Month: June 2022

The big excitement in this little Village began last wednesday afternoon.  A young neighbor (he’s in his early 60s I think, but to me that’s young) left  about 1000 for a mountain bike ride out in back of the old McCloud Mill to do some maintenance on a bike trail telling his wife he’d be back about 1300, but had not returned home by 1600.  Friends told her if he was not home by then to call and report him missing.   An adhoc search lasted into dusk/dark without finding any trace.

The next morning a meeting was held, 0800 at the high school including any official or volunteer search personnel. I don’t know which groups were there, but I know it included Sheriffs and the local Fire Company, which has a medical unit, and locals.  Among the locals were friends and other McCloud citizens, who know the bike trails in the area where he was thought to have been riding.  The locals were assigned to ride out to search all the possible trails.  A close friend requested permission to take the missing man’s dog with him hoping the dog would track any scent but the “group” thought that wasn’t a good idea. 

The adhoc search lasted into dusk/dark without finding any trace.

He is known to have heart and back problems AND to be sensitive to heat (it was in the 90s the day he went missing, which is HOT for McCloud) and he had not been carrying a lot of water since he planned to be home by 1300.

On friday about 100+ locals and Sheriffs spent all day walking a wide area east of the old mill site with aid from a Sheriff’s helicopter.

Saturday a group of close to a hundred trail bike riders were assigned to specific trails, either alone or in pairs.  After a day long search in which a military helicopter with a Red Cross on its side joined the search.  His trail bike was located, but no sign of him.  A Sheriff came to his home to look for any clues which might help establish his mindset when he left home.  The only thing which seemed to be missing was a back pack which had probably carried tools and work clothes for the planned trail repair.  He often went fishing to one of the local fishing areas alone or with a friend but always told his wife where he was going and when to expect him home. The Sheriff had been unable to get permission to fly a night search using infrared optics. 

Sunday, day five, and further information came to light that he told friends he was headed for the Mud Creek Dam area but still no “permission” for night infrared flights. What appeared to be a pink tape Hansel and Gretal type sign, turned out to be a track made previously for those volunteering to clean up the biking/hiking path.

A family friend was finally able to take the family dog to sniff out her master, but without success.  Of course, there had been hundreds in the area so any track of Terry had probably been obliterated.

By monday optimism was waning. It was another quite warm, but not high, temperature day.  Forensic personnel were in the area , but no more choppers, and I had learned that when searching for a missing person the first forty eight hours were search and from then on it became retrieval.

Today is blog day, another wednesday, the eighth day since Terry went missing. The sheriff deputy was at Terry’s home twice yesterday.  Law enforcement presence has been called off with only periodic routine lookarounds although a Sheriff’s helicopter was overhead just a few minutes ago.

When I asked this morning during our walkabout what she thought, Jenny said the Sheriff asked if she thought Terry disappeared on purpose, but they decided that was unlikely since none of the items usually missing with a runaway were still where she expected them to be and the bank accounts had not been accessed.  She thinks a purposeful disappearance is a very distant possibility because of those findings.  

But because of heat, his heart and spine problems, as well as the lack of visible preparations for anything other than his stated purpose of clearing one of the trails of winter and recent heavy rain debris, his hiding his trail bike to protect from theft as well as indicating he planned to come get it and return home, his lack of more than one bottle of water and no food, and no phone or other communication device, she thinks he had an “accident” due to his heart or back problems.

Positive affirmations have turned prayers from his physical well being to that for his soul.

It was on the front page of the local paper this morning.

In the Village, chaos has been replaced with quiet sadness.

~~~

On a more pleasant note … there are flowers in bloom all over the place, some of which I have  no photos.

Not just the dogwood but scissor plants 

and plantain and poppies

and comfrey 

and mullein 

and Queen Anne’s lace and small daisies and several others … 

Oh my ( to paraphrase Dorothy’s lions and tigers and bears on the way to the Emerald City – and if I credited that quote incorrectly, I’m sure someone will correct me).

~~~

If you’ve been following my ramblings for any amount of time, you know about AC.  We had our own corps de mouse catchers which lived in the barn.  AC, as I eventually named him, was the tiny black kitten I found abandoned. There actually were two kittens not much past first opening their eyes.  I heard their mews and found them hidden under a porch deck about noon.  When they were still alone at dusk, I collected them, tucked them in my shirt, took them in the house, and fed them from a teeny bottle I had used for teeny animals in the past.  The black one survived but the partly grey one didn’t.

We often lost a barn cat to the local wild bobcat population, so since no obviously adult cat came looking for kittens, I kept feeding the little black cat.  He grew into a very attractive teenager and would hug my ankles and talk to me, especially whenever we went outdoors. 

His name AC was the result of his personality … A for adventurous, amiable, attention seeking, attractive, affectionate, etc. and C (naturally) for cat).

Finally he was ready to go out on his own and join the cadre of cats which waited for George outside the front door every morning when he went to the barn to feed the animals. 

AC had begun showing an interest in girls.  He continued to come to say hello each time I went out the door, rubbing my ankles and talking.  Then one day he failed to show up.

I assumed he either eloped with one of the ladies which caught his eye, or he had failed to learn the lesson about bobcats.

So … the reason for this trip through the back forty (back story as part of storytelling) is by way of prefacing why I was attracted to the black cat which began coming into the open area across the road from me.  It never offered to cross the road but I came to watch for it as it came every evening. 

I can’t keep a cat as I did AC since I had developed a sensitivity to cat dander.  If I were to get a cat it would have to be a house cat because pet animals are not allowed in the Village unless kept on a leash when outdoors, because of the local feral animals, and a rule about not allowing pet animals to annoy neighbors.  Besides, can you imagine a cat allowing itself to be leashed? 

However, I can watch the current black cat and remember AC.

Last saturday evening, as the black cat arrived, SHE was accompanied by two black kittens.  As they returned “home”, she had a small animal (probably one of the local field mice or a small ground squirrel) in her mouth and the kittens fell in line behind her.

I hope they continue to come here to hunt so I can continue as a peeping watcher. 

~~~

To end the week … apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Remember the little things.  Some day you’ll appreciate that they were actually the big things.

So, ‘til next week …   

Saturday was full to overflowing.

Daughter Kamille participated in a 5K+ run around Lake Siskiyou.

Son Mark and grandson Francis were here to do laundry and help me put together the new tomato porch planter (mostly Francis helping with the planter).  In addition, Francis helped with transplanting the tomatoes and putting the Climate cover (like a greenhouse) over the frame. 

Weather that day was quite varied …

It began as we were finishing the construction with a light shower.  Francis and I decided it wasn’t enough to get us unduly damp and continued with the construction.  

Then just after we finished the construction and transplanting, we went indoors for dinner (a very good meal prepared by Mark – chicken thigh meat seasoned with Mark’s special touch, crisp cauliflower, and lightly grilled potatoes followed by dessert of choice) the weather marathon began.  Francis was worried the tomatoes needed protection so he went out and closed the weather cover which had been left open.

The weather event started with a modest rain followed by a cloudburst followed by another more modest rain followed by an interesting shower of corn snow followed by more modest rain.  The entire weather event lasted about an hour.  All the porch plants got a good drink. 

Sunday started chilly but with sun.

Today the temperature is expected to be over 90º.

~~~

I missed the second January 6th committee report which was televised last week but I learned content from news commentary.

Sunday on Face the Nation, one of the guests, a political reporter, said she had heard from one of her news sources that there was a good chance Pence plans to run for President in 2024.  

That primary will be interesting.

~~~

There is a single dogwood in my Village, near the main entrance, which is in glorious bloom.

I used to really enjoy the drive down I5 to Redding when the dogwoods and accompanying Red Buds were in bloom.  The side by side glistening white and crimson were eye candy.  

I am now working on convincing my walkabout buddy we need to plant a Red Bud near the Village dogwood.

~~~

My older son suggested we play dress-up and took a shot of me seated in my new tub in my role of Bathing Queen emulating Elizabeth II … I was in black and white, holding an umbrella (stand-in for a parasol rather than bouquets of flowers), wearing a ball cap rather than her lovely hats, but trying to emulate her smile and closed fingers salute/wave).

The resultant photo reminded of a scene of Hepburn as Eleanor in “The Lion in Winter” where she holds an open necklace across her chest in the vicinity of her nipples and notes she won’t be wearing it at the Yule fest (draped like that) because “…it might frighten the children”.  That’s not a word for word account of the scene or dialogue, but it conveys the thought.

~~~

The sunday morning walkabout started with the discovery of the location of two of the black bird nest sites.  We have been subjected to agitated birds for several days, near the greeting area where I meet the Aussie mini ladies and my front porch.  I knew there had to be a nest near, or maybe two. 

It turns out there are two.  

One is in the top of a rather big bush under a front window of the house where I share doggie treats with the Aussies and am rewarded with a doggie fix by Amy and Jenny, who I am told sit on the couch where they can see out their front window watching for me.  Amy, the puppy, has learned how to open the front door  when it is left very slightly ajar, and comes bounding out.  Jenny, the other, the elder and follows more sedately.

The other nest is in a tall tree near my near neighbor’s front door.

Sources of both of the dive bomber squadrons has been solved.

~~~

I was able to spend an entire day last monday with my friend Atara/Tsel.  We went on a treasure hunt for things (including information) which she plans to take back to friends in Israel.  In the process I found tshirts which were longer than the ones which end in the vicinity of one’s belly button so I bought four.

Then we went for lunch at Ming’s in Yreka which has provided excellent Chinese food ever since George and I first went there many years ago.  Then later Mark and I went there for lunch after he moved out here and he thoroughly enjoyed the buffet which was part of the food selection in that pre-Covid time.  Chinese buffets were common in the Rochester, NY area when I used to go back there to meet a new grandchild (as well as their parents) so he has a taste reference and rated Ming’s 5 stars.

Covid ended buffet style service here.  I miss the buffet, but am glad Ming’s is still in business.  It is a family affair.  The servers (who were as efficient and courteous as I remember the service being in the past) were a couple of young men who have to be at the very least the third generation since I first went there.

I had Kung Fu chicken which was served with red peppers on the side so you could choose your own heat preference.  There were eight peppers so I used three and brought the rest home for chili or soup.

~~~

And to end the week …

Do for others not because of who they are, or what they can do for you, but because of who you are.

So ‘til next week …

Spent time weeding last week … tiring but stamina improvement welcome.

~~~

 My walk in tub installation was done by yesterday afternoon but I decided to wait for my first bath until my bedroom is back to normal, probably tomorrow.

Report and pictures (but not of me in the tub) next week.

~~~

The first transfer of porch plants will soon be done.  The first will be the tomatoes … the two Black Krim and one  which a local farmer called “White” and which I was assured was actually a slicing yellow.  I decided to take a chance and wait and see.  I have a source for heirloom tomato seeds so I’ll plant some of them from seeds next year.

I really want to find a tasty yellow like my Daddy used to grow.  I never knew its name or even if it had one.  I’ll let you know next year how it goes.

I think I may have already told you this.  If so, accept my apology. Od so, chalk it up to the chaos of last week while my tub was being installed.

Next will be a planter designed for climbing beans and peas.

Mark will be doing the assembly of the planters for me. 

Pictures will follow. 

~~~

I admit I watched the initial public hearings of the Congressional Investigation of January 6th via TV.  I determined, that for me, it would be best if I tried to ask myself if I would be able to answer the question asked by attorneys in re whether or not I felt I could listen honoring the requirement to not discuss the “trial” with anyone until the trial was “completed” and to base my decision on “Law” and “Truth” as foremost deciders.

I decided to do my best to listen and watch as if I were chosen as one of the jurors or alternates.  In the past, I have been on juries in both Los Angeles and Siskiyou counties. I have lost count, but there were three which I remember.  

None of them required a unanimous vote, only a plurality.  Had there been the requirement for a consensus, I would have been in the dissenting group all three times. 

In two, my final vote was not guilty.  

In one the plaintiff was a “hippy” type who owned an extensive collection of original vinyl recordings from early R&B and FOLK artists which were in the garage of the house being rented by the young man who brought the suit.  The defense claimed they were completely destroyed in an unexplained fire.  I believed the landlord had set the fire after removing the records and subsequently sold them, reaping a hefty profit.

In another, the defendant was a convicted minor offender being housed in a rural, semi open work facility where inmates are hired out to work on fire crews and other government projects such as road clean up, who met a friend just outside the facility gate after curfew to be given some cigarettes.  The DA’s attorney supported the defendant’s claim that only cigarettes were found in the defendant’s possession as he was stopped on his way back to his quarters.  But there were three parents on the jury who said ANY and ALL people convicted of any kind of crime needed to be under lock and key. 

When I spoke with the Asst. DA after the trial about the case she said she felt the defendant, being represented by a Public Defender, was only doing what was common practice and was being used as an example and she regretted that under the “Law” he had to be transferred back to lock-up.

The other one was a malpractice charge against a doctor with whom I worked.  I was on that jury due to a fluke.  I was the last prospective juror available without calling an entire new panel and was accepted by both attorneys without challenge, maybe because they knew the time limit for filing a suit had been exceeded and the case would be dismissed, (information to which the jury was not privy) but the process required  jumping through the hoops.  

That time I thought the doctor probably made a mistake resulting in damage to the patient and was actually guilty of malpractice.   But because the trial never went to the jury and the doctor didn’t ask me any questions after the trial, he never knew how I was prepared to vote.  He later thanked me for being on the jury and our professional interactions weren’t impaired.

I have to admit that after watching the first two tv presentations in re the coup attempt (and entering the “jury” situation with a bias), my bias was reinforced and I know how I would and will vote in the upcoming election.

~~~

Weather had gotten pretty warm.  Morning walkabouts began a half hour early and I opened windows for cross ventilation.  I’ve been sleeping with no cover or only a sheet.

Then came sunday … cloud bursts began at about 0130and continued off and on until I was on my way to church when I ran into light showers. 

Things improved for the planned picnic and I got back around the mountain and down for a nap to be greeted by another downburst a bit before 1430. 

Temps have again have again turned chilly (just barely above freezing this morning at 0600) and I am back to sleeping under the light quilt.

~~~

… and to close out this week’s effort …

Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought.o be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears.

To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.

To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen.

To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies.

To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery.

          — Octavia E. Butler

So,‘til next week … 

The installation of my walkin tub began today. That’s why this is posted near sundown rather than near noon

Weather has turned … again.  Warmer and a bit wetter with showers but no real rain.

And again … Chilly and raining.

Rained during the night.  Now warming up.

~~~

 I recently heard a report on NPR’s Morning Edition concerning a lady in Uvalde, Texas following the mass shooting in an elementary school there, who dressed in a clown suit positioned herself where children could see her.  Her mission was to bring smiles back onto faces.

Rather than being foolish, I thought how perceptive she was.  She saw or sensed a need and chose to be open while responding to that need by choosing a publicly anonymous persona rather than participating in impersonal public shows of support through public display and the resultant attention.

It reminded me rather forcibly of the end of the blog post from last week …It’s Nice to be Important, but it’s more Important to be Nice. 

It also reminded me of one of my sisters-in-law who spent many hours as an anonymous clown visiting hospital patients (mainly children) and making them smile, and even laugh, with her antics.  

She also spent time in neonatal ICU wards just sitting in a rocker while holding and talking to dying babies whose parent(s) were unable to be there for whatever reasons.  

In a conversation we once had she said “Even when you can’t see it or hear it, love can be sensed.”

She died in 2013.  

It would be a fool’s bet to lay odds against there being no one who remembers her, even if they never knew her name.

So Thank You and Blessings to the Clown Lady of Uvalde.

~~~

Thinking and writing about overt displays … 

Last monday (Memorial Day) my neighbor to the west of me came by delivering small US flags to the residents of the Village.

My politics are at variance with a lot of, if not most, of the other residents here.  But I have made it a habit to, whenever possible, avoid random discussion of politics, religion, and some moral opinions.  I’m not comfortable with confrontation on those subjects with just anyone.  Only with those whom I know to be, if not in agreement with me, at least open to agreeing to disagree.

I accepted the flag and stuck it in the rose container on the porch.  It is now rolled up and set aside for display later.

~~~

Over the past Memorial weekend, PBS shared many films from (too many) past wars which involved US service members, mostly news and military films, but one in particular which caught me.  It was an 8mm film taken by a sailor serving aboard the cruiser US Los Angeles CA135, during the Korean affair.  He was a member of a gun crew so it contained a lot of surface scenes of gun action and of his personal friends.

There were one or two group crew pictures, but they were too broad to recognize any single sailor unless the owner had made an identity list. Maybe I’ll contact PBS and see if there is a chance of getting copies.

George was a radioman during that time (which was why he wasn’t home for my 21st birthday) and the radiomen’s duty stations were on lower decks.

But some of the scenes were taken in Japanese cities during shore leave times and I recognised some of the names … among those were Kobe and Sasebo which George had mentioned in letters and from which he had brought home gifts.

There were some interesting asides as the owner talked about the pictures among which was orders that shore leaves began at some designated time after dawn and morning duties were complete and ALL personnel had to be back on board before dark.

So even there were no identifiable pictures of George, the film triggered memories and some tears.  After all, it was Memorial day.

~~~

I am building a Porch garden using containers of various kinds and sizes.

Flowers first … a Peace rose and Double Delights.  I plan to track down a source for an Heirloom green rose.

Next will be vegetables … tomatoes (Black Krims which Mark shared and to which I will add a yellow (if I am able to find one) and salad greens (although there are those who say tomatoes are really fruit).

I also plan to relocate information in re companion planting about flowers and vegetables.

Growing reports to follow. 

~~~

Now a blast from the past … 

June 1947  

~~~

… and to close out this week’s effort …

Nothing is too difficult to overcome. Instead of giving up, you survived and came out stronger. You can do that again and more. Keep believing in yourself. Keep going.

          — Author Unknown 

So,‘til next week … 

So far, no new TBall games scheduled before 7 June, last day of school.  

~~~

Signs of Spring are showing.  The dogwoods are in bloom.  I-5 between Siskiyou County and Redding is always a show of white dogwood and redbud.

And yellow is all over the place what with the wild mustard, forsythia, and Scotch broom which someone started about 25 years ago with a plug or two in a small place somewhere in the middle of the county and which has now spread so froliflically that newcomers think it has always been here much like the gorse in the middle stretches of Oregon beach areas.  

I first met gorse in Cornwall during a visit to a Holy well and chapel at St Clether’s.  Water from the well runs through the Chapel across under the altar.  There is also a more modern church at St Clether’s complete with graveyard where I found a headstone which had fallen over and when I set it upright again it was the stone of a woman who had died the exact day I was born … the correct day, month, and year.

There are a couple of herbs left from past gardens in this small “Village” where I now live which are now “wild” perennials … comfrey and mullein.  I have some comfrey hanging to dry and will harvest mullein in a day or so.

~~~

California’s primary is a week from yesterday.  George and I had begun voting by mail several years ago so I kept that registration active just changing the address now that I live in a different part of the County.  

I marked my ballot as soon as I made my choices and got it in the mail a week ago.    

~~~

Night weather has been interesting lately … rain showers and various levels of winds.  

The aspen are nearly fully leafed out.  They glimmer and shimmer in the wind.  They are lovely.  Only unhappy side effect is that I can no longer see the Mountain clearly, but I know where She is and continue to tell her Good Morning  Beautiful.  

When the aspen drop their leaves next autumn I’ll be able to see Her once more.  

Another change in seasons to which I will look forward.

~~~

I recently went to Yreka for an oil change.  There is a place there where the waiting lines (there are only two) are minimal and I’ve never been more than second in line.

Another enhancement is that you remain in your car and the young men responsible for your car are real old time “service” men (yes, I am soooooo old that I remember when places to pump your own gas were actually “service stations”).  While the young men, at the oil change facility  which I frequent, change the oil they also check tire pressure,  air filter condition and anything else which needs checking, all the time communicating with each other and the “boss” relaying reports of what they have done and what is planned next in a singsong chant which reminds me of the way the Blue Angel pilot leader sings maneuver directions over their (supposedly) restricted radio frequency.  

Mark and I once went to a Blue Angel air show at the airport in Redding.  While I captured the routine on my 8mm camera, Mark was recording the radio communications using amateur radio access to federal frequencies.  I can still hear the leader call directions as they seemed to be heading right at each other, the leader called “A little moooooore pull” with a rise in pitch when he called “pull” and all six blossomed like a flower bud opening.

That homemade film was lost somewhere during George’s slowdown and my relocation.  Too bad.  But I can still see it and hear those communication calls in my mind’s eyes and ears.  The calls at the oil change facility always take me back to that air show.

~~~

With son John’s help running interference with Lowe’s purchase department, my step-in tub arrived yesterday.  The installer has been notified and will begin work next tuesday.  He estimates installation will take approximately a week.  In the meantime I’ll be sleeping in the extra bedroom and trying to stay out of the way.  Thankfully I will have a supply of reading material and Matilda will get a spinning workout.  

John reminded me of when we added two rooms to our Pomona house.  He advised me to remember and expect a similar disruption.  I will start preparations later today.

~~~

I learned something new about the rules for the Victorian Village in which I live.  I can water on mondays, wednesdays, and saturdays beginning at 0700 and off by than 2200.  I haven’t quite figured that out, but there are at least two households which start watering on one day and let the water runoveright until 0700 the next day.  I’m not sure he I’ll get it figured out and start watering the empty space next door to keep down the dust by encouraging the spread of ground covers … a small, low plant with small pink flowers we used to call “scissor plants”, I will add some creeping thyme, and this morning I spotted a small show of red clover.  With selective waiting, the dust may be better controlled.

I’ll let you know what that works out and how.

~~~

I’ll be able to return to a bit of hands-on gardening.  On the farm I had a kneeler which could be used as a seat or a place to kneel.  That helped as I got older.  I left it for the new owners when I left the farm thinking I would be moving south to a retirement place.  But that didn’t work out and I now need to start over with new tools for planting and weeding.  I just have to get an early start because I run out of steam a bit before nap time.

My morning walkabouts with my young neighbor and now light gardening will help rebuild my stamina.  

I am also building a small garden with pots and planters for the porch.  I currently have tomatoes (Black Krim) started and will be adding a yellow heirloom tomato, climber beans, and a salad collection very soon.

I also have  a Peace rose given me by John.  He remembers when my Daddy was involved in the hybridization of that rose.  It is on the porch where it get sun all day as the sun moves across the sky and it is now showing small buds.

I will also be plant-sitting a pair of Double Delight tea roses for John while he re-thinks his front yard now that he and his partner will not be leaving Dunsmuir.

And I need to find a place to get a heritage Green rose like the one my Daddy loved.  I wish I had taken a cutting from the one in my farm gazebollis (gazebo/trellis), but a new planting will be in place by the end of this season.  I’m researching how to provide for wintering the roses.  Maybe in the carport next to the house wall under covers.

And I will have to refresh what I used to know about companion planting.  I seem to remember something about tomatoes and roses.

~~~

John spent some time with my computer yesterday and I think I am learning how to add pictures to this publication.

Here is my first effort.

May 2022 

Still learning …

~~~

Sorry for the double pic post.

And now to close out this week’s effort …

It’s Nice to be Important, but it’s more Important to be Nice.

—  Pearlie Mae Bailey  1960

So,‘til next week …