Liz Writes Life - 9-1-21 -- Liz doesn't like Recall ballot envelope and Moffett Creek Bridge update

Sept. 1, 2021

Liz Writes Life

Recall and ballot envelope     

Last week, I discussed the election process for this potential recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom. One thing I forgot to mention is the timeline of swearing-in a new governor if Newsom is recalled. It would likely be the end of October.

According to the CA. Secretary of State’s website, county election officials have 30 days after the election to complete the official canvass (vote count). On the 38^th day after the election, the Secretary of State is expected to certify the election results. If it is a successful recall, the new governor would then take the oath of office and assume the position for the remainder of the current term through Jan. 2, 2023. So, there you go.

Unfortunately, I do have a problem with the election ballot envelope. Our ballots should be confidential and I do not like my name and especially my legal signature on the outside of the envelope. This could lead to fraud and the confiscation of my signature! Actually, I am really disgusted with this.

The envelope can be designed to cover the name and signature by using the flap to do just that. I know this because for the past 20 years I have been voting by absentee ballot as my precinct is too small to have an in-person voting place. All my previous ballot envelopes have provided this protection. So, what is up with this recall ballot envelope? I will not be signing my ballot envelope until I am standing in the county clerk’s office to hand it in. No, I will not be sending my ballot through the U.S. mail.

Moffett Creek Bridge

A friend called and asked if I knew when Caltrans plans on completing the building of the Moffett Creek Bridge at the bottom of Forest Mt. on this Scott Valley side. No, I didn’t. After a few phone calls to Caltrans’ Yreka and Redding offices and only receiving a recorded message, I decided to call again and jot down the email address that was announced. That worked! Kurt Villavicencio, the Public Information Officer for Dist. 2, emailed Caltrans’ March 8, 2021 press release and added that the bridge should be finished by November or before winter sets in. He did say that the extensive Northern California fires have caused a few delays.

The press release said the bridge replacement is expected to cost $10.2 million, which includes $7.7 million in funding from CA. Senate Bill 1.

I only travel to Yreka once or twice a month, but noticed the old bridge was removed rather quickly. That seemed like a good sign. The shoulder approaches of the highway to the bridge will also be widened to conform to the new wider bridge and comply with current safety standards.

Before the work began and (I think) five traffic lights installed, Caltrans repaved Peach Orchard Road and part of East Moffett Creek Road. It was needed to facilitate that short detour route. Thanks Caltrans as it sure makes it smooth going!

I don’t do much Facebook, so didn’t think to check it, but apparently Caltrans shares info on it and Twitter.

Garden report

The cooler temperatures certainly help with the soil staying moist, especially the lower night temps. Now, I only need to irrigate the row of vegetables once a day. Even the soil around the pumpkins is staying damp. Hopefully, we are past the high temps of this dreadfully long, hot summer. Days are getting shorter and I am sure looking forward to fall. If only we could get September rains to put the wildfires out!

The multi-colored yellow and pink spiky large dahlia is finally blooming. It is over five-feet tall, but is about three weeks late with these flowers. It has been watered well every morning and fertilized several times, so I am blaming the excessive heat and smoke as the culprit for the lateness.

Nearly all of the volunteer four o’clock flowers are white. Bummer. But, the area still looks like a tropical jungle with the big thick greenery near lots of tall pink anemones under the pine tree. In a different area, volunteer purple morning glories are crawling all over the tall hollyhocks, fence, railings and anything they can find. Their big green heart-shaped leaves add a wild look to the dried gladiola stems. The cosmos also seem to be a bit late in blooming, but have started with white and purple blooms. The yellow, red and orange zinnias, maroon elephant amaranths, Echinacea pink-petals and big yellow Black-eye Susans are still looking good. Yep, the flower garden looks like late-August – a bit straggly, but with lots of color. Oops, it’s September!

Tomatoes are gradually ripening and I have been picking several each morning. Finally -- made my first batch of salsa. My stomach doesn’t like bell peppers and never did like hot peppers, so I use chopped onion and pressed homegrown garlic for the heat. Pretty simple, but I like it.

I also decided to harvest a 15-inch-tall basil plant that was about to start seeding out. Just took a knife and cut all the branches at about four-inches up from the soil and put them in a paper bag to dry. The leaves are a large Kelly green. Ah, the aroma of basil in the house! One other basil plant looks good and I should probably harvest it soon.

The two months of extra hot days and nights combined with the yucky smoke has certainly affected some plants and gardens. Hope your garden is doing well.

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. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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Liz Writes Life - 8-25-21 -- Ripe Tomatoes and Recall for CA Governor

August 25, 2021

Liz Writes Life

Garden report

The raccoon must have had enough of tomatoes, cuz they are not getting eaten; and at least a dozen tomatoes have turned red. I am so happy the raccoon has found something it likes better. Yay! So, yep, I am picking a few tomatoes every day and have made several more bacon and fresh tomato sandwiches!

It must be a cucumber year. There were at least four different varieties brought to church last Sunday and left on the sharing table! I keep picking five to eight pounds every-other-day. So far, I have been able to give them away. Zucs are pumping out just the right amount – to give away! Yep, still finding takers.

There are 17 nice-sized cantaloupes that have set on. Half of them get soaked, because they are near the roots where I irrigate. To protect them from rotting because of the soggy ground, I have lifted them up by putting thick cedar bark under each one. It will still be several weeks before any are ripe. My biggest fear is that the raccoon will return and eat on them. They do like cantaloupes. Corn-on-the-cob is also a favorite, but I didn’t plant any corn.

When my dad grew his garden at my parents’ home on Etna’s Main St., he had fairly good luck putting out an extension cord to light several bright bulbs in the corn patch at night to scare the raccoons away. I think I tried that once and it didn’t do much good. But, may need to consider it this year.

The giant pumpkins are doing really well. I am actually surprised at how big four of the five are getting. They are also turning from a yellow to the pumpkin orange color and that was before the cool spell that we experienced last week. Boy, the cooler temps were nice! And, the smoke went away or at least up high. I opened all the windows and doors and let the house get cooled off – down to 53 degrees one morning! It was so nice. I even didn’t mind putting on a light jacket for a few hours.

Gotta tell you that I was wrong. Several weeks ago, when I was putting thick wood cedar bark under each pumpkin, I noticed that roots were growing at many junctions on the vine where leaves are growing. Yep, they sure were – especially close to the main roots where I water in a large three-foot circle. With it so dry this year, I didn’t think the plants would do that. So, I now irrigate a much larger area including where those additional roots are growing.

The advice I found on the internet said these roots provide more nutrients to the pumpkins for growth. I have also fertilized several more times. The large leaves receive a nice hand-sprinkling each morning as well. If nothing else, the water washes-off the smoke ash. Sure hoping for some extra large pumpkins!

Recall

Guess I will talk politics. Most registered voters should have received mail-in ballots for the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. To be counted, the ballots must be mailed before Sept. 14, 2021. I will be hand-delivering mine to the county clerk’s office at least a week early. Each county clerk’s office oversees the election and ballot counting in each county.

Just a reminder on how this election works. If more that 50 percent of California registered voters vote “yes” on the first question, which asks if he should be recalled – Newsom will be removed from office.

 If you vote “yes” for his removal, you should then vote for one of the 40-plus candidates running to replace him. There are nine Democrats running, a bunch of Republicans, two Green candidates and several that did not state party affiliation.

There will be no run-off in this recall election, because whoever receives the most votes will be the next governor of California and will serve out the rest of Newsom’s term of office. The next scheduled regular election for California governor is next year in 2022.

In recent polls, Larry Elder, a black conservative radio and television commentator and author, is in the lead. Boy, he is getting hit with negative, disgusting pieces in the news and ads. Guess, that means he may be a real threat. Congresswoman House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is Newsom’s aunt, has begun stumping for her nephew. I expect campaigning on all sides to get nasty.

According to BallotPedia, on the web, there have been 55 attempts to recall a California governor since 1911. The only successful recall campaign was in 2003, when voters recalled Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, was elected. Arnold was a major leader in that recall. He had lots of campaign money and plenty of name recognition. I remember reporting on his visit to Redding, when I worked for a different newspaper.

So, there is the basic info on how this recall election works. If you believe one way or another, be sure to correctly mark and mail your ballot in sooner than later. For rather obvious reasons to a conservative, I will be voting “yes” and then marking my ballot for Larry Elder. I have followed him for several years and like his conservative statements on significant issues.

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. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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Liz Writes Life 8-18-21 -- Raccoons eating tomatoes and potential water shut-off by California Water Board

Liz Writes Life

August 18, 2021

Garden report

 Dang it! Something ate half of an almost-ripe tomato and the next morning I found another almost-ripe tomato with several bites out of it. A raccoon was likely the bandit! Hum, because there are only a few tomatoes turning orange, I decided to try and protect them. Boy, I was so hungry for a bacon and tomato sandwich! What to do?

 The deer netting has been used for fencing and I figured a raccoon would bite right through it, anyway. So I decided to try something different. I dug some old kitchen towels out of the rag bag and wrapped several around each couple of tomatoes that were ripening. Ended-up with three wrapped groups. I did this one night and it seemed to work. Unfortunately, the next night I didn’t remember to re-wrap (I had unwrapped them in the morning) the tomatoes until it was dark and very smoky and still yucky hot. So, I was lazy and didn’t go do the job. Yep, the next morning I could see the remnants of several almost-ripe tomatoes. Bummer.

 So, I am now leaving the towels wrapped around several almost-ripe tomatoes and will just need to check them every morning to see if they are ripe enough to pick. While doing the wrapping, I knocked several orange-colored tomatoes off their stems, so they are in the house sitting on the counter, in morning sunshine, with my great expectations of ripening.

 I did visit a friend, who has ripe tomatoes and she sent several home with me. So, I have eaten two bacon and home-grown tomato sandwiches. Yum! And, while I was at Gene’s Market in Greenview, several people reported they were getting a few ripe tomatoes. Yep, the hot dog days of summer are here and folks -- other than me -- are eating ripe tomatoes from their gardens. I am trying not to be jealous. Ha, ha. Good work on your gardens!

Water regulations

With a heavy hand, the California State Water Resources Control Board is stopping irrigation water to farmers and landowners throughout the state. 

On Aug. 3, 2021, the water board voted 5-0 to stop water diversions that will affect over 5,700 farmers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin region. Farmers question the authority of the Water Board to “take” their water right usage, which in California is a legal property right. Lawsuits are expected. Threats of fines of more than $1,000 per day have been laid out by the water board.

The diversion ban must still be approved by the Office of Administrative Law, but approval is expected and the new regulations will begin on Aug. 16, 2021 for the Sacramento and San Joaquin region.

On Aug. 17, 2021, the same water board will hold a teleconference meeting specific to Siskiyou County’s Shasta and Scott River watersheds regarding “Drought Emergency Regulation.” Agenda items include establishing minimum instream flow requirements. (My opinion on this issue is that you can’t get water where there isn’t any. Most of our streams and the rivers are already at very low flows or non-existent because of the drought.)

The second part of this agenda item will also provide curtailment and information order authority to the State Water Board. Local farmers, ranchers, agricultural organizations and Siskiyou County are sending in comments before the meeting. I talked with Ray Haupt, chairman of the Siskiyou Co. Supervisors’ Board, who said the county wrote another comment letter that also reiterates previous comments. 

One thing the State Water Board is proposing is a 30 percent decrease in overall use of water in both Shasta and Scott watersheds. But, the county and farmers claim significant reduction has already occurred through fallowing of fields, selling of livestock, installing low-water-usage irrigation systems and switching to crops that use less water. The county is frustrated that the State Water Board seems to be ignoring these efforts and is not recognizing the accumulative reduction of water use.

The county is also questioning why the draft emergency regulations are attempting to “usurp the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,” which the county has worked diligently with irrigators. It also appears the Scott Valley adjudication may be affected by these new regulations. How did the State Water Board obtain the legal authority to re-describe these schedules? This is a significant question asked by the county and I hope they receive a correct answer.

Once again, the county encouraged the water board to resolve problems through creative and collaborative solutions. Voluntary actions will achieve the best results. Boy, do I agree!

Doug LaMalfa

There was some good news from the federal government on the firefighting front. In a recent press release, Congressman LaMalfa thanked the Biden Administration for sending 600 additional firefighters, aircraft and other resources to fight the Dixie Fire and other wildfires burning in Northern California. LaMalfa said the assets were “desperately and urgently needed” and looked forward to continuing to work with the White House to get assistance to Cal Fire and the federal firefighters as well as those greatly affected by fire damage and loss. Good to know the White House responded!

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. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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Liz Writes Life 8-11-21 -- Watch out for wildlife while driving Siskiyou roads

August 11, 2021

Liz Writes Life 

Shockingly, all the cars behind me stopped -- and none were rear-ended! I had pulled over to the right-shoulder fully expecting cars to fly past. But, they didn’t. The automobile (horse) race had started back on the Scott Valley Highway 3 flat, when I was driving the newly-posted 45 mph max speed that alerts drivers to the hard-stop where Cal-Trans is building a new bridge over Moffett Creek. Two drivers had passed me, but I diligently maintained my 45 mph. Yep, I did! The passers were just one and two ahead of me, when we were stopped by the red light. The wait wasn’t long. (These might be the first stoplights ever in Scott Valley!) The green light flicked on and we drove the newly-paved Peach Orchard detour. Then, rounding back onto Highway 3, we all pushed down on our gas peddles to get up-to-speed for the climb over Forest Mountain.

By the time I reached the mile-long flat outside of Yreka, I was leading a group of cars at the maximum speed of 55 mph. Maybe I was the only one not in a hurry that summer morning. All of a sudden, I spied a mama quail and a dozen puff balls scurrying across Highway 3. My brain kicked into gear. “No,” I didn’t want to run over or through this little flock, so without thinking to put on my blinker, I pumped my brakes several times and pulled right to the shoulder.

Amazingly, the two following drivers slowed and the third pulled to the shoulder not far behind me. All the quail made it safely across the highway! Whew!

Unfortunately, for most of those drivers affected by my braking, they didn’t get to see the cute one-inch puff balls running to catch-up to their mom. There have been several quail hanging out at my house this year, but I have never seen tiny babies like these.

So, if any of you reading this were affected by my slowing down for quail chicks on the morning of July 28^th, thank you for being willing to stop – especially when you didn’t have the faintest idea what was going on! And, you didn’t see any deer running off the highway, either.

A week later, I did have an oh-so-close call with a buck. Nice set of horns, but he was pretty scrawny. It was 5:30 p.m. and I was leaving Etna after taking my grandson to Kristy’s for a haircut before the fair this week. Bryce is showing market turkeys through the FFA program. His sister, Kylie, is taking a market lamb. Anyway, I was feeling great thinking life was pretty good and gave the Chevy some gas as I was going over Etna Creek Bridge on Highway 3. When lickety-split a buck comes galloping up the bank into my lane. I slammed on the brakes. We were both startled. And, then I think my guardian angel must have given him a swift kick in the rear, cuz he made a big jump and we missed each other. Whew! I’ve been told to never ever swerve – just slam on the brakes. If I had swerved off the road there, it would have been a bad accident into the trees.

So, there you go – life driving in Siskiyou County. Wildlife is everywhere and you never know when it will show up in your lane! So, be aware.

 

Garden Report

The giant pumpkins are growing well. Last week, I did a second pinching-off of all blooms and smaller pumpkins. I wasn’t paying attention and a bee stung my hand. It was deep in a blossom. I ran cold water on the sting and then applied Tea Tree oil and it didn’t swell or itch. Yay!

I am continuing to irrigate the vegetable plants twice a day. In the morning, I hand water and in the evening, the soaker hose goes on for an hour.

Cucumbers are producing pretty well and I have picked several big batches. All the zucs are being given away. I am just not hungry for zucchini this year. Harvested some rhubarb for a friend and picked dill for two other friends. One thing nice about August is that the garden is looking lush, especially with the flowers along the edge and pink hollyhocks growing all over. I realize I am very lucky to have sufficient water for irrigation.

 

Fires

Sure appreciated the unexpected rain on July 30^th, but so frustrated and sad with all the lightning fires and the resulting smoke. I’ve heard firefighters are in short supply. Because of the Covid pandemic not enough people signed-up as firefighters and there are so many fires that the firefighters are spread thin.

I saw on facebook, where Congressman Doug LaMalfa met with CalFire and USFS and is working to cut through red tape in Sacramento and D.C. to deliver more help to his district. He reported on Aug. 5, 2021 that the Dixie Fire destroyed much of the town of Greenville. LaMalfa said the devastation crushed his heart.

After conversations with the State of California, he spoke with the White House Biden Administration asking for the military to aid in firefighting. The CA. Office of Emergency Services is working to make the official request, per federal law, and the White House is expediting action to help.

“I thank all involved for helping in our time of need,” said LaMalfa.

Extra heartfelt prayers are also needed. May God bless the firefighting personnel and our government agencies to make good decisions.

May peace and calm be with you during this time of threatening wildfires. 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. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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Liz Writes Life 8-4-21 State Water Resources Control Board may curtail water rights in Siskiyou County

Liz Writes Life

Aug. 4, 2021

This drastic drought is certainly affecting our streams and Scott and Shasta Rivers. Because of water-flow needs of fish and Endangered Species Act-listed coho salmon, the State Water Resources Control Board has issued a draft drought emergency regulation that will curtail many water diversions and may include adjudicated wells within the Scott River adjudication. Yep, this is causing concern for farmers, ranchers and other agricultural-type of businesses.

The draft regulation is under the Klamath Watershed Special Drought Regulations “Emergency Curtailment Where Insufficient Flows are Available to Protect Fish in Certain Watersheds.”

In immediate response, and hoping to alleviate additional hardship to businesses, the county board of supervisors sent its comments on the draft proposal on July 23, 2021. I chatted with Board Chairman, Ray Haupt, about the situation and he sent me the comments document. So, I will share the major points made by the county.

First, the county “strongly” urges the State Board to work with landowners and recognize the many voluntary actions accomplished this year and planned for the future. Creative and collaborative solutions can provide high quality and adequate amounts of water for the watersheds. Voluntary and cooperative projects are the key to success.

Next: Irrigators and irrigation districts have already decreased deliveries or stopped irrigation to address drought conditions. Farmers have fallowed fields and sold livestock.

County staff is working in coordination with CA. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to do a feasibility study on the high mountain lakes project that could provide significant amount of cold water to the Scott River. In other words, store the water up high and release it to flow down streams into the river, when needed.

To allow voluntary actions and projects, the county asks that regulatory permits and authorizations be simplified and streamlined. Some Safe Harbor agreements in Shasta Valley have faced obstacles from government agencies.

The county said it is discouraged over the lack of quantification for past and current efforts that have been intended to improve the Klamath Watershed; and asked for recognition and quantification of these benefits.

The county also asked for help in dealing with and stopping the extensive unregulated use of water for illegal activities. (Boy -- that would sure be helpful.)

The state’s decision on the curtailment of legal water rights will be made soon.  The county was Johnny-on-the-spot in getting these comments to the water board.

Garden report

Tomatoes are finally setting-on and getting bigger. I have heard complaints from friends that the actual tomato fruit is not growing very fast or setting-on their plants very well. I believed the same (last month) and we are blaming the extra hot 100-plus degree temps for this problem, causing blossoms to fall off. But, several of my plants have grown to nearly five-feet tall and look quite healthy with blossoms, so I think they will produce a significant amount of tomatoes. I bet others’ plants do as well.

Last week, I fertilized the tomatoes, giant pumpkins and cantaloupes with the Hawaiian Buds and Blooms and was surprised to find a baseball-sized cantaloupe had set on along with several smaller ones. Three plants are growing well, yet four didn’t seem to be doing much, but have since started spreading out. So, I am hoping for ripe cantaloupe in September.

I am trying to grow a few giant pumpkins. The vines are really growing and one plant is nearly 20-feet wide. It has a basketball-sized pumpkin and quite a few others have set-on. I know enough to cut-off the extra pumpkins, so the nutrients and water will go to just the one pumpkin. But, I figured I better read-up on the “secrets” of growing them big and I certainly learned a few things.

First, I learned that you want as many leaves as possible, because the leaves feed energy to the growing pumpkin. Luckily, my leaves are big and very healthy. Yay! Next, I really do need to prune all new blossoms and cut-off the extra pumpkins. That was a job! The basketball-sized one is just a few feet from the main plant and roots, which should be helpful. I also need to prune the ends of the vines now that the plant is so large.

Roots can grow at the joint of every leaf, so it is important to not allow this to happen near the pumpkin, so it will have room to grow. But, extra roots in other areas of the vine will provide nutrients to the growing pumpkin. Hum, my dirt is so dry, where it doesn’t receive water, that I don’t think this will happen this year.

Each morning, I hand-water several gallons on each plant and on 100-degree days run the soaker hose in early evening. The three plants have withstood the hot temps pretty well – no wilting! Yep, I watch like a mother hen. Apparently, mid-August is when the plants will utilize the most water and nutrients; and nighttime is when the pumpkins do their growing!

I left one plant un-pruned just to see how large its pumpkins will get. And I must say that a drought year with really hot temps is likely not the best time to try to grow an extra giant pumpkin!

Gotta mention how pleased I am with the two-by-four-foot bed of begonias. These have filled-in and are producing pink, magenta and orange flowers. They do get pine tree shade by 2 p.m. and a soaking of water each morning. I believe the several doses of fertilizer really helped them. This colorful spot makes me very happy!

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. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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