December...time to hibernate...?

....if you're a bear in California, might be a good time to find a nice spot. Been getting colder and very wet. Snow levels are kinda high right now...rains are too warm. In fact, I hear some of the earlier snow is melting and causing possibilities of too much water in the cricks, streams and rivers...

I left off with a shot of this formation at Loon Lake. There are some caves in this area. Having seen bear paw prints in the snow in this area at various times, I've always wondered about the possibility of a sleeping bear in them, Not about to venture into one anytime soon to find out..

Was hoping to do some skiing up there during the time I had off recently, but the weather hasn't cooperated. So, have just been trying to get my 'tool-room' organized. My 'shed' or garage is very small and has a very low ceiling. Many years ago I moved a lot of my tools into the 'laundry-room'. which is itself not all that spacious. They are probably safer in there. I have a carport area that is now packed with stuff that is in my way. No getting away from it, some major re-organization is in order.

Yeah, got too much stuff. Maybe it's time to crank up an E-bay account. Probably not, I'd probably go with Craigslist first...Problem is, I used to have a huge space at an old stucco factory. Before that I had  an old Carriage house, which a friend of mine used to refer to as the 'Barn'... It dated to a time when people were still getting around in horse-drawn carriages in this town. That's what I like about this city, there are still a lot of the older homes around. Sadly a lot of them were destroyed to make room for the massive Freeway system that barrels through town....So where was I headed with this?

Yeah, had the 10 days off...a good bit of that spent on Thanksgiving festivities, fighting with a Pit Bull, not getting along with a few neighbors...what was that? fighting with a Pit Bull?  Yeah, I love dogs...miss my old Pete all the time...but, there seems to be a problem with stray dogs these days. A lot of them are abandoned after the owners who should have never gotten them realize what a handful a big dog can be in the city...   Was sitting on my porch before Thanksgiving Day, contemplating my collection of motorcycles and other items, when a piercing sound of a dog being mauled by another came to my ears. At some apartments around the corner a woman was holding her dog up, while a friend was bravely attempting to pull a huge Pit off of the other dog by grabbing it by the neck...not a good scene. Told him to hang on tight, as I laid into the big dogs ribs with my foot, hitting him hard enough to lift him off the ground....The whole time I'm worried about the dog letting go and then going for one of us. Some bystanders mistakenly thought the dog belonged to a neighbor just across the street. So after giving the dog a few more kicks,( aiming a little closer to his more tender region...sorry pal...)I run over to the neighbors and pound on his door to get his attention,grab a chunk of 2 by 4 off his porch, and then back over to the scene of the fracas...to find that the dog let go after the last few kicks and is now acting like he's the other fellas best friend. The woman and her pooch are now safely in the apartment, although needing attention for it's wounds. Well, all's well that ends well I'm thinking...until my new neighbor pops out on his porch and starts reading me the riot act for banging on his door. My explanations that it was a case of mistaken identity  concerning the dog are going no where. Joe...I'll call him that...is about half my age, 40 pounds heavier, and just coming off like a total nut-job. I'm standing there with a 2 by in my hand all amped- up from dealing with the dog scene. So...I pull out my......cel phone. And in a calm voice I say "You got 5 seconds, Get back into your house or I call the police department, O.K?". The other neighbors are surprised that the bully-guy backs down. Turns out I know more of his history with the police....

The animal control officer shows up a bit later, collars the Pit Bull, cleans up the little dogs wounds, and the peace of the 'hood is restored. Saw the little dog today, it seems to be back to it's old self. The Pit Bull was probably destroyed because of it's attack, which is a real shame. In the US it's been a real problem with people breeding dogs to fight. 30 years ago I knew people with AKC 'Pit Bulls' that were just the nicest dogs. Unfortunately there are a lot of dogs out there with bad bloodlines that will never make good pets. 

So....'Don't ask me what I think of you...might not give you the answer that you want me to...'. That song has been goin' round my head for days , thanks to 'Big Mama'..hahahaha. 

Is it my imagination, or is Blogger different every time I'm in here playing with this thang..? I want my Blogger to be like this 1958 Chevy truck...simple.

                                                      Nice simple 6 cylinder

Stopped by Jim's house, he lives in a nice older Sacramento neighborhood cross the tracks from my part of town. His old truck. We got it running after figuring it did have spark, and traced it to a minor carb fault. Nice and simple, unlike todays vehicles.

Jim and his friend Mike visiting from Australia, working on the Christmas decorations.

Jim is the fella with the Moped/Cactus garden I've featured in the past...

He also sold me his old Honda 150, a project for later...

Back to sniffin' out some old pre-unit stuff...

An update....Jim and Mike's handiwork lit up, for the holidays.