WAITING TO GET OVER THE BRIDGE

Forty years ago this month we moved from a two bedroom apartment into our present home.  During the passing decades our house has been through a devastating flood and several different remodelings.

 One of the last building projects was the addition of a front porch where we like to spend summer evenings.  From the porch is the view of a tree-lined irrigation canal which channels water to nearby farmland. 

Our friends tease us about having waterfront property.  It is nice to have nothing but the canal across the street, and just beyond the that is an assisted living complex which makes for very quiet neighbors.

 At least it was quiet until the facility purchased a big chunk of land to develop into an even bigger place.  With all the aging boomers it seems nursing homes are a good investment.

So a HUGE hole has been dug and concrete walls are going in for a basement. Also part of the design has been another bridge across the canal just a few yards from our house.

 As soon as the water was gone for the season, backhoes were brought in and they proceeded to dig up the canal banks to make way for the base of the bridge.

 All day long heavy equipment comes and goes, loading and unloading and rattling the windows with their rumble.

 This morning I took photos of the progress of the new bridge from the original bridge at the end of the street.

 It’s going to be interesting to see the finished product.

 Our view in this direction will soon be blocked by a building several stories tall.

There is one advantage to having access to this place just out our front door.  When the time comes, our kids will just have to toss us in a wheel chair to cart us off to the geezer house.

TURKEYS IN THE SNOW

Thanksgiving morning dawned with blowing snow and temperatures below freezing.

 Some of those who’d signed up for the local Turkey Trot were having second thoughts about the need to burn off pre-feast calories.

 Then there were the hard-cores who were full of big talk and ready to run.

 The official turkey and his companions were doing their best to help warm up the crowd.

 DH and Jimmy were in a great mood; probably because they were cheering and not running or walking.

 The nearer it came to starting time, the more snow came down.  Dad talked the youngest racer into spending his time in a warm car with his big sister.

Even the dogs were having second thoughts about this foolhardy undertaking.

 Not these two turkeys.  They were geared up and braced for the adventure.

 One last frozen smile before taking that long one mile walk in the blizzard.

On your marks, get set, GO!  Er---go! Hey! The race has started!  These three finally took their place in the mob of clowns who came out in rotten weather to join the Race to Feed the Hungry. 

DH and I didn’t stay to the end, although we called later to make sure the racers had finished without any casualties.  We had an appointment with a roast turkey and family in Utah.  And, considering the conditions, we decided on an early start so we could take our time getting there.

The road was icy and we counted five slide-offs on our way to the Idaho-Utah border.

 The most exciting mishap was this Fed Ex truck which must have lost control and slid across the median of Interstate 15. Here it is headed north in a south-bound lane.

Here’s the other trailer belonging to the rig getting hauled out of the gutter by a tow truck.  We continued on our way in our four-wheel drive Subaru with knobby snow tires, and arrived in plenty of time to help put Thanksgiving Dinner on the table and eat with our family there.