at last* – first a last walk down First with Sumi and then over the hill, truckspotting on 80

[first sighted near Baxter, then here in the Truckee Gorge and a last glimpse [not shown]

in Sparks], 25 de Mayo. On to Wadsworth, up through Nixon, bottom of the lake**,

spaced out the Limbo Turn where I’d intended to lunch

so ate late on the porch at Wall before unloading and partly unpacking after which

a short walk confirmed that – woo-ah! – water was making it into the lunch pond BOTH ways.

Unused to the new gaseous grill dinner was not particularly stellar and trying to finish up the last Cali blog I lost half an hour of edits, so gave up and went back to reading “Calamity Jane”.  In the morning, internet poky, I laboriously restored the last night’s lost work but lost hours

trying to get the digits to behave including but not limited to a lengthy call with the service provider who could only affirm that all speeds were normal from their end.  On my end however, after various experiments and machinations at their request, I was left with no wi-fi at all.  [Frustrating but anyway if you’re reading this it means it somehow got sorted**]  We had

a first day despite and the next afternoon spotted cows

[not spotted cows, black ones] feasting on Dave’s saltgrass, or I thought I did; in the morning

they were definitely there so asked around, beginning with the cow camp at the bottom of the zigzag where no one was but once home found Tara’d texted Willey who’d said the cows “most likely belonged to Dusty from Rodeo Creek” so left a message and eventually heard back yeah

most likely…in anticipation the Inkies and I walked out checking gates and fence for leaks;

Saturday said Dusty was here with two cowdogs first thing. Once all the beasts were headed

up the desert we walked the ponds, breakfasted on the porch and fell in line behind six

weekending California Jeepers to 447, blew by them on the pavement, admired Jola’s new car

at the P.O. and made it to PXP just as they were opening…everyone great to see after so long, John’s paintings selling like proverbial hotcakes. I met a guy who’d just guest-curated a show at the NMA and proved it with a proof of the extensive catalog he’d edited then

bought two cups and was home in time for lunch, thinking I’d go back with all our excess winter paper bags but L called late and talked long so stayed instead, eventually into studio, brief comatosia, some painting…took dogs to chairs, constant Holiday Weekend activity out on

the road. Sunday morning brought a cacophony of doves, dogs out at 5:30, 62 spotless degrees, not a cloud.  We made the morning rounds, a fledge of magpies at the nearly dry upper well,

the usual and lunch before returning to the Planet bearing bags in search of bowls for dog oil and condiments.  Various individuals viewed the Inkies in the truck and were barked at.

Memorial Day morning became officially summertime in that it was warm enough to warrant moving from the porch to the pond for breakfast for the first time this year and as

holiday vehicles went homing down the desert the day went to dismantling the old inverter for Nina, feeling in and out of punky; Covid Shot Hubris seems to have caused us all to forget how we germbags host tons of other cooties, some or other of which I may well have picked up during that unrelentingly social week prior to coming up here.  Oh well…phoebes seem to have fledged, the cacophony of doves indicative of the same and magpies remain rioting, a short-tailed horde in the willows around the still barely trickling upper well, oh well.

*But that too was long long ago

**East of Reno “the lake” = Pyramid. For Reno, Carson and west “the lake” = Tahoe.  The lake here is, obviously, Pyramid Lake.

***Took until the end of the following week, however, for reasons too tedious to detail…