Category: Living in the Wilderness

Big Sur Chanterelles

It is a cottage industry, around here this time of year. I am not a fan of mushrooms of any sort, so usually don’t partake, but I must say that on Christmas Day, I was treated to a chanterelle/beef dish that was heavenly.

This one was found today, by a friend:

Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle or golden chanterelle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genus Cantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, underneath the smooth cap, it has gill-like ridges that run almost all the way down its stipe, which tapers down seamlessly from the cap. It has a fruity smell, reminiscent of apricots and a mildly peppery taste (hence its German name, Pfifferling) and is considered an excellent food mushroom. (from Wikipedia)

Exquisite Attention: a true story

It is the longest day of the year. Dark comes early, and tonight, it came with rain, low clouds and fog. The road to my house is five-miles of sheer torture – for me, and my Jeep. It is the worst road in Big Sur. Ask anyone who has driven it, they will agree.

The USFS had a consultant come evaluate the needs for wildfire community protection. This included the existing roads. He rated my road as the 4th worst road in the WORLD that he had been on, right behind Cambodia. That’s my road, on a bright, sunny day.

On a dark, stormy night, with clouds sitting ON the road for 4 and ½ of the five-miles, the nightmare turns into a Stephen King novel, but the only characters are me, my dogs, and THE ROAD. That was tonight.

It is a novel I have read before, and swore I would not re-read, if at all possible. One night, it took me a full hour to traverse the 5 miles. I had to stop the car, get out with a flashlight, and find the edges. Edges here are very unforgiving – straight down for thousands of feet.

Another time, under the same conditions, I came across a very big, downed Coulter Pine, completely blocking the road. It was on the steepest, windiest portion of the road – pouring rain, and thick clouds that create an almost white-out effect. I had to back down this mud-slick, steep road only ¼ mile for a turn-around, but that ¼ mile took me the rest of the night. Once I got to the turn-around (an hour later), I could not drive. I was shaking so badly, and the weather was so bad, I climbed into the back of the Jeep and opened the bottle of champagne I had in the groceries, pulled out my emergency blanket and pillow, and slept amid the groceries and two of my four dogs for the rest of the night.

Tonight, the longest night of the year, I did not want to get home after dark, with the conditions what they were, but I had no choice. I had to overnight something to the Court of Appeal I had just finished at noon, and had three hours of driving plus groceries, and gas to pick up. I had two dogs at home, the door open for them, two dogs with me, and a warm bed and good book waiting for me at home. So, I made the drive up the mountain on this dark, stormy night, seeing monsters and goblins every time my headlights bounced off a bush in the fog.

I took my time, drove carefully, and paid exquisite attention to the details of the road, weather, and conditions. But when I finally reached my home, my tension was palatable. Now, my warm bed, a book – NOT Stephen King — and a glass of eggnog with brandy await me. Because once more, I Sur-vived THE ROAD, which tonight was malevolent.

Cloud Seeding Update, 12/6

RE: MCRWA’s proposed cloud seeding proceeding on the basis of a negative mitigation report without benefit of a full environmental impact report (EIR).

Statement to be included in Board Packets, as suggested.

This is part of what I posted, straight off my blog:

(See prior post on this subject, a few posts below)

In addition to the above, I would like to stress that there are over 200 registered voters who live on the South Coast of Big Sur, outside of the somewhat transitory Esalen population (and at least an equal number who don’t register, for whatever reason), in isolated rural pockets who are stakeholders in the proposed action.

All of us were completely unaware of the proposed action by this board which directly impacts our lives, our properties, and our livelihoods until Friday, December 4th in the late afternoon. I would hope that the Board consider its decision carefully, and develop a full and complete Environmental Impact Report before allowing this project to proceed.

This EIR should take into consideration those concerns I expressed above, as well as those we, who will be impacted, may not have yet realized. I suggest that this EIR be developed before this board takes any action on this proposal, and that time for the scars of the Basin Complex Fire and the Chalk Fire to heal, which the BAER report indicated would be five years, or 2013, also be considered in the EIR. I would also hope that this board consider acting with more transparency to impacted communities in the future by broader dissemination of proposed actions so that the public comment period can be a meaningful one, not just a rote rendition to satisfy compliance requirements.

I plan to be at the December 21st meeting, if weather and road conditions allow, to address you personally. If there is any further information you require of me before that date, please feel free to contact me by using any of the means provided below.

(Ed. Note – I am reading all sorts of scientific articles on cloud seeding, attempting to educate myself.)

Natural California, Reception & Dinner

Big Sur Lodge Invites you to a special event:
Restoring California

With the Big Sur Lodge at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, WildBigSur and PelicanNetwork present a reception and dinner about the California we love and [are] learning to restore. In this series of talks, receptions and dinners we will offer the exciting artistic and scientific work of learning about the real California. What is so great about natural California and how and why we can bring it back is the theme of this series.

Our first event features the wonderfully knowledgeable and affable director of the University of California ecological reserve in Carmel Valley. Dr. Mark Stromberg has created a significant book, California Grasslands.

Thursday, December 10, 2009
Fireside lounge, Big Sur Lodge
Reception 5:30 pm
Special Musical and Culinary Treats
Wine by Heller Estates in Carmel Valley
Dinner in the Redwoods Room 7 pm

Dr. Mark Stromberg
Resident Reserve Director, Hastings Natural History Reserve,
University of California, Berkeley

Reception and Dinner:
There is no cost to attend this reception. Contributions are welcome. Proceeds will benefit the Community Garden at the Big Sur Captain Cooper School.
The wine paired dinner with the author will feature local native foods truthfully and exquisitely prepared by the Big Sur Lodge Head Chef Joel Manriquez. He is preparing special recipes for smoked wild boar, abalone, quail and of the incredible bounty of edible plants of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Award winning organic wines are by Heller Estates of Carmel Valley.
Cost for the dinner is $65 a person.
For more information and to make a dinner reservation:
WildBigSur@PelicanNetwork.net
or, call Jack at 831 667 2025

Impetuous Son

Got a call from my wonderful, impetuous son. He is leaving Oregon and driving most of the night to come for Thanksgiving. WooHoo!! He’ll be here sometime tomorrow. He did give me a “heads-up” that he might be doing this, but I was still surprised by his call. Will leave again on Friday so he can be at work on Saturday. Oh, to be that young again! Emailing him the directions, particularly coming the “back way” were a challenge, as I have never paid attention to the mileage or details as someone coming for the first time might need. I guess I better do that!

Pacific Valley School Wins Golden Bell Award

A tiny one-school district with 25 students proves that passion for education and compassion for all living things is an award winning combination.

Set in Big Sur, where the spectacular Pacific coastline meets majestic redwoods, Pacific Valley School wins top honors from the California School Boards Association for its “Ambassadors for the Arts and Environment Program.” For its innovative student-led entry in the Association’s annual Golden Bell Awards Program, the District receives the first annual California School Boards Association “Going Green!” scholarship.

“Ambassadors for the Arts and Environment” is recognized for its dedication to building student-led, environmentally friendly curricula and community outreach. The program was submitted in the Sustainable, Renewable, Energy and Resource Efficient Programs category of the Golden Bell Awards, a long-standing statewide recognition program that identifies and celebrates excellent public education programs across all areas of instruction and leadership.

AMBASSADORS FOR THE ARTS AND ENVIRONMENT

Designed to accelerate student learning about eco-friendly concepts through peer-based instruction, “Ambassadors for the Arts and Environment” encourages students in the Pacific Valley School to explore environmental concepts through art and cross-curricular community service outreach projects. Students in the program reach out to the numerous underserved communities in the surrounding area to help build environmental awareness among the region’s youth.

The goal of “Ambassadors for the Arts and Environment” is “…to expand and transfer awareness of the potential value of environmental stewardship, identify ways to harness these phenomena through the arts and multiple curricula… and underscore the lessons with a community service component to spread the wealth of these powerful learning experiences to students in the surrounding rural and underserved districts.”

Recipient of the 2005 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, the program includes a variety of lessons. Two examples are outlined below.

Full Circle
Teams of students are trained in and pass on to others special art techniques and key environmental stewardship-related concepts, such as creating beautiful handmade paper recycled from classroom waste paper, painted in watercolor and embedded with seeds to address the concept of a completely-sustainable resources loop. Through this concept, the recycled art can be planted in the ground, allowing the seeds to grow back into trees from which paper originates.

Power Up
With support from a PG&E “Bright Ideas” grant, the school’s Gifted and Talented Program receives hands-on, project-based learning by tapping renewable, non-depletive energy from the sun. They build model solar-powered cars and even hold a “Solar Car-O-Rama” with model car shows and drag races.

“One Who Teaches Learns”
The “Ambassadors” invite neighboring districts and deliver student-led programs and activities to all students, including those with special needs. Their winning application describes how a child with severe autism appeared unable to participate in the project, retreated to a corner, crying, but was ultimately engaged and, with a paintbrush in hand and smile on his face, designed brilliant colors on a piece of freshly recycled handmade paper. The students pride themselves on developing ways to express and communicate their discoveries to others through the arts and their own personal peer teaching styles.

Congratulations, Pacific Valley School, teachers, and students. You are indeed the Gem of the South Coast!

Nature Disturbed

I like the sound of the drums. Always have. The long tradition of the opening of our annual Jade Festivals is the sound of the drums — our drumming circle. But ALL day and ALL night, for part of three days and ALL of two nights, plus bass and amplifiers? Nah … that I don’t like.

Another rave party across the canyon … the second in two weeks and the third in two months. I’ve contacted the LEO of the USFS as well as the district ranger, and they are working on solving the problem. It is has moved beyond annoyance.

Living in the Wilderness, I expect to bring my dogs in every night before sunset, to guard against mountain lion attacks. I expect to deal with the loss of cats to owls, foxes, and coyotes. I expect to deal with hunters, trespassers, and illegal campfires. This obnoxious behavior I did not expect, and did not experience, until the last year or so. I will fight back and see that it is stopped.

Pot Growing in Big Sur

I’ve avoided addressing this subject, as it perpetuates the stereotype that has been in existence since the 1960’s — the pot-smoking, drug culture of Big Sur. If it was ever true in the past, it is a blatant stereotype today. And it reeks of the sensationalism that the local media seems so bent on. However, there are some points I think deserve addressing.

Yes, a rather large pot farm (10K plants reported) were found on the LPNF in Big Sur a few days ago. It was on public lands, and is clearly a large, commercial operation, not the small guerilla operations typically seen. MCSO’s estimation of the value, at least based on past experience, is grossly exaggerated. As a criminal defense attorney for many years, I have seen that it is quite typical for law enforcement to estimate value based on gross weight, including stems, root balls, and dirt. Allows them to make it seem more than it is. I am not minimizing 10K plants, that is a large number of plants, I am just minimizing the claimed value.

These commercial pot farm problems are not endemic to Big Sur, but to large tracts of public lands anywhere in California. Santa Barbara, and many other places, are reporting finding these types of pot farms on their public lands. As long as it is illegal to grow pot — and even though California has a compassionate use statute, the federal government refuses to recognize it — it is a lucrative business adventure. Frankly with a farm this size, I don’t think the declining economy is at fault. This one, based on reported size only, is a well-established commercial cartel, not part of the local economy.

I would like to give my personal thanks to Tom Hopkins, president of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance for volunteering his organization’s expertise and manpower to clean up this site. Kudos to VWA!

Patrolling a tinder box …

This evening, before sunset, I met one of our local USFS FFs patrolling Plaskett. I was so glad to see him. He grew up here. His lineage dates back to one of the original settlers here on the South Coast. This land is in his blood and he knows it like I never will and probably loves it more than I do. I’ve known him since he was in 6th grade when I worked at the local one-room school, and that was … 20 years ago? Really? That long ago?

It was so good to see him, and know there were other “eyes” up here on a Friday night, when all the campers and hunters are filling the place up because there is no where else to go. Campgrounds are full.

With triple digits temps, single digit RH, and two fires having burned to the east of me in the last two days, and six in August alone here on the Central Coast, I breathed a sigh of appreciation for his presence. I did not realize how alone I felt up here, until I saw him. I think I can relax a little.

We stopped and chatted for a moment. I told him, “You know, I’d almost rather it come at me, then have all this anxiety of waiting and dreading when it does. Sort of like going to the dentist.” He laughed, but I think he knew what I meant.

I knew my banjo strings were pulled a little too tight after last Friday’s confrontation with the campers with the campfire. But to know that sometimes, and especially on these hot, dry Friday nights, other eyes will be watching out for this forest of ours, brings a quiet calm over me when I most need it.

Thank you.