Bird watching

The current big storm that arrived at Lake Tahoe, Sierra and Carson City area brought many feathered visitors to our backyard to scrabble for sustenance under the snow.

Placer County, a 1,400-square-mile destination in Northern California, is inviting responsible leisure travelers in accordance with the California Department of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Travelers are now permitted to safely enjoy the diverse geography encompassing a range of cities from Olympic Valley to Foresthill, and Auburn to Roseville this fall.

Well the kids are home thanks to COVID-19, and after approximately four hours the novelty of not being at school is sure to wear off and they’ll expect you to provide them with entertainment after they've done their online school learning assignments. So before you start tearing your hair out, here are 10 ways to keep your kids entertained during quarantine!

NEW WASHOE CITY — September events at Washoe Lake State Park include an evening hike through the sand dunes, a birdwatching program, a morning walk through the Day Use Area, and a night hike.

With spring underway, April events at Washoe Lake State Park north of Carson City in Washoe Valley include an evening hike, an Easter Egg Hunt, and a birdwatching program.

Local children and families were treated Saturday to the annual Nevada Outdoor Experience, held this year at the Capital City Gun Club off Arrowhead Drive in Northeast Carson City.

This is going to be an epic Fathers’ Day weekend. Carson City Off-Road sponsored by Epic Rides has taken over downtown with everything mountain bike and plays host to a free Music Festival in McFadden Plaza. Don’t miss Arts and Culture Day at the Nevada State Railroad Museum with unlimited rides on the Steam Train, special vendors, and more. Stewart Indian School will be a hotspot of activity with the annual Fathers’ Day PowWow underway. This is just the tip of the iceberg, read on for more fun than you’ll know what to do with.

SATURDAY:

In early spring 2018, the Nevada Division of State Lands completed the conveyance of 6,281 acres of federal land to nearly double the size of the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area near Ely, Nev.

The Nevada Outdoor Experience is a free family event designed to excite and inspire youth and their families to get outdoors, find some neat hobbies, and have fun!

I thought sitting outside in the shade on a beautiful spring day would be a fun way to write my article. Now that I’m writing, I’m not so sure.

I hope you got your fill of naps last weekend because this weekend is chock full of fun to be had for all. You can Wine Walk until you Holiday Crawl downtown. Take your pick of craft shows in town. Kids won’t want to miss the Santa Train at the State Railroad Museum or one of the two performances of ‘The Peanutcracker’ at the Community Center. Whether you’d like to spend the days indoors or out, there is something for all ages in the Carson City area this weekend.

SATURDAY:

• Nevada Artists Association Art Exhibit at the Carson Visitor Center (8am-6pm)

Whoa doggy, what a weekend. Dayton Valley Days, the Steampunk Ball and Parade in Virginia City, and the Western Heritage Festival at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park are just the tip of the iceberg. Whether it’s in Carson City, or just over the hill in one of our neighboring counties, you’ll find something fun to do. Read on.

SATURDAY:

Graduation for the class of 2016 is Saturday, June 4, and the ceremony begins at 10 a.m. on the Carson High School football field in Carson City.

One last photo opportunity will happen the morning of graduation. This is the photo of everyone together wearing caps and gowns. The 2016 senior class photo will be taken in the gym, so all seniors must arrive at the school, and meet in the gym by 8:45 a.m.

Midnight Madness has descended upon the valley, bringing with it a 72 hour softball tournament at Centennial Park. Don’t be surprised to see more cyclists on the road: an unofficial pre-ride for Epic Rides is this weekend. Head to the Nevada State Railroad Museum to see the Glenbrook all steamed up. Take a look at the whole summary: there’s a whole lot of fun to be had around town during this three-day weekend.

SATURDAY:

Nevada’s New Year’s resolution is to ensure that travelers go home with more stories than souvenirs. With the lineup of events scheduled in early 2016, that is sure to ring true. As always, Nevada will offer fun, unique events for visitors of all interests and ages that will guarantee unforgettable experiences. Kick off the New Year at one of these Nevada-only events:

In a previous article, I wrote that our good friend, Barry Drury who lives in Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada had invited us to join him, his wife Susan, plus two of their friends, Denis Ryan also of Watson Lake and Kirk Jensen of Whitehorse, Yukon on a three-day, fishing trip at Pelican, Alaska.

First things first. Saturday afternoon could be expecting some wet weather, so be prepared. I can’t predict what events may be affected by it, or if the rain will even show up. No worries for you wine walkers, though, downtown will be hopping: rain, shine, or blizzard. Head over to Artsy Fartsy Art Gallery and wish them a happy fourth anniversary, Jeffery will be serving up one of his signature Sangrias. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church won best wine walk stop last month and will have live music. Don’t forget to spend some time inside Westside Pour House: ARTistically INKlined pop-up gallery returns and proves that tattoo artists are first, and foremost, artists.

SATURDAY:

• Street Vibrations Spring Rally: Downtown Reno
• Reno Tahoe International Film Festival – go to www.RTIFF.org for schedule and locations
• Sierra Lutheran High School's 13th Annual Golf Classic at the Silver Oaks Golf Course (7am Check-in, Shotgun start at 8am; $125 for a single player or $400 for a team of four)

With July just around the corner, unless something dramatic and unforeseen happens in the future, 2014 has all the earmarks of being a very poor fishing summer because of our ongoing drought.

Our sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack from last winter is gone, the spring run-off was almost non-existent, and that is bad news for fishing this summer in our streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes and reservoirs.

Lyon County, Nevada was the fastest-growing county in the United States prior to the 2008 economic collapse took one of the biggest hits statewide in the foreclosure crisis. The state overall was one of the hardest hit nationally and the housing market is still in recovery.
A glimmer of hope was seen in 2013, as home values headed up while foreclosure rates headed down, according to a report from the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Had a noisy visit from a flock of Cedar Waxwing birds this morning. They were spotted on the north side of Carson City.

Elaine and I just returned from a fun-filled trip to Lake Almanor, which is located in Northern California near the towns of Chester and Westwood.

Our trip was the result of a chance meeting with Gary and Birgitta Metz of Carson City. We met them at Duke's Steak House in the Fandango Casino, when our dinner party was there in early May to celebrate my birthday on May 08, and his dinner party was there to celebrate his birthday on May 06.