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.

: )

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