This is one of the loves of my life, Gideon, an eight year-old Aussie/BC mix. He was diagnosed with heart worm. We are treating it, but it is not a good experience for either of us, and he won’t even start the shots until May.
If you have dogs, and either live in or bring them to Big Sur, make sure and get them tested and get them on heart worm preventative medications. I am so sorry I let his run out. Thankfully, Dakota is not affected.
There is a delicate balance between Mother Nature and Mankind. In our urban areas, this balance has been destroyed. Here in the wilderness, it teeters. During the winter, man and womankind leave Mother Nature pretty much alone – her power is awesome during that time of the year; but when the weather warms, and the rains are in abeyance, people start populating the wilderness again. And their presence is felt every where.
I found this screwed into a tree today. I took it down. If you try to count the shots, there are probably over 100, as the big hole was blown away.
This is the back side, and one can see the kind of damage that these bullets do.
These are some of the casings I found, 45 autos.
Both the State Parks and the USFS are seriously understaffed, and unable to monitor our wilderness areas. Can we work on solutions to these problems? I see the wilderness being mistreated all the time, but there is little I can do about it, other than try to get people to “wake up!”
Heart worm in Big Sur – post tomorrow.
Bill Monning announced today that he will not be proceeding with the bill this year. This is what he had to say:
This week, now that the rain is over, looks to be heavenly, here in paradise, with temperatures heading into the 70’s. Next weekend might bring more rain, so enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperatures while you can!
Some days, when I drive down the mountain to run to town, I am in a hurry. Rarely so big a hurry I don’t stop to take a photograph or dozen. Usually, they are random shots. The other day, however, I kept noticing the textures of things.
It started with this dead pine.
“Touch me with your hand, your eye, your camera. Do you feel the stories of my life?”
“I sit in a small meadow, surrounded by living things, and peaks sitting over my shoulder, but rarely is my beauty seen, or the home I provide for critters appreciated.”
And then there was the downed Oak …
Even though the Oak is dead, the lichen lives on. There is so much we miss, when we don’t pay attention.
The ferns, in and of themselves, are texture, create texture, and become the background texture of the redwood forests.
Do you think about the water that carved these images for us to view? How long have they been like this? What did they look like before? I think about the water that shapes life here. Its presence or absence shapes the landscape it dominates. And the texture of the water’s path is everywhere.
And the texture the native wildflowers add to our landscapes …
Textures of the cycles of life and death, surround us in this wilderness … if we but pay attention.
Noon – patchy sunshine/clouds, but very cold, only 40 degrees.
10:00 am – rain and hail failing at the moment – heavily! Oh, my, must get out soon to start gennie and empty rain gauge!
Nothing regarding the rock and mud slide this am, and no reader reports, so assuming the highway is open. Received .25 inches yesterday afternoon, and 2 inches last night, for a season total of 61.75 inches.
11:30 pm – CHP has taken this off their website, but knowing what I do about the way CT works, I can’t imagine that it is cleared, unless CHP got out with a shovel in the rain and falling rocks. Doubtful.
10:30 pm – While I really don’t like to post so many times in one day, I believe another post is necessary. As of a little after 10 pm this evening, the CHP website is reporting a rock and mudslide just south of Lucia covering both the North and South bound lanes. It is reporting that the slide either needs to be cleared or the road closed.
10:18PM 1039 ENTAC
10:12PM PER UNIT RDWY WILL NEED TO BE CLRD OR CLSD
10:11PM BLKG NB AND SB LANES
9:50PM VEH 1125/1126
Given that it is too dangerous for Cal-Trans to work in the dark down here, I would venture an educated guess that the road will be closed until they can get out in the morning on dawn patrol to clean it up.
Sorry about all the multiple posts today, but what’s a journalistic-type blogger to do?
10:30 pm – howling winds and rain tonight. It is a blustery night! I had very small hail momentarily. Sorry, I changed my mind and am not going out in this to check and dump the rain gauge. In the morning.
For a change of pace, I thought you might want to see the earthquake maps from this afternoon’s 7.2 quake in Mexicali, Baja. Lots of aftershocks in SoCal. This first one is from this afternoon, when the quake first hit. The second one is from this evening, just a short while ago.
7:00 pm – Big Sur Valley is reporting that it is “dumping, dumping, down rain” right now. Unfortunately, Debbie cannot remember is she emptied her rain gauge. I know I did not, but I also know the exact amount that was in it before the rain started today. By dark, I had received .25″ and since I will be going out in the rain in the dark anyway tonight, will check and dump the rain gauge before bedtime, and report back, including a seasonal total.
While I have had a light drizzle on and off this afternoon, the winds and rain really kicked in around 6 pm this evening. According to NOAA, it could be significant later tonight for Monterey County’s coastal areas. I will be keeping an eye on it, and reporting any events that come my way. It could cause problems for the highway, of course, so be extra vigilante in the slide areas if traveling tonight after dark, particularly here on the South Coast where things are fragile, at best!
I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a Happy Easter and to share more wildflower and other photographs to remind us of the rebirthing surrounding us each wonderful spring.
Turkey Flats got its name because the wild turkeys used to roam through here. Now, vehicles do, despite the signs prohibiting same. I am saddened when I see vehicles driving, parking, doing “donuts” in this wonderful wildflower meadow, disrupting the seeding and sprouting of the wildflowers.
But the birth and rebirth of living things is a wonder to watch. Here is a baby pine tree stretching and growing with the season.
And Oaks, battered and seemingly broken by the winds, sprout new and abundant life, to make up for their missing limb.
And the abundance of recovery –
And the beautiful blue lupine to wish you and yours a very Happy Easter!
On the weather front, a gentle rain started here around 12:15 pm, but did not last long. NOAA discussion informs us: “THEREFORE EXPECT RAIN TO RAPIDLY INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS ACROSS MOST OF THE DISTRICT. RAIN WILL BECOME HEAVY FOR A TIME JUST AHEAD OF AND DURING THE FRONTAL PASSAGE WHEN WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST. BEST TIMING FOR THIS NOW LOOKS TO BE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS FOR THE NORTH BAY…EARLY EVENING BAY AREA AND MID TO LATE EVENING FOR THE MONTEREY BAY REGION.”
In my previous spotlights, I have featured places. I am working on one featuring a person and one featuring an area, but this month, I want to feature an inhabitant that was on the brink of extinction and which is now having a comeback, due to the efforts of so many, but particularly the Ventana Wildlife Society.
I have been fortunate to have had two up close and personal experiences with condors, one was actually with three condors by the side of Highway One, and one here in my garden, after a fire. That one stayed 3 days, until I called up the VWS, worried that it would get used to people and dogs, and sought ideas about how to chase it off. (I had nicknamed that one “Lucy” but she might have been “Traveler.”)
The idea for this monthly spotlight came from a great photo sent to me by Dan Danbom, who has given me permission to write this article around his photographic studies.
Facts about the California Condor
The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. Their wings may stretch nearly 10 feet (3 meters) from tip to tip. When in flight, these huge birds glide on air currents to soar as high as a dizzying 15,000 feet (4,600 meters). They can live up to 60 years in the wild, and mate for life. They are very social animals.
Like other vultures, condors are scavengers that feast on the carcasses of large mammals, such as cattle and deer. When a big meal is available, the birds may gorge themselves so much that they must rest for several hours before flying again.
Condors were sacred birds to the Native Americans who lived in the open spaces of western America. Today, they are best known as the subjects of a famous captive breeding program that may save them from extinction. (National Geographic link)
History of the California Condor
Ten thousand years ago, California condors lived on both coasts of North America, from British Columbia to Baja California in the West, and New York to Florida in the East. By about 1900, the condor population plummeted and was limited to southern California, due to many factors including loss of habitat, a low reproductive rate, poisoning, and shooting. Today, designated refuges and captive breeding programs help protect and restore the species. (National Parks Conservation Association link)
Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and western coastal mountains of California and northern Baja California. Although other fossil members are known, it is the only surviving member of the genus Gymnogyps.
Condor numbers dramatically declined in the 20th century due to poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction. Eventually, a conservation plan was put in place by the United States government that led to the capture of all the remaining wild condors in 1987. These 22 birds were bred at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Numbers rose through captive breeding and, beginning in 1991, condors have been reintroduced into the wild. As of February 2010, there are 348 condors known to be living, including 187 in the wild. (Wikpedia, March 2010)
Two of the Condors were lost in the Basin Complex Fire of 2008, here in Big Sur, despite herculean efforts by the VWS to save the condors from the fire.
The Ventana Wildlife Society has developed a strong program for the recovery of this, the largest of North American birds, and has a site where you can learn more about the profiles and life histories of the birds living here in Big Sur. Check out: mycondor.org
To see more condor photographs by Dan, visit his Condor Gallery
**HELP FIND A MISSING CONDOR** 6:30 pm, 4/2/10 – I just got a message that Joe Burnett, a biologist for the VWS who works with and monitors the condor recovery program, is worried about a missing condor. He is the oldest male here, and has been living in Big Sur for 11 years. missing bird #204 – tag shows #4 with two white dots partner #222 – 22 with two white dots. According to my source, he (Joe) sounded pretty concerned, Joe thinks the bird may be sick and may have crawled into a shed or the area behind one, probably in area of Partington. If you spot this condor, call the VWS immediately, and let them know where he was spotted. Do NOT try to rescue the bird yourself, let the professionals handle it. And get the word out to your neighbors, if in Partington area. Thank you.
About 3 inches of snow up here, 34.0 degrees at 8:30 am, photos to follow after coffee.
These photos are nothing special, just snap shots, but I thought you might enjoy the snowy view from up here.
The snow started just before 8 pm, and lasted until 10:30 pm, when it stopped. If it started up again, I wouldn’t know, as I was asleep. Here, the camera is focused on the flakes. Then, this morning, I woke to these scenes:
One can even see snow on the top of Prewitt Ridge.
I wanted to take more shots today, but it has clouded up, so will see what I can do. In the mean time, the calendar says Spring, but my yard says Winter. Who’s playing the April Fool’s joke on us?
That’s the snow in the clouds of this mountain top.
