Brush Fire North of Carlsbad Village ~ June 25, 2022 ~ Yesterday afternoon was a bit scary, especially for some residents, with a brush fire at the Buena Vista Lagoon just north of Carlsbad Village. About 1:00 pm we noticed what appeared to be a low marine layer moving in quickly at our house. But it was clearly smoke, and there was ash floating around in the light ocean breeze. I couldn’t find anything immediately online and there were no emergency alerts on my phone. But there was clearly a fire burning somewhere nearby to the west. Turns out there was a 10-acre brush fire at the Buena Vista Lagoon just north of Carlsbad Village and a residential area on the lagoon. Here’s a video from CBS-8 San Diego on YouTube. There were a number of evacuations given the location, along with a numb... 06/26/2022

The last couple days, I’ve enjoyed fun time playing with the little online photo editing tool, iPiccy.com.  iPiccy is free, and offers several options to enhance your pictures.I used iPiccy’s “emboss” tool while playing around with one of my images of an authentic paddlewheel riverboat, The Delta King, which is moored on the Sacramento River, at the waterfront in Old Sacramento.  Because of two flags present on this The Delta King image, I thought it would make a good contribution to ActiveRain’s June Challenge. A Challenge suggesting we post images of Old Glory providing testament Americana is alive and well.Originally built in 1927, The Delta King has been restored and brought back to its former glory.  In today’s world the paddle wheeler functions as a boutique hotel with one-of-a-ki... 06/23/2022

I want to thank Endre Barath, Jr. and Mark Don McInnes, for hosting this June Old Glory Challenge.  For me, it has provided a measure of healing, and I believe for our Old Glory, a bit of cleansing too.  Prior to the early 1990s, Sacramento was home to three military bases – Two Air Force bases and an Army Depot.  Many of my neighbors are retired military.  Often in the past, many homes here had flags waving.  My own flag, being among them. However, after the January 6th 2021 insurrection at our nation’s Capitol, things changed somewhat.  Fewer flags have flown.  I admit I’ve been hesitant doing so.  In the 2 ½ years since that infamous day, there have been times I’ve reached for Old Glory to introduce her to flight.  However, horrific images in my head occupied haunting thoughts.  Amon... 06/27/2022

On June 16, 2022, California Association of Realtors (C.A.R) reported that homes values gained 3.2% to an average price of $650,000 in May of 2022 from an average price of $630,000 in April of 2022, but rose 16.1% from $560,000 in May of 2021. While, homes sales decreased 5.7% in May of 2022 from April of 2022, and fell 13.1% from May of 2021 in Riverside County, California.There were 2.0 months supplies of available inventory of homes in May of 2022 higher from 1.8 months in April of 2022, and up from 1.9 months in May of 2021. An average it took 17.0 days to sell a home in May 2022, increased from 15.0 days in April of 2022, but down from 22.0 days in May of 2021 in Riverside County, California.For complete more detailed information about the California Association of Realtors’ May of... 06/27/2022