The Celebrated Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County

My thanks to Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain for the title of this blog post.  The third weekend of May is the Calaveras County Fair and the highlight of the fair is the frog jump contest.  Read more here about the story made famous by Mark Twain. 

Last weekend we ventured up to Angels Camp to experience the fair and frog jump.  We took our grandson Nicolas with us and to his surprise he got to jump a frog.  His frog jumped 3 feet 2 inches in three hops then proceeded to escape but getting under the fence at the back of the stage and going over the edge.  We never found out if "Thumper" was captured or not but Nic had a great time. 

My dad spent his time at the fair demonstrating wood turning on his lathe and talking to people and having a great time. 

The fair is small but we did have a good time.  I even rode the ferris wheel! What a view of the fair grounds from the top. 

My dad gave Nicolas a ride in his hot rod.  I think it is a 1934 Ford five window coupe.  Sorry daddy if I got that wrong.

 The last time we were in Angels Camp was back in February and most all of the plants were dormant.  Here are some of my moms beautiful flowers.

 I always love being at the log home and look forward to my next visit.  Thanks mom and dad for letting us invade your home and stay, we love you and appreciat you.

Cathie

Ode To The Front Porch

Welcome to my sittin' on porch as my friend and "acquaintance-in-law" Ted Large calls it.  In fact Ted is the one who inspired this post paying tribute to the front porch.  He told me that a study revealed that one of the reasons people don't know their neighbors anymore is because of the dissapearance of the front porch.  We are blessed to have a wonderful covered front porch that we use almost everyday! 

I was inspired to do a little research on front porches and found some interesting information.  One of the thoughts regarding the dissapearance of front porches was due to the invention of the automobile.  The fumes and exhaust from this new fangled invention made it uncomfortable to sit out on the front porch so people moved indoors or hopped in their cars and took a drive.  With this new situation home designs began to eliminate the front porch because no one used them. 

"Nobody thought much about the front porch when most Americans had them and used them. The great American front porch was just there, open and sociable, an unassigned part of the house that belonged to everyone and no one, a place for family and friends to pass the time."

--Rochlin, The Front Porch, in Home, Sweet Home

Click here if you would like to read the entire article "The Evolution Of The American Front Porch"  This is where I got my information for this blog post.  I want to make sure I give the proper credit. The text in red has been copied and pasted directly from the previously referenced article.

The Cultural Significance of the American Front Porch

The most striking cultural significance of the front porch is its connection to nature and the land surrounding it. Throughout the history of our nation, Americans have idealized nature and land. The first writers of our country, such as Crevecour and Jefferson, praised the young agrarian nation, whose natural conditions provided for a better life. 

In many ways, the front porch represented the American ideal of family. The porch, in essence, was an outdoor living room, where the family could retire after the activities of a long day. In the evenings, as the outdoor air provided a cool alternative to the stuffy indoor temperatures, the entire family would move to the front porch. 

 What the family room or t.v. room of post World War II America would become, existed first as the front porch. 

The Decline of the American Front Porch

In the period immediately before and after World War II, the American front porch became a relic of the past, an architectural feature and cultural symbol no longer important to Americans.

The primary technological change that spurred this developing abandonment of the front porch was the proliferation of the American automobile.  As a result, "the front porch was no longer an idyllic setting where one could relax and commune with nature," for the "exhaust fumes and the noise of a steady stream of cars and trucks had rendered it inhospitable and unhealthy"(Kahn 5). The automobile further created a new enclave and setting of towns and cities: suburbia. Automobiles allowed for Americans to move further distances from their workplace to build homes on less expensive property. The "automobile-dependent suburbs"(Kahn 5) did not feature front porches, due to the omnipresence of the automobile. Thus, as technology had helped to develop the front porch, by the mid twentieth century it was leading to its decline.

The new technological development of air conditioning further aided in the decline of the front porch. Providing a cool environment indoors, the front porch was no longer needed as a cool shaded area during the day or as a place to enjoy the cool night air. Families remained indoors comfortably, and a primary use of the front porch was no longer needed. 

Seaside: The Recurrence of the American Front Porch

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Only in current times has the cultural significance of the front porch been realized. This project is clearly a project of such forces, which romanticize a culture and a time in the American experience which the front porch symbolizes. As another result of such forces, the front porch has briefly and minorly reappeared in American architecture.
The best example of the reappearance of the American front porch and its implications may be seen in the town of Seaside, Florida. Seaside, a planned community built in the 1980's, aimed to rebuild a town on the principles of "urban traditions" which would exist in a "garden-variety small town"(Seaside 48). In this goal, the designers and architects developed an extensive building code to create such an existence as imagined. In this code, buildings were required to have porches. Evidently, attempting to rebuild a town on romantic terms, the front porch was a key element, revealing again its cultural significance. In recent times, other developed communities have required and continue to emphasize the front porch.
Thus it may be seen that the front porch existed as and continues to exist as an important cultural object in America. Through an exploration of the evolution of the front porch, the evolution of American culture has been witnessed. This project has revealed the cultural ideals that made the front porch important, and the cultural changes that eliminated it. The future of the American front porch remains uncertain, yet in a time when American values are being reevaluated and attempts are being made to rework them, the front porch as an important and existing cultural object may resuface again.

I hope you have enjoyed this little ode to the front porch and the next time you find yourself in my neighborhood, be sure to stop by and "sit a spell"

Cathie

The View From My Front Porch

It's been four and a half months since we moved back to California!  Life is good here in Fowler!  The grass is green, the trees are full of leaves and the birds are singing!  I am so happy to be living in this little town that I  lovingly refer to as "Mayberry".  Clean, quiet and friendly describes Fowler perfectly.  I have wonderful neighbors, friendly store clerks and family near by.  In fact I get a little anxious now if I spend too much time in Fresno or Clovis, it just seems too busy there.  We have been able to see old friends and make new ones.  We have been attending church at The Well in Clovis and we get to see our neighbor from Clovis, Tami!  Last Sunday both of her girls were up from southern California for a cousins wedding and we got to see them at church!  What beautiful young ladies they have become! 

Right now it is baseball season and we have the priviledge of watching Gavin play two to three times a week!  We sit with Donna and Ted at the games.  Donna is trying to introduce me to as many parents and grandparents as she can but I am having a hard time remembering everyone. I promise I will try harder!  Most of the games are just down the street from the house and once or twice we will go to Dinuba for a game.  This summer Nicolas will begin swimming again and we can't wait to go to his swim meets!  In the fall he will be playing soccer and we will get to go to those games too!

We have made some changes to the house since we moved in.  We added a Tuff Shed building at the back of our lot for my scrapbook/craft room.  It now has electricity and insulation.  Once it is sheetrocked I will be able to begin decorating and moving in. 

I have added flowers to the front and back yard to fill in blank spots and we have planted a vegetable garden to the right of the tuff shed building.

We decided to plant the vegetables in oak barrels because of the gopher problem in the area.  The garden is really growing nicely and we have blossoms on the tomatoes and peppers! 

We had Rick Hatton come out and demo and re-build the shower in the master bedroom.  He did a wonderful job and it really transformed the bathroom.  I did not take a before picture but this is what the new shower looks like...

When we first moved in Nicolas and Gavin asked us to measure their heights on the coat closet door "like over at Grandpa Hollins' house" so we did.  Then Dewayne came up with the idea to replace that door with an old either office of pantry door with glass panels.  I had to come up  with a new place to measure the boys and Becky gave me the idea.  I purchased a vinyl wall applique of a tree and applied it to the pocket door that leads from the living room to the laundry room.  This way it will always be there.  Fortunately we only had measured the boys heights once and I transfered those to the new "Family Tree" door!

I love how it turned out and can't wait for the boys to come over and see how much they have grown since January!

Awhile back I told you about the mystery vegetation growing on the north side of the house.  Today I went out and checked on it and here is an updated picture...

You can go here to see older pictures of this plant.  I have been told that it produces large white flowers in the summer so I can't wait to see them.  Before we moved here I had only seen the yard twice, first when we bought the house in July 2010 and again in April 2011 and so I don't know what everything is that is planted.  I hope I will be able to identify all the plants and continue to add new ones.  Donna called me the other day and told me about an iris farm out on Locan right here in Fowler!  Dewayne and I drove by it the other day and the flowers are gorgeous!  The iris is one of my favorite flowers.  In fact I have a beautiful oil pastel drawing of and iris that Dewayne bought for me many many years ago.  I seriously need to find the perfect spot to hang it up so I can enjoy it.  Maybe I will hang it in my "scraptuary" who knows...

Well thanks for visiting here again today and until next time I hope your spring is beautiful and full of family and special friends!

Cathie