Rivenrock Gardens Blog

April 01, 2006

April Fools Day

A neighbors old truck, with cactus replacing the engine.

   ‘April Fools Day’~ was my thought as we crossed the streams in Vickie’s car. I wondered if the women always went this far up the canyon to walk, or was this some April Fools Game they were playing on me.

   The neighborhood ladies get together on occasion to take an afternoon socializing and walk break. Since it had been raining so hard for so many weeks, the ground is saturated and I cannot do any work with the soil. And even with the weeds being waist high now, I cannot cut them down since they are staying wet day after day. So I decided to go on the walk with them.

   But if I’d have known we’d be crossing rain swollen streams I’d have opted to bring the truck. Instead I settled into the passenger seat of Vickie’s car and we motored the length of the dirt road heading higher up the canyon. We met with the neighbor lady we were to walk with, and followed her further. We had to cross the stream several times, the water reaching up to the bottom of the car, while I who am more used to a truck nearly panicked while my wife calmly drove us over the rocky streambed as if she does this every day.

   We got to the end of the road and wandered along the small track that lay beyond. We followed the stream further as it wound through the groves of oak trees that shade this canyon. As we went along the neighbor kept her eyes open for the chanterelle mushrooms that are sometimes found by the knowledgeable growing beneath the oak duff.

   One winter a neighbor gave me a whole bucket of these delicacies and Vickie cooked them up for me fried in butter. I ate a few pounds of these delicate treats each day for the next few days. My mouth waters still thinking of that generous treat I was given.

   Our roaming led us eventually to a cabin on the other side of a chasm. It had been unoccupied for some years, yet it was as if the inhabitants had just left in the middle of the night. The cars and trucks left abandoned were from the forties to the early seventies. There were farming implements in the yard, and hanging on the walls. There were several kerosene lamps left out, but not a window broken.

   We turned at this point as it marked some boundary beyond which we were loathe to tread, we walked downhill for the next mile or so, and returned to our vehicles. I took some photos of the countryside, and incorporated them into a slideshow which you can download from Rivenrock Screensavers The photos all show the green of these hills, and the beauty that is California after our heavy winter rains. I also made a page on winter in California, 2006. It is at Winter in California

   The next day I saw that the tailpipe had little pebbles in it from the stream, we’d actually submerged the tailpipe during those stream crossings. I’ve always thought a truck is better for living in this canyon, but Vickie does like her car.

April 15, 2006

A neighborly Hike

   This was another weekend where the rain finally let off for a couple of days, and many of us in the canyon decided to take a hike again. This time there were a quite a few neighbors involved in the hike. And all of us and our dogs made the trek up the hill, through the woods, and across the stream.

   This time I made a screensaver of the dogs involved in this walk. Included are shots of our Chihuahua named Whitey, and the neighbors dogs, two German Shepard, a Black Lab, a Chocolate Lab, a Saint Bernard, and a Rotweiler. The screensaver can be seen at Rivenrock Screensavers

April 22, 2006

The Lions scream on the hills

    The Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe is a marvelous book series for children. Written by C.S. Lewis it shows the majesty of righteousness and has a Christian type character which I think all Christians would recognize.

   It has recently been released as a movie version which I think fully captured the books intent and meaning. I am well pleased with how Disney Pictures did the movie. The stunning computer work which created the full scope and ‘other worldliness’ of the books was so well done as to be mesmerizing.

   While watching the movie, and the beauty of the ‘King of Narnia’, the Messianic Lion Aslan, Vickie and I had to discuss our own Mountain Lion. He comes through our area on occasion, eating deer and goats, scaring people, and giving us all a good reason to walk about armed to the teeth.

   People sometimes report seeing a Mountain Lion here, but more often we just hear it screaming near the house. There have been times when I was in the orchard on the hillside, some ways from the house, and I hear it screaming near the house as I am walking home. It is unnerving to walk toward a scream like that, knowing you are walking toward something your entire being is screaming at you to walk away from. It is at times such as this that I will pick up a few stones to throw at it if I see it, to keep it from charging or stalking me. If I am still in the orchard I might pick up a pitchfork and ax from the shed and walk home with those in my hands. I feel like a peasant from a Frankenstein movie, marching on the castle toward the monster to do battle with archaic weapons.

   There was another time that I had to walk to the well in the dark and cycle the pump on. The lion was screaming outside near the house. So I went out with a shotgun and flashlight. As I was waiting for the pump to fill the tank I walked along the road so I was away from the brush. A neighbor came driving by, parked some ways from me with his lights on me, and hollered cautiously out the window “are you OK John?” It was a touching moment, and I could hear the worry in his voice evaporate when he heard me explain the reason I was standing along the road with a shotgun.

   But this all began with a talk of the Chronicles of Narnia, did it not? Well, Vickie and I had to remark during the showing of the Lion Aslan that our own Mountain Lion has been unheard by us for half a year now. Perhaps it is dead… and then the silence was deafening. You see we have a pond next to the house, it is full of frogs that chirrup all the night long on their orgy of excessive tadpole making. And when the frogs stop making noise it is like an alarm ringing because something is out there and scared them. Then, through the partially open window I heard it, the scream of the mountain lion, and it was close. We walked out onto the dark porch, proceeding cautiously, making sure the skunk was not out there. We stood on the dim porch, under the overhanging roof, deep in the shadows and listened to the close scream, then farther away we hard another scream, that was repeated twice. Then our own closer lion screamed again, and the other one repeated the scream twice. Over the next ten minutes we heard these two lions call to each other across the vastness of the open canyon. And our own lion which was behind our house, perhaps a few hundred yards and to the Northwest crossed the hillside behind us to the North, it then went along the spine of the hill to our East, and then followed that to the Southeast, and eventually the two screams became too faint to hear. In the span of ten minutes we’d heard this local cat cross two miles of densely wooded land without us ever hearing anything other than it’s screams.

   I know that having a local Mountain Lion is a luxury most Americans will never know, and I relish the thought that I live in this wild area, that so befits my own philosophy and nature. I wish this area to remain remote and wild like this, and I understand the feelings of the people who were born in this canyon and regret the opening up of the land that has happened in the last thirty years. The telephone was the first to come in during the seventies. Then people started coming into the canyon settling on their widely spaced houses, mostly out of sight of one another. And we encroach on the Lions territory, causing it havoc in its normal course of business. But the lions and the other animals seem to have come to terms with the new inhabitants of this canyon, we provide food of sorts to these animals with our imported meals-on-the-hoof. Many are the chicken coops that have been broken into by bears here, or tunneled into by foxes. Few goats remain; the rest have been eaten by the lions. Owls take the occasional cat. And mice are attracted to some barns where large amounts of feedstuffs accumulate and give them food, they are seized upon by rattlesnakes as a nice food source.

   Nature is full of bounty when there are not too many of any particular species, but the ‘balance of nature’ is not a balance at all. It is indeed a see-saw with the individual species rising and falling depending upon the vagaries of weather and disease. The fox population reached a saturation point here a few years ago, we had foxes coming up nightly to search for food near our house, and Whitey made sport of chasing them away from the house, while they in their cunning minds made sport of Whitey by running around bushes and coming up behind Whitey until he was the chased. The foxes got to a certain level, and then an epidemic of distemper caused their numbers to fall quickly. Now we do not see too many foxes. And now I have only a memory of standing at night in the canyon watching as the glowing eyes of foxes search left and right, criss crossing like soldiers on a search and destroy mission as they make their way toward me, not knowing I am standing there like a stature on a rock.

   Yes, the foxes are gone, and a few months ago with the lions gone for some time I heard a pack of coyotes yipping near the house. This was a sure sign to me the lion was gone, and while I have no fear of coyotes, I’d rather have that dangerous lion around ‘cause he kept the deer population down, and they eat my cactus. The coyotes will eat our cats. When you have lions around the coyotes stay away (they are pretty smart critters).

   Seasons come and go, the tides rise and fall, and populations and empires wax and wane. There is a time for everything, and we can only guess at and apply our learning to predict the future. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worse. As for me, I put a lot of trust in Mossburg, and Smith and Wesson.

A neighbor's car, too much of their driveway wound up around their axles.

April 23, 2006

This County is a Disaster (area)!

   Our county is an Agricultural Disaster Area!

   Now, I’ve often thought that there is an inherent risk of disaster in agriculture, but to have it declared to us is a special treat!

   The non relenting rains have given us as well as almost everyone in this area consternation. And now it turns out that the landslides that have happened all over have been seen by the government as something that needs to be looked into. Well, we’re lucky so far, no slides, just cactus that refuses to put out fresh leaves on command. So we’ve decided to do things the old fashioned way, we’ll wait patiently and in a week or two we should have fresh cactus leaves for sale to the customers who have already been waiting patiently after paying. I’ve sent e-mails to let people know the situation, and although it pains me to have to admit delay and defeat, I know I can’t change the course of storms and hold back the weather just to suit my desires. And our customers have all been understanding, and we wish to thank them all for putting up with us this winter, but I promise you all good leaves come springtime.

   And I know springtime is coming with the promise of abundance and plenty. The ground squirrels have been lining their nests with dried hay for a month now, and soon we will be seeing the cuteness of baby ground squirrels scampering about their nest holes. The birds are carrying little bits of straw around to secret places they hide their nests. Some of these places are not so secret, one day when starting my annual weeedwhacking program I reached into a shed to pull out some coveralls and found a bird nest built into my chest pocket. I put the coveralls back, the nest undisturbed, and the birds raised a family in my coveralls.

   Spring is a special time of year to me, the temperatures are not yet hot, and the cool air and breezy conditions suit my Norse temperature preferences. Partially overcast days, with a sun that hides his face behind the scurrying clouds suits my temperament. It is not the gloom of Northern boreal forests with their months long damp and gloom of winter. Nor is it the sun streaked barrenness of the desert in summer. There is no place I like to be more than in hills in spring, with the winter done and fading into memory, and the promise of a bounty of spring seeds to feed the bottom of the food chain. With a mountain-born steady walk I stroll through the damp grasses, the seed stalks reaching to my shoulders, the sounds of nature in my ears, and the promise of the fat-of-the-land reflecting from the eyes of the mud-nest building swallows that follow my moves as I stir up insects on my walk.

   At times like this it is easy to understand why springtime was such a special time to all primitive people, they understood full well the concepts of eternal winter, and the spring was a relief to these people, a renewal of commitment of the seasons to regrowth and renewal.

April 26, 2006

Corporate Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2:

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak."

Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk.

"I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone.

"Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4:

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not."

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story:
B.S. might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there

April 28, 2006

From an E-mail

--- I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees. Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends.

But, thank God, I still have my driver's license.

April 29, 2006

Weedwacking Time

   Yep. this has been a rainy year. It has caused the vegetation to grow to totally absurd heights. All of us in the hills are commenting (when we stop to chat on the road) about how we're way behind in our annual weeedwacking. Not only has the rain enabled the weeds to grow taller and thicker than normal, it has also kept the weeds wet so that we could not get out and cut them.

   I enclose these photos to show people what it is like to cut weeds like this, the difference is night and day.

   In the summer it is much more dangerous to cut the weeds, not only is the risk of starting a fire greater due to sparking from the machines in the dry brush, the personal risk of snakebite is higher since the snakes come out in the summer. I try to do the majority of my heavy cutting in the winter and early spring. But when you cut early, it will regrow and you'll have to cut it again in the late spring or early summer. But at least at that time it will be thinner due to it being new regrowth from the previous cutting.

April 29, 2006

Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People

Now, I could use some of these 'skeleton people' to do my weedwacking. They wouldn't have to worry about snakebites, nor the sticks and stones that come flying up at me. They would likely get missed by most stones too, they would just pass through their chest missing the ribs most of the time. I'd think about werewolves, but they'd chase the cats, mummies would be getting stickers in their bandages all the time, and vampires would not be able to stay here due to all the garlic we grow.
Go to 'The scary skeleton people' to read more of this scholarly article.

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