The neighbor went hiking in the hills… he followed the arroyo back and ended up coming out near our house.
Our house location used to be a cattle loading dock…. the natural topography leads animals water and wind right near our house. Back when our property was part of the neighboring 3,5000 acre ranch, the cattle round-ups occurring along this section were conducted from this spot. This is where the cattle truck came to load the yearling steers up to be fattened in the feedlots in the ‘Valley’.
While hiking in the backwoods, the neighbor and his dogs Jake and Lacy came upon a seep of water, a spring that has a muddy pool frequented by wildlife. Lacy the water-dog bounded in and rolled in the mud. She got pretty muddy and was a sight to see.
I don’t know who wrote this little piece….
But when you’ve got a dying pet, it really feeels good to read.
The Rainbow Bridge
There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth.
It is called the Rainbow Bridge, because of it’s many colors.
Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills, and valleys with lush green grass.
When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place.
There is always food and water and warm spring weather.
The old and frail animals are young again.
Those who are maimed are made whole again.
They play all day with each other.
There is only one thing missing.
They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth.
So, each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up!
The nose twitches! The ear are up! The eyes are staring!
And this one suddenly runs from the group!
You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her in your arms and embrace.
Your face is kissed again and again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.
Then you cross over The Rainbow Bridge together,
never again to be seperated.
Hey John, yes I tried your cactus, Grade A, B and some C and was very happy! I don’t just like it I LOVE it!! I will be one of your regular customers so you will be hearing from me quite often so keep my info, would ya?
A customer wrote to tell us how much she likes our edible cactus….
I do have to say that this is the best cactus I’ve ever had!
My favorite is eating it raw with some lime and salt.
I also have a smoothie every morning
with orange juice, cactus, celery, parsley and pineapple.
S.R.
In the Autumn the male mule deer come down from the higher hills where hunting pressure is lower. They come seeking the female deer which seem to know they are not hunted locally. I took photos of this fellow from our front porch. One photo shows he is smelling a female deer nearby. This is called ‘Flehmen Resonse’.
The calender says Autumn is still two days away.. but we’ve had signs of Autumn appearing for a few weeks. It seems like it might be an early autumn at least, if not winter also.
We’ve been fans of the HBO show True Blood since its first episode three seasons ago.
It’s a captivating show that keeps getting more and more bizarre… yet even though it gets deeper into myths… the old suspension of disbelief kicks in every episode…and the first season we were transported to a modern world with Vampires newly come ‘out of the casket’, a lady who hears people’s inner thoughts, and a Shape-shifter…. the second season introduced us to packs of Werewolves, and a several millennia-old Maenad. This season more Shape-shifters, a Shaman, a Witch and even Fairies joined the cast.
The show True Blood also has a very interesting and captivating intro.
I love the song ‘Bad Things’ sung by Jace Everett
And the swiftly-moving images bring little snapshots to life
‘Bad Things’
Jace Everett
When you came in the air went out.
And every shadow filled up with doubt.
I don’t know who you think you are,
But before the night is through,
I wanna do bad things with you.
I’m the kind to sit up in his room.
Heart sick an’ eyes filled up with blue.
I don’t know what you’ve done to me,
But I know this much is true:
I wanna do bad things with you.
When you came in the air went out.
And all those shadows there filled up with doubt.
I don’t know who you think you are,
But before the night is through,
I wanna do bad things with you.
I wanna do real bad things with you.
I don’t know what you’ve done to me,
But I know this much is true:
I wanna do bad things with you.
I wanna do real bad things with you.
Carolyn Niethammer is a really nice lady and a phenominal author of books that center on travel in the US Southwest, Native-American culture and cooking and women’s issues.
Carolyn recently wrote us to say hello, see what’s new and mention her new book…
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Hi John,
Not a question, just a hello. I’m getting ready to turn in another cookbook on edible wild plants and of course wanted to include you so I went to your website to see what was new. You’re selling plants now!
Truly, nothing compares to your nopal grande for taste in my book. I don’t know whether tortoises care that much, but people do!
This book is for the UA Press,
Not scheduled for publication until fall 2011.
The Prickly Pear cookbook still selling well — fortunately there is nothing quite like it (that I’ve seen) so the future for that book still seems bright.
LightBrown Apple Moth is a dreaded noxious insect that has been found in our county. Due to this the government has installed monitoring traps on each nursery in the county that ships items out of state.
Light-Brown AppleMoth Trap
The government inspector came by today to reset the trap they placed on our little cactus farm/nursery. He’s a good fellow, and I enjoy chatting with him for a few minutes when he comes by. He’s a wealth of information on new insect pests that are a threat to local crops. He told us today that some of his traps in a vineyard halfway across the county have yielded evidence of a localized infestation of the Glassy-Winged sharpshooter. Mediterranean Fruitfly is another insect causing local worries.
Insect trap being placed into an oak tree
If these invasive pests become established in California they will damage the agricultural industry in California. Much of our food would become infested and unmarketable… the cost for fresh undamaged food would go very high. So the efforts of the USDA and various state and local agencies that try to reduce and eliminate insect pests are worth their costs in funds.
When a regulated insect is found, traps are set in a series of circles around the localized find. These traps will show the source and/or spread of the target insect. Once the spread is determined the best method for control can be considered. In the case of one insect nearby, the ag department placed twist-ties impregnated with female bug pheromones all over an area of many miles. These ties were twisted onto tree branches and fence wies in an effort to infuse the area with female scent. The poor little male bugs spent all their time buzzing from one twist-tie to another and didn’t run across too many receptive females. Another method will be to raise up male insects of te target species. In many species the sex of the creature is determined partly by environmental factors such as temperature… so one needs to keep the eggs in the proper environment, they will mostly be males. they are then raised to maturity, run through an x-ray type machine that radiates them enough to become sterile… then they have a mark of fluorescent paint affixed to them to mark them as sterilized males. They are then released in the target area where it is hoped they wil mate with the local wild females, resulting in infertile eggs…. and one female out-of-commission for that breeding cycle. Usually these methods must be used in several series of applications. This will in time eliminate the target pest from the local environment.
We’re very proud that we’ve helped out with three different insect research programs. The USDA has bought cactus from us a number of time. Purchasing their insect feedstock from us assures it is free of systemic insecticides that might kill their breeding insects. These are of course insects that are damaging to cactus. So the fact that we can help out with research, and still make some honest money by selling cactus is a double pleasure.
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer’s day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they’ll listen now.
Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they’ll listen now.
For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.
Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can’t forget.
Like the strangers that you’ve met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they’re not listening still.
Perhaps they never will…
Big Red was a big -ol’ Quarter Horse…. arguably the best horses bred. Certainly they are popular locally due to the huge cattle industry on the Central Coast. Quarter Horses are the most popular cow-horse. They are big enough to power through the heavy chaparral… they have stamina and endurance, yet they still have a very high degree of maneuverability and an explosive power that can be unleashed to head off a cow.
Big Red was a Quart donated to our local Mission in Lompoc. He was a friendly big old horse who enjoyed meeting the numerous visitors. Kids loved him, and he always seemed to enjoy having his photo taken. When one trained a camera on him, he would freeze for a perfect portrait. He always seemed to have a smile on his old horse face.
Yeah…. time crumbled the walls of the old mission… and the earthquake shook it down…. and now Big Red has fallen.
