Rainy Season

Steven Michael Ralls Memorial Tree appreciates rain.

December 13 is the birthday of our dearly departed friend Steven Ralls. His ‘Steven Michael Ralls Memorial Tree‘ that was planted on May 2, for the third anniversary of his passing, is doing well, and likely appreciates what transpired overnight. Now that it got the opportunity to disperse roots through its first season in the ground, it will receive no more supplemental irrigation.

Such irrigation will no longer be necessary. The tree is a native Monterey cypress, which survives on annual rainfall, within a locally limited season. It was only occasionally irrigated through its first season, while it was busy dispersing roots. It should do well without any such intervention next year. Now that the rainy season started, the soil will not get dry until late next spring.

Yes, it is now the beginning of the rainy season here. The second small storm passed through early this morning and continues as I write this. The first arrived on Friday night. A minor prior storm was something of a lone stray, and did little to disrupt the naturally dry weather pattern that had persisted since late last spring. Now, more rain is expected for Wednesday afternoon.

For most of us with roofs, rain will be an asset. It sustains the forests and replenishes the aquifers. This year, it will rinse away the ashy dust deposited by the CZU Lightning Complex Fires. For those without roofs, rain, although appreciated, can cause significant problems. Prior to the CZU Lightning Complex Fires, very few homeless people resided here. It is not as simple now.

Sadly, many local residents lost their homes to the CZU Lightning Complex Fires. Although most are now residing in homes, even if just temporarily, some are not. Many are still cleaning up the mess where their homes had been. Rain will obviously complicate such unpleasant tasks. Furthermore, debris flows, which become more likely as rain continues, are now a major concern.

The end of the fire season at the beginning of the rainy season is no consolation for those who already lost their homes to fire.

Misconceptions – Immigration

MAJOR apologies! Contrary to what I said last week, I actually had sufficient time between other obligations to write a brief post for this week. I was just distracted with something else. Presently, there is plenty to be distracted with, as I am behind schedule with a variety of obligations. Again, I am sorry to say, I will recycle another post from last year.

Felton League

‘Misconceptions’ could become another category for this blog, like ‘Hypocrisy’. There is quite a bit to write about that could be categorized as such. It would be more relevant and interesting than the ‘Hypocrisy’ category, especially if the ‘Hypocrisy’ category is eventually deleted, as has been suggested. Furthermore, ‘Misconceptions’ would be less objectionable than ‘Hypocrisy’.

‘Immigration’, for example, is an
interesting topic that is unobjectionably relevant to homelessness,
but only because of the misconception that most homeless people here
immigrated with the intention of being homeless. This misconception
is obviously perpetuated by those who are not very acquainted with
homeless people, particularly the local homeless residents of Felton.

There are certainly more homeless
people in California than elsewhere. There should be. There are more
people of all sorts in California than elsewhere. California is the
most populous state. Because real estate here is more expensive than
all but only a…

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Hypocrisy – A Predictable Pattern

There was a slight bit of spare time last Thursday or so that I should have exploited to write a post for this week. Well, I did not. Now, again, I must reblog an old article from last year. I will be too busy to write again this week, and may need to go down South for a while. Posts for my other blog are recycled as well, and scheduled in advance. Apologies for the redundancies.

Felton League

Haters who stalk us are predictable. Their techniques are so similar. It is as if they all study the same standardized instruction manual for proper techniques of hatred, as well as hypocrisy.

For example, they all engage in
stalking of some sort, in order to find information they can use to
either irrelevantly shame their victims, or modify for the same
effect. If they find nothing of interest, they lie to create scandal
regarding fictitious nefarious behavior. Yet, anyone who questions
them about their own similar but real and observable behavior, they
accuse of stalking.

Some of us, years ago, were pursued by
haters who took photographs of us to post and ridicule online. When a
few of us photographed those photographing us, we were accused of
stalking. The difference with how such photographs were obtained is
that they were pursuing or stalking us, but we were not pursuing
them…

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Audience

This blog is quickly exhausting options for reblogging. Yet, because of other obligations, I am still unable to write new articles. I was pleased to be informed that, except for the common news that we can read about elsewhere, there is not much to write about on the Facebook page of Felton League. Yes, less drama is a ‘good thing’.
The illustration of this reblogged article from last year shows where articles have been read. Darker color indicates more readers. I should have mentioned that last year.

Felton League

Why is someone in Ecuador reading
about us? What about France? Did they just come here expecting to
find information about Tom Felton who acted as Draco Malfoy of those
creepy Harry Potter movies? There is certainly no problem with anyone
reading what they want to on the internet. It just seems odd that
there are others outside our Community who take interest in us.

Do any of us know much, or anything at
all, about others like us in the Philippines? What about those in
Nigeria? Do we read about others like us in other regions of
California? How are they like us? How are they different? There are
many variables, such as culture, climate, resources and government.
Some may be in better situations than we are in. It is likely worse
for most.

Ironically, we become less interesting
as our situations improve. Those coming here for insight into…

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Too Much Of A Good Thing

This topic is less of a concern now than it was when this article posted about a year ago. Although almost outdated, it is a reminder of minor social improvements. Those who share resources are more aware of how to do so with less potential for minor problems. Resources are more efficiently distributed and, if necessary, stored for those who can eventually benefit from them.

Felton League

Generosity is a good thing. There happens to be an abundance of it here. In conjunction with the many other good things about our Community, the abundant generosity is what keeps a few of us from going hungry. Those who might happen to get into a bad situation several days before food distribution can easily find other meal and food programs nearby to stay well fed.

Sometimes, food even gets left for us
at the picnic table near the parking lot at Felton Covered Bridge
Park. Some of it is surplus from earlier events in the park, such as
a birthday party or a picnic. On rare occasion, surplus food is
delivered from events somewhere else, such as a wedding reception or
a staff meeting. People actually go ‘that’ out of their way to share
surplus food!

Generosity is certainly nothing new here. I wrote about it not too long…

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9%

MAJOR apologies for not posting anything for Sunday as I typically do. As overworked as I am, I actually had a slight bit of time to write something new, but instead forgot about my obligation, and took some time off. Now, two days later, all that I can do is recycle another article. It would have been more relevant earlier, when the first rain of the season arrived.

Felton League

Wasn’t that what the forecast was? There was a 9% chance of precipitation over night? I know it is difficult to say. With all the modern technology available for such predictions, such figures change constantly. Regardless, most of us don’ t take a 9% chance of precipitation seriously. It rarely means anything, and even when it does, it is rarely more than a few drops off the eaves.

Realistically, what came through early
this morning was not much more than a few drops off the eaves, but it
was enough to remind us of what time of year this is. Pleasantly warm
and dry weather is predicted through the week. In October though, the
weather can be expected to slowly get cooler and wetter. It is
impossible to say when it will rain next, but we know that it will.

Fortunately, there are very few of us
who presently lack…

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November 1, 2020 -Memorial Tree Update

The Memorial Tree is remarkably healthy!

The Memorial Tree in Felton Covered Bridge Park was not expected to survive damage inflicted by a vandal last June. However, it recovered with unexpected efficiency and vigor, at a time of year when growth should have been decelerating prior to autumn. It is as if the vandalism never happened.

The worst of the damage is nearly healed.

After unsuccessfully attempting to poison the Memorial Tree with salt, the vandal sliced more than half way through the trunk in three places. The worst of these three slices is nearly healed. Another has already healed over. The third is so efficiently healed that the scar is barely visible.

A gardener who maintains Felton Covered Bridge Park installed a cage of chicken wire around the lower portion of the trunk to hopefully dissuade the vandal from attacking the Memorial Tree again. The trunk is sturdier and would be more resilient to such vandalism than it was last June.

This damage healed over so efficiently that it is difficult to find. The scar is barely visible near the top of the picture.

Prior to the vandalism, the Memorial Tree had grown vigorously through spring, and was already decelerating its growth for summer, as is normal for the species within a natural habitat. By late summer, it would have been expected to concentrate resources into dormant terminal buds prior to defoliation through autumn and dormancy through winter.

Instead, the Memorial Tree responded to the vascular distress associated with the vandalism by suddenly and unexpectedly accelerating vigorous vegetative growth until it was compelled to decelerate by cooling autumn weather. Instead of producing such growth below the damage, as is typical, the determined little Memorial Tree expanded its developing upper canopy.

More than half of this vigorous growth developed after the Memorial Tree was vandalized.

The Memorial Tree has recovered so efficiently that it will likely require only minor grooming while dormant through winter, to remove a few overly vigorous stems from the lower canopy. Minor stubble remains to promote trunk caliper development. The trunk may no longer need binding. The stabilizing lodgepole should remain for at least next year, even if it is unnecessary.

All this new growth will be groomed while dormant through winter.

Members of the Community offered to replace the Memorial Tree after it was vandalized and not expected to survive. Fortunately, replacement will not be necessary. This little Memorial Tree has survived other forms of damage, and is determined to continue to survive and flourish.

Out Of Service

July was when I was last able to write weekly for this blog. Since then, most posts were recycled older posts. I have mentioned a few times that I hope to resume writing new posts here, but so far, have been unable to do so. Other obligations require my attention for now. Realistically, I do not know when I will be able to resume writing weekly posts.

Facebook has likely been more interesting. I have not been there in quite a while. I am not sure I remember my password, or if I am a member of the group. I have been told that there are a few topics that are sometimes discussed there that I should write about here. I do not doubt that. So much has been happening!

I will post a brief article tonight, but it may be the last for a while.

Hypocrisy – Hate Groups

I am sorry to say that this will not be the week that I resume writing new articles for this blog, as I hoped for last week. The situation here is still a bit hectic, and even if it happens to get less hectic by next week, it will get hectic again in December, when I should (but will not) be working in three different states all at the same time, while also attending to my other writing and work here. For now, I will recycle another old article. There are so many topics that I should write about now. I am told that there are a few discussions in the Facebook group that I should also write about. Unfortunately, other obligations continue to limit my ability to do so.

Felton League

How disappointing it is, that after so many historic atrocities performed by various hate groups throughout history, some of us continue to find such primitive barbarism to be appealing. We should be better than this. Yet, some of us continue to be prejudiced against those who are even slightly different from us. A few use this prejudice to justify discrimination and even violence.

Not too long ago, violence directed at
local homeless people, although rare, was not as rare as it should
have been. Until about 2014, people were still getting attacked and
beaten up as they tried to sleep. One was shot at in her camper.
Another was shot at with a flare gun, and a few weeks later, covered
with paper and ignited as he tried to sleep. Verbal assaults were
common.

What is such behavior supposed to
accomplish? Why do minor social groups condone and even encourage

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Generosity

This could be the first week in a long time that I no longer need to recycle old articles such as this one, and resume writing new articles. I do not yet know. I should know by Sunday.
Anyway, this is a delightful article from a time when such topics were more important among those who were homeless. Very few who were homeless then remain homeless now. Instead, the innate generosity of the community is now more important to those who lost their homes to the CZU Lightening Complex Fire.

Felton League

Felton is no place to go hungry. There is too much generosity and abundance for that. Those of us who need more produce than we can afford might get the rest of what we need from ‘Food Distribution‘. Neighbors and local stores regularly bring surpluses to the homeless. There is very often excess that must be taken and stored by those of us with freezers and refrigerators.

The big pile of goods that was delivered to the Graham Hill Road Bridge over Zayante Creek almost two weeks ago has not yet been completely distributed to those who can use it. It will most certainly be distributed as the message that was delivered with it instructed. It will just take a bit more time for such a generous contribution. It included so much more than groceries!

Clothing and bedding are often donated
to those who can use them. They…

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