Some drivers are real turkeys!

 Okay, I know I live in California, which is an unusual place, and in Northern California at that---which is the more edgy part of the Golden State. But when I saw this sight in the Safeway parking lot in Fort Bragg, I was mystified . . . and charmed!

As you can see, many folks got out their photographic devices, and Mr. Turkey just watched with a slightly bored air. It was awesome, and made me remember why I love living here.

Fracking is fucked up!

(Via Mother Jones)

I have a great idea. Let's take one of the globe's most important agricultural regions, one with severe water constraints and a fast-dropping water table. And let's set up shop there with a highly water-intensive form of fossil fuel extraction, one that throws off copious amounts of toxic wastewater. Nothing could possibly go wrong ... right? Well...

Almost 3 billion gallons of oil industry wastewater have been illegally dumped into central California aquifers that supply drinking water and farming irrigation, according to state documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity. The wastewater entered the aquifers through at least nine injection disposal wells used by the oil industry to dispose of waste contaminated with fracking fluids and other pollutants.
The documents also reveal that Central Valley Water Board testing found high levels of arsenic, thallium and nitrates—contaminants sometimes found in oil industry wastewater—in water-supply wells near these waste-disposal operations.

Here where I live in California, people are forbidden (under legal penalties) from washing their cars,among other water use activities, and private well owners are being required to install meters and reduce water usage. These frackers are not only using water, they are poisoning it so it can't be used for other purposes.

It is INSANE to let oil corporations frack at any time, but during a drought like the one we are having it is criminal. If corporations are people, then they should be arrested.

Change of seasons

After a bout of much needed rain, we are getting an early preview of Spring here in Northern California. There is change and growth all around us, and a sunny day like today yields an opportunity to see what's going on in nature's theater.

There is something so poetic about a rose growing through the deer fence around our garden---is it escape, or merely the symbol of a blossom doomed to become deer food?

The transition between the Winter and Spring is time for a burn pile to dispose of debris from previous years.

The wood stack is showing the diminishment of a Winter's need for wood stove warmth.

A neighbor's offer of free wood in return for removing the results of a felled tree awaits the wood splitter.

Hallelujah! Rain at last!!!

After months of dry winter weather, the last week on the Northern Coast of California has seen a LOT of moisture. So far this month (only nine days old) we have gotten almost five inches of rain. For comparison purposes, the month of January saw only 1.19 inches in 31 days, and we've had more than that just today alone.

The flowers are happy!

Again for comparison purposes, here's a picture I took at the end of last October of the board we use to get to the island in the middle of our pond. At that point most of the pond was just a mud hole.

Today the same board is half submerged.

This has been a year of wells running dry and drought restrictions on watering your lawn or washing your car. We haven't caught up entirely, but we're making headway.

And anyone who doesn't think our climate is changing should pull their head out of their behind!

Time and the Maiden . . . and a raven!

As I went to do some banking at our local financial institution, I noticed that there was a raven perched on the scythe held by one of the figures in the statue on top of the building. The bank is housed in the old Mason's lodge, and the statue was carved from a single chunk of redwood by Erick Albertson in the 1800s. Called "Time and the Maiden", it is rich in secretive Masonic imagery and has been seen in such films  as "Dying Young" and TV shows such as "Murder, She Wrote".

None of that matters to this raven who sits placidly on Father Time's implement. I almost missed this shot, thinking I'd do my business first and then get my camera, but I was wise enough to know that animals do not sit still for long, and got my camera and these photos first.

Ravens are a special breed of bird for me, and I love this one's calm bearing.

Llamas on board:

Coming back from a breakfast with some friends this morning I spotted the truck below as I came up to a construction delay. Two llamas being hauled somewhere. They checked me out as we waited, and I couldn't resist snapping a few photos.

No spitting, thanks goodness! 

It's my nature . . . .

I guess some people get tired of pictures of our natural surroundings, but I'm not one of them. Over the years I've put up many photos I've gotten of our backyard, so I have some pretty comprehensive documentation of the passage of time here in our Northern California neighborhood. I see no reason to stop now.

Mama and baby keeping an eye on me.

This fawn looks ready for a show!

Coming in for a landing . . . .

. . . . and taking a quick break.

After some redoing of our backyard earlier this year, this rose is doing great!

In fact, all the roses are.

Our California poppies are thriving this year as well. They grow unbidden, but are much appreciated.

Fourth of July 2013 Mendocino Parade

Fourth of July 2013 Mendocino Parade, a set on Flickr.

It's a little late, but here are my pictures from the Mendocino 2013 4th of July parade. Click on the pictures to go to my Flickr feed and see larger versions. It a unique slice of Northern California life. Where else do the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Move to Amend folks walk side by side?