A COLD MORNING

So far this is the coldest morning this winter at 22 degrees.    The coldest I have recorded here is 9 degrees.   The coldest place I have ever been was at Fall River Mills in northern California in the winter of 1972 when it was minus 25.  A few of us went over there from Orleans to go duck hunting and stayed in an old ranch house with a gas heater.    When we went outside to hunt we could only stay outside for 20 minutes before our noses started to go numb.   By noon we called it a day and went in to Fall River Mills to get something to eat at a restaurant.  The high for the day was zero as we started the long drive back to Orleans with no ducks.     

THE TALE OF TWO LOOKOUTS

 A young husband and wife were hired one summer to be fire lookouts, while I was working on the Orleans Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest from 1971 to 1977.   In order to make more money they both volunteered to work in two separate lookouts.   The wife worked on the Orleans Mountain Lookout and the husband worked on the Offield Mountain Lookout on the Ukonom District of the Klamath National Forest.   Both lookouts were in sight of each other with a distance of maybe less than five miles the way the crow flies.   By road it was close to a two hour drive.   After work hours lookouts were allowed to use the radio system to talk to each other socially, since they were isolated and life could be lonely.  The rumor has it the wife on Orleans Mountain one clear night with the lights on in her lookout, called to her husband to look in her direction with his high powered binoculars and to let her know if he would be interested in driving over for a visit.   It was said that she was standing out on the open deck of the lookout wearing very little, if anything and rumor has it that he did make the drive in less than two hours for the visit and made it back for work the next day at his lookout. 

GUNS, PICKUP TRUCKS AND TEENAGE COUNTRY LIFE

The culture for most teenage boys living in small farming towns across the country was and might still be all the same involving driving pickup trucks, hunting and fishing during their free time.  The small northern California town of Willows, where I was raised was no exception.   Hunting pheasants and geese was common in the fall and winter.  Fishing and swimming in the creeks and the Sacramento River were the favorite past time in the summer.   To get to all these places required a pick up truck, since we were beyond the age of riding our bikes.   With a learners permit at the age of 15 and half I learned to drive our 1951 Ford Pickup with a three speed stick shift.   My mother supervised and would let me drive it to the dump whenever our garbage cans were full, usually every two weeks.    After I got my driver license at the age of 16, I was on my own with driving, whenever the pickup truck was available.   On one occasion my friend Alan and I drove out in the hills with our .22 rifles in the truck.  We were driving up the Clark Valley Road and stopped to shot at something from the truck.   All of sudden a California Highway Patrol car pulled up along the side of the pickup and the officers told us not to shot from the truck and drove off ahead of us.   We were so stunned and relieved that we were not issued a citation.  We continued our drive and never touched the guns again until we got home.     

GROCERY SHOPPING

Grocery shopping is not one of my favorite things to do, but is necessary since the alternative is not pleasant.   Usually what prompts me to think about the need to go shopping is when I notice the refrigerator starting to look empty.   I prefer shopping at the Thunderbird market in Roseburg early Sunday mornings to avoid the crowds, plus they have a good selection of organic produce.    Being a creature of habit I know where things are in this market and make the same old route through the store as quickly as possible before the crowd gathers and avoid the fear of catching the dreaded virus of the day.   Most of the customers in the store during this time of day are other old men wandering aimlessly in search of whatever.    Within 20 minutes I can get my usual two bags of basic stuff for about $65 and be out the door and feel I have achieved a great task knowing I will survive another week.      

DRY LAND FARMING

There were a few crops raised in the Sacramento Valley of northern California without the need for irrigation.   Barely, safflower and wheat were generally the crops that were planted in the late fall and early spring that were totally dependent on winter and spring rains.    Many of these crops were raised in the foothills along the westside of the Sacramento Valley.   Ground preparation took place in the spring when the soil was easy to turn over with a moldboard plow and left fallow through the summer months.   In the fall the plowed fields were disked, harrowed and planted with barely or wheat during November and December.   Safflower was planted in the spring and only required a couple inches of rain.   Safflower is used for its oil, both in the pharmaceutical business and for cooking oil.   Barley was mostly used as a feed grain for livestock and some for brewing of beer.  Most of the wheat was exported.   In the summer of 1962, I worked for a couple of weeks for Joe Stutz, who was farming on the Holmes Ranch west of  Willows, in northern California.  It was my first farm job driving a D-4 Caterpillar tractor that pulled a grain cart that followed two combines that were harvesting barley on a large field (maybe 200 acres) next to the foothills.   When the combines were full of barley they would empty into the grain cart that would be emptied into a truck that transport the barley to metal bins for storage until taken to market later.  We worked 10 hours days and I was paid $1.50 per hour.   It was hot and dusty work, not to speak of the noise.   At the end of the day and when sleeping at night I could still hear the clanging of the tracks on the Caterpillar tractor.  

Today there is no dry land farming on these lands due to a drier climate.   Some of these crops are raised with irrigation throughout the Sacramento Valley.  

CHRISTMAS 2022

It's that time of year to be jolly, get into the holiday spirit and overlook family dysfunctions.   In my old age I feel more like scourge this time of year, but getting gifts for the grandchildren saves me from total despair.   One habit I have taken up over the years of living here is to take a picture of the Christmas tree standing in the middle of Oakland, and sending it out by email to family and friends in place of Christmas cards.  Sure saves on postage and a good way to get a response from old friends and distant relatives scattered across the country.   

  

   Merry Christmas from Oakland, Oregon!

WORKING IN THE POISON OAK

In the summer of 1972 the seasonal fire crew of four people were put to work clearing the roadside brush leading into the Bluff Creek Guard Station on the Orleans Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest.   This work was done with hand tools and the brush was piled in a Forest Service pickup to be hauled off to a burn pile.   Most of the brush was blackberries mixed with poison oak.    Nobody on the crew was familiar with poison oak.    It was a hot day and some members of the crew had taken their shirts off as they gathered up the brush and put in the bed of the truck stomping it down.   The next day these people were human blisters in need of medical attention.  

RAINFALL UPDATE 10/1/22 to 11/30/22

Since the start of the 2023 water year on 10/1/22 to 11/30/22 I have received 7.31 inches of rain at my CoCoRaHS station (OR-DG-22).   The average for this time period is 9.56 inches leaving a deficit of 2.25 inches.  

HOOPA BLUFFS

 Of all the highways and roads I have traveled the most dangerous I can recall is California State Highway 96 between Hoopa Valley and Weitchpec, where the Trinity River meets the Klamath River.   A section of this portion is called the Hoopa Bluffs where there is a vertical rock face above the highway and a vertical drop of a few hundred feet straight down to the Trinity River.  There was a series of curves through this section with a few guard rails in some spots.   Beyond the guard rails it was straight down to the river.

When I lived and worked for Forest Service in Orleans between 1971 to 1977 it was necessary to travel this highway to seek medical attention at a clinic in Hoopa Valley or do serious shopping in the big cities of Arcata and Eureka, or just to get away to enjoy the civilized world.   On many return trips it was dark and without knowledge of this section could prove to be fatal.   If you missed a curve here there was no time for prayer as you plunged toward the river below.  

THE FINAL DEED

This task is one I have put off for some time thinking I will get to it tomorrow, then another year goes by.  We all live in denial about when the end might come.    I'm not sure how many times I have sent off for literature on the topic of what I want done after I depart this world to save my children from dealing with it all.   In many ways it is unbelievable that we have to buy a one way ticket to leave this world in peace.   Two things for sure in this life are death and taxes.   The other day a representative with the Neptune Society called me based on information I requested and talked me through the process, informing me of discounts and benefits for being a veteran, plus allowing monthly payments with no finance charge.  It was painless.  First of all, he asked me if I had access to my email account on my phone and I replied yes, but first let me find my phone, then I realized it was in my hand.   He did not comment, but probably thought this guy could go at any minute.  I could only laugh at myself.    After it was all said and done I asked the question, "what happens if I die before the balance is paid\off?"  He replied that my children would be charged the balance.  Don't worry kids, I plan to pay it off soon.   The peace of mind is worth it.  

LIVING ALONE

 Living alone has its challenges and benefits.  Trying to keep order with the day to day chores can be more than one person can handle at times when living in a remote setting where there is a yard and house to maintain, a water collection system to operate during the wet season and keeping the place warm using firewood during the winter.   In addition,  there are 20 acres of forest land to take care of which provides an escape from some of the other not so enjoyable tasks.    A routine is important to keep loneness at bay, but there is always time to reflect back on what life was like when there was the two us here to share in the daily rituals of life.  In many ways there is still the two of us here.  

 Living alone is nothing new to me.   Except for times when my children lived with me in Eugene, I spent a good part of 14 years living alone before Celia and I took up with each other in 2000.   Over the 20 years we were married many habits and routines were developed and they are hard to break.   For now I do not see myself moving to some strange place as long as I'm in fairly good health and have the support of family and friends.   Who knows what tomorrow will bring?  One thing for sure, the price for love is grief.  

 

VETERANS DAY 2022

 This is a day I reflect back on the many people in my life that served in the military, especially those that saw the horrors of combat.   Of all the family members that served in WWII and the Korean War none ever spoke in detail about what they experienced.  When I was in the Army from 1966 to 1968 I was spared from going to Vietnam due to an injury to my arm during basic training.   Because of the injury I spent 9 months in an orthopedic ward at Fort Hood, Texas, including 4 months as a patient and 5 months as a hospital corpsman waiting for further orders from above.   During my time as a corpsman I worked on that orthopedic ward where most the patients received their injuries from Vietnam, mostly from land mines.   I do not remember any of them ever talking about their ordeals.   Most the home town boys that served in the military when I did and ended up in Vietnam have passed away, some from alcoholism and others from depression related to PTSD. 

 

THE BUS ISSUE

The Lane Transit District (LTD) went as far south of Eugene as Creswell in the 1990's.  Some people in Cottage Grove car pooled to Creswell to catch the bus into Eugene, mostly students attending Lane Community College or the University of Oregon and some people working in Eugene not wanting to deal with parking problems.   The business community of Cottage Grove was against extending the district to Cottage Grove in fear that people would do more shopping in Eugene, plus they did not want to pay the .05% business tax to support the bus.    The issue was put to the voters of Cottage Grove and the business community campaigned against it telling voters they would be taxed and how business would decline locally with people doing more shopping in Eugene.   At the time LTD had routes to McKenzie Bridge, 50 miles up the McKenzie River Highway, Junction City and Veneta all supported by local businesses along those routes.   Finally the voters approved extending the transit district to Cottage Grove.   In the end nobody went out of business and there was no space taken up in the bus by shoppers bringing sheets of plywood, yard equipment, appliances or furniture back from Eugene on the bus.   Just passengers with their back packs, brief cases and lunch bags.  

THE RESTAURANTS OF EUGENE

When I lived in Eugene from 1991 to 2000 on East 26th Avenue, just a block off south Willamette Street, I could smell the different foods being cooked in a variety of restaurants up and down Willamette Street.   Depending on which way the wind was blowing  I could smell the grease from McDonalds a few blocks to the south or the smell of pastries from the bakery to the north.   It was very tempting in the evenings to just let my nose lead me down the street to whatever appealed the most.   There was everything from fast foods, pizzas, Italian, Mexican, Thai and the Glenwood restaurant serving American dishes, especially a good place for breakfast.   The Italian place was within a block and every Tuesday night it was all you could eat spaghetti night for the price of the first plate.    One of my favorites was a Korean place in the corner of the Payless Drug Store, which is gone now and replaced with a Market of Choice.   It was operated by a Korean family serving very authentic dishes and spicy.   Sometime after meeting Celia in November of 1997 we went to the Korean restaurant along with my son.   Celia decided to put some hot sauce on her dish and started violently coughing.   We had to pour water down her to quench the cough.   In the years that followed I think we ate at almost every restaurant in Eugene.  One of our favorites was the 19th Street Grill, which was close to where she worked at the Olum Child Development Center on the U of O campus.  It is now a McMenamins restaurant and on a few of our trips back to Eugene over the 20 years of our marriage we would stop at what we still called the 19th Street Grill and reminisce about our early days.  .