Friday, October 1, 1976
I’m sitting up on a hill above Garden Gulch (my usual end of the trail spot). It’s a warm day, a few high clouds—sweated a lot getting here. Sugar pine, Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine, oak, and one small cedar tree and a dogwood, whose berries have turned red in view. Saw a ruby-crowned kinglet, flickers, acorn woodpecker and a Douglas squirrel on the way. Heard Steller’s jays, nuthatches and towhees.
Have been very busy and don’t know whether I can get caught up on anything, let alone this journal. The trip to get Robin and Rebecca from Scout Camp in August was uneventful, except that they apparently hadn’t gotten along very well together at camp. It rained for 4 o5 days while they were there, which probably didn’t help. Both seemed to have had a good time though.
When school started the children and I came into town while Bob stayed out at the ranch to work on the bridge. I went out one day and cleared rocks out of the road and took Bob a lunch.
The Thursday night before the pour I went out and Florence took care of the children. It was midnight before I got to bed because Bob ate late and then there were the dishes but that was better than the 2:30 a.m. of last year.
The morning of the pour I drove over to unlock the gate. Met Bob Reine on one stretch and Larry Anderson pulling a small cement mixer on another. By this time Bob had (the week school had started) four people working with him—Bob R., Dennis, Jim and Joe. All worked hard and well. I waited for Jack to arrive with the cement truck down at Prairie Creek. He was driving the big one. Then I drove ahead of him and got out to guide him around a narrow spot (the culvert with the hump).
For the first truck they dumped into wheelbarrows and then pushed those across plywood pieces to the proper place. Joe manned the chute, Dennis and Bob R. the wheelbarrows and Jim the vibrator. Bob kept the boards moving to where they needed them. With the second truck they could just pour normally. I washed tools, took pictures, did some floating and edging. I left after lunch and came back to town.
School was a little traumatic for Rebecca the first couple of days but she has really settled in now and seems to enjoy most of her classes. She’s having to put up with a few difficult teachers. She’s also taking guitar lessons on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and piano lessons on Mondays. Jeffrey is in John McClurg’s 4th-5thcombination. He’s bringing home an occasional ”A” paper and is having no trouble getting along with the 5th grade boys. He has Cubs on Tuesdays and piano lessons on Fridays. Clarke is tired by the end of the day but six- years old seems to be a very social age and he wants Scot Lindsey or Kelly Sheen over to play at least once a week or wants to go over there.
Nursery School is taking more time this year because of meeting every Monday night. I spend Monday morning, and sometimes more, preparing for the class. We have 20 people enrolled and most seem enthusiastic. The children are, on the whole, much younger this year.
Last week I went to Santa Rosa. Had to go down in the morning as there was a 4 pm meeting. Went shopping in the book store part of the Emporium and got a couple of paperbacks, one on child rearing and one a sequel to “Eleanor and Franklin”.
The meeting was interesting, as usual, and I spoke up, perhaps more than I should have. Met Kay Morris in line at the SF airport on my way home and sat with her on the plane.
Last Sunday we went out to the ranch. I mowed the lawn, picked some corn, lettuce and tomatoes from the garden; picked up three sacks of apples off the ground in the orchard.
Bob and I went to Open House Tuesday night and Wednesday night. We alternated Tuesday because the program was repeated three times. Wednesday night was for upper grades and we got a sitter—Amy Crane.
Tonight Florence and I are going to Redding to the Community Concert to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz players. She and Leonard are doing pretty well with their work on the yellow house. Scott has been helping.
One thing I forgot was that the night we were coming in from Big Bar, because school started the next day, we stopped part way down Oregon Mt., on this side, to let the dog out for a minute. A deputy sheriff pulled up behind us to see if we were picking up a hitchhiker. He said there was a convict loose. The next day we found out that three had escaped from the new jail. Two were together and broke into Dick’s house and took guns, liquor and clothes. Everyone was really nervous in this area. I put the dog outside in front of the front door every night and searched the closets, etc. before I went to bed. They caught one in a day or two and killed the other down by Douglas City later in the week. He was carrying Scott’s 22 and wearing Dick’s shirt. The third one they felt had left the county immediately.
It’s really pleasant up here today. Indian summer.
I’m having a lot of hassles emotionally right now. Not too sure what to do about it. Have started running a mile in the backyard again. Yesterday I rode my bike to nursery school. Made it all the way up from Meyers to our driveway without stopping but was exhausted. Was still panting ten minutes later!