Riding, eating and visiting at 3-day family reunion

Whoever named it Labor Day was right on. Last weekend's three-day family and friend reunion really wore us all out, but especially my sister and her husband, Bonnie and Ray Rieger. They've been hosting this exciting weekend of riding dirt bikes and quads for the past 20 years. They live out near Risue Canyon on 40 acres of beautiful land with easy access to the Sweetwater Mountains. About 100 people, many of them members of the SoCal and Foothill Hawks motorcycle clubs, gathered together to ride, to remember and to feast on a fabulous deep pit barbecue with all the trimmings.

Three generations of families were there and lots of old friends sat around and reminisced about days gone by. They may not still be weekend warriors who continue to race their motorcycles out in the Mojave Desert, but you can tell that many of the seasoned bike riders are still very competitive. Who says old means slow? The kids were having fun too. They wore out "Maynard," Bonnie's old golf cart, and loved playing foosball.

Thank you, dear Bonnie and Ray, for giving us 20 wonderful years of Labor Day fun. We know it's been a lot of work for you and we want you to know how much we all appreciate you. You're the greatest!

Not the coyotes?

I recently read in the "Johnson Lane Journal" that Lisa Welch suspected coyotes had dug under the fence of her chicken and duck coop and taken seven hens and two ducks away with them. Over the years we've blamed similar incidents like that on the coyotes, but we discovered that they're not always the villains. Some years ago a predator was digging under our well-fenced bird cages at night and kidnapping his dinner. We found a very large hole where he dug in and some brilliant feathers outside where he had feasted on a gourmet pheasant. The midnight varmint dug several holes and took five pheasant before we finally trapped him. It wasn't old man coyote after all. The hungry hunter turned out to be a giant-sized black and white "peppermint pussy cat" - the largest skunk my husband and I have ever seen. It weighed at least 20 pounds. Norbert disposed of the monster skunk and reset the trap, "just in case."

Sure enough, late the next night, we heard some more commotion so we went outside to check on the chickens. There, on the other side of the coop where there was no trap, another skunk was trying to dig under the fence. This one was much smaller, probably a teenager. He was startled by my flashlight and just like in the movies, he did a quick handstand on his front legs, put his rear end up in the air and lifted his tail. We jumped to the side just as the spray soiled the ground and the stink penetrated the cold night air. Oh, the smell of country, but it wasn't coyotes.

Slow down

Folks that live along Calle Pequeno here in Fish Springs are concerned about the speeding vehicles going down their road. Now that schools are back in session we see more kids out on the roads walking to their bus stops. Please watch out for them, and just a reminder that most of the roads in Fish Springs have a 25 mph speed limit.

-- Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.