driver of both profit and profitability (i.e., profit relative to expenses).
The primary reason that brand loyalty is so important to profitability is straightforward: 65% of revenue in most companies comes from repeat business with existing clients.2 Not only do existing customers loyal to brands purchase 90% more frequently than new customers, but maintaining the brand-loyal segment is also far less expensive than marketing to attract new customers.
The people who built our house and lived here for 15 years prior to us buying it, took good care of the backyard. They filled it with landscaping, potted plants and creatures.
It was cool enough to be outside last night to barbecue. While the tri tip was grilling, I took photos of the critters the prior owners left.
Here are some of them:
Not sure if these are owls or birds?Squirrel!Cuties.This gator guards the pool.Baby alligatorI like this frog.Roadrunner.My favorite roadrunner.Javelina.
I had a friend over to hike last spring. She commented “You sure have a lot going on in your backyard.”
She’s right. All the statue critters are not exactly my taste, but they are growing on me. I’m not going to get rid of them, but I doubt I’ll add to the collection. The cactus and succulents are growing on me, too.
Here’s a boot with a cactus growing inside.Coyotes with a steer’s head and metal aloe.
What are your thoughts about statuary in the yard? Are you a fan or not?
Not because I’m home, but because of what showed up in our huge stack of mail.
A letter from my husband’s employer that said we need to verify our marriage or I’d be dropped from health insurance.
I was stunned, I tell you, stunned.
We celebrated 37 years of marriage this summer. THIRTY SEVEN!
I spent a good hour gathering requested documents. Scanning and printing said documents. They want them faxed.
Requested documents included a certificate of marriage and tax returns, bank or mortgage statement.
What ticked me off is I am a former employee of this firm. They have everything about me. ALSO, we have a number of bank and investment accounts AND mortgages with this company.
When we filled out mortgage applications, we provided all the requested documents including tax returns and bank statements. They have our information.
How can I NOT be verified as a spouse?
Of course, I am providing all the information. I’m just annoyed that I have to do it. We live in a world where everything is compartmentalized and computerized. The personal touch is gone in much of our lives. We’re a number. Gone are the days of my childhood where we all knew each other.
I guess this is a reality check that my vacation is indeed over. Back to real life.
What has annoyed you this past week? Or have you had a great week without minor inconveniences?
Hedgehog cactus in bloom in a pot in our backyard.
I was surprised to see cacti in bloom in our yard. I didn’t think August would be the time for such beauty in the desert. Maybe it’s the rain we’ve had? I’m learning that in the Sonoran Desert, plants bloom throughout the year.
This blossom is right outside our front door. It’s the first thing I saw on my morning walk.We walked extra early because a rainstorm was headed our way. I loved how the hillside was touched with sunlight. It did rain on the way home, but it felt great.
Yesterday, one of my neighbors went with me to a framing store. She’s a watercolor artist. One day when she was at our house, she said I needed to reframe a painting.
“But that’s the original frame,” I said.
“That’s okay. A new frame will brighten up the painting. Right now the frame cuts off the painting and makes it look dark.”
I invited her to accompany me to the framing store. She obviously has better knowledge in frames than me.
This is the original frame. The painting is by Lawrence Hinkley, who was married to my husband’s great aunt.Here is the same painting without the frame in the framing store. I can’t wait to get it back with its new look. It’s definitely brighter, don’t you think?
We received the painting from my husband’s grandfather before he passed away. I have treasured it and thought it would be sacrilegious to reframe it.
I did a google search of the artist Lawrence Hinckley and found out lots of interesting things. He was born in 1900 in Fillmore, California. He created a studio called “The Artists Barn” that attracted internationally renowned artists and visitors. Hinkley also worked in ceramics and made an elephant piggy bank named Fundo for a women’s Republican group in Santa Barbara.
From a news article I found online from the Fillmore Gazette:
As Mildred Hinckley in her book “The Artists Barn”, “The result was a cuddly little elephant about six inches long and half as high, with a tummy fat enough to hold a lot of dimes and quarters. His name was “Fundo”…On his white back was printed in red and blue, “Peace, Prosperity, and G.O.P.” Production of Fundo had just started then President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack. The Club requested that Fundo be sent to the President in the hospital. Lawrence personally decorated on, adding the usual inscription “For Ike” and “Get Well Soon.” I wrapped Ike’s Fundo and mailed it to the hospital.
Mildred went on to write, “On the morning of November 11, Lawrence was downtown and stopped in a café for a cup of coffee….When he opened the Los Angeles Examiner and started reading the lead story under a double column headline he nearly spilled his drink. It read in part, ” …… all during his illness, it was revealed, [President Eisenhower] has been persuading visitors to his eighth-floor hospital room to put something into his personally sponsored kitty, an elephant made of crockery with a slot for the deposit of money…..”
My husband told me that Hinckley also worked for Disney and painted some of the backgrounds of the classic movies. During World War II, he worked for Douglas Aircraft on technical drawings and charts.
I feel like I’ve discovered treasures including the history of my husband’s artist relative and the blossoming cacti.
Have a great weekend!
What treasures or small pleasures have you enjoyed this week?
