More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 …
Yesterday morning, about 1000, a call went out for a fire check on a column of smoke just outside Happy Camp downriver to the northwest of us (about 70 miles, as the crow flies). Within fifteen minutes, Happy Camp and the adjacent area along the Klamath River and Indian Creek were being evacuated! Less than 90 minutes later, structures were being lost. Another 30 minutes and the hills west of Ashland, 80 miles north across the Oregon border, were on fire. By noon two towns on both sides of I-5 north of Ashland were on fire (Talent and Phoenix). By 1530 there had been two fires in Mt Shasta which were quickly contained and the Oregon-California border was closed as fire walled off I-5. Mark wound up being the communication hub between local fire groups and whomever (for which he received a dressing down by the County fire marshall for arranging the hub without permission from the top in spite of the marshall being out of the area and the arrangement being necessary, useful, and free). And yesterday afternoon, my older grandson, who works with the local humane society, was sent to Happy Camp to help with evacuated animals.
Reports this morning are grim. But we are still surrounded by protection. Thank you for all the caring prayers.
Now … onward.
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The smoke had been really bad for a couple of days last week. Sunday it was so thick the air was dense, orange, and heavy. That was the day vacationers in the Mammoth area of California were evacuated by the California National Guard in a very large Air Force type transport plane and the outdoor services at Mark’s church were cancelled.
This dawn there was a slight breeze and the sky is clear.
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Thursday morning the headline on the BBC website was “Trump tells North Carolina voters to vote twice”. Then the next day the headline was “Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ … multiple sources tell The Atlantic the president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades.”
Want to know more about his attitude toward the military? Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Fkwcorb1I&ab_channel=MeidasTouch&fbclid=IwAR2C2lZxuynItNGxOy4O4fN-bO4gLNluBj1nGSEFJsUhd3F7BHsmNN1C3BM
And still there are people who chant TWELVE MORE YEARS whenever he waves his arms.
But that’s enough about politics.
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I remember seeing a word-for-the-day not too long ago which means seeing what you expect to see rather than what is actually there … but I can’t remember the word. Then early this morning (0400) I picked up my current book to pass time until the household woke up and came across an example. It would seem those expected to catch errors before a book goes to print (proofreaders?) failed and appproved publication. Now I can’t unsee it.
Sort of like the arrow on the side of FedEx trucks.
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While continuing with the sorting for my upcoming life change, I found some fiber which friends brought to me from New Zealand a few years ago. I am slimming down collected stuff and offered the NZ fiber to a handspinner I know. I delivered it last saturday. We enjoyed a sitdown, not in her pergola due to smoke, but it did include iced coffee.
There is still plenty of fiber in my stash, so I have signed up for Spin Together (the event in the past was called Spinzilla) which starts at noon on 3 October and lasts a full week. Spinners from all over the world spin together and then compare results. I will spend the week before drafting fiber so it will be ready to go.
I usually do well, but there are always professional spinners and those who spin bulky who finish with more yardage than me. I know I won’t win any categories. I just enjoy the challenge to beat my last year’s amount. I have some merino-silk in shades of purple which I will probably use. I enjoy spinning the merino-silk mix of fibers and am thinking of then knitting a lightweight halberd to wear over black turtlenecks … to show off.
Or maybe a fancy shawl, also to put over black turtlenecks and show off.
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Some time ago Mark noted the number of East Indian truck drivers passing through our area and said someone really needed to start an appropriate restaurant at the south Weed Truck stop … but we don’t have the money to do anything like that. Then a few days ago I found out that someone had done it, just not at south Weed.
There is a new truck stop north of Yreka where Punjabi style food is available … all the good stuff … tandoor, biryani, tikka masala … so we went out to dinner (outdoor seating with no shade) last monday.
What a bust !!!
The set-up for ordering is confusing. You go one place to order, then you have to go to a completely different part of the truck stop to pay for your order, then back to the order window to show your proof of purchase to the girl before they will even begin preparation. The food is delivered take-out style (in plastic cartons and paper bags) even if you’re eating there. And the entire process takes what seems like an inordinately extended time.
To top off the entire experience, the food wasn’t that good. Mark serves better and tastier meals when he chooses to cook East Indian.
I had the chicken vindaloo and I actually did finally find two small pieces of chicken in the tub … but no potatoes. There was lots of sauce and I could actually taste a couple of spices. As a finishing touch, the rice was dry.
Feeding four of us cost $60+. Once in a while that wouldn’t be a problem IF the service and food was any good.
This experience is now filed under “Been there. Done that. Don’t need to do it again.”
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I’ve been watching“The Queen” on Netflix (my granddaughter has graciously shared her membership with me).
At approximately 47 minutes into “the Coup” (season 3-episode 5), during a conversation between Princess Alice of Greece and Belgium and Lord Mountbatten (Battenberg siblings), Princess Alice says that when she turned 70 she realized she was no longer a participant but had become a spectator. In her evaluation, age becomes just a matter of waiting and not getting in the way.
I got through the 70s and 80s okay. I am now into the 90s.
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Seems Tahoe is having trouble with acculturated bears becoming grocery shoppers. Fortunately (at least I think it is fortunate) our bears haven’t found the local Grocery Outlet yet. What they have found is a door to our barn, learned how to open it, also learned how to release bungee cords, and that they like dog food.
That was last wednesday night. Early friday morning I heard dogs barking followed by gunshots off to the east. It’s the time of year bears start preparing for hibernation. I wonder how climate change will affect that.
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Climate change has made a change in calving. On our trip to Yreka I saw that this year’s fall calving is happening early. Usual time is early November.
There seem to be more than the usual number of calves and they are new, not yearlings. I know they are new because they are small. One calf I saw was on the ground being nosed by its mother and the placenta hadn’t been cleared up so the calf was only minutes old.
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I’ve spoken in the past about water issues in Siskiyou County. The latest front in that war is northeast of us in an area called Big Springs. It is dry (in spite of the area name), flat, desertlike area which has been invaded (no one seems sure who actually owns the property) by entrepreneurs from southeast Asia who are in the pot growing business.
In the past, it has been sparsely populated due to the dryness. It is now home to a “growing” industry. The Sheriff says it is being done illegally and periodically conducts raids.
The big problem is not so much the growing or who owns the land … it is water. Marijuana requires a lot of water. So some enterprising landowners (mostly absentee), whose land holds rights to both surface and sub-surface water, are selling water by the thousands of gallons per truckload to the growers and local wells are going dry … including the well which is the source of water for the local firefighters. To top it off, the sales are for cash which means there is nothing to report on income tax forms. And since the rights holders are owners of large “ranches” and therefore “important”, the SSWD (the local Watermaster) is nowhere to be seen.
People are getting riled.
The 21st century Siskiyou County water war would appear to have begun.
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I was recently listening to a summer concert by the Vienna Philharmonic and heard a truth attributed to Pushkin. It stuck with me in this time of transition as I watch birch leaves shimmer and listen to bird song and remember how my name sounded when George said it …
… memories too painful to remember but too precious to forget.
So … ‘til next week …