California New Year 2024: Day Sixteen

We decided to take another Covid test this morning in hopes we can be less careful around the grandkids.

As you see my test (left) is negative (Yay!) but unfortunately Sheila (right) is still positive (Boo!) -- still it is likely that she is not so contagious now?? Still we'll continue to be careful today. We meet the kids outside again -- at Calavera Park at one. It's just around the way from here... I can see the park from our eastern window. (It includes a dormant volcano -- Cerro de la Calavera, that last erupted 22 million years ago. We hope it'll stay dormant a while longer.)

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At one Sheila and I drove to the trailhead at Tamarack for the Calavera preserve, near the dam. Brannon wasn't there yet so I took a walk across the dam and back while Sheila, who was not feeling great, stayed in the car. It was sunny under blue sky at first and I enjoyed the beautiful walk across the dam. I took pictures of some of the signage -- I'm always on the lookout for great signage that give us some good ideas for Arrowhead's trails.

 I also took pictures of the scenery and the many coots on the lake. I was looking forward to talking ecology with my naturalist-in-training-five-year-old-granddaughter. I knew she'd be fascinated with the coots - their signature white bills and weird feet. When I walked back up to the car I was surprised to find that Brannon had not yet arrived. We called her and discovered that she is a mile or so away at Calavera Hills Park not Calavere Preserve. Aha. 

When we got there the three girls were already barefoot (despite a blustery cold day) and having a ball. Suz and Clem were riding their scooters around a concrete track that encircles the play area. Ruth was splashing in the shallow rainwater puddles on the concrete.

Despite the cool weather Ruthie had a ball splashing in the shallow puddles on the pavement -- here trying to kick rainwater onto her Grandshaw.

Clementine raced around the concrete path on her scooter time after time after time, barely missing running over Grandshaw! After a while we began to pretend I was the train crossing gate. I would raise and lower my walking stick with appropriate sound effects. Sometimes she stopped for the gate -- sometimes not.

Susannah has gotten adept at pushing her scooter, though she has not yet mastered guiding it.

I wish I had a video of Suz racing across the playground to jump into her Granny's arms when we first arrived. This is near the end of our time at Calavera Hills. Susannah loves her Granny!

Ruth and Clem were to go to a ballet lesson at three so time was short.

As they left for dance Sheila and I headed to Home Depot to replace the toilet lever I had broken -- for the downstairs bath at the Carsons. Then we drove to the Vista library hoping to pick up some more Coviod tests -- they were out. Then we ordered pizza and while waiting for them I bought a couple of cartons of ice cream at Stater Bros -- Fudge Brownie and Butter Pecan.

Since Sheila is sill positive for Coved we had the pizza and ice cream on the porch at Brannon's house. 

Renata stopped by and we also saw both Jim and John briefly.