My Dad

Today my father would be 106 years old. The earliest picture of have of him was taken in 1918 

When he was 7 and his brother was 5. They had just legally immigrated from Italy. At that time, my grandfather had to sign a form that PROMISED his wife and two children would NEVER be a burden to the United States. They never were. My dad was an American and very proud to be one. 

This is my dad in his early 20s. He's riding his favortie horse, Blackjack. As he reached his mid-80s he was ailing, but he wanted to live long enough to see the turn of the century in 2000 which he did! He passed away in July when he was 89. The day he passed away my first book series was published...he was so proud that his "little girl" was an author as well as a professor. The immigrant did well. Happy Birthday Daddy you are always in my thoughts and dreams.

Lake Oroville

A lot has been written about Lake Oroville recently. It's the lake that belongs to the Dam that has a huge hole in the spillway. In addition to that problem the secondary spillway was never paved so that when it was used this year, for the first time ever, it started to erode very quickly. So, after years of drought where the lake was low (which I have documented in this blog) folks did not think that the spillways would cause any problems. With the record rain we had this winter, the faulty spillways caused major problems, including the evacuation of 100,000 folks downstream. Right now, the spillways are being repaired, albeit behind "closed doors" as the public are not allowed anywhere near the area to take a look at what is being done. The public can see the Lake where the water levels are pretty high. 

This picture was taken near one of the boat ramps, Lime Saddle, and it shows the level of the water. It's not up to the tip-top as room is needed for winter run-off in the coming months. There's room for that additional water now. It's really good to see the blue wet stuff in the lake instead of tall weeds and way too much shoreline.

 

Back to Blankets

I took a break from blankets to make a score of Easter Bunnies. I'm back to crocheting blankets again. I finally finished an aqua/lavender creation for Project Linus. This is my eighth blanket for the year.

I hope they will take it as it does have some "holes" in it. Apparently some places will only take donated quilts saying they are easier to wash and do not get caught in "stuff." Given that, I will make fewer holey blankets. 

 

It's Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!

 

Cherokee

200 years ago Spanish explorers found gold on the south side of Table Mountain. Fifty years later Welsh miners and a group of Cherokees from Oklahoma mined the area and struck it rich. A hydraulic gold mining industry developed that employed folks around the clock for almost 30 years.

The miners created a city, which, during the boom of the 1890s, boasted a population in the thousands. They found gold and diamonds and lived quite well. Thomas Edison owned one of the mines, and he made sure the area had electricity. President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife visited Cherokee, as it was that famous.  Today the town has less than 70 residents. The old mining days are gone, but the hobbyist can still find some gold and diamonds in the area.

Time has marched on, and Cherokee is just about forgotten except for a few relics from it's "rich" past.

Table Mountain

A great place to see wildflowers in our area is Table Mountain, not too far from Oroville Dam. We took a ride there this weekend, and we were treated to a nice display of yellow, purple and white wildflowers. Only problem--everyone from the area was there too. I was able to get some pictures without a crowd of my closest friends...I hope you enjoy them ...

The mountain is truly flat and the fields seem to spread for miles in all directions.

Tiny yellow flowers coat the mountaintop

A narrow road soon leads you to...

...a meadow with trees in the background and a gleaming patch of yellow meadowfoam...

It's all good!

 

A Chorus Line...

Meet the chorus line of bunnies...I wonder if Mom Bunny (on the right) is teaching her little rabbits all about being Easter Bunnies. Two more were added tonight as I had some bunny requests. They were camera shy, but I'll try to sneak a picture of them tomorrow. 

 

Charlotte Arrived

Back in November, when we were on the Prisendam, I made several baby blankets...including this one for our tablemate's great-grandchild-to-be. The baby, Charlotte, was born March 24...

...and here she is wrapped in her special teddy bear blanket. These blankets do travel as they live in Louisiana and I made it while we were on the Amazon.