Month: June 2010

Fire Danger increasing in some areas

Per NOAA: “HAVE UPGRADED THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH TO A RED FLAG WARNING FOR ZONE 511. THIS COVERS THE EAST BAY HILLS AND INLAND HILLS OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY ABOVE 1000 FEET. INTEL FROM LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES IS THAT GRASSES BETWEEN 1000-2000 FEET ARE CURED AND WILL CARRY FIRE IN WINDY ENVIRONMENT…THE SACRAMENTO OFFICE ISSUED RED FLAGS FOR THE ENTIRE SAC VALLEY SO WINDY WEATHER WILL BE FELT IN THE DELTA AND OUR FAR EAST BAY VALLEYS AS WELL. FAIR AMOUNT OF PRESCRIBED BURNING AS WELL AS HEADING INTO A HOT WEEKEND RAISES CONCERNS. SPC HAS OUR AREA HIGHLIGHTED IN A CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER THREAT. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH SEVERAL OF THE RECORD HIGHS FOR TODAY ONLY GO BACK TO 2008 WHEN A SIMILAR SYNOPTIC PATTERN TOOK HOLD. JUNE 10TH IS THE DATE THE INDIANS FIRE STARTED IN MONTEREY COUNTY UNDER A SIMILAR WEATHER PATTERN WITH AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG TROUGH OVER THE GREAT BASIN WITH FAVORABLE WIND FLOW ALOFT FOR CREATING STRONG NORTH/NORTHEAST WINDS IN THE HILLS.”

And this news release was issued by Cal-Fire today, June 11, 2010:

“Sacramento – The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning this weekend for the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area, resulting in an elevated fire danger.
In response to the heightened fire danger, CAL FIRE is increasing its staffing and urging the public to be extra cautious this weekend. “The grass across the region is already dying or dead,” said Chief Andy McMurry, assistant deputy director for CAL FIRE. “Our firefighters are ready to respond to any wildfires, but we really need to the public’s help in preventing fires.”
Today, CAL FIRE will preposition many of its airtankers from the department’s maintenance base at McClellan Air Park in Sacramento County to its air bases across Northern California. Throughout the winter the aircraft undergo extensive maintenance preparing them for firefighting activity. CAL FIRE has staffed its airbases in Southern California since the beginning of May, where conditions have dried out earlier.
The Red Flag Warning stretches from Redding to Modesto and into the East Bay from 11 a.m. Friday to 8 p.m. on Saturday due to a combination of warm temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds.
CAL FIRE officials are urging the public to remain extra vigilant this weekend and help them prevent fires.”

It is time to start really paying attention, particularly since the LPNF policy is to base any campfire restrictions on forest-wide conditions, rather than local conditions, and with high temps predicted for this weekend, it is time to tune the neighborhood watch up a ratchet. I have a number of other “news” events to cover in the next few days, as well as the photographs for the summer header to post for voting, so will be busy keeping you all updated this weekend.

Gideon News

My first love, Gideon, came home today. He is so much better, and so peppy, it is hard to believe he has been through hell for the last couple of months. His first shot created so many problems. This time, he got two shots in two days, but he is like the puppy he was (even though he is 9 years old – he is a BC/Aussie mix, after all). We are all so grateful for the thoughts and prayers of our extended family of friends. We still have to watch him rather closely for a couple of weeks, but the worst is over. Now that this is over, I should be able to go back to regular reporting.

Here is that beautiful guy, again:

Gideon, the Wonder Dog

Photo Contest & Gideon

Today is the last day to submit your entry – until midnight tonight, so get those entries in. Photos and voting in a few days.

Gideon received his 3rd heart worm shot yesterday, his second the day before. He’s had to stay at the vets for the last few days. I go pick him up, shortly. He will have to stay quiet for a few weeks, but so far, he has come through this difficult treatment very well.

Of note: A fire was reported yesterday around 4:15 pm in the area of Prewitt Ridge and/or Wild Cattle. Follow-up reports from neighbors indicate this was a false alarm, nothing was located. WildCAD-LPNF does have a “wildfire” report listed on their site for 6:30 pm, but as I said, it appears to have been a false alarm.

A lot is going on with the traffic light at CV Rd and Highway One. Emails and postings have been provided by Pelican Network and the Chamber email systems. I will try to get a post up regarding this situation in the next few days. Gideon comes first.

Controlled Burns at Ft. HL

Per a retired FF friend from Ft. Hunter-Liggett, controlled burns on the North Boundary have begun. Camp Roberts in SLO is also engaging in controlled burns, so if you see smoke in those directions, that is what it most likely is.

Mountain Adventure #736

And my day was interesting, to say the least. Mountain Adventure #736:

Okay, I made that number up. I don’t know what number this one is. I’ve lost track, I’ve had so many.

With all the adventures I’ve had, one thing that has never happened is my 1998 Jeep has never broken down on the dirt road….or my 1988 Range Rover before that. It is almost as if they know that is verboten. Well, today, that luck changed.

I was going through Turkey Flats, you know, Turkey Flats … I’ve taken lots of photos there.

Turkey Flats
See Cone Peak in the background?

anyway, all of a sudden, there was no response from the gas pedal. None. Okay, I said to myself, Ms. Cool Big Sur Mountain Mama. It is all down hill, so I’ll get to the bottom, and get my friend Lynne to call Triple A for me. (I forgot my cell phone, for the first time in ages – not that there is any signal there) Except that it is not all flat.

I am going through the Buttle property, making good progress, coasting, and I get to the itty bitty creek that still has water in it, and there is THE hill. I forgot about THE hill. It is one that is so minor in the scheme of things, that it is easy to forget. BUT, the Jeep would not make it up.

It’s just a little hill! This shows it coming back, going down it.

I tried coasting back down and up the back hill as far as I could, hoping for a sling shot or pendulum effect. I didn’t have to go too far, just get the momentum going. Three times, I tried. No dice.

So, I coasted back down to this itty bitty creek, figuring, if I am stuck here for a couple days, at least the dogs and I will have water.

What? You can’t see the “creek” in there? Okay, maybe not a creek, but a drizzle. Still, enough to keep the dogs and I alive for a few days or weeks, or until someone stumbled upon us.

I turned off the engine, sat there for a minute, then scrambled down to the creek bed in my town clothes and town shoes, and got water for the doggies.

Then, as calm as can be, I opened the hood. That’s what guys do, right? Well, it is still as foreign to me as the day I bought it. Makes no sense. Besides, it was the gas pedal inside that quit, not the engine.

I get down under the dash, check out the gas pedal, and see that it is to the floor and unresponsive. Hmmm. Throttle cable? Maybe? There must be something like that. I find that there is this elbow shaped thingy that is behind the gas pedal. Huh? That must go to something, I thought. Wow, if I pushed on that, then it did something – what I wasn’t sure, but I was sure this elbow shaped thingy was the key. THEN, I found this cable type thingy that came through the back top above the gas pedal from the engine compartment. It had a knob on it.

Now, the elbow shaped thingy, I found by feeling about, had a round hole with a slit in it. If I put the cable thingy through the slot to the hole, it held, and the elbow shaped thingy was now connected to the cable and connected to the gas pedal. And voila! The gas pedal and the throttle cable were again connected and speaking to each other, and I put my foot on the gas, and get a response. Hooray! I conquered the unconquerable!

This, from a woman with not a single mechanical bone in her body. I was, and am, absolutely surprised at myself.

Watch out Indy mechanics, here I come! Am I too old for another career?

Only in Big Sur …

The First Annual Burning Dog Festival, organized out of Santa Cruz, is being held June 11-14th at Plaskett Creek Campground. Yes, a “burning man”-inspired event that is dog-friendly, and includes hikes and events for your pooch,

The schedule is quite ambitious and can be found here: schedule. It includes hikes, agility course, art with your dog, costumes, BBQ, Luau, and trips to the Esalen hot tubs.

Of course, our local events that weekend include Jazz on the River at River Inn on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 pm. (see schedule here) and the Big Sur Wine Expedition is June 9th and 10th. (Additional information here). There is always a great line-up at the Henry Miller Library. The Woodsist Festival for that Saturday is sold-out, with a waiting list, but you can see the month’s events here: HML June Events. There are always global art, music, and dance events at Spirit Garden but I don’t see an events calendar for this year. Fernwood has live music on both Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes on Sundays and you can see their June line-up here. The Maiden Publick House often has live music on the weekends, too.

There are probably other events, as well, but I scoured and could not find them. But there are always “events” in Big Sur – like hiking, surfing, bicycling, campfire talks, shopping for local crafts, books, and other gems. It is the time when we shake off the sleepiness of our winter slumber, and host the millions and millions of people who visit us each year.

But for unusual? The 1st Annual Burning Dog Event has to take the cake. Should be an interesting weekend at Plaskett Creek Campground.

Western US Fire Prediction Map, 2010


• Drought: Drought conditions continue to persist over northeast California and northwest Nevada, western Wyoming, western Montana and much of Idaho.
• Snowpack: Snowpack in the Southwest has been well above average, while in western Wyoming through the northern Rockies the snowpack has been well below average.
• Grassland Fuels: Abundant fine fuels across southern Arizona are expected to lead to an active 4-6 week grassland fire season. Fine fuels are not expected to be of concern in the Great Basin. There is an increased large fire risk over the California desert areas in June due to fine fuels, with fire potential decreasing to normal by July.
• Fire Season Onset: In areas with above average snowpack, fire season onset will be delayed due to a later snowpack melt.
• Southwest Monsoon: Early indications suggest monsoon onset will occur around the typical start date or later with associated precipitation amounts near normal for the season.

For additional information, click here: 2010 predictive maps

The good news is our fire potential is below normal.

Just Joey Rose

This sweet guy, my surviving rose, is an incredible producer. Year after year, he hangs tough against gophers, insects, and benign neglect to surprise and delight me.

Just Joey, bud

It starts out as a nice, orange-peach when it is budding …

Blooming Just Joey

…and then lightens to a wonderful peach color. For someone who loves a garden, but doesn’t have time to take care of it, Just Joey is perfect.

Oh, and on a similar note, I discovered a new gopher product today – a “green” gopher product that is non-toxic. It is pricey, but I like the idea, so I ordered one to sample it. If it works as claimed, and I can drive the gophers from my garden, I will be ordering 5 lbs of the stuff! I’ll keep you posted. Gideon and Dakota are both pretty good gopher hunters, but Gideon is still on house arrest for another month.

If you want to check it out (this is not a commercial plug) or are curious, you can find this product here: Gopher Goo

Header Photo Contest

Only one week left to submit your photo for consideration as my header photo for the summer and the theme is “summer.” ! I will be posting the top 10 entries for my readers to vote on, just as last time, so get those photos in! Remember, must have been taken between Mal Paso Creek and San Carpoforo Creek and must be in landscape (horizontal) format. I’ll try some color themes, or subject themes, next.

Also, if we get a broad enough base of submissions, one reader has offered to sponsor a small prize for the winner, probably not this contest, but the next one, if a broad enough base is achieved.

Wildflower Mania, Part II

This morning, my dear friend Barbara Woyt sent me some photos of wildflowers she had taken. We share a passion. She’s also an awesome birder – me, not so much. Some, you will recognize. She didn’t send me the identifications, and while I could guess, I won’t. I’ll just let you enjoy her photographs.
Photo by Barbara Woyt

Photo by Barbara Woyt

Photo by Barbara Woyt

Photo by Barbara Woyt

Photo by Barbara Woyt

Photo by Barbara Woyt

Well, good … no flogging is imminent! Whew! This is what she had to say about what they are (of course, the first one, pink, is a clarkia, and two of them, the Calochortus, you recognize from yesterday, but here is her take on the others:

“the yellow is a singular looking of a usually more many flowered annual that we see after fires – Emmenanthe penduliflora – this was my first one after the Basin fire but I have not seen it in the abundance I remember after other fires … perhaps it is where I am looking but I have seen it sparsely on Partington and down near the coast even in back burn set from the road

…. the creamy white is a Zigadenus fremontii an early perennial and the blue is the brodiaea jolonensis that grows near Jolon but this one is a little different in a way that makes me wonder if that is its exact name. Maybe the plant pro’s will respond & I will find out for sure.” Thanks, Barbara!

It’s hard NOT to get excited when there are beauties like this to find and photograph – or even look at. Join the mania, and see what you can find!

Okay, so I forgot a couple of the captions, BUT, they are ALL by Barbara Woyt! Thanks Barbara, and I know, I know, I didn’t wait for your permission – as you are so very rarely on line. You can flog me later! LOL.

But hold on, it doesn’t end here. You can see more wildflowers from bigsurwoman (Avis Latone) here:
and XT has included some in his bicycle tour down the coast, over N-F Rd. and beyond here

I’m sure there are others who are busy blogging about Big Sur Wildflowers right now, and if I find them, I will include links!