AV VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER Abraham Sanchez was injured in a motorcycle accident last Monday morning. Although he sustained major injuries to his right foot and several other injuries, he is in good spirits and ready to start the healing process.
Abraham started with AVFD as a high school cadet over six years ago and has continued to respond as a volunteer firefighter since. He also regularly deploys on statewide strike team assignments for wildland fires around the state each summer. His positive personality and willingness to embrace challenge has always been one of his great qualities and he is continuing that attitude in this new and unfortunate challenge. Get better soon Abraham, AVFD wishing you a quick recovery!!
FLAPJACKS were flipping at the Grange this coming Sunday Oct. 9th! That's right it's the 2nd Sun. of the month and most of us have recovered from the Fair.
The Grange did well this time taking a First Place with our booth titled “Lettuce Turnip the Beet.” Every year we have to come up with at least 75 different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Even with a sketchy gardening season folks showed up with 135 different fruits and veggies. Many thanks to all of you for helping out, the booth looked really good this time around.
Continuing the Lettuce Turnip the Beet theme we jumped into the parade with the drum float packed with drummers followed by a bunch of dancing produce, aieeee, and we ended up with another blue ribbon.
However, we are not too tired to make a mess of pancakes for you all, so come on down this Sunday, it's from 8:30 to 11:00. See you there!
P.S. The Deep End Woogies are on tour this weekend, we will miss them, but they will be back. — Captain Rainbow
SOME PHILO RESIDENTS ARE REPORTING an on-line post office scam involving a bogus email notice of a pending package delivery which, if clicked on, asks for personal info before delivery, but which is a fake post office notice. Do not click on it. If received, report it to your nearest post office so they can notify the Postal Inspection authorities.
DAVE EVANS of the Navarro Store is besieged from all directions — oafish behavior by the Deepend's drink and drug community and huge increases in insurance, Workman's Comp and liability insurance, especially fire liability. Dave's policy writer has informed him that because he lives in a “fire zone,” he's got to pay triple the rate he has been paying. I'm sure he's not the only small business in the Anderson Valley barely paying its bills, but if the Navarro Store closed Navarro would lose its anchor and drift, drift away.
ERNIE PARDINI: I've been noticing for the last couple of months that whole stands of Douglas Fir trees have been slowly dying, I assume for lack of water. But now I'm seeing that the leaves of the Live oak trees, an evergreen, are dying and turning brown at an alarming rate. Even the redwoods have large patches of needles turning brown. With a winter in which we have normal rainfall, the redwoods and probably the live oaks will most likely recover, but the national weather service is predicting another dry winter, much like the last two. And the danger of more devastating wildfires is exponentially increased as well. Why aren't we hearing about this in the media?
DAVE SEVERN: DOUGLAS FIR AS METAPHOR: “Throughout much of our Mendocino County woods Douglas-fir trees are dying from the drought. Their deep taproot search for water finds not enough, if any. Rather than leave marketable size trees to rot and/or provide fuel for wildfire the timber industry has been bringing these dead and dying trees to the mills, truckload after truckload.
The Mendocino Redwood Company mill in Ukiah is taking logs up to 20 inches in diameter while the larger logs are going up to the Humboldt Redwood Company mill in Scotia. Every time you see a log truck on the road, take a look, you’ll see probably two with Doug-fir for every one of redwood, maybe more.
In an internet search to see if there is any online mention of the dying Douglas-fir, I stumbled on an account of the death of David Douglas, the famed early 19th century English botanist who gave Douglas-fir its name even though it is not a true fir. He somehow fell into a pit trap set up to catch wild cattle on the side of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii and was stomped to death by a bull that also fell into the pit. Go figure, but that was the death of the Douglas who named our dying fir.
I get my drinking water from the roadside spring out Mountain View Road by Bear Wallow and at one point last month its output had dropped to 4.5 minutes per gallon. Two weeks following the 2.5 inches of rain we got in September it was still taking 4.5 minutes to fill each of my gallon jugs. Then in one week the flow rate shot up to where it only took 1.5 minutes to fill a gallon. The river gauge, too, stopped dropping and started to climb.
When I mention this to people they often ask “why?” Here’s my guess.
Always when the leaves start falling toward the end of summer the river gauge notes a rise in flow because there is less moisture transpiration taking place. This year we have something added, the Doug-fir dying en masse and no longer there to suck whatever moisture it can find. And in truth it’s not just the Doug-fir that’s dying, other species are declining as well.
Some people, even weathermen and women, are saying it looks like we are on track to stay in the “three-year drought” that we’ve been experiencing. But to me that is a head in the sand perspective. There is science that finds that from the turn of the century (22 years ago) the entire western U.S. has been in a megadrought that is the “worst in at least 1,200 years.”
And my mantra: The degree to which we are battering the Earth, we are also battering the human psyche. To meet the future we will adapt, evolve, let go, for those of us who believe it does some good, hope and/or pray. Personally I kind of like dancing.
Que sera, sera.”
MARSHALL NEWMAN: “While the drought has been very tough on Douglas fir, mature Douglas fir have been dying in AV for the better part of 80 years. Douglas fir bark beetle, or rather their impressive-sized grubs, were the cause when I was a kid in Anderson Valley. My parents had to have several – some of which were 150 feet tall and four feet in diameter – taken down at their summer camp in Philo in the 1950s and 1960s to keep the children safe. In the early 1960s I remember our neighbor Don Van Zandt saying he had complained to the county about Douglas Fir dying in the early 1940s and he was still waiting for someone to come out and take a look.”
George Hollister: “Good point. They do die, have been dying, and will always die. That is life. Douglas fir beetles tend to get into weakened trees. Competition from other vegetation, including other Douglas fir trees, can weaken and make Douglas fir vulnerable to bark beetles. Black Stain was introduced to our forests, I think, sometime in the 1960s. It was identified in Douglas fir in the late 1970s. That disease can kill trees in groups, called infection centers. I see that now. A good thing to do is chop into the bark of a dying or recently dead Doug fir, and see if there are black streaks in the cambium. Those black streaks are the Black Stain fungus.
By the way, large Douglas fir snags, in the right place, can be good for wildlife.”
ALEXIS AT THE EDGEWATER GALLERY
Alexis Moyer, Featured Artist, and James Mallory, Guest Artist for November. First Friday, November 4, from 5-8, and continuing through November.
Edgewater Gallery, 356 North Main Street, Fort Bragg
November at Edgewater Gallery will feature a show of pottery and ceramic sculptures by gallery founding member, Alexis Moyer, as well as welcoming James Mallory back for the month with his photography of local scenes. Ms. Moyer’s pottery is sure to delight with her playful animals. Whether they are the small frogs she carefully perches on the rim of coffee mugs, there to greet you every morning as you enjoy your first cup of coffee or her larger animal and totem pieces with their whimsical sense of humor, your inner child will be dancing for joy at their antics. “I love creating joyful pieces. It is always my hope that my pottery will warm your heart, brighten your day, cheer you up and leave you smiling.”
Please join us for First Friday on November 4th from 5 to 8 pm. Alexis will be available to sign her “Totems” book as well as give a brief talk at 6pm. Light refreshments served. Masks optional.
ED NOTE: Years ago I bought a bud vase wrought by Alexis. The vase is a deep ceramic blue with a green frog climbing it. I gaze at it every day, and the pleasure it's given me over the years is immeasurable.
LOOKING FOR RENTER/CARETAKER
Our mom is in her early 70s and lives in Philo on Nash Mill Road (on the lower portion, only ¾ mile from Hwy 128). Her memory problems are becoming more severe. We purchased a park model RV tiny house that we are working to place and set up -- we hope to have it ready and available for a renter by early December. The tiny house is a 1-bedroom, 400 sq ft home.
It will be located on her property, across the street from her house. The renter/caretaker would share the south side of the property with the Spanish-speaking property caretaker.
Our mom mostly stays at home and takes care of her animals, including chickens, cats, and a dog. She loves her property and is independent and free-spirited.
We currently have caretakers and/or social visits scheduled 5 days per week, for a few hours each visit. We are looking for someone (ideally 1 adult, possibly 2) to live on the property so there is more supervision and help when needed. The full rental rate for the 1-bedroom would be $1400, but we are asking $800/month (including utilities) in exchange for basic caretaking (we anticipate the caretaking level of effort to be up to 1 hour per day; see detail below). Indoor pets allowed; no outdoor cats; dogs considered.
Requirements: Ability to communicate via phone, email, and text (ability to speak Spanish a plus) Ability to make/receive electronic payments (PayPal, Venmo, etc) Ideally this person would be able to provide increasing care as our mom’s memory/health continue to decline
Caretaking responsibilities:
Check in on her a few times per day
Confirm she has taken her medication
Assist her with technology as needed (check answering machine messages with her, make sure her iPad is charged, turn on TV/DVD for her to watch, etc.)
Track and buy her groceries (she has a limited and predictable diet, so when going to the store for themselves, the renter/caretaker would also pick up groceries for her)
Assist her with any small issues that come up (e.g. look for things she can’t find, replace batteries in her flashlight, etc.), or communicate them to us or her other caretakers
If interested, please contact her daughter Karen Verpeet at kverpeet@gmail.com or 510-301-6256. Following an initial call, references will be required.
BILL KIMBERLIN:
My neighbor's pond never goes down, even at the height of summer. Most ponds, that can be seen from the roads go down or are almost dry by mid-summer but not this one. So this prompted me to check my wells. The first one had 120 feet of water in it so I didn't bother to check the other one.
The Valley well people tell me that all our water comes from the Sierras. How that is possible I don't know. But I don't doubt it because they dropped some marker in the water up there, which eventually their tests found here. Can't argue with that.
Kirk Vodopals: I’d like to see that study that traces water from the Sierras to coastal Mendocino.
Bruce Anderson: It’s a rural myth that’s been circulating in Mendo and Lake counties for many years.
Brian Wood: What accounts for springs near the tops of ridges around here? Something’s pushing that water up, like a large scale hydrologic system.
Marshall Newman: I heard this one also when I was a growing up there. Never believed it. The number of mineral springs of various kinds in Anderson Valley was and is at odds with the pure snow melt water in the Sierra Nevada.
THE NATIVE PLANT SALES RETURNS to Gualala and Fort Bragg! There will be a wide selection of plants suitable for the coast and some for inland. The sales will be Oct. 29 at the Gualala Community Center and Nov. 4 at the Town Hall in Fort Bragg, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day. There will also be books for sale and knowledgeable people on hand to answer questions. Proceeds from the sale support the work of the coastal chapter of the California Native Plant Society. For more information, email Louisa at midnite@pacific.net
SOCIAL NOTE: I was inexplicably invited to a garden dedication at the Grace Hudson Museum last week where I was delighted to meet Gaye LeBaron and the Museum's crucial donor, Mrs. Norma Person, to whose late husband, Everett Person, the Museum's serene addition was dedicated. Locals will recognize Gaye LeBaron as the Press Democrat's long-time columnist, whose history pieces for the paper described people and events whose stories would have been lost without her, and her lively columns lent the Northcoast a true sense of place. Mrs. LeBaron was very gracious given our, uh, rocky relationship over the years, while Mrs. Person was downright regal, instantly reminding me of that lost time when gracious women of a certain age set the standard for feminine behavior. (George Raft and John Wayne for men?) Ukiah was represented by Mayor Orozco and Mrs. Orozco, natives of Boonville, I'm always happy to note, and several of the Museum's trustees, including Charles Mannon of the Savings Bank with whom I exchanged pleasantries while he reminded me of the many barbs I'd launched at him from a safe distance in Boonville. And I chatted with an unsuspecting Dennis Thibeault of Mendocino Redwood whose company also takes a regular thumping in the pages of the Boonville weekly. Pleasant guy, actually, who talked candidly even after I introduced myself. MRC donated the redwood for the elegant fence enclosing the memorial garden, built by Cupples Construction. Rick Cupples is an old friend of mine from long ago when we played basketball together in a men's league. I was glad to see him present to take a well-deserved bow for his stunningly beautiful redwood fence. Cupples Construction is justly prominent in the County for quality work, recently on view in Boonville in the new addition to the Anderson Valley Health Center. Rick said that addition only awaits final confirmation of its elevator, and who'd have thought? An elevator in Boonville? I've admired the photography of Tom Liden for years, and there he was! Meeting an artist I've admired for a long time reminded me that I really must get out of Boonville more often. And then, just as I was on my way out the door, who should I see but the phantom himself! I took a step backwards, rubbed my disbelieving eyes, but there he was — Seldom Seen Sage Sangiacomo, Ukiah's reticent-to-invisible city manager. I pinched myself, and was about to pinch Seldom Seen, but I knew that personal kind of reality check would likely be misunderstood by him. In her remarks, Gaye LeBaron stated what we all know, or should know — the Hudson Museum is the best museum north of San Francisco, which it is, and continues to be under the direction of curator, David Burton, and the ongoing contributions of former curator, Sherri Smith-Ferri.
Be First to Comment