To Every Season

In about a month it will be a year. Day before yesterday I awoke early from a dream where I was having lunch with my Dad here at the ranch: sandwiches. I was talking, he was nodding, about all the work we had gotten done here – and he liked it.
I wish he and Mom had been able to come up here to the Foothills, but with her on oxygen it couldn’t happened. Yesterday was their anniversary. I miss them a whole bunch.
Now my friend Kevin is having a rough go of things, and against his will his daughter has set-up a page. The last couple years of the Rendezvous as things wound-down, his attendance was my magnet to go.
Damn.
At least the air has gotten better here (for now), sorry we sent the smoke over across to all y’all…

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Smokey Burnouts

Another week of ruddy, red sunrises and temperatures “doing the ton,” with the additional benefit of haze and smoke intensifying. Last night the temps never got below 70-degrees and the air quality from the fires is pretty poor. We had thought of escaping to a resort (Kirkwood) in the higher elevations, but by reports their air quality isn’t much better. Years (decades) of poor forest management policies and a Forest Service beset and infested with hippies and eco-warriors have lead us to this sad state. But it is recoverable.

Seems Longer

My first blog post occurred at a time when the toxic political smug in which I had grown-up and that surrounded me was becoming more and more Democrat-Orwellian, and more overwhelming – I badly needed some liquid relief. I was mentally preparing for a cataclysm like an earthquake, or the local BayAryan Leftist political equivalent…which is still to come – better safe than sorry. Now that we have moved away the impact of such a political event is diminished and of less concern, “Antifa” be hanged. My dirtriding days had not yet slowed to a trickle, but the yearly Spodefests were continuing without me. My High-Power heyday was still somewhat ascendant, and the farthest thing from my mind was clunky-old Cowboy Action shooting. Indeed I had not yet even heard of the Gunblogger Rendezvous or the friendships I would make there. We were still just exploring our new hobby: a M1 Carbine, K-31 Swiss, and some Sigs were yet to come and go.

August 7, 2004 – Da Kine rippin’ onolicious Mai-Tai recipe – Maybe it was the Exotica music that triggered it, or tasting the fine examples at Tao-Tao’s in Sunnyvale: I went on a hunt for the best Mai-tai recipe. Where the hell is that Demarara?

Sprinkler stands/risers

From the bottom to the top: 3′-6″, 4′-6″, 6′ tall – the tallest one is made by joining two short sections of pipe that I had bought, having misjudged the height I wanted/needed. This is all experimental and we’ll see how the shake-down cruise turns out…
UPDATE: Base is made by Orbit: 1/2″ Metal Ring Base
It’s a bit wobbly and helps to have a few cinder-blocks or large stones laying around to anchor the base or the initial impulse of water through the hose and up the pipe will make it tip over.

UPDATE: After a shake-down cruise and running through the sprinklers on a hot day, the short sprinkler just didn’t make the cut, not only because it simply splashed off the side of the house, but because running three sprinklers was one sprinkler too many. The pressure I have available can only run two in all their chaka-chaka-chaka glory.
I added a 30″ segment of pipe to the short one to bring it up to 6′ tall which seem optimal, and we can use it at the other house. Or donate it to my neighbor for the common defense.
Another ruddy sunrise and looking forward to a smoky day with at-best “moderate” air quality.

How Now Brown Cow


On Wednesday a couple of wild fires sprang up only about five miles away, and little flakes of white ash were floating in the sky all around. I was returning home from the grocery store and saw a huge column of smoke, directly in the direction I was heading, and thought, “Oh holy S#*$” – but then in a moment I saw a big Cal-Fire McDonnell Douglas DC-10 heading into the smoke and realized that based on its size, the fire was probably a bit further away than my home. Still, the wind was blowing in “this” direction, and things can move fast, so I hurried on my way. I set the ladder at the ready and the 100-foot hose, in case I needed to get up on the roof and start hosing it down – and just missed getting a picture of the DC-10 as it pulled out of its dive and went over the tree-tops – it was close enough.
In retrospect getting on the roof may not be such a great idea, so on Thursday I went to True Value and gathered parts to assemble a couple of “sprinklers on a post” in order to (hopefully) stave-off future floating bits of fire. There’s a curly sort of hollow base that connects to a hose and that will support a 1/2″ pipe about 48-inches long, and onto which I can put a Rain Bird rotating head and limit the sweep to about 30-degrees. Three of those might help, we’ll see…
In other news the dry-creek “rock garden” has grown some rocks.

UPDATE: What a difference a day makes. The onshore breeze from way down in The Bay kept working through the night and we awoke to cooler weather (temporarily) and clear air in the “good” range.
UPDATE 2: The local newspaper (The Mountain Democrat, the oldest continuously operating newspaper in California) ran a picture of the air-tanker making a drop at the nearby blaze which was interesting (see below). The fire is now 100% contained at 67 acres but another fire started up south towards Angles Camp, and there’s another that popped-up in Mendocino, and the biggest up by Shasta Dam where I rode the Buckhorn Enduro is only 41% contained and still tearing through the countryside…

Stinkwheel Werks

New-ish Zoom-Zoom truck!


I was gassing-up the new-to-me ’11 Silverado Z-71 and a guy ahead of me at the forward pump (who was pulling a boat and taking up two spaces) was wearing this t-shirt that I really-really totally HAD to have.
Between the Stihl yard equipment and other two-stroke junk around the ranch, I realized my beloved KTM was feeling neglected and needed attention.
Like I need another hobby, but I shouldn’t abandon the ones I still have.
I have never re-packed the (non Forest-Service approved) silencer in over twenty years, and on the last ride around the pasture it was ring-a-ding-dinging so LOUD I needed ear-plugs. You could hear the expansion chamber banging with every pulse, expanding and rattling on the cylinder head, with the bent-in FMF pipe clanking against the exhaust port. The coolant is suspect, and the trans-oil (Type-F) definitely needs changing. It is just time to do something, even if it was 103 outside and probably more in the garage.
(Remind me to get the garage insulated.)
But I just need to spend some quality time with my old stinkwheel buddy, wrenching on simple things. There’s a performance shop nearby who can do the forks and fluids therein.
So today I ordered a new “Gnarly” pipe, and a Q-Stealth Forest-Service approved spark-arrestor silencer – and after looking at my kit, a new pair of riding pants and a fresh Camelbak for hydration because my old ones were all groty. Also I need a new dirt-lid because the 20-year old Arai MX just rotted-out.
But the knobbies are good and the chain is fine, and maybe I can find some Senior trail-riders in the fall when things cool down a bit and the moisture comes up.

Doing the Ton

Towards the end of July is the time where we see the heat not tapering off, sudden wildfires, and nighttime temperatures never getting much below the upper 60’s. It’s been a week of 100’s, and there are thunder-bumpers massed along the spine of the high Sierras, providing “interesting” weather for hikers and campers in the High Country, and easily visible from our upland elevation – and then there’s August, which is often warmer.

More Winning, or the Stalemate Continues…


Ninth Circuit Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Newsom’s Standard Capacity Magazine Ban

In another blow to Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s anti-gun agenda, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling in the case of Duncan v. Becerra on Tuesday, upholding a lower court’s decision to suspend enforcement of Proposition 63’s restriction on the possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.

Following the enactment of Proposition 63, CRPA attorneys sought an injunction against the magazine possession ban, arguing that the law violated the Second Amendment, as well as the due process and takings clauses of the United States Constitution. Federal District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez agreed, issuing a preliminary injunction just days before the law was set to take effect. California quickly appealed the decision.

On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that Judge Benitez did not abuse his discretion, holding that he applied the correct legal standards and made reasonable inferences based on the record. But one judge on the panel disagreed. Responding to the dissent, the majority noted that it was not within the panel’s authority to re-weigh the evidence of the case, nor could it substitute its discretion for that of the district court. What’s more, referencing the Ninth Circuit’s 2014 ruling in Fyock v. Sunnyvale, which affirmed the denial of an injunction against a local magazine ban, the majority held that simply because a judge disagrees with another district court does not necessarily mean the district court abused its discretion on the matter.

Meanwhile, in the trial court, a motion for summary judgment is pending and a ruling on the merits of the case is expected soon. Regardless of the outcome, the case will most certainly be appealed again to the Ninth Circuit. But by that time, the Supreme Court will likely have a new Justice who respects the right to keep and bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment.

To stay informed on the Duncan case, as well as other important Second Amendment issues affecting California gun owners, be sure to subscribe to NRA and CRPA email alerts. And be sure to visit the NRA-ILA California dedicated webpage at http://www.StandAndFightCalifornia.com and the new CRPA webpage at http://www.CRPA.org.

Winning in California, or at least less losing…

This is the ex-Kamala Harris-run CA DOJ, the DC Democrat’s new darling-hopeful (right up there with the newly crowned Communist-Democrat from “the Bronx”), that again is shown to be a corrupt AND inept tool of the Bureaucratic Uni-Party in that despicable hive of scum and villainy known as Sacramento. https://www.crpa.org/crpa-news/ca-doj-withdraws-proposed-assault-weapon-definitions-regulations/

Less than two months ago, the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Firearms (“CA DOJ”) formally submitted a proposed regulation expanding the application of its improperly adopted “assault weapon” definitions to apply in all circumstances. The Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) was scheduled to decide whether to approve the regulation yesterday. Following opposition submitted by the CRPA & NRA legal team, CA DOJ officially withdrew its proposed regulation the day before OAL was scheduled to make its decision.
This isn’t the first time CA DOJ has withdrawn a proposed regulation. It was previously forced to withdraw its illegal “assault weapon” registration regulations following NRA and CRPA’s joint-opposition, regulations which were later officially rejected by OAL.
Those regulations are now the subject of a lawsuit titled Villanueva v. Becerra, which challenges the regulations as a violation of California’s Administrative Procedures Act and will soon be briefed before the California Court of Appeal.
This latest withdrawal of a proposed regulation expanding the application of DOJ’s illegally adopted regulations is welcome news for all California gun owners. At the very least, the withdraw shows CA DOJ does not get a free pass to adopt regulations outside the scope of its authority.

Up in the Sky, it’s a Bird, it’s a Plane…!

No, it’s a bunch of clouds!!

OMG, we haven’t seen this kind of overcast in months! But no promise of rain. And it’s early, and cool, so time to go to Cowboy Action practice… CLANG! CLANG! MISS! CLANG! MISS!
UPDATE: My error in last week’s Match and what I thought was dirty guns (besides me mis-counting and not bringing enough ammo) turns out to be a clearance issue with my Vaqueros and Magtech .44-40 ammo using CBC brass with fractionally thick(er) rims – a connection I had not made or tried before. Live and learn. They run fine in the ’73 Winchester but get a crease in the Rugers that feels like grit, with visible wear on the brass. So that box now says “Rifle Only” on it, and there’s another thing to check when prepping for a Match; ammo functionality. And as long as we’re checking, a box of 225-grain Winchester .44-40 in the cylinders spun just fine…