May 16 weekend update

Good Morning Everyone,
 
I hope everyone survived the heat wave. It hit us pretty good in Oakland. Jumped from the 50's to the 90's overnight. No time to get used to it. YIKES!
 
I thought I might get out of it going up to the property but I was wrong. It was in the upper 80's and lower 90's all weekend. At least there was a wind on Sunday which made it more bearable.
 
Even though it was so hot I did get some work done. I finished extending the dining cabin. It is now about 4.5 feet longer and will give us more room to move around. I hooked up the water system and reinstalled the water heater. I had to do a bunch of repairs to the system. We forgot to drain it last fall so some of the pipes froze and broke. The faucet on the kitchen sink froze and popped its top.
 
I set up my new solar charging system and it worked great. I have seven batteries set up and the charger kept them well above 12 volts while using lights, running the fridge and even running the Saws-All off on an inverter. Now I just have to make the set up a permanent one.
 
On Saturday, I made a tour of the property checking most of the areas where we did plantings last year. It looks like we had about a 50% success rate. The plantings near water sources did well, plantings out away from water didn't. We need to set up some more irrigation systems this year because I have a feeling this year is going to be drier than last year.
 
There were several antelope on the property all weekend. There was one that was near the road and stayed right there every time I drove past. I think it was a doe who had a newborn on the ground near her. I stopped a couple times to take pictures and she would move away a few feet but return as soon as I drove off.
 
I also saw lots of ducks on the springs, a golden eagle, several hooping cranes, several geese, a few chipmunks and ground squirrels. I also met a new resident around the camp. There was a Grey squirrel running around in the trees above the camp and giving us hell with his chattering. This is the first time I have seen a Grey squirrel up there.
 
The bitter-brush was just about to blossom. The hot weekend will probably push it over the edge and make the blossoms open up by the time I get up there next weekend.
 
Speaking of next weekend, are you planning on joining us? Paul, Trudy and Chris are coming up. Peggy may fly up on the weekend and then ride home with me. Anybody else? I am headed up Thursday morning and staying until Monday.
 
Come on up and spend the weekend in the high desert.