Happy Independence Day!

From the Taylorsville, CA 4th of July Parade. I hope everyone had a safe, happy, and healthy Independence Day!

Local News

A few weeks ago, I asked everyone on Twitter if they'd heard of Wall's ice cream because the company had decided to film here in my little town in the mountains. Since it's primarily a British company, most had not.

They recently completed the commercial, which has been getting a lot more attention than I for one thought it would. It's been featured on HuffPo and Perez Hilton. It even made it to more mainstream news like this article on ABC.

It's interesting to watch the Negative Nellies in the comments. Some are outraged that cops would "misuse their authority." Some are upset that public resources are being "wasted" for a PR campaign.

Yes, that really is our sheriff. No, he really isn't neglecting anything. He's an administrator. And although we aren't crime-free here, this is an example of what happens around here. A snippet from our actual Sheriff's Blotter (all calls that come into the Sheriff's Office Dispatch Center).

As far as the "misuse of authority" thing, I'm sure Sheriff Hagwood checked this out with our county counsel. And I'm equally sure he covered his rear end by pulling over people for a real violation. It's not difficult to find something: speeding (the speed limit in that area is 25mph), something hanging off their rear view mirror, obscured license plates...

Although I didn't get pulled over, I'm amazed that so many were fooled by this. To be honest, our sheriff doesn't pull people over. We have SO MANY CHP in this county that nearly all traffic issues are handled through them and not our Sheriff's Dept. Parking at the front of the courthouse (where everyone is pulled over) is nearly always filled, but here it's obviously been blocked off. And if people were paying attention, they knew through social media that a commercial was being filmed here.

But what about those who were made late by this stunt? Well, everyone is late here in town. It's almost a cultural thing (that really drives my punctual self batty). But rest assured, no one has to deal with traffic issues: there are a grand total of 2 stoplights and 5500 people in the town.

People here thought it was hilarious. Not only do we nearly all know Sheriff Hagwood, but most of us know at least one person in that commercial. We love our town. We love that we have no traffic and very little crime. Sheriff Hagwood did not receive compensation for this, but Wall's did donate to our local animal shelter and our arts council in his name. I'm calling that a win.

From the Ashes

Photo via the Walmer family

For those who weren't on Twitter Sunday morning, here's the recap: it was a busy, tragic weekend for my town. We lost 4 businesses to a catastrophic fire that burned most of a block in our historic downtown.  No one was injured, but it was a major blow to a town whose tourism dollars rely on our quaint, old-fashioned atmosphere. And for those who live here, it was a part of what made our town special.

It was so bad that we made the Sacramento news, and most people in Sac couldn't find us with GPS.

I vaguely remember hearing sirens blaring in the wee hours of the morning, but assumed it was some dumbass who had crashed on the icy curves just outside of town again. Little did I realize that the sirens were headed into town and that part of our town's very identity was burning to the ground.

Our fire department is 100% volunteer, as is nearly every other department in the county (many other communities responded to our fire, bringing the total number of personnel to over 35). And they stayed on site in the freezing cold for hours. It was so cold that water was turning to ice as it hit the streets. Even now, there are huge icicles inside on the charred timbers.

As the news spread through social media, you could feel the stunned disbelief and sorrow. Families who grew up here and had moved away were just as shocked and saddened as those of us who still live here.  The Pizza Factory, where the fire originated, was more than just a chain restaurant. It had occupied the same location for decades. The walls were adorned with jerseys of high school and community college players. Our elementary school principal's photo was there with her high school softball team. Artwork from artists who have moved on to bigger and better things were there. Little pieces of the town's history for more than a generation are now gone.

We're all still a little wounded by this loss. I know families coming in for the holidays are going to be hit by this the second they round the corner onto Main. 4 businesses may not seem like much, but in a town our size, it's devastating. Part of being from a small town like ours is the idea that nothing is going to change. The businesses might change owners, but the buildings themselves will always be there. That's no longer true.

Nothing left to do but babysit the smoldering ruins

Before the fire was even out, there were offers to help clean up. Offers to share or donate retail space. Discussions for how to help not just those businesses that were destroyed, but those that were damaged by water and smoke. And despite the loss, we were all collectively grateful for our firefighters and what they managed to do. Most importantly, they saved the two oldest buildings on the block and no one was hurt.

Our downtown is not going to be the same for a long, long while, but we are already coming together in a way that reminds me of why I love this place. It's not the buildings. It's the people. People like the owner of the thrift store that was adjacent to the pizza place.

Photo via Quincy Thrift

The only thing left of her shop are her prized action figures she had behind the counter. Firefighters saved those, and she is already in the process of reopening—1 day later— in an empty retail space just down the road.

It's going to be a bittersweet Christmas this year, but I'm left feeling extremely proud of my community.

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

My town is in that valley in the distance.

The Christmas season is a mixed blessing when you live the middle of nowhere. You can't just pop down to the nearest Target to grab that last minute gift. (That's an 80 mile drive). So that means you're shopping online, hoping Amazon Prime sends whatever it was you forgot in the promised 2 days. But it also means that you aren't stuck paying upwards of $60 for dead or dying tree to stick in your house. We live adjacent to a National Forest, and our local area grocery stores, gas stations etc all stock Christmas Tree Permits. For a small fee, you can go cut your own. And that's what we did over Thanksgiving weekend.

Fall Drive Down the Canyon

While the kids were in school, I grabbed my camera and my mom to do a little fall leaf peeping. The Indian Rhubarb (Darmera) is gorgeous this time of year, and I was finally able to find a spot to get down to the river to see it!

Small Town Homecoming Parade

I often post about my itty bitty small town, and sometimes it really does sound like Mayberry. As anyone who has ever lived in a small town call tell you, it's not always a cake walk. People are nosy. Gossip is unavoidable and no one really has true privacy. But yesterday...yesterday was fun.

It was Homecoming Day for the high school. As a non-football watching parent of elementary school kids, Homecoming wouldn't normally make my radar.   This year, though, our entire elementary school, all clad in the high school's red and white colors, walked down to Main Street and watched the whole high school (divided into class floats) drive slowly through our little town.

This is our high school principal, our sheriff, and our local CHP commander, posing for a picture in the middle of the parade. (As Oldest shared with me, that bicycle is tricked out with lights and sirens just like a patrol vehicle).  The CHP and Sheriff's Department were also in their cars at the beginning and end of the parade. Some of the younger officers on bikes pedaled past the elementary kids and gave them all high fives.

 

I loved the fact that kids were hanging dangerously out of the trucks in the parade. They were in the pickup beds, on top of the fire trucks, sitting on the window sills. Since we're so safety conscious now (with good reason!) these kids didn't grow up riding in pick up beds like my generation did. But they had a ball "breaking the rules" for this short time. 

It's County Fair Time Again!

Why hello, there Smokey. In a time-honored tradition for our Fair (insert sarcasm) a dozen wildfires sprouted up the very next day after our parade. No, I'm not kidding. For those long time blog followers, you may remember last year's never-ending fire. These are being attacked much more aggressively, and so far are a tiny fraction of the 75,000 acre monster we endured last autumn.

I have no clue what this even is, but both boys found it hilarious. Like fall-over-laughing funny. Almost as funny as when I shrieked and squealed because I hadn't been paying attention when they fired the anvils. Right. Next. To. Me.

This was the highlight of my fair experience. It's so delightfully corny. Alaskan Racing Pigs (who, incidentally, had Oregon plates). How can you not love tiny little piggies with pun-ny names like Ham Solo or Hog-mione?

But wait! There's more!! I took video, too. Just for you.

Gone Fishin'

It's that time of year. Still cool enough to be outdoors, not warm enough for the bugs to eat you alive. Perfect fishing weather. And by that I mean watching the Hubs and the boys fish while I a) read or b) take pictures.

It's an unusually warm spring here. We normally are still getting snow into May. But the fish seem pretty sure that the warm weather is here to stay. They're a full month early on where they're being caught. At least according to our local newspaper. At this rate, we'll be out of wildflower season by early June. *sad face* Usually we can count on all kinds of flowers straight through until the snow hits in October. I even like the flowery weeds.

While my youngest and I sat quietly waiting for a fish to nibble on the worm-filled hook on his fishing pole, a family of geese swam by. I admit, I'm a little jealous of his sense of wonder. He got nearly as much enjoyment out of watching the geese as he did from catching two small rainbow trout.

Spring in the Mountains!

It's finally Spring in the mountains. Although I really shouldn't complain given the fact that two years ago, we still had feet of snow on the ground. But I'm so happy to be able to open the windows and let in that fresh breeze.

I was trying to take some pictures of the flowers in the front yard when this little bee decided he had prior claims. Would not leave me alone, so after snapping his picture, I left him to it.

I planted these anemones last fall. I was so surprised they actually grew, since I'm known in my circles as Ms. Black Thumb. I kill everything. Thank goodness for carefree bulbs!

Don't Bother Me, I'm Eating...

It's still feeling like Antarctica here in the mountains, but today actually warmed up past freezing. Which of course meant the wildlife is out enjoying the sun, too.

Today's "wildlife" is the very domesticated squirrel whose stash of nuts is across the street in the middle of a tree.

He was very busily munching away, minding his own business.

Until I crept across the street to take his picture. Note to self, I need a telephoto lens.

Happy New Year!

The holidays have thrown my usual schedule so off that I'm still trying to find time to read and blog. But I am enjoying our seasonable weather right now. Normally, December and January are chilly and dry, with most of our snow coming in early March. This year, we had a nice storm for Christmas, then a cold spell that actually kept snow on the ground for over two weeks now.

With a fresh dusting of snow last night, I took a drive with my husband around the area to play with the camera.

 Is it just me, or does that piece of ice look like a plucked chicken?

 This one I took from the car, because my fingers were frozen.

 Trains still run through our area, although nearly all of the passenger traffic has moved to run over Donner.

This was Hubs's favorite tree on our mini road trip.

So what has the new year been like for you?

Things are calming down

Now that soccer is over for the kids —5 days a week of soccer was killing me!—I hope to have more time for blogging, baking, and reading.  My yearly reading total is pretty pathetic. And my TBR Challenge participation has been pretty half-assed.

Time to kick it in gear.

I missed most of the autumn, and we're expecting a winter storm today.

The birds are getting crazy busy gathering what food they can.

What's the weather like where you are?

Firing of the Anvils

I know I tend to go on (and on) about where I live, but I love it here. The idiosyncrasies that make this area home for me are immeasurable. And the firing of the anvils is one of those quirky, WTF?! things that make this area so awesome.

If you've never heard of anvil firing, you're not alone. Before I moved up here, I hadn't either. It's a Southern thing, apparently. Which makes it extremely unusual to find out west.  And here, instead of replacing fireworks, we use it to signal the start of our annual County Fair Parade. I've blogged about this before, but this year, I GOT VIDEO!

This is a scaled down, "safer" version of the process, but it gives you an idea of what it would be like when people aren't gathered close to the anvils.

My favorite part of the process is when you get tourists. And they have this confuzzled look on their face.  It closely resembles the WTF you see at Heather Graham RT events. Old men haul these heavy anvils into the middle of the road. O...K... Then they do something you can't see, stack them on top of each other, and approach the anvils with a very long stick.

These same tourists are looking around, wondering what is going on, as the locals are plugging their ears.

Because this is what it sounds like when those things go off:



And even though I know the noise is coming, I still jump like a big sissy. (You'll see the camera shake. Feel free to mock me as my family did).

The Most Stubborn Fire in the Known Universe

 (Smoke plume, taken by me last week.)

For those who haven't been following the incessant tweets, retweets, links I've been posting on Twitter, here's what's going on: We have one gigantic fire in our area. I am safe, aside from the horrific air quality that has forced everyone to stay indoors since the fire began at the end of last month.

Firefighters are having a heck of a time stopping the north-eastern spread of the fire. And that means it's burned up to the shores of a very popular reservoir camping area and is headed towards some small (I mean tiny) towns. If you are in Northern Nevada or Northern California, you're likely being impacted by the smoke from this fire. It has now burned more than 70 square miles.

Summer in the Mountains

We've been really lucky this year that the fire season has held off. Winter was short and dry, with no snow pack and very little rain.

Our luck ran out  last week, with not one, but TWO fires in our National Forest. One was to the east and quickly contained. The other, with the smoke plume shown here, is currently out of control and burning in a steep, windy canyon about 20 miles west of our little town.

The smoke is so bad that it is affecting the Central Valley of California and Northern Nevada, too.

We have some terrific wildland firefighters out west. And already, we're seeing crews from Nevada and all over California heading in to fight this fire. I'm hoping they get a handle on this quickly, because when the smoke settles in the valleys at night, it's like breathing mud. *fingers crossed*

Some Political Ranting Ahead...

No, not the GOP vs. Democratic Party kind of political ranting. Not even the Susan G. Komen vs Planned Parenthood debacle. This is about a local issue. It's about schools. Rural schools in particular.

You see, here in the mountains we've had a bit of a decline in school populations. Some have left the area. Some have moved to the private, Christian school. And some are in the charter school. The local district has half of the population they did back in 1995. Half.

And the same number of schools.

Which means we're now talking about school consolidation. That's euphemism for school closure. Shuttering schools.

Ordinarily, that would make sense, right? Why have schools open if you don't have the students to fill them?

Here's the problem: these are RURAL schools. We're not talking about areas where the next elementary school is a few blocks down the road. We're talking about, in some of the worst case scenarios, busing kids on curvy mountain roads during the winter for 45 miles one-way.

45 miles.

In the winter, with chained buses, that equals a 1.5 hr bus ride each way at the minimum.

We're also talking about pushing school capacities over their maximum to squeeze two schools into one--to save on the utility and janitorial bills.

What this means is that class sizes are going to go up dramatically. It's possible that we will no longer have room for our school library. Never mind that we've had bare-bones staffing for that library. There may not be  a physical place for it because it is needed for classroom use.

It costs a lot more per student in rural areas than it does for urban areas, just in overhead. Partly due to transportation costs, but mostly because we need more schools than other areas due to the geography of where we live. This added expense used to be supported through the sale of timber on USFS land. Changes in federal law resulted in the Secure Rural Schools Act. Essentially, a plan to exchange the idea of cutting down trees equaling money for schools to a plan that reimburses counties for the lost property taxes due to high percentages of federally owned land.

That bill was not reauthorized and this year is the last year for any additional money from the feds.
Given the financial reality in California, this has resulted in a huge hit for schools everywhere, but especially in the rural areas of Northern California. 

The situation is grim here in the West. I know education is suffering everywhere, but in this county, we'll have several vacant schools to serve as visual reminders of where our priorities as a country seem to be.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

Since I am suffering from earthquake hangover due to the 4.7M earthquake that woke me out of a nice, comfy snooze last night, I decided today would be the day I took a walk in the woods. There's a lovely outdoor education program up here, with equally lovely trails situated near our elementary school. I figured if kids can walk it, I can too.

So, huffing and puffing (and toting my camera) I walked up Boyle's Ravine. At least a little way.

 

This doesn't look too bad, right? It gets steeper. Wheeze.

It's Fair Time!

If I've been MIA on the blog and Twitter lately, it's because I've been spending all week at our county fair. In the small town universe, the fair is a big deal. Sure, it's old fashioned, but it's also THE place to see everyone. Like a mini reunion. And then there's the bragging rights. We have an "art barn" where everyone enters their paintings, drawings, and photos. There's the Home Arts area that showcases the baked goods, jellies, and quilts. And there's the animal area where local 4H members show off their various animals.

Like this smug guy here.

Our fair is actually a 2 county fair. My county is small (only 20,000 people), but the neighboring county is even smaller. And although we live in the mountains, it's also a big agricultural area with ranches just about everywhere.

And then there's the fair parade which starts with the firing of the anvils. Basically two anvils stuck on top of each other with a little gunpowder or  accelerant in the middle. Then a long pole is heated up in this forge-type thing. Put the super heated pole end on the anvils and BOOM! The sound can be heard over a mile away where the parade starts. (You can tell the veteran parade goers by the fingers in their ears).

Sunday Drive

We went on a family drive to the Lakes Basin today. It's a gorgeous area in a neighboring county. Partly in Plumas National Forest and partly in Tahoe National Forest.

The boys love the Sand Pond area. There's a lovely interpretive trail there, but it took a beating this winter.

I'm not really sure what these are. They look very, um... yeah. Suggestive.

I Think Mother Nature is Confused...