Update, December 11, 2011: Thanks largely to the Environmental Action Committee, a well-funded “environmental” group, all trailers have to be gone from Lawson’s in 5 years. Score a win for trust fund activists (anyone check the income level and sources thereof of the activists?), a loss for Californians of moderate means.
I consider myself an environmentalist. And for this reason I’m alarmed by a new and very strong movement among people who call themselves “environmentalists.” If I may generalize, these are people who do not hunt or fish or make their living from the land. They often have not grown up in the areas where they are active. They want everything to return to an imaginary pristine state. They tend to be from families of wealth, have college degrees, can raise money for their non-profit groups, and know their way around in the political and media worlds.
This something I wrote on behalf of a gem of a local community that is now being persecuted. It’s for people of Marin County, and for Californians in general.
“This levee protects a home surrounded by floodwater from the Yazoo River on May 18, 2011 near Vicksburg, Mississippi. The flooded Mississippi River is forcing the Yazoo River to top its banks where the two meet near Vicksburg — causing towns and farms upstream on the Yazoo to flood.”
Got up early, did about 3 hours office work, then took off around 9 AM for the hills on my new mountain bike. I swear, this thing is like a motorcycle, a joy to ride. First stop was a pond of my acquaintance, brimming with recent rains. I stripped down and swam underwater to the water lilies, floated there for a few seconds. Cold, maybe 52-53°. Got out recharged, as always happens: when you get in cold water, your body goes into circulatory overdrive when you get out.
Miners’ lettuce for salad
Got to this impenetrable trail closure. (I’d already had to lift my bike over fallen logs a bunch of times.) Hadn’t been on this trail for years. It used to be clear all the way down to the paved road. I dragged my bike into the woods on both sides, looking for a way through — no luck. It’s rare that a decent trail gets closed down like this. Deer, coyotes, etc. will usually make a way around it. I had to backtrack, phew, by now tired.
From years of training in the 80s-90s, I remembered an alternate route. Otherwise it was going to an extra 10 or so miles, part of it down a trail with flapping nettles. Here’s the entrance, and what used to be a clear shot turned out to involve hauling my bike through thick brush at times, including poison oak, for a couple of miles.
I was really tired, but felt good. Had a chicken sandwich on home-baked bun, and miners’ lettuce salad.
And now I gotta get to work. The tiny homes book — whew! It is cookin! Everyone is on board. Some new pages from last week are spectacular.
This tree was a landmark for years in the valley we drive through to get to Petaluma. I shot this photo maybe 15 years ago and we used it for our logo. It was on the banks of a creek, which was probably too wet a location for it, and a few years ago it died. Here it is in its glory days, studly at the left.
My son Evan spent his 30th birthday (March 20th — Spring equinox) — snowboarding in powder snow with his friend Sean in the hills above Lake Tahoe. Recorded with a GoPro Helmet Hero HD wide angle lens video camera.
(Sending this from Verve Roasters super coffee shop with good wi-fi, in Santa Cruz on a rainy morning. We’re down here to visit grandson baby Maceo.)
“Went up to a water tower above Agate Bay with my soon to be brother in law. We snowshoed a ways up the hill then rode down towards the cabin through the backcountry. . . .”
“StoneLake Farm is a unique 21-acre off the grid homestead located in Humboldt County, approximately 60 miles southeast of Arcata, California. Close to redwood groves and wild rivers, high on the southwest flank of Buck Mountain, our small farm has dairy, pack, and Angora goats, chickens, a large garden, orchards, a lively creek complete with dipping holes, flowing waterfalls, and stunning vistas.
Our hand-made octagon is available for rentals, we offer internships and are accepting applications for our artist-in-residence program.”
I’ve developed a bike/run routine where I ride my bike about 5 miles, then run/shuffle a few miles to get to my mushroom spot, a grove of tan oaks, bay trees and redwoods. The ground was saturated with water, after recent rains. Creeks rushing, ponds full; in one spot on the trail, water was bubbling out of a hole. Zilch in the mushroom department, maybe they’re waiting for some warmth, or maybe the recent cold weather has knocked the chanterelles underground until next year. I did gather some fiddlehead ferns, but just read that many varieties are toxic, so will proceed w. caution.
I realized yesterday, that it’s not just getting out in the woods or beach that I love, but the search for something to gather — food, flowers, bones, feathers — the hunter/gatherer genes. If all else fails, I gather images with my camera.
Update, December 11, 2011: Thanks largely to the Environmental Action Committee, a well-funded “environmental” group, all trailers have to be gone from Lawson’s in 5 years. Score a win for trust fund activists (anyone check the income level and sources thereof of the activists?), a loss for Californians of moderate means.
