The Animals at Mono Lake - June 8, 2021

There were not a lot of birds at Mono Lake - other times of year have many more nesting birds.  But I had never seen a Violet Green Swallow . . . I think that there were also two different kinds of Canada Geese - one may be a subspecies Lesser Canada Goose - shorter neck. 

Violet Green Swallow, A Life Bird for me!

 Brewer's Blackbird

Canada Geese

Canada Geese

Nesting Osprey

California Gull

Common Sagebrush Lizard

Manzanar National Historic Site

 On my first longer visit to Death Valley, a chance encounter with another visitor introduced me to Manzanar.  We were not going to be on that road again for a long time, so as we were traveling north on US HWY 395, I was determined to stop and see Manzanar.  When I was growing up and going through high school, by the time we got to May we were just barely getting to World War II and maybe the Korean War.  Knowing that now kids have 50 more years of US history to cover in one year makes me know that it is hard to cover everything.  Regardless, in my high school and college history classes, no mention was ever made of the US Japanese internment camps like Manzanar. he lady that told me about her visit talked about the gardens and what remained and how the Japanese there tried to make something beautiful and that one could still see their efforts so many years later. 

My visit was during the afternoon on a day with wind warnings.  Stepping out of the car, the sand whipped and stung my face and skin blown by the strong winds.  It reminded me of Texas Panhandle winds that you had to lean into to walk.  It was a warm day in the desert.  

Manzanar sits in the desert with the Sierra Nevada mountain range close on one side.  

For those of you like me that have not heard about places like Manzanar, the bombing of Pearl Harbor started the United States involvement in World War II.  We had Japanese people that were already living in the United States.  Many were citizens with jobs, businesses, families, etc. Many owned property.  Beginning shortly after Pearl Harbor in 1942, more than 110, 000 men, women, and children were ordered to leave their homes and were detained in ten remote, military-styled camps.  10,000 Japanese Americans spent their time during World War II at Manzanar.  

The visitor center was closed, being renovated and painted. The visitor center has a film available on YouTube. I just finished watching it:  Remembering Manzanar This documentary has interviews from people who were there.   

 

COVID restriction notices were posted on each doorway.  Only one family group at a time was supposed to enter the buildings and masks were required.  It was not a busy time at Manzanar when we visited.  There were only a few other people, but at the end of my visit a busload of teenagers showed up. They began playing basketball.  

I did not make it to some of the remains of the beautiful gardens they created, but I did go in all the restored buildings. Most of the buildings are gone with only the foundations and the walkways remaining.  

There was no privacy for using the bathroom or for showering.

Manzanar means "apple orchard."  They grew much of their own food and they prepared food to serve this large number of people. 

Most  of the buildings are gone.  But the sidewalks and paving stones are left.  I did not see a path to where the remnants of the decorative gardens remain.  The desert is not kind to plants.

The next day we drove by the Tule Lake National Monument.  It was late and closed. It has a different story to tell. This is where George Takei of Star Trek fame spent his World War II childhood. 

 

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve

When my daughter was a student at Pepperdine, she lived one year in the San Fernando Valley in Encino. When we visited here there I discovered a wonderful area for nature photography: The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge.
The Los Angeles Parks website provides a wonderful history of how this refuge came to be and how much work has been put into providing habitat.

My memories are that it was a wonderful place. Near one of the major water treatment plants and along a natural waterway, Los Angeles has created a wonderful greenbelt area. As part of the water treatment plant, a beautiful Japanese garden was built with beautiful walkways, waterfalls, a pavilion and wonderful plants. The Nature Preserve consists of several ponds and lakes, walkways, and various habitats. I enjoyed watching white pelicans landing and fishing, cormorants, herons, egrets, and ducks along the water. I never got a chance to explore the treed areas for songbirds.

Nearby is Balboa Park with Lake Balboa now called Anothony C. Beilenson Park. I was amazed at this wonderful lake and recreation area all watered by reclaimed water. I would love for my home area, Hutto to do something as creatively beautiful when they build their next needed (soon) sewage treatment plant.

I've had the headlines from the Los Angeles Times on "My Yahoo" page since Debra was in college. So when I saw the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve in the headlines, I had to read the story.

While I understand the traffic issues in the Los Angeles area, it sure seems a shame to me to destroy part of this wonderful natural area just to add more traffic lanes or a different artery. I believe that people benefit from time they spend in nature whether it is in their gardens in their backyard, in a city park, a forest, near a stream, the ocean, or a wildlife preserve. The Sepulveda area was set aside long ago, while there was still open space. Now, open space in the LA area is at a premium. Houses and apartments surround this park and wildlife area.

I don't live out there, I don't have influence out there, but I sure hope that the plan that would leave this wildlife area intact is the one that is used.

California

I've spent the last 5 days or so in California. I'm hoping to get some blogging done as I wait around in airports today.

While I don't expect ever to live in California, I sure do love to visit. I love the Pacific coastline - always something special to see and experience.

Love the Weather Here!

Here in southern California along the coast, the weather at the fourth of July is amazingly cool. We wake up in the mornings to a cool breeze coming in the windows and clouds and fog in the sky. Yesterday it was in the 60's most of the day. Today, we started with clouds. The sun came out in the early afternoon, for those beach lovers to have a wonderful afternoon. Then the low clouds started rolling in around sunset. The talk at Curves today was whether it would be clear enough to see the fireworks.

Henry tells me that at home in Texas the temperatures have been over 100 degrees every day this week. I have to say I am enjoying the cool weather here. As warm natured as I am, the nights are cool enough that it feels good to sleep with Debra's heated mattress pad. I even try to turn it on ahead of time - so it is cozy when I crawl under the covers.

We've been apartment looking for Debra. A lot of the places we looked don't have air conditioning. If this is typical weather, I can see why you would not need it.

No wonder all the garden plants look so beautiful here - they are not having to fight the heat.

Well, I'll enjoy this while I can. I'll be back in Texas in a week or so. Then this weather will seem like a dream.

Wildfire!

While cruising the 101 on the way to lunch. I noticed that we had smoke in the air. Almost immediately we could smell the woody smoke. It seemed to be coming from an area in front of us. As we turned off to get to the restaurant I could see the billowing cloud coming from the base of the fire on a hillside several miles in front of us. After lunch we headed to the mall to get Debra's watch resized. We passed the mountain side where the fire had been contained, but was still smoldering. The policemen were limiting the traffic across the overpass closest to the fire. We could see the helicopters dumping their load of water and then going to a nearby urban lake to refill. On our way back, it was obvious that the fire had started at the road. The footprint on the shoulder, a vehicle sized black smudge gave a clue to the cause. And when I found the newsreport, sure enough, a burning truck had ignited the hillside. Firemen in their bright yellow protective gear were spraying the remaining smoldering areas to be sure the fire was completely out. The air was clear again. Only ten acres burned . . . . . this time. But it is only June after one of the wettest years in California's history. The underbrush is tall and drying out rapidly as the weather begins to warm. And the hottest months in California are yet to come.

If you are paying attention, you can see that firebreaks are ready. Strategic strips mowed or plowed. We should be praying now for God to protect California from another horrific fire season.

Evening

Today Debra finished her six week Challenge at Curves. I am really proud of her for loosing over 17 lbs. She is looking really good. I weighed and double checked with my local Curves. While my clothes are fitting better, I haven't lost significant weight. i still plan to keep up the exercise program and my diet out here has been pretty good. So perhaps when I am finally at home to weigh in there, I'll see some weight loss or at least less body fat.

We are trying to get Thomas' condo sold. Today was a day of dealing with the inspection report (they are always very complete with all sorts of bad news), trying to communicate with the realtor, trying to phone the missionaries in Croatia for an interview and having the Sprint PCS tell me I wasn't set up for overseas calls, getting the wheat sold (looks like we had a better crop than I expected) , trying to talk Henry through finding documents needed for the closing on the condo which may happen next week, etc etc.

The afternoon was spent running errands. Debra tried to encourage me with my quest for weight loss with some books at Borders. We took in a movie "Cinderella Man". We finished the day at a Japanese restaurant - Miso soup and a Endive Pear Salad - both were tasty. When you break your chopstick, the manner in which it breaks is supposed to be reflective of something in your life. Mine broke with very jagged edges - matching a jagged sort of day.

Now we are back at Debra's place. It is late and traffic on the PCH has slowed down. In between cars you can hear the ocean waves roar as they break along the beach. Calming way to end the day. The ocean breezes through the windows makes snuggling under the covers with Debra's electric heating pad (fits under the sheet) something I'm ready to do. I've finished my internet "stuff" - so time to thank God for the day and go to sleep hearing those lovely ocean breakers.