Random 5 Friday

1. My friend Heather is coming to visit this weekend. She flies in tomorrow and we are going to be busy, busy, busy -- going wine tasting, taking long walks, and going to a dressage symposium on Sunday. I may not have time to post. I'm very excited about her visit. She's excited to be leaving the heat wave in Southern California, where it's been in the 80s all week.

2. The warm weather and winds in Southern California increase the fire danger. There is a fire burning in Glendora, where I grew up, right now. It started up on a fire road where I rode horses and hiked with my best friend, Janice, as a kid. They think it was started by transients camping in the foothills. Five homes have burned so far. We have friends who have been evacuated. We hope they, and their homes, stay safe.

3. Brett was a police officer in Glendora before he retired. He's been following the situation through his friends who are still there. We hope that the police officers and fire fighters stay safe as well. They are putting in very long hours.

4. The weather here has been warm; not as warm as the LA area, and not windy, but unseasonably warm nonetheless. The nights are still cold, in the low 30s, but the days are in the high 60s.

5. Mary Ann wanted to know what I'm going to do with all the fruit from my orchard. I won't get fruit for a number of years so I won't have that to think about for awhile. The pears, in particular, take five years to start producing. The peach will be first. Apples tend to bear heavy one year and light the next. I'm hoping that they aren't all on the same cycle. If I get a bumper crop I'm sure the horses and donkeys will be more than happy to help us out. I love fruit. I love walking around the orchard gorging myself on the fruit. I eat it straight off the tree, put it in salads, bake it in pies, and make applesauce or jam. I expect birds will eat more than their share of it as well.