Rivenrock Gardens Blog

If you understand or if you don't,
If you believe or if you doubt...
There's a universal justice.
And the eyes of truth
Are always watching you.
~From Enigma's album 'The Cross of Changes'~

There are many basic philosophies in the world, most break down into a matter of 'righteousness', and the understanding of a greater purpose to life. One of my favorite musical groups, Enigma captures many beautiful images on film.  And an underlying current of philosophy and spiritualism is evident in all their work. One of their works is the beautiful and haunting visions from the song/video 'The eyes of truth'.   This one video so perfectly encapsulates many of the things I love so much...people, animals, nature, philosophy, sunsets, and of course, simple terraced fields on rugged hillsides.

Sadeness is a nice video with Gregorian-style chants. The architecture (even though computer generated) is stunnning, and reminds me of M.C. Escher's works.

The Return to Innocence

Love - devotion
Feeling - emotion

Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence

If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny

Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence

That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence

A most interesting video 'The Return to Innocence' is.  It so reminds me of my years in Spain, the simple life of a simple people. Animals, hand tools, simple foods, simple pleasures.

'What is Truth'
Johnny Cash

The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?"

A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What is truth?"

A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What is truth?"

The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
"What is truth"

November 28, 2007
The Simple Life

To find the universal elements enough;
to find the air and the water exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk
or an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird's nest
or a wildflower in spring
- these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~ John Burroughs ~

Look at everything
as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time.
then your time on earth
will be filled with glory.
~ Betty Smith~

   These are the abandoned nests of the mud-swallow bird (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) (AKA Cliff Swallow). This is a very interesting bird in that they engineer these small mud nests under bridges, house eaves, and along cliffs. They bring the mud from creeks and build small communities. When they get here in the spring, it is quite a sight as dozens of them will fill their small beaks with mud from mud-holes, and fly it to the building site, patching small lumps of mud into the nests they build for their children to be born into. 
   I find these small, quick and hard-working birds to be an inspiration. Beautiful in flight, they wheel and dip, catching the small insects they eat. They have given me many moments of wonder as I watch them work so hard. And then, one day in the Fall, they are not here anymore. They never herald their arrival, they come in like the breeze... and they never announce their imminent departure, they leave like the same breeze. Always, I wish I wrote down the days they come and leave, but I never have. When they are here, I delight in their antics, and when they are gone, I miss them, and wish them well on their journey to parts south.  But I never have to worry too much about them, I know that like the sun rises each day, they will return each spring.  It is part of the great clockwork set in motion by the Creator, and a source of wonder and astonishment it is for me to this day.

November 27, 2007
The marvels of cactus

From a letter we sent to one of our customers...

   We are really happy to hear that the cactus we grow seems to be
helping you out.
   We have not offered the Grade 'A' as a subscription since it does not
grow for us throughout the year. We also have problems with the grade 'B' when
the winter comes, so even the folks with the subscription might get cut off
from getting leaves at that time.
   Do know, that as long as we can (weather and animals permitting) we will
continue to send cactus leaves to folks like you who consume it for health
reasons. So if the winter is hard on the plants, and we remove the regular
order forms from the site, you can always e-mail us to check on
availability.
   All of our customers are special to us (but almost any business says
that), but we feel our nopal leaf has a special place in the health of many
of our customers. So, it is more than a business to grow and sell them, it
is something of a calling. So for now, don't sweat availability, and when
the springtime comes we should be opening the Grade 'B' orders again for
subscriptions. But the grade 'A' comes in and out depending on the weather,
so we can't offer it as a subscription, it is so ephemeral since the plants
put out flushes of growth every couple of months, and when the flush is
maturing, we don't like to sell the leaves as Grade 'A', but sell them as
'B' or 'C' (for the commercial folks).
Anyways, hearing the news that the cactus seems to be doing good for you,
confirms our suspicion that there is something to this plant that science
cannot explain yet, and strengthens our resolve to continue growing this
most interesting plant for the benefits it gives both human and animal.
Thanks,
John

   Yeah, it gets kind of lonely out on the farm, and it is always fun to get a nice e-mail from a customer who finds the cactus we grow to be a special food for them. We also get a kick out of the folks who have written to us detailing the love their tortoises have for our cactus. 
   It is right, do what you love, and you never have to work a day in your life.

And this is the cactus we are speaking about.

November 26, 2007
El Guapo y La Chiquita

John and Chica

   Chiquita means 'qutie' in Spanish. We call Chiquita 'Chica' for short.

November 25, 2007
Home Sweet Home

~Aerosmith~
'Last Child'

-Home sweet home-
Get out in the field, put the mule in the stable.
Ma she's a cookin', put the eats on the table.
Hate is in the city, and my love is in the meadow.
Hand is on the plow, and my feet is in the ghetto.
Stand up, sit down, don't do nothin'.
It ain't no good when boss man's Stuffin'
down their throats, for paper notes.
And their babies cry, while cities lie at their feet.
When you're rockin' the street.
-Home sweet home-
I was the Last Child, just a punk in the street.

Me, getting passed by a Lotus.

   My little truck kinda stands out in the Big City. But back in the canyon, the canyon dust acts as a camouflage enabling this little truck to virtually disappear into the wilderness.
   The Lotus would have a rough time on our dirt road with it's washboard, ruts and the quicksand when crossing the creek. The little truck can handle all that and the LA Freeway also, but...it ain't no 'babe-magnet' like the Lotus might be.

November 24, 2007
Yearling Deer

~Old Absaroke (Crow Tribe) saying~
"A man is lucky if he has a wife.
But he is not twice as lucky if he has two"

These are some of the little yearling deer we've been seeing around the last year.
The two young does have been joined by a young 'spikehorn' yearling buck who is growing his first set of spiked antlers (just one small spike on each).  I suppose he's been starting to get his little 'Harem' together already. Best of luck to him.

Here's a video of a young doe I made last year. Vickie and I were headed out of the canyon with a skunk trapped in a box I was going to relocate when we saw the doe; and having the camera ready, decided to film her. A neighbor was passing and stopped to talk to Vickie while I filmed the deer. We see our neighbors most often on the road and do a quick 'stop-and-chat' for a minute or so before going on again. Since our houses are out of sight of one another, that is about the only times we see each other.

November 23, 2007
Sunrise

~James 1:11~
For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass;
its flower falls,
and its beauty perishes.
So will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving

A Nipomo Church.

November 21, 2007
God Bless the Boys Who Make the Noise

'16th Avenue'
~Lacy J Dalton~

From the corners of the country,
from the cities and the farms.
With years and years of livin',
tucked up underneath their arms.

They walked away from everything,
just to see a dream come true.
So God bless the boys who make the noise,
on 16th avenue.

With a million dollar spirit,
and an old flattop guitar.
They drive to town with all they own,
in a hundred dollar car.

'Cause one time someone told them,
about a friend of a friend they knew,
who owns, you know, a studio
on 16th avenue.

Now some were born to money,
they've never had to say "survive",
and others swing a nine-pound hammer,
just to stay alive.

There's Cowboys drunks and Christians,
mostly  Black and White and blue;
they've all dialed the phone collect to home,
from 16th avenue .

Ah, but then one night in some empty room,
where no curtains ever hung;
like a miracle some golden words
roll off of someone's tongue.

And after years of being nothing,
they're all looking right at you.
And for a while they'll go in style
on 16th avenue.

It looks so uneventful,
so quiet and discreet.
But a lot of lives were changed
there in that little one way street.

'Cause they walk away from everything,
just to see a dream come true;
so God bless the boys who make the noise
on 16th avenue.

I've gone into Los Angeles a few times a year for most of my life. But still, each time I go, it is like stepping into another world. This is especially true on the less frequent times that I enter the City Center with the huge and famous buildings that feature so often on film.  One walk around these large blocks with the tall buildings and the stunning architecture and I am transformed into that eighteen-year-old staying over the weekend in Los Angeles alone for the first time while at the US Army induction center. Myself and a few other fellows wandered the streets of inner Los Angeles with no money in our pockets, but determined to see the sights of the big city. It was a fun and exciting weekend, and Los Angeles has never lost that gleam I saw that time so many decades ago.

   Los Angeles is an interesting place, and only half the interest to me is the architecture, the other half is the people. Whether it be Lynnwood, Anaheim and Eagle Rock where we have family, or whether it is the high-falutin' places like Beverly Hills and Hollywood where we sometimes have business, the people of the Los Angeles area are great. Like most people I've met on my travel around the world, they are busy with their own lives, but still open to help the traveler who needs the nearest onramp to the Highway, or the way to a local attraction.

   But Los Angeles is a bit more than those things, it is also one of the few places in the world that is like a magnet. Just as it draws me with it's siren-song of people, architecture and business, it also draws in people from all the world over with it's film and music industry. The variety of people I've met while visiting in Los Angeles is stunning. I've met the sons and daughters of royalty and politicians, kids raised on farms, and people from all over the world. Los Angeles is truly an International City, like a gleaming cosmopolitan set of buildings ready and waiting for all, cause they need all kinds there.

November 20, 2007
Morro Bay Power Plant

The Morro Bay Power Plant

   Our school took a field trip here when I was a kid. At that time (as I recall) they were using oil or coal to power the plant, and there were clouds of black smoke coming from the smokestacks. Now they use natural gas (I was told recently), and I don't recall seeing any smoke for decades from these stacks.
   Now, I've heard some harping about why 'they' built a power plant with those stacks right by one of the greatest of natural beauties (the Morro Rock). Well, they did it because they needed the cooling effects of the ocean to help run the plant. But further along the coast would have been nice also. But anyways, we use electricity, gas and other things like that which power our modern lives, where we can keep beauty it is good and right to do so, but sometimes....compromises must be made on the road of progress.

November 19, 2007
I'm ready for my close-up now, Mr. DeMille

'Till It Shines'
~Bob Seger~
Take away my inhibitions
Take away my solitude
Fire me up with your resistance
Put me in the mood
Storm the walls around this prison
Leave the inmates
Free the guards
Deal me up another future
From some brand new deck of cards
Take the chip off of my shoulder
Smooth out all the lines
Take me out among the rustling pines
Till it shines

Like an echo down a canyon
Never coming back as clear
Lately I just judge the distance
Not the words I hear
I've been too long on these islands
I've been far too long alone
I've been too long without summer
In this winter home
Still if we can make the effort
If we take the time
Maybe we can leave this much behind
Till it shines

See the rich man lost and lonely
Watch him as he dines
Sitting there just testing all the wines
Till it shines

  A post a week ago mentions a Potato Bug that Vickie found in a hole in the ground.  We thought this bug was going to live through the winter in the hole. But when checking a day or so later, we saw the potato bug had dug deeper into the ground, as there was a larger grouping of rocks outside the hole. The next day, the bug had filled in the entire hole, and was standing on top of the little mound of rocks that used to be his/her hole.
   Well, now we are thinking maybe this is a female bug that had laid a batch of eggs into the hole, and filled in the burrow with small stones to protect the eggs.
   Here's a couple close-ups of the bug standing guard over the possible egg cave.

   Here's a side-view of the Potato Bug. Yep, pretty scary things they are. I was reading about an episode of 'Fear Factor' where the contestants actually had to eat a potato bug to advance through the trials.  Now, I've eaten a lot of different kinds of foods, and there's never been much I didn't like, but this is one thing that I'd not find appetizing.
   Note the high degree of polish on the exoskeleton of this bug.  I suppose this serves to keep the bug clean while it is engaging in it's subterranean exploits.
   This creature elicits an odd mix of fascination and revulsion in me. I can look at it's odd face, and think that it is actually observing me, looking my actions over and analyzing my aims and pursuits, but that's senseless anthropomorphizing on my part.....I am a member of a species in an advanced stage of mammalian development, and know that simple creatures like this do not engage in deep thought.
   Still it is touching how this bug has been at the same spot for the last week, first digging the burrow it made, then filling it in again (after presumably laying eggs), and now, it sits, perhaps guarding the young eggs.

November 18, 2007
Adapt, or die

~Cowboy Junkies~
'Powderfinger'

Wake up, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river,
with a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun,
and it's making big waves

Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wondering what to do
And the closer they came,
The more those feelings grew

Daddy's rifle in my hands felt reassuring
He told me, 'Red means run, Son... numbers add up to nothing'
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flashed in the sky

Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me in the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured,
to fade away so young
with so much left undone
Remember me to my love
I know I'll miss her

Poison Oak is a very interesting plant.

   Now, it's easy enough to say that Poison Oak is a dangerous plant and it's eradication would benefit all. But the plant has many attributes that are advantageous to animals. For one thing it has these little berries that birds like, and... well, other than that I can't think of a darn use for this otherwise terrible plant.    Well, it is pretty, yes. This dangerous plant, that has caused me a total aggregate of years of derma-scratching discomfort, and caused me to miss some three months of schooling each year has the most beautiful fall foliage, as well as the huge vine clumps such as this clump in an oak tree.
   In this case the poison oak vines have climbed up the trunk of an oak tree, crawled out along a horizontal branch over the creek, and then dropped it's long tendrils to the creek bottom. This resulted in this big clump of poison oak seemingly growing out of the branch like a parasitic plant.  The plant was able to grow out to a sunny spot over the water-swept portion where nothing else will grow and it will not have to compete for sunlight.
   Now, some people are susceptible to Poison Oak, while others seem to be immune. I am one of the people who used to have a VERY high degree of susceptibility to the oils that cause the skin rash. I've even been hospitalized due to severe allergic reaction. And with all the time I spend in the brush, I am often in contact with the plant. One thing I noticed decades ago, was that once I have poison oak, I can have close contact with the plant without getting more reaction. This is the basis of the homeopathic theory of 'like fights like', or put into more American terms... 'fight fire with fire'.   In homeopathy small amounts of the contagion are introduced to the body, the body will then release substances to fight the invader, later when the real culprit is contacted, the antibodies will be present in sufficient quantities to fight in a strong manner. In this case I take a pill with a small amount of poison oak in it, this will cause a very small poison oak reaction on my skin, but it is not enough to worry about (believe me, I've been a walking, scary monster with this over my entire body), when later I am in the bush, or cutting poison oak, I can wallow right through the huge plants of poison oak with no ill effect. It is a marvelous pill, that has a very small cost and keeps me able to continue my work without having to stop due to being sick from the P.O. plant.
   The pill I use is from a  company called "Hyland's", but I am sure there are other manufacturers of similar products.
   Interestingly, I'd heard decades ago that several of the California tribes would eat a very small amount of poison oak daily (just a small portion of leaf) to keep their own resistance levels high. So homeopathy has been known of by different peoples for many generations. But, this is not all that amazing, humans are wonderfully adaptive and learning creatures.
   Incidentally, we as humans are often criticized for having 'taken over the planet' when individually we are really such weak creatures with no fierce teeth, sharp claws nor great speed, agility or other impressive physical attributes. But the two impressive attributes we can add to the resume of Human achievement is the opposable thumb (shared by an impressive list of other creatures) and the brain we carry. This Human brain is the pinnacle of evolutionary achievement on this planet.  With this brain and our fingers/thumb package and using using simple stone-age technology we can set an arrow into flight that will outspeed the fastest land mammal. We can put a sharp piece of stone onto the end of a shaft and make a spear with which to charge the great Cave Bear of old, outreaching that animal's impressive teeth and raking claws. Our nearly hairless bodies, greatly susceptible to cold can be made warm using the removed skins of animals much more adapted to cold, and the technology of fire-making and shelters enables humans to exist even on barren ice floes and along the edges of the great glaciers of old.
   Humanity, the 'Naked Ape'; created higher than the angels, so capable of warmth and humanity, yet so liable to slip into the depths of depravity. We are a complex mix of the highs and the lows, the good and the bad. We must be both a gleam in God's eye, as well as His greatest sadness.
   It's sad at the same time it is hopeful. 

November 16, 2007
Sunrise to Moonrise

Morning outside of Nipomo Calif.

'Taps'
(Lights Out)

Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, goodnight

Moonrise the same evening.

November 15, 2007
Asi Es Mi Tierra

~James MacPherson~
'Fragments of Ancient Poetry, frag #10'
(translated from Gaelic)

Oh! from the rock of the hill;
from the top of the mountain of winds,
speak ye ghosts of the dead! Speak, and I will not be afraid.
Whither are ye gone to rest?
In what cave of the hill shall I find you?

The Nipomo Hills seen from Santa Maria
Many people are surprised at how hilly California is.

November 14, 2007
Work Your Fingers to the Bone

~Hoyt Axton~
'Bony Fingers'

Grass won’t grow and the sun’s too hot
The whole darned world is going to pot
You might as well like it cause I’m all that you’ve got
Maybe things will get a little better in the morning
Maybe things will get a little better

Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get?
Bony fingers, bony fingers

Rain's coming down and the roof won’t hold her
Well I lost my job and I feel a little older
Car won’t run and our love’s grown colder
Maybe things will get a little better in the morning
Maybe things will get a little better

Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get?
Bony fingers, bony fingers

   Sunday dawned cool and overcast despite the weather report promising mild weather. As the day wore on the rain came and continued through the day. We had a load of cactus to pick and box on Sunday, to ship out Monday morning.  Monday came with mild temps and a breeze that blew the whole morning drying off the plants.   By late morning we were able to pick the leaves, and get them delivered to the shipping yard by late afternoon.
   Sometimes it seems all the pieces fit in just fine.  But it all depends on proper application of will and steam. In general, nothing comes to those who sit and wait, you've got to get out there and do the work it takes to get it done.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

~Ecclesiastes 1:9 and 10~
   What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

     Neolithic Britney Spears?

   We often think of ourselves and our time as the epitome of human development. And technologically that is probably true. But if you look at the deeper essence of human nature, why is it any stretch to think that people many thousands of years ago were really any different than people now?  People are people no matter where and when they are. Recent research in Serbia shows an old settlement where the people were producing metals, engaging in artwork, and the women wore high fashions of short skirts, tiny tops and bracelets.
   Yeah, it's what makes the world go 'round.

~Ecclesiastes 1:13 and 14~

I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven.
What a heavy burden God has laid on men!
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun;
all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

November 13, 2007

'Southern Rain'
~Cowboy Junkies~

The flies have quit their buzzing
Even Bear has stopped his barking
They all sense something brewing
up the James and headed this way

Bobby sips his morning coffee
Says "Have you finished with the funnies
Looks like a storm's coming honey
guess we'll have to stay in bed today"

I've heard that into every life
a little of it must fall
If there's any truth to the saying,
Lord, let it be a southern rain

Marie was born in Macon, Georgia
She met a west coast lawyer
He plucked that sweet magnolia
and carried her to the hills of West L.A.

She says "I never thought I'd tire of a dollar
But this life has grown so hollow
Every night there's lipstick on his collar
and every morning I wash it away"

She heard that into every life
a little of it must fall
So she spends her evenings praying
for a little of that southern rain

Cars alive on city streets
of sparkling black water
like waves beneath my window
never break just roll away
Tonight, this rain will be my lullaby
these cars, my dreams
to carry me home to stay

The wipers beat a rhythm
Truck spray obscures my vision
But I'm closing in on my destination
Two more hours and I'll be at your door

And it will never cease to amaze me
how a little rain can drive folks crazy
When I'd trade all my blue skies gladly
for your blue eyes, your crooked smile
and your steady downpour

I've heard that into every life
a little of it must fall,
but you'll never catch me complaining
about too much of that southern rain

Dang, lately anytime we have a huge order of cactus to pick, we seem to get hit by rain. And it is not good for the plants to cut them when it is going to rain soon, nor is it good for the leaves to be packed wet.

  But we do so need the rain, and it is good to know that the ground will soon be greening up even more.  Life gives you all kinds of difficulties, but when one thing is giving you those harsh treats, you also might be learning much from the experience or gaining in some other fashion. Nothing happens to you by chance, behind even the most innocuous events is a greater plan that you may not be privy to. Every event, every instant of your life is there to teach you something. And the lessons can be hard, but it is best to learn them, or the lessons are repeated until you 'get it'.

   It isn't so much what happens to you through life...it's how you respond to it that matters.

November 12, 2007
Los Niños de la Tierra
(The Children of the Earth)

Sadly, this photo does not very well show the Jerusalem Cricket (AKA Potato Bug) in it's winter burrow. We debated destroying it's home so we could take a photo, but decided since it looks so comfortable, and winter is coming on, we should not disturb him.  And, I want to stay on good terms with this bug.

   I've always considered these bugs to be the ugliest things I have ever seen.  Yet like all creatures, they have their place in the wilds.
   There are local legends that surround these critters, and most of them are carried on because most people are far too squeamish to actually see how these critters live.  Despite the rumors, they do not cry like a child, nor is one cursed if they mess with these critters.
   But they have an oddly human looking face, they leave their little skulls about which we find on occasion in the ground. And they have the grossest abdomen I have ever seen. Now, I must admit, I am squeamish enough that I have hardly ever picked these odd creatures up, they are simply too gross! And they do have huge and powerful mandibles that give a mighty pinch. But still, I like them around; they have some scheme in the great mechanism of nature, so they must be allowed to live when possible.
   Now, these critters look almost exactly like the 'Zanti Misfits' you might recall from the Outer Limits episode of the same name. In fact, watching that episode in the sixties, and stepping outside and seeing Potato Bugs is probably what makes me so squeamish when I look at them.

   And truth be told, I am a bit superstitious about these critters. It seems that anytime I know someone who messed with one of these things, they have something odd happen to them within the coming weeks, and that come-uppance is always through a direct intervention by the 'Tater bugs themselves. For instance, a neighbor of mine told me of one fellow who killed one, in the coming weeks he kept finding a little pebble in his coat pocket that he would absent-mindedly roll around in his fingers. One day he decided to pull the pebble out of his pocket to look at it, and it was a 'Tater Bug skull! A cousin of mine told me of another guy who killed one and woke in the middle of the night with a Potato Bug crawling across his face! So, if you're ever on the West Coast, and see a Potato (Potatoe if you're Dan Quayle) Bug, you are welcome to look at it, even let it walk on your shovel so you can examine it, but let it go back on the ground it loves so well, and you are more likely to live a long and healthy life.

November 11, 2007
Lichen the trees

"I've never been lost, but I was a might bewildered for three days once."
~Daniel Boone~

Lichen and moss on the north side of a tree trunk.

Lichen and moss on the south side of a trunk.

Lichen on the top surface of a tree branch.

   It's often been said that you can find north by the moss on the north side of tree trunks. But this is not a fool-proof method.  Moss can grow anywhere the light levels are low, so it might encase an entire truck in a shady area. Also, do not confuse lichen and moss. Lichen can grow well in light conditions.
   It you walk the woods a lot, you are likely to develop an innate sense of general directions. At any rate, the important thing is to always know how to get back to civilization. For that, I can usually count on just going down the hills and following the creeks and rivers. Eventually you will get to someplace with humans.

November 10, 2007
Writer's Strike

   This little video here, really explains well what the Writer's Strike is all about. Look for the same in June from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). What happens to the writers is going to set much of the tone with what happens to the actors in the coming summer.

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      The United States Marine Corps is now 232 years old. Happy birthday!

Semper Fi

November 09, 2007
Early Morning, Nipomo California

Some mornings are so spectacular.

   On this particular morning, the overcast conditions seemed to bring the blue of the sky through the clouds. It was a bit surreal. Here we see the sun lighting the clear sky behind the hills as the huge blanket of clouds dissipates as it hits the interior.

November 08, 2007
Cossacks at the door

    In 1667 a Turkish army crossed into southern Russia. The local Cossacks made a victorious battle stand and defeated the Turkish army.   After his army's loss, the Turkish leader sent a note to the Zaporozhian Cossacks demanding their surrender. Hah!
    Now, I have to tell you that my mother's own family had dealings with both Cossacks and Siberians in previous generations, and both groups of peoples were ruthless folks who lived a hard life on the steppes and icy wastes. Life was cheap to people such as they, and a heady sense of victory must have been flowing through their blood when they responded with their own letter which for the sake of decency I cannot reproduce here. If you wish to read this letter, I suggest you go over to Turban Bomb to read the complete letter replete with expletives from a group of fellows who are luxuriating in the fact of being alive still, when so many had lost theirs.

Ilya Repin made a painting of the jubilant Cossacks writing their letter to the Sultan. I find this painting to be very interesting, and the more I study it the more little details pop out at me. The bandaged heads and bodies are obvious, but later, bandaged fingers emerge, and fellows missing teeth and eyes. The weapons are splendid. And actually what gets me the most, these fellows look so much like some old friends of mine from my motorcycle riding days, except we had more hair on our heads.

   You can click on the picture above to get the full size version and the uncut portion.

November 07, 2007
Frankenfoods, and a 'high-centered' truck

    Jeffrey Smith, who wrote 'Seeds of Deception' explains some of the hazards associated with 'Genetically Modified Organisms' (GMO) at the Mercola website.  I have a distrust of genetically modified foods. My worries go beyond the possible dangers to the human population, but further to the entire ecosystem, and the potential losses we might face in the not-too-distant future when some characteristics of these foods have spread into nature.
    Yet at the same time, I am a supporter of technology and progress. I feel that most of our progress in the technical fields have been with good effect. And I fear appearing a Luddite in my reaction to a new technology. But there is ample reason for me to be cautious in my fear of our rush to these genetically modified foods.
    There are some who will say that we've always modified foods, and this is true. From the earliest times, even before agriculture, mankind was able to improve the carrying capacity of a given plot of land by advances in technique, selective breeding, and harvest methods. But there was never a time that one family of plant was crossed with another family, much less to have a gene from an animal spliced into a plant DNA sequence.
    I'm all for plant breeding for optimum carrying-capacity and yield, but I am against gene-splicing as a method of food production. You can rest assured that no foods produced by Rivenrock Gardens will ever be genetically modified organisms.

On a different note, I came upon these two trucks along a California Highway, both with parking tickets on their antennae. but one had been pushed or driven a bit too far back and ended up high-centered in the ditch. It is a bit of a difficult position to get out of, and might have caused some damage to the drivetrain.

November 06, 2007
Writer's Strike

Takin' Care of Business
~Bachman Turner Overdrive

People see you having fun
Just a-lying in the sun
Tell them that you like it this a-way
It's the work that we avoid
And we're all self-employed
We love to work at nothing all day

And we be...
Takin' care of business, every day
Takin' care of business, every way
I've been takin' care of business, it's all mine
Takin' care of business and working overtime
Work out!

What'cha gonna do when you're out on strike?
What does a Hollywood writer do?

I found this to be a funny little script put together and acted-out by the writers themselves.
Hollywood surely has a lot of talented people. It's like the little riffles in the stream beds that catch a lot of stuff. But like the riffles, Hollywood also catches some of the stuff you don't want.  Hollywood is, in short, a town of contrasts; high and low, good and bad, beautiful and sadly...unbeautiful.  But it is surely one place everyone might want to drive into, and spend a few days (and nights especially) walking around, the sights are phenomenal, and unbeatable.

November 05, 2007
Strata

   The world is a pretty amazing place. The forces of nature are just too large to fully comprehend.  Through the ages the rivers carry the sands and other materials from the land, and carry it to the sea. There it is laid down as layer after layer of materials like the layers in a cake. Compression, heat and time will often force these layers into a hard material we might call rock. In this case we have layers of clay material compressed into a soft rock called shale.
   The geologic forces of this area pushed the shale rock high above the sea, and tilted the original layers (the ones to the right in the photo) to a near vertical from their original horizontal. These were then worn down by new erosion and again submerged.  During this subsequent submersion new layers were built up onto the older vertical layers of the cake, these are the ones to the left. Again geologic forces raised the rock from the sea, and again lilted it so that neither set of layers is in it's original configuration.
   This just goes to show that we as a small life form on Earth cannot ever expect to have anything  we build truly last forever. Even concrete has an expected life of two hundred years, (although it will last longer if properly mixed and cured).
   The Incas built some wondrous water systems a thousand years ago. But unfortunately, the same forces that raised the massive mountains that honed their engineering skills, also caused the water systems to have to be revised and re-engineered through the decades and centuries they were in use as the mountains were continually pushed even higher, changing the way the water ran along the aqueducts they constructed.

November 03, 2007
Misty Oaks

Autumn mists in the California Oak Woodlands

November 02, 2007
Fitz-Gerald Ranch

   Some neighbors of ours raise 'Polled Hereford' cattle. These are big beefy critters. But no matter what the species, it seems any young of any animal is cute. There's something about those cute little shaky legs, big heads and bulgy eyes of young that make you wanna reach out and hug-em. We've even found bugs of the most disgusting varieties (such as Jerusalem Cricket) that have babies that look cute.   This is a reaction deep in the make-up of all creatures, that makes them more susceptible to caring for young. Now, this is not a universal phenomenon, most predators would rather eat a young prey species than care for it, but it is this phenomenon that gives us the occasional news story of the female cat that nurses the neighborhood orphaned squirrels and such. I'd think it is this same feeling that made humans so long ago bring into their hut or cave the young of the same wolf that they had killed. It was this first foray into animal husbandry that started this huge rush toward agriculture and eventually civilization (a ten thousand year rush). So, all-in-all, I'd say if it weren't for this innate, strange and beautiful trend, we would still be hunter-gatherer peoples, working our way from one valley to another in an eternal quest for food.

November 01, 2007

Hwy 101, near Ventura, 10/29/07

   An engine fire forced a motorist over to the side, the brush caught fire, and six fire engines responded. The fire was extinguished, but the impediment resulted in a six mile long traffic jam, that I was lucky enough to miss as I was headed the other direction (North).

Hwy 1, Santa Barbara County, 10/31/07

   Two Big-Rigs tangled and caused another traffic jam. Even though this one was also on the other direction of traffic lanes, it still resulted in a three mile jam I got caught in as all the drivers slowed to stare at the carnage.