July 21, 2021
Liz Writes Life
Yep, wildfires are bad throughout the West. On July 15, 2021,
the National Interagency Fire Center reported 68 active large fires burning in
10 Western states affecting over one million acres. Eight of those fires are in
California.
So, I thought it was significant when I read that a
bipartisan press call was held, on July 15, 2021, by four congressmen to
discuss firefighting efforts and the drastic need for prevention of wildfires.
Our CA. Dist. 1 Congressman, Doug LaMalfa is a member of the Bipartisan
Wildfire Caucus. He, along with Congressmen Joe Neguese (D-CO), John Curtis
(R-UT) and John Garamendi (D-CA) provided up-to-date info to news reporters and
the public.
Also, last April the wildfire caucus sent a letter to Appropriators
in Congress asking for a huge increase in funding for wildfire resiliency and
prevention in this year’s appropriations bill. I don’t know if that happened. I
will check with LaMalfa’s staff, Erin Ryan.
Congressman LaMalfa continues to be frustrated over
California’s “failure to plan for drought.” Before being elected to congress, he
served as a California Assemblyman and then state senator. So, he knows
firsthand the need to store water and advocated to get the Sites Reservoir near
Maxwell approved. Unfortunately, Sites still hasn’t been built -- which is a really
sad situation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for the reduction
of water usage – by about everyone, except fish. Last week, Newsom issued an
Executive Order for residents to reduce their home water usage by at least 15
percent. LaMalfa couldn’t let Newsom’s response to the drought go without
making a comment.
LaMalfa said, “The problems we face today are a
failure of management and a failure to invest in new water storage before
another inevitable drought. Governor Newsom failed our state by not calling for
a statewide emergency early this spring. Urban household water use has seen
mandatory cuts, agriculture has endured drastic cuts, to as low as zero in
large acreages of our state. “Allowing environmental water flows to go
unscathed in meeting pre-drought goals when it could have been conserved for
when and for who it was most needed is a colossal failure.
“It means we all suffer now, agriculture and urban people.
It’s past time for Governor Newsom to spread the pain to his environmentalist
friends and for them to bear their share of the shortage burden.”
Boy, do I agree.
Go Bag
Well, I took retired Cal-Fire Capt. Dan Dorsey’s advice and
came up with a plan for what to take – if I need to evacuate. I pulled down
several suitcases that are on rollers and organized what was most important.
Deciding is the hardest part!
Last September, Callahan was threatened with a wildfire
coming down South Fork of the Scott River. This was a week after the Happy Camp
Slater Fire and the Almeda Fire in Southern Oregon burned well over 2,300
homes. Even though, I was just outside the evac zone, I thought I should load
up my car with my most important items.
Well, it took me over three hours, because I wasn’t organized
and had not prioritized anything!
So, I am pleased to report that I have my items in groups of
importance. And the list is made. Unfortunately, I don’t move as fast as I once
did, so what all actually makes it to the car will depend on how close the fire
is and how much time I have. Good luck getting your plan ready!
Garden
The deer saga continues: Again, I was lucky to be looking out
the window and watched a doe walk up the garden fence line, then sniffed the
plastic deer fence that crossed in front of the porch steps. She looked like
she knew what she was doing! By the time I stepped out the sliding glass door,
she had squeezed between the wooden pole and the fence. Luckily, she went back
the way she came through, but I knew that I needed to make a better barrier.
So, the next morning, I used the last large piece of eight-foot tall plastic
fencing and secured a firmer barrier, but this time to the stair rail.
Every morning, I spend 30 minutes to an hour hand-irrigating
and weeding; and I am OK with that, since the only way I can keep up with the
weeds, fertilizing and checking on the plants is to be out there each day. The
vegetable plants are hand-watered in the morning and then the soaker hose runs for
45 minutes in late afternoon. Soaker hoses on hand-timers irrigate the flowers
and perennials.
There were several quart jars with dried oregano, in my
cupboard, so I really didn’t need to dry oregano. But, I harvested two small
batches anyway. They fit into a paper bag. Couldn’t believe it when it dried in
just a few days in the warm (closed-off) bedroom.
Also, was surprised at how tall the chocolate mint patch had grown,
so I decided to cut about half of it and divided among four paper bags to dry
in the warm bedroom. I sure do like the chocolate mint for hot tea in the
winter. Do not care for it as well as the fresh wild peppermint that I use to
flavor cold water kept in the refrig in the summer.
Oh, I almost forgot to brag that I harvested my first two
small zucchini back on July 5th. Tomatoes are growing, but will be another
month before they are ripe.
May peace and calm be with you this week. Smile – just cuz it
makes you feel better!
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in
newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near
Callahan. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com.
Call her at 530-467-3515.
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