DONKEYS!

Sometimes I decide to give Chef Shaman a break and we go out for dinner. Our favorite place is this old roadhouse at the west end of San Timotao Canyon. I love this place, the food is not great but it's good and inexpensive. Things I love about this bar, built around 1935, is no beer on tap, no blenders, barely two TVs and cash only. It's like stepping back in time.

Anyway, to get to the topic of this story, when you leave this fine establishment there is, the drive home through the dark canyon. Besides no shoulder along side the road and the idiot drivers, you have to watch out for the donkeys. Yes donkeys, burros whatever you want to call them.

For some reason a local yokel in the 1950's decided to go north of Death Valley and capture a herd of donkeys and deposit them in this canyon and  the adjoining canyon named Reche, Well, the herd is alive and thriving to this day. I think some of the estimates say there is over a hundred now. 

The donkeys spend most of their time wandering the hills of Reche but when it is hot and dry they come to San Timotao because there is a creek that runs pretty much all year long. 

So after a filling dinner and adult beverages the drive home can be precarious. It seems the donkeys like to move at night and and like deer, can freeze in the coming headlights, So you have to be careful.

There are a few casualties but not has many as you would think, considering the size of the herd. 

I think they are fascinating and always enjoy seeing them, much to the chagrin of some of the canyon residents. The wild donkeys have a great fondness for modern landscape and garden plants.
They will clean out a rose bed faster than a terrorist chicken can take out a vegetable garden. (see last post).

I love our donkeys and happy they are left alone to range free and live a good life.

actual picture of the Reche Canyon donkeys

Oh, Woe Is Me!

Since my last blog, much has happened, most of it not so happy. First I have been suffering from allergies, a sinus infection and tinnitus all at once. This has been just miserable and hard to shake. I haven't felt like doing anything including blogging. I am feeling better.

I have or had one close neighbor. His house is high on a hill with over 70 steps. My neighbor has been in ill health for many years but he loved his 'Eagles nest' and his solitude. I keep an eye on his comings and goings so I know all is well. Well I hadn't seen his car move for a couple of days. Most days this is normal but things had been quiet so I went to check on him...As I got to his porch I detected that smell of death, something you never ever forget if you have experienced it. I didn't even go in I just called 911 and his daughter. A dozen emergency and police vehicles and several hours later he was off to the morgue. He was a recluse and cantankerous but an all right guy. 

He was a few years younger than me, and I was just affected by Robin Williams death, who was my age, My own mortality came to question. When your time is up that's it. 

A couple of weeks ago a few young chickens I raised from eggs escaped and terrorized  my vegetable garden! These 'thugs' about the equivalent age to a human teenager found a way out of the pen and destroyed the tomatoes, peppers, kale and swiss chard. I haven't been feeling well so I didn't get violent with them. I'm not usually a violent person but these little terrorists deserve to have their necks wrung! Too bad they weren't older maybe a large pot of chicken soup would been in order, it might have helped with my sinus problems. But karma being the way it is I might have choked on a chicken bone...

Last weekend I was awakened at sunrise by Chef Shaman about some water in the laundry room. I staggered in to see water all over the floor which looked like it was coming from under the washing machine. Thinking no big deal I shut off the supply behind the washer and made some coffee and tried to wake up. When I went back in the room the water was coming fast and furious where the edge of the slab meets the wall. SHIT!

So I went to the road to shut off the main supply, of course the gate valve would not budge and could not shut down the water. I proceeded to start busting up the slab searching for the leak, of course it was not at that spot. Fifteen feet of broken concrete and mud following the pipe I finally found the source of the leak. 

But I had to get the water shut off so a trip to local hardware store to buy a new gate valve and accessories. Also, I am on a community well and had to shut down eleven other residents' water.This turned out to be a bigger ordeal than the laundry room. I'm sure at this place in this story, you, my dear reader are shouting, YOU NEVER HEARD OF HIRING A PLUMBER, YOU IDIOT!

Not my style. I'm cheap and have had experience fixing many house problems. Plus I'm just stubborn, 'I can handle this!' Well three days later, fixed and cleaning up. Oh, what a miserable weekend.

Well with the death of my neighbor, my illness, the terrorist chickens, the relentless heat and the water line break, I'm glad to see this past month, gone!!!

All in all, with the state of the world as it is I should consider my self fortunate.

Vegetable Gardening In El Casco

Vegetable gardening is a real challenge here in El Casco. Ground squirrels, gophers, rabbits and other critters require much fencing and other devious methods to thwart the beasts!  The fellow I bought the house from was sort of a 'collector' and left many building materials and downright junk for me to sort through. I found these large 'hydroponic' bins, approximately 4 foot wide and 12 foot long. They are made of fiberglass and were in pretty good shape.

So having a flat roof carport attached to the garage it looked like a perfect match. I hauled them from out back elevated them above the carport roof, put in drainage and irrigation and some nice rich composted potting soil.voila, critter proof veggie beds!

Here in Southern California we have two main growing seasons; summer for the warm growing plants; tomatoes, peppers, cukes etc. and winter for lettuces, kale, spinach, Swiss chard etc.

Even though we have plenty of summer left I am now purchasing seeds for winter growing I start them in community pots and when the heat breaks will put them in the beds. When the summer plants have been exhausted I clean out debris and replenish with fresh compost and  ready to go.

Here are some pics from last winters' crop. February I believe.

Garden Tip

Most of us who garden, have a garden in the front, one off the side and something out back etc. I don't always carry tools with me especially if I'm out just observing. A tip I learned years ago and have always utilised  is the discarded mailbox.

I keep my hand clippers(or secateurs, as the British call them), scissors, string or whatever you use most often, in the mailbox. They are weather proof, critter proof and placed in each garden, are very handy. I find them at yard sales, flea markets or from  friends that are ready to discard them when they buy a new one.I have four.

Who Rescued Who?

Coming back from my morning walk I decided I needed to talk about my best friend, Brody. Brody came to live with me about three years ago now. He  was rescued off the streets of a nearby city by a kind friend of mine , Megan. She coaxed this 70 pound intimidating American Bulldog in her car and took him home. He was scared and hungry and certainly looked like someone had dumped him. She cared for him but knew with her lifestyle she just couldn't keep him. So she was looking for a home for this sweet dog she named Brody.

I had been living here in El Casco for about year, getting settled in but finding the single life was not so wonderful. I was lonely borderline depressed, finding I was lacking something. I had everything, retirement, living in the country, growing my own food...still, life was not pleasant for me. Things got very dark.

Megan had been begging me to take Brody. I was hesitate, I didn't know if I could take care of myself much less another mouth to feed., Megan needed to go on a business trip and asked if I could watch Brody at my place, as a trial as well. I was very reluctant but agreed. well the rest is history. He never went back to Megans'.

He is the love of my life. He is sweet, gentle and very obedient. I have had many rescue dogs in my life. They always seem to be very thankful to have a new life. Brody is no exception.

 

A Bit About My Garden

I have gardened in Illinois, Colorado and  Minnesota. Now I am in Southern California in a canyon surrounded by chaparral and enjoying the challenge. Since this climate is more Mediterranean than desert this opens a whole world of exotic, (to me), plants. This Mediterranean climate is very conducive for plants from everywhere.

There are five Mediterranean climates areas in the world; The Mediterranean basin ,of course, Parts of South Africa, Western coastal Australia, Western Chile and most of coastal and inland California. What determines a Mediterranean climate is very basic. Cool moist to wet winters and Hot dry summers. A whole palette of plants thrive in these areas.

I am quite fond of Aloes, Yuccas, Agaves, oh hell, I'm willing to try anything if I have an open piece of dirt! In my vegetable garden almost anything goes. But there are two seasons, winter is for the greens, lettuce, kale, Swiss chard etc. Summer is for tomatoes, peppers corn, melons and such. Gardening year around, couldn't do that in Northern Minnesota

Here is a pic of another angle from my front yard mixed succulent garden a few days ago.  Details later....

You never know....

Yesterday I was coming home from my weekly get together with members of our local garden club, who I affectionately refer to as 'The Garden Girls" even though three of us are men. I was hungry thought I would swing by a local drive through and get a bite to eat before I headed home. The line was long and like everybody else in the world was checking my phone waiting for the line to move. I placed my order and proceeded to the pay window. The worker was leaning out the window smiling holding a receipt. Odd?
When I got to the window she told me the lady in front of me had paid my bill! I was stunned! It was a ten dollar purchase. I didn't recognize the car and didn't get a clear view of the driver. I waved in a feeble attempt to thank her but she drove off into the traffic.

A random act of kindness! All the shit going on in this world, that lady made me feel special for a while.Thank You. The down side? This ole' curmudgeon now has to 'pay it forward'. I have to look for the opportunity to make someone else smile and feel good. I am now, plotting how this is going to happen!

Moon Rise

Sunday night the moon was a little bit brighter than it usually is. It was a very beautiful full moon. The garden here in El Casco had it's own moon rise at about the same time. The Moon flowers planted from seed back in late May finally decided to make their appearance. The moon flower vine is related to Morning Glories except they only open at dusk at about moonrise.

The large white flowers open slowly and stay open all night. The vines can grow 10 to 20 feet with beautiful heart shape dark green leaves. Like most white flowers that bloom at night they have adapted to night dwelling moths for pollination. Alas the flower last only the night but there are many more to follow in succession

I love this vine, it was worth the long wait!

Flying Dog and Hot Summer Days

After a couple weeks of near perfect Southern California weather the summer heat has settled in. One hundred degree days brings the gardens here at El Casco to an abrupt halt. Plants have all but shut down. Knowing that I can cause more damage than good I still can't help but to water the garden. Some natives and drought tolerant plants are best left alone. Watering when the plants have 'shut down' can cause a rot that can kill the plants. I still give a little misting when I'm watering the annuals etc.

About the only thing to do when it is this hot is stay inside and catch-up on projects; such as this blog which has been woefully neglected. In the late afternoon early evening the temperature drops enough to comfortably sit outside.

So with a tall iced cocktail in hand I can lounge on the patio and watch the garden perk up. Since I don't watch television I find entertainment in other ways. Sometimes I let all the chickens out and let them run about; endless merriment. Last night a new form of amusement evolved.

My roommate who I call 'Chef Shaman', one, because he is a really good cook; two, because he is the go to guy for problems with our large flock of chickens. I really don't want to know what kind of chicken voodoo hoodoo he performs to get a sick chicken back to health, but it works!

Chef Shaman loves to play with our American Bulldog; Brody. Lately they got into this twirly thing where Chef Shaman spins Brody around as he hangs for dear life. Brody loves it and always wants more as Chef Shaman dizzily falls down laughing.

Flying Brody and Chef Shaman

Simple Minds Easily Amused!

My New Favorite Garden Annual

My summer garden poses many challenges. I believe I have found a very noteworthy annual for this years garden. It is Celosia argentea (plumosa group) 'New Look'. I have had this plant in the garden for almost two months and they are performing wonderfully. These Celosias come in red, yellow or orange, orange is my garden, color accent. This Celosia takes the heat and full sun like a champ and once established you can lighten on the water.

Canyon Life

Life here in the canyon is an adventure almost  everyday. One never knows what they will encounter down the road or even in the garden.Now is rattlesnake season. I have a dreadful fear of snakes and I am living in their neighborhood. I don't like killing animals of any sort but rattlesnakes are another story.I don"t find many around the house and I think one reason is I have a huge King snake living under the back shed. King snakes, you might know are not susceptible to rattlesnake venom. In fact a king will kill and eat young rattle snakes, hallelujah! King snakes are not aggressive or dangerous to people so they are welcome guests. (as long as they stay out of the chicken coop.) Anytime I step outside I turn on my snake radar to avoid any scary encounters.

A little bit about San Timoteo Canyon. The canyon runs from Beaumont to Redlands CA about 20 miles.
There is a small creek running through the canyon, parallel to the creek is a double set of Union Pacific train tracks. This is an important east west corridor for all sorts of commerce. Probably 10 to 15  trains run through here per day. About once a week an Amtrak passenger train rushes through. I think it's called the Chieftan. The Chieftan goes from Los Angeles to Chicago, about a three day trip. I like the trains. When I moved out here I found the quietness of the country a little disconcerting. But late at night the roar of the massive engine and the scores of rattling and squealing cars gave me this weird sense of comfort.A sense that I wasn't that removed from civilization.

 I promised not to get too wordy so I will close for now and tell more about this historic canyon next time.
 So I leave you tonite with a garden pic to enjoy. Peace.

newbie

Here is my first post. After I had set up my account my 5 year old computer crashed and burned. So now with a brand new computer I'm ready to tell the tales of life in El Casco.

Three years ago I moved into a 1956 era hunting and fishing cabin in an area called El Casco in historic SanTtimotao Canyon in Southern California. It has been quite an adventure. As I blog along here I will talk of my adventures past and present.

I live a very simple country life. Raising my own vegetables and eggs from my eclectic flock of chickens.My cabin is of mid-century type architecture of only 800 square feet.  A very comfortable 800 sq ft.

I have no television just a player to watch movies. I read a lot and dabble in painting and sculpture. My real passion is gardening and I will post photos of the garden in due time.

So this is my start. I will try not to be too wordy or boring and hope to meet friends along the way.

Your humble gardener,Terry

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