This is a first. I'm writing this post from the cabin! True, I'm using a modem connection (remember those?) so everything is very... slooooow... That also means there won't be any pictures because they would take too long to upload. So there it is, just words, no pix, no flix.
Today driving up I was struck by the beauty of the golden hills. Seen from a distance, It's almost like a blanket of snow in winter but instead, it is a cover of golden grasses, spotted with oak trees. Get close and you'll see the tall golden grasses shimmering, almost dancing in the wind, basking in the sun. All that under a pure blue sky.
On the way up, I stopped at Abel's fruit and vegetable stand at the four corners, the intersection of Wheeler Ridge and the road to Arvin. It's always nice to see him. I bought my usual load of seasonal fruits and veggies at the usual very good price. Tonight, for dessert, I had a mango I bought from him. Get the smaller ones, they taste much better; they're not stringy like the larger ones. Abel taught me that. Abel also taught me other things like tuna (prickly pear) is good to eat.
I just came back from sitting on the porch and sipping on a glass of wine. I love the buzz of the crickets at night. It reminds me of Dalmatia. Things are still, the air cools down and soon the stars will come out and sprinkle the sky with a gazillion diamonds. You can see the Milky Way very clearly. A star-studded sky reminds me of somebody...
When I got here, it took a bit to unload, set the outdoor furniture up and gets things tidy. After that I went to check on my trees. I planted eight Leyland Cypresses on my closest neighbor's side and they are growing nicely. This year too, for the first time, the fruit trees are responding to TLC. I had some plums a few weeks ago but the birds got the rest of them so I bought some nets to put around the peach trees. So far so good so I'm looking forward to Walker Basin peaches. My friend Ernie's harvest of plums and peaches is plentiful and I look forward to catching up with him.
Well... I got sidetracked and didn't finish posting while at the cabin. You know, there's always something to do!
I was just writing about Ernie's peaches. A certain amount of TLC has paid off. I had plums and peaches for the first time this year and they were yummy. Not a biased opinion but everybody who got to taste them said so.
I'm cutting this short because I like to start something and finish it but this wasn't the case so I don't know where I'm at! Meanwhile, I leave you with this. Let it load, x the ads, choose 480 instead of 360 and enjoy. Yi-ha!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
A sunburn in April
I finally got it done... When we bought the cabin, it had been vacant for several months. Some of those months were in the Summer and without water, a bunch of trees died. In front of the house four trees survived but one didn't make it. Two pine trees on the property died, they had to be cut down. In the side yard, out of eight, three fruit trees remain. True, they were babies but what a heartache anyway. Between my neighbor and I were eight cypresses. They all died. As they say, "not drought resistant..."
So, finally this weekend I went and bought eight Leyland cypresses and planted them. The dead ones had been removed and derooted, and what was left was a series of mounds and crevices and broken sprinklers. I did my best to smooth it all out using a shovel but good thing, my neighbor saw me sweating it out and offered to help with his tractor. His is a smaller one, a Kubota, and these things are great because they can get places bigger tractors can't.
The next day I dug holes with my shovel and planted all of them. Then I had to go over the sprinkler system because it wasn't working right. One station kept getting watered and not the others. I eventually figured that the common was put in the wrong connection. I installed a new timer, had to fine tune the sprinkler heads but now, with a little patience, everything works nicely. I have to say that all the different sizes in PVC pipes and heads drives me nuts. : 1/2", 3/4" and I even have one that 1.25". That means I have to buy and keep all sizes just in case. Ain't no store nearby and the Trading Post has some but not everything.
It was hot working in the full sun so I took off my T-shirt for about an hour, and just kept my hat on. The breeze made it nice that way. Without a shirt and my cowboy hat on, imagine Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now. I don't really care for the smell of napalm in the morning but you get the visuals. It's only later while taking a shower I realized I had a nice sunburn on my shoulders...
I must say. It's such a nice feeling to sit on the porch as the sun goes down, glass of wine in hand, and look out to see the results of a full day's work. Like most people, my work is mostly in digital format, nothing really tangible, so to use my hands, my arms, to plan a project, work at it myself, and see the results is very gratifying. That and it's good exercise!
Physical work is a good thing and most people up there spend their weekends doing just that, working. Always something to do or fix. Here's a film I did to show you what I mean.
I have been going up every weekends for the past month. Believe me, it's not a chore. It's really pretty up there right now with all the wild flowers in bloom and green everywhere. There's even still some snow up on Breckenridge, Bear mountain and the higher peaks all around.
I like to work but I also like fun times. When Ernie is up there for example, we get together in the evening. He plays the guitar and sings, and I try to follow (poorly) on my baritone ukulele. I'm not sure I've introduced you to Ernie so here he is (and Kubota on the left.)
Anyway, here are some fun things to do around Walker Basin.
This past weekend I noticed that the grass between the two big, centenarian oak trees was getting high again. I had mowed it a couple weeks ago but with the rain we've been getting, it was time to mow again. I intended to mow just right there, so to keep all the flowers around. It looked like being on a prairie gazing from my porch. I took out my little tractor-mover and started going at it. I had barely begun and holy shiznit! A snake! About 6' long. I knew it wasn't a rattler as they are easily recognizable. Must have been a gopher snake. The weird part is that the snake looked at me sideways, the way my dog does, and seemed to say "what will it be?"
I backed up, gave him a few minutes to scamp and decided it was time to mow the whole place down. So I did. Mind you, gopher snakes are harmless, they eat mice and squirrels so they're pretty good. I mowed but left some flowers here and there; I didn't have the heart to mow them all.
For those of you living in LA, I encourage you to at least take a drive up the 14 or the 5. Poppies (our beautiful state flower) are out all over the place. You'll see orange, purple, blue, white patches all over the place. Get out, go see it. It's a free gift to all of us.
'Till next time, folks.
p.s. I just found out that the National Weather Service (based on Google maps) calls Walker Basin out my way Joe Walker Town and I like it. From now on, I'll be using that name.
: )
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Green Southern California
Southern California is a beautiful state with deserts, beaches, mountains, forests, rivers, beautiful vistas and you name it, it's here. When I think of this state I live in, I see golden hills, ancient oak trees, sunshine and I smell chaparral. There is a time when everything turns green but it doesn't last long; at least in Southern California. Up at the bottom of the Sierra Nevada however, we do get four seasons. This time of year and the next couple months are a feast for the eyes: green grass and wildflowers of all colors everywhere. Here's a little video of my drive from LA to the cabin. It's better to see this in person but I post this for people who can't be here and enjoy this time of year.
Last weekend I went up with my truck's bed full of wood I had found in my neighborhood and other places. I got to play lumberjack and use my chainsaw to cut everything down to size for the potbelly stove. I must say it was nice to look at the neatly arranged wood pile once I was done. Should be enough wood for next winter and nothing like sweaty, honest manual labor to make a man feel good.
There was a homeowners meeting that weekend. Well, from the beginning participants called into question the validity of the meeting since a majority was not present. It was then declared that this was a "non-meeting" and so after much debate we moved on to the issues at hand, that is road maintenance mostly. In essence, people don't want rules and fees: no architectural review board, no can't do this, no directors or executives, no mandatory fees, no this, and no that. True independents they are. It's true that to go into the Old West and get the same as we do in town is not very appealing.
Look at this. Ain't it pretty?
The grass around the oak trees at the cabin was knee high so I got to take out my tractor and mow. I then did a little yard trimming with my weed-whacker but not too much in order to let the wildflowers come out. I contemplated getting my ladder and saw to cut off the mistletoe on some of the oak trees but that will be for another time. Instead, I sat on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful skies and clean air while sipping on a gin and tonic. Good work deserves a little treat after all.
In the evening I had nothing planned so I watched Terms of Endearment. I had never seen that Academy Award-winning film but I enjoyed it for the characters, the story and the way it was shot. True, I fell asleep midway but I watched the rest the day after. It's funny how the pace slows down up there. One gets right into Nature's cycle very quickly: I get up and go to bed earlier. On Saturday night I went to my neighbors and friends Pam and Andy and we were falling asleep while talking so the evening ended at 9 p.m.. A nice cozy fire and fine glass of wine will do that to most people.
Speaking of neighbors and neighborliness... Walker Basin still has that. Here's an example. I had gone by Andy's one time and happened to see his burn pile. He had cut down a dead oak tree for another neighbor, gotten the logs he needed and had a bunch of smaller ones he was going to burn. Perfect size for my stove. I asked him if I could take them and he said of course, let me a couple chainsaws and let's get her done. I couldn't as this was Sunday and I had to shut everything dow so I said next time I'm up.
Pretty as well, right?
I missed a weekend going up so next time I was up, I called Andy and asked him if he still had the wood. He said no worries, I'll be over. He came with a wagon full of oak he had cut and saved for me.
Another example. After the incident, and after I had fixed most everything, I still needed to replace a few floor boards on the porch. I had told my neighbor George about where I was with the project and he said just leave the wood out on the porch, and that he and Jeremy (his son-in-law) would take care of it. I didn't because I didn't want to abuse his kindness. My son came up next instead of me. I called to check on him and he said George and Jeremy had asked about the wood, he had told them where it was (the garage,) they got it out and got it all done. I must say I'm not used to that anymore but it feels really good to see that still in some parts of the country, people are nice, helpful and care about others. Redemption for the rest of 'em.
'Til next time,
HIllbilly Wally
Last weekend I went up with my truck's bed full of wood I had found in my neighborhood and other places. I got to play lumberjack and use my chainsaw to cut everything down to size for the potbelly stove. I must say it was nice to look at the neatly arranged wood pile once I was done. Should be enough wood for next winter and nothing like sweaty, honest manual labor to make a man feel good.
There was a homeowners meeting that weekend. Well, from the beginning participants called into question the validity of the meeting since a majority was not present. It was then declared that this was a "non-meeting" and so after much debate we moved on to the issues at hand, that is road maintenance mostly. In essence, people don't want rules and fees: no architectural review board, no can't do this, no directors or executives, no mandatory fees, no this, and no that. True independents they are. It's true that to go into the Old West and get the same as we do in town is not very appealing.
Look at this. Ain't it pretty?
The grass around the oak trees at the cabin was knee high so I got to take out my tractor and mow. I then did a little yard trimming with my weed-whacker but not too much in order to let the wildflowers come out. I contemplated getting my ladder and saw to cut off the mistletoe on some of the oak trees but that will be for another time. Instead, I sat on the porch and enjoyed the beautiful skies and clean air while sipping on a gin and tonic. Good work deserves a little treat after all.
In the evening I had nothing planned so I watched Terms of Endearment. I had never seen that Academy Award-winning film but I enjoyed it for the characters, the story and the way it was shot. True, I fell asleep midway but I watched the rest the day after. It's funny how the pace slows down up there. One gets right into Nature's cycle very quickly: I get up and go to bed earlier. On Saturday night I went to my neighbors and friends Pam and Andy and we were falling asleep while talking so the evening ended at 9 p.m.. A nice cozy fire and fine glass of wine will do that to most people.
Speaking of neighbors and neighborliness... Walker Basin still has that. Here's an example. I had gone by Andy's one time and happened to see his burn pile. He had cut down a dead oak tree for another neighbor, gotten the logs he needed and had a bunch of smaller ones he was going to burn. Perfect size for my stove. I asked him if I could take them and he said of course, let me a couple chainsaws and let's get her done. I couldn't as this was Sunday and I had to shut everything dow so I said next time I'm up.
Pretty as well, right?
I missed a weekend going up so next time I was up, I called Andy and asked him if he still had the wood. He said no worries, I'll be over. He came with a wagon full of oak he had cut and saved for me.
Another example. After the incident, and after I had fixed most everything, I still needed to replace a few floor boards on the porch. I had told my neighbor George about where I was with the project and he said just leave the wood out on the porch, and that he and Jeremy (his son-in-law) would take care of it. I didn't because I didn't want to abuse his kindness. My son came up next instead of me. I called to check on him and he said George and Jeremy had asked about the wood, he had told them where it was (the garage,) they got it out and got it all done. I must say I'm not used to that anymore but it feels really good to see that still in some parts of the country, people are nice, helpful and care about others. Redemption for the rest of 'em.
'Til next time,
HIllbilly Wally
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Counting my blessings
It's been a while since I posted... Lots has happened. My nephew passed away, I had to go to France, we had different visitors from Europe, my brother had a baby boy, my son got a girlfriend, my daughter kinda has one, and I've been busy staying alive in America. Everybody's story. My one anchor throughout (OK, I'm exaggerating, my wife is an anchor too) has been Walker Basin. Anchor is actually not a good word. Sounds heavy and restricting. More like centering, equalizing, pacifying. Nothing beats sitting on the porch of the cabin and looking at the mountains all around.
I forget an important event that occurred at the cabin. I had a fire. The short story is that it was around Christmas. I went one evening to hang out with Ernie. We watched a movie, talked, played guitars and had a good time. It was past midnight when I walked home. I was feeling pretty good and I liked seeing all the Christmas lights all around. It was pretty, in the spirit of the time. As I got closer to the cabin I noticed a pretty glow coming from that direction. Must be the Christmas lights or the porch lights I had left on. As I got closer, yikes!!! What the!?!?! Holy S__t! The cabin is burning! I ran as fast as I could, quickly (under 2 seconds) evaluated the fire, ran into the house and grabbed the fire extinguisher.
Fire extinguishers are a a great invention. Just know that a medium sized one will only last 15 seconds. True, only the outside of a 4' x 8' section was burning but it did the job. I called Ernie, he came and we hosed everything down just to make sure. Strangely, when I walked into to the house to grab the extinguisher, I couldn't see anything because it was full of white smoke but none of the smoke detectors went off. Anyway, with Ernie's good advice, and a lot of grease elbow, I fixed it all and you couldn't tell the difference. Here are some pix in chronological order.
So depressing...
Working at it...
Gettin there slowly
Not bad, huh?
It was my fault. I can't tell you what started the fire precisely but know that it involved a cigarette, and a bag full of what I assumed were inert ashes on the porch close to the outside wall. Beware of ashes, friends. They make look dead but they're not.
I wrote more about this than I cared to. Here's the part that makes Walker Basin special in another way. I had bought some floor boards to replace the damaged ones; primed and painted them (Amy did actually,) all set to go for the next time I would be up. It turns out my son goes up with his GF before I do and he tells me over the phone that my neighbor George and Jeremy had fixed the floor. I came up the next weekend and sure enough, it was done. That's what you'll find in Walker Basin. Something that disappeared long ago in most places.
The same weekend, I called my other neighbor Andy. I hadn't been up because of this, that and the other and last time I saw him, he had some smaller oak pieces in his burn pile for me to take. Me: Riiiing. Andy? I'm calling about the wood. Andy: Hold it. I've got it in a little wagon, I'll bring it by. No amount of money buys that.
I didn't tell you about the time when I was supposed to go shoot guns with Andy... We had discussed going up to his 20 acres and shooting guns. I missed a weekend and went the one after. I called Andy and the first thing he asked me was about shooting. I told him I had missed a weekend and wasn't sure if still was up to it, that I hadn't bought any cartridges nor brought my Winchester Wingmaster. Andy said to come over. I went over, we talked and after a while he said: hold it. He went somewhere in his house and came back with a box of cartridges with my name on it.
It's been a while i've posted and have plenty to say so take a break and see the place in january after a light snow storm.
Pretty, ain't it? And only 2.5 hour away from LA. Spring time is coming and the place will be so green and covered with wildflowers, it will put Ireland to shame. At 3500', Walker Basin has four seasons. Nothing like a toasty fire in the wood stove during winter. Nothing like watching the rain fall from under the porch in the Spring. Nothing like lazying in the shade with the cool breeze coming down from the Sierra Nevada in the summer. Nothing like a glorious, cool, Fall day. So close to LA but it feels like it could be Telluride, Ketchum or Jackson Hole (not my words but my Redondo Beach urbanite brother's.)
I've been trying to let people know about Walker Basin, a 12 square miles undiscovered gem full of history, beautiful sights, good people and much more. I do wonder though if I shouldn't keep it private. I don't want it to get spoiled...
I'll post again soon.
I forget an important event that occurred at the cabin. I had a fire. The short story is that it was around Christmas. I went one evening to hang out with Ernie. We watched a movie, talked, played guitars and had a good time. It was past midnight when I walked home. I was feeling pretty good and I liked seeing all the Christmas lights all around. It was pretty, in the spirit of the time. As I got closer to the cabin I noticed a pretty glow coming from that direction. Must be the Christmas lights or the porch lights I had left on. As I got closer, yikes!!! What the!?!?! Holy S__t! The cabin is burning! I ran as fast as I could, quickly (under 2 seconds) evaluated the fire, ran into the house and grabbed the fire extinguisher.
Fire extinguishers are a a great invention. Just know that a medium sized one will only last 15 seconds. True, only the outside of a 4' x 8' section was burning but it did the job. I called Ernie, he came and we hosed everything down just to make sure. Strangely, when I walked into to the house to grab the extinguisher, I couldn't see anything because it was full of white smoke but none of the smoke detectors went off. Anyway, with Ernie's good advice, and a lot of grease elbow, I fixed it all and you couldn't tell the difference. Here are some pix in chronological order.
So depressing...
Working at it...
Gettin there slowly
Not bad, huh?
It was my fault. I can't tell you what started the fire precisely but know that it involved a cigarette, and a bag full of what I assumed were inert ashes on the porch close to the outside wall. Beware of ashes, friends. They make look dead but they're not.
I wrote more about this than I cared to. Here's the part that makes Walker Basin special in another way. I had bought some floor boards to replace the damaged ones; primed and painted them (Amy did actually,) all set to go for the next time I would be up. It turns out my son goes up with his GF before I do and he tells me over the phone that my neighbor George and Jeremy had fixed the floor. I came up the next weekend and sure enough, it was done. That's what you'll find in Walker Basin. Something that disappeared long ago in most places.
The same weekend, I called my other neighbor Andy. I hadn't been up because of this, that and the other and last time I saw him, he had some smaller oak pieces in his burn pile for me to take. Me: Riiiing. Andy? I'm calling about the wood. Andy: Hold it. I've got it in a little wagon, I'll bring it by. No amount of money buys that.
I didn't tell you about the time when I was supposed to go shoot guns with Andy... We had discussed going up to his 20 acres and shooting guns. I missed a weekend and went the one after. I called Andy and the first thing he asked me was about shooting. I told him I had missed a weekend and wasn't sure if still was up to it, that I hadn't bought any cartridges nor brought my Winchester Wingmaster. Andy said to come over. I went over, we talked and after a while he said: hold it. He went somewhere in his house and came back with a box of cartridges with my name on it.
It's been a while i've posted and have plenty to say so take a break and see the place in january after a light snow storm.
Pretty, ain't it? And only 2.5 hour away from LA. Spring time is coming and the place will be so green and covered with wildflowers, it will put Ireland to shame. At 3500', Walker Basin has four seasons. Nothing like a toasty fire in the wood stove during winter. Nothing like watching the rain fall from under the porch in the Spring. Nothing like lazying in the shade with the cool breeze coming down from the Sierra Nevada in the summer. Nothing like a glorious, cool, Fall day. So close to LA but it feels like it could be Telluride, Ketchum or Jackson Hole (not my words but my Redondo Beach urbanite brother's.)
I've been trying to let people know about Walker Basin, a 12 square miles undiscovered gem full of history, beautiful sights, good people and much more. I do wonder though if I shouldn't keep it private. I don't want it to get spoiled...
I'll post again soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
