Desert Canyon Living: Notes From The Canyon

A first hint of fall has settled over our canyon with morning temperatures a steady 40 F, but days still hot and desert windy. I'm reading The Stars Bleed at Midnight, by my friend Roland Yeomans, loving the book and Roland's English. I don't know if he takes liberties with the language or not, but what he does, how he writes is original and beautiful. I wrote desert windy above, and wondered if I was inspired by Roland.

My husband, although he is not more ill or anything, is in a very strange place where I can't go. Or so it seems. So while I am completely absorbed in what is happening with him, he does not want to be in my blog, so I will not write about him often, only when I need some virtual hugs. That is truly part of taking care of myself, which I must do so I can take care of him. The other day, I really needed all your virtual hugs. Thank you for sending them my way, you helped me so much.

All throughout my school years, my mom waited for me to come home from school with hot chocolate and French rolls ready on our kitchen table. And I would tell her about my day. I could share everything with my mom and I did: Boys, first kisses, first love, jazz clubs in Old Town Stockholm, everything. She knew all my secrets.

Lately, when I drive home from our town here, I talk to her again. And I cry then. It's OK because there are hardly any cars on that road. By the time I get home to our mailboxes, I dry my tears and my husband knows nothing about this.

My mom has been gone now for almost 30 years. Do you think this is weird on my part? The social worker at UCLA gave me a list of psychologists. I threw it away, that was last month, now I wonder........

This is the season when the gray rabbit brush bursts out in gorgeous yellow flowers. This is also the season of juniper berries/cones, which provide food for all omnivorous critters of the canyon. Sadly, this year not a single juniper tree on our property is bearing fruit.

The junipers should be heavy with berries/cones like this one in front of our house some years ago. This year nothing. We have hundreds of these trees here and not a single one has berries.

In this, the third year of the worst drought in California history, designated an Extreme Drought by those who know, conditions in nature are indeed serious and sad.

On our land, all ground squirrels, chipmunks, and gophers are gone. They have been gone since last year, with a few exceptions. I have not seen a single bobcat for over a year and I would see them all the time. However, the few coyotes that have come by looked to be in good condition. Not so with the rabbits, both cottontails and Jack rabbits are smaller and skinnier. I put out left overs from the garden for them.

There really is less of everything in nature, birds, snakes, lizards, even flies are much smaller. The wild sunflowers that line our roads this time of year are no larger than your everyday daisy. The only insects that seem to do well are those little nasty ants that tend to move into your kitchen when the weather gets cold. I have lived through many dry years in the city since moving to Southern California without giving it much thought. But now I feel it in my bones, in my soul, and in my heart here in the canyon.

This week, our local paper devoted a page to an 82-year old woman who has lived here in the canyon for 40 years and now lives alone with bears as frequent visitors. And bears were also on everyone's mind when we had coffee after our last CERT meeting. All of us had met up with a bear this year or had them in our trash, like we have had twice now. They usually come down this time of year to eat juniper berries. With no berries, who can blame them for hitting your trash? One bear apparently drank 2 six-packs of Coca Cola, belonging to the lady above.

I don't think I wrote about this here, but I completed my CERT training and got the above certificate this past spring. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team, and, as such, if there is an emergency in the canyon we become the first responders. The training was led by a man who had been a firefighter and he, and those who assisted him, were excellent teachers.

I took the class to learn how to respond in an emergency, knowing that this would help me to stay calm. Type 1 diabetics, like me, do not respond well to adrenaline rushes, which make blood sugars go to the brain to give the energy needed for a fight or flight response. While this works well for healthy people, without insulin to modify it, I get way too much sugar on the brain, making me unable to think, so I panic and freeze up. The body is an amazing thing when it works right, not so good when it doesn't.

Upon graduation, I got a vest and this cool hardhat. An added benefit ~ I met some really nice and caring people who live in the canyon. Some of the women have a knitting group that meets every Friday. Sorry about how long this post is getting, but I had to tell you about CERT and this knitting group in response to your hopes that I am taking care of me. I needed to let you know that I am. And sometimes my stories get long......

The first thing I learned in CERT training: First take care of yourself so you can help others, then your family, then your neighbors, and then the community. Since I was so tired after all the trauma and all the driving this summer, I didn't go to their monthly CERT meetings nor to the knitting group then. But I went to one monthly CERT meeting and to one knitting group this month. I won't knit, but I will take up crochet again. I used to enjoy that so much years ago. I had no yarn, but I borrowed some and the women were very helpful and showed me how to do the basics.

Then the other day, when I was in our town, I stopped by the thrift store, always looking for books. While in there, I thought that they may have some yarn too.

And I found this big bag full of yarn for me to practice on. For the grand old price of $2.00. I don't like the colors much, but they will do for now. I have already started my practice piece. I have no idea what it will be, but the main thing is that I have found another way to take care of myself. New friends and an old hobby.

I have a Samson & Faith post coming up. Taking pictures and writing for my blog will be another way I take care of me.

And it is true, as some of you noted in your comments, I am blessed to be very, very happy with the small things in life, which really are so much larger than we ever imagine. The poet said:

To see the World in a Grain of Sand

and Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour....

Thank you again for you kind comments. I will be visiting all of you, maybe not today, but soon.