Fishing clouds out of water

This post covers two different weekends I was up at the SSP. One weekend I went up with Jorgy and his girlfriend Riley. She's a cute taco-terrier who just loves to kiss everybody and insists on sitting on your lap. Anyway, on the way up we stopped in Arvin as I always do to buy some fruits and vegetables from Abel. He's a very nice man, always smiling, and he always gives me extra items after I pay him. Last time he gave me nopales which Ernie and I grilled. They tasted mighty good. You can't beat his prices either. Here's Abel.



I had read there's a church in Arvin with a landmark commemorating Father Garces' stay in the area at the end of April of 1776. He was the first white man to come around these parts. Here's a small statue that was erected in the courtyard of the Saint Thomas the Apostle Church on April 30, 1944.



Once we got up to the cabin, I decided the doggies needed a good walk so we went to the property by the creek on our way to the pond. Snows are still melting from Piute Mountain so the creek was flowing. I was happy to see a family enjoying the cool running water. Children just know how to have fun with anything. It inspired me to take off my boots and socks and dip my feet in the water. Yes, it was very cold but I got used to it and it was fun feeling the sand between my toes. It reminded me of Steinbeck in "Travels with Charley" when he stopped to dip his feet in a creek to help him think better. And of course, Thomas Jefferson said that one should soak one's feet in cold water for half an hour every day to stay in health.



Here we are on a drier part of the creek. I tried and tried to have the doggies look at the camera and smile...



We walked around the pond which was starting to look a bit more alive. Local residents have been working hard to bring water from the creek to the pond. A bunch of sand came down with last summer's flash floods and plugged the natural course of the creek so sand and boulders had to be moved, sandbags added here and there, culverts cleaned out. A huge job but as you will see later in this post, it paid off.



We had a quiet evening. I watched a film and Jorgy and Riley just snuggled.



The following photos are from a later weekend I went up in mid March. It rained enough this year to give a good bloom of wild flowers. It's not enough rain to get us out of a drought but at least, we got lots of flowers! This is going up the road on the side of Bear Mountain, just out of Arvin. Lovely isns't it?



Getting off the 58 at the Caliente offramp, here's the view looking down the tiny. beautiful valley. To think I'm still in Southern California...



Once we got to the cabin, I was curious to see how full the pond (aka Lena Lake) was. Surprise! The pond was full to the max, so much so that water overflowed into the secondary pond. I knew it wasn't a miracle because I had seen the guys working hard at it but boy, what a beauty. Last summer it almost looked like a puddle after the fire department used it to put out the fire on Piute. Locals had gotten together for a fund raiser to buy an industrial water pump to keep the pond alive but pumps are expensive and times are tough. The lack of money didn't stop them though. Hats off.



I came across a family (neighbors of mine) fishing and I'm pretty sure this little boy was trying to catch a cloud out of the water. As matter of fact he did and he gave it me. I'm keeping it in my heart where it twirls and twirls and tickles. This summer we'll be able to go fishing and swimming locally.



Here's the secondary pond which had been completely dry for 2-3 years.



I had come up with the mission to scrape and paint the decks. The sandpaper and metal brush I had wouldn't do it. I needed a scraper but didn't have one so I had no choice but to do nothing and simply relax. I sat on the porch and just admired the mountains and the different varieties of birds. Tough life... Later on, Ernie and I got together for dinner and barbecued some mighty filet mignon steaks and Abel's nopales. He brought out his guitar, played a few songs and then it was bed time. Walking back home, the sky was glowing with millions of stars.

I'm glad I didn't paint because the next day, well, it snowed!



It started with rain in the middle of the night, then hail early in the morning and finally puffy white snow. What a treat! I can't remember the last time I saw snow fall. And again, this right here in Southern California.



It stopped by mid afternoon and of course the mountains all around were beautifully clothed in white.







By late afternoon, the sky was mostly clear with big, odd-shaped puffy clouds. The clouds come down close in the basin, like if they wanted to kiss the earth. I saw one playing around by my neighbor's house, a few feet above the ground. It was twirling and twirling slowly but not going anywhere.



I decided to stay the night and leave early the next day to be on time for work. On the way out, I saw more lazy, playful clouds close to the ground just having fun changing shape slowly and twirling on itself. Yes, this place is magical. I am blessed to have been invited into its heart.



It's a heart that gives, always. All one needs is to open eyes and heart, breathe and let it all in.

Among the leafless oaks

I was thinking of posting without photos this time. I have been pondering if indeed a picture is worth a thousand words. Books seem to make my imagination fly better than photographs; some paintings do that too. I have been thinking about this because on my last stay at the cabin, sitting on the porch at dusk, it was clear to me that no picture could describe such a moment. The delicious gradation of colors in the sky from dark blue to purple and pink; the gnarly silhouette of the leafless oaks; the hoarse barking of a dog in the distance; the crispness of the Sierra Nevada's fresh air; the stars beginning to twinkle in the darkening sky; the sweet smell of the wood fire burning in the stove inside; the insects flying madly about the lights. Try and capture that with a photograph.

I feel incredibly lucky sitting on that porch. Such beauty and peace, all just for me. I've told friends about the place (tried hard not to brag,) invited them but surprisingly, very few have come up. I guess nobody's got time for peace and beauty anymore. It's OK though, I've made good friends up there already. People who show up with a wood splitter and cut down your logs to size for your stove, without you asking. People who help you replace your water heater. Help is the wrong word, they do it all. People who help with your first time dealing with a water pump or a swamp cooler. People who take time to sit down with you and chat about big and small things. Real people.

Sitting on the porch and selfishly enjoying the moment, I couldn't help but think about these hard times. Me-me-me and nobody else probably has a lot to do with it. A bigger car, bigger house, bigger TV, bigger lips. The Olympics of me, myself and I. Me and screw everybody else to an unsustainable level. Money, money, money, or at least, the appearance of it. That needed a correction. Problem is, some folks were just going along working hard and honest, not spending foolishly, and they pay the price too. I'm from the Old World which means I'm not a flag-waving, this is God's country American and yes, some people here remind me of the Taliban but good thing, I've found that a lot of people don't buy that poison. My neutral observation is that this is a country built by hard work, and resourceful, clever, rational people who don't take no for an answer but find new ways. It's true, this is the country of Can Do. This is the closest thing to the Promised Land even though milk and honey don't flow freely.

Yes, we're in this for a while, and there are more bad times a-coming but everything is cyclical, for every action there's a reaction and tomorrow the sun will rise, people will get married, babies will be born and we'll get together with friends. Older folks know that, they've already lived it a few times. Alright, enough talk. Here's my visual record of my weekend up the Sierra Foothills.

I drove up with Jorgy, pictured at the bottom of this post. Jorgy loves space, peace and quiet, and his friends Badger, Trigger and Heidi. He also likes the occasional wandering canine. I guess they always smell interesting to him. Anyway, winter is a time when the Tule fog covers California's Central Valley. Problem is, the more it goes, the more it looks like smog. Arvin, a little town I drive though on my way up has the worst air in the nation. Click on the picture below for what I saw approaching the Grapevine.



I drove the Lion's Trail and because of the higher elevation, the air is cleaner. Dieu merci.



Some of the bad air made its way almost to the basin, trying to get up the mountains but the sky was blue as it always is.



We arrived at the cabin and got settled which means first starting a fire, then turning the water on, lighting the water heater , putting some music on, setting out chairs, hanging the welcome doodad on the door, the wind chime on the rafters, straightening things up, preparing our dinners and watching night fall. I know you're thinking rough schedule. Of course, all this time Jorgy was busy going around spraying every bush on the property, leaving a message to everybody that he's in town so come and vist. The photo below shows one of the sisters in winter. I noticed some mistletoe in its branches and I will cut it off. I don't care what the experts say, it will kill an oak tree. I have pictures.





The next day, I had some work to do: varnish the last wall of logs with a water repellent. Before I did that though, I decided to go walk around the pond. On my way, I saw some neighbors going about their chores, a true picture of the joy of home ownership.



I noticed on my way that the creek at the SSP was flowing nicely. Good. That meant the pond is getting water and yes, the pond looked beautiful, like a woman with fleshy lips, fuller and with a twinkle in the eye. In this case, photos do a pretty good job.







Hi Jorgy! He hates water but he loves the pond.







I'll finish with a photo of my faithful companion, Jorgy. We stayed Sunday night and left very early Monday morning so I could get to work on time. As always, he tried to stay so I had to be stern with him and almost grab him by the collar but he resigned himself with a few heavy sighs and got in the car. Don't worry Jorgy, we'll be back soon.

Come, Jorgy! I know, it would be fun to stay but we can't. We'll be back soon, I promise.