Getting Settled

I know, I promised pictures of my new place. I am nearly all unpacked, just the desk stuff. I just keep forgetting to take pictures because I've had all that unpacking and rearranging to do. I did have dinner guests last night - Kirk who was an angel helping me move things, and just being wonderfully Kirk; and Mandy who covered for me at work without blinking an eye all those days I was out and just being wonderfully Mandy. We sat on the porch, a very pleasant thing to do.

So now the books are unpacked. I was able to save some good ones. And I have a desk space, just saving that for last, probably as an avoidance tactic regarding that pesky little thesis that I'm going to have to dive back into one of these days. I lost to the mud the stack of books that I had referenced, but I have all of the electronic files and the printed articles.

I also lost some photo albums, but saved a few - including the one with the childhood family pictures. It made me very happy to unpack those this morning before work. Although I lost most of the big ticket items, I salvaged very many personal and cherished items, so the new place feels very much like home.

Somewhere in my Youth or Childhood...

Yes, I'm having a Julie Andrews moment. Shame on me for not trusting and being patient. My new home will be wonderful. April came this morning with her pick-up truck and helped me move my stuff out of Brian's. We just stacked stuff on my new porch and in the yard. What? Somebody's gonna steal my stuff? Then Robin, the cleaning woman, came by to look at the place. Meanwhile the owners popped in and we chatted. He's putting up a section of fence that will complete a safe yard for Tule. We talked about what is staying and what should be boxed up of their stuff. I'll give them a couple of days to do that. Then Robin will clean on Thursday. We took down the curtains and I'm laundering them right now. Turns out there are lots of windows and light. Tonight my friend Mary is coming for dinner, I may take her up to see the old house and look for Farley. Hayduke is hanging out at Brian's. He was in fact outside but has come back and is seemingly content for the moment.

And curiously, the movie that arrived from Netflix yesterday was Spike Lee's documentary about Katrina, to remind me what real suffering is.

We still have one neighbor who is looking for a place. But now that I'm getting settled, I don't need so much help so I'm guessing the whole town is looking to house her. I don't know how I will ever be able to leave this town and this valley. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the help I have received. It will reverberate in my heart as the gold standard to which I must always rise.

A Home

I shook hands on a double wide last night. Incredibly nice people, very inexpensive, a bit dirty and over-furnished. But this can all be worked out. Good location at the edge of town, private, a nice porch (although the sliding door out to it barely works, I'll get to that quickly), good for dog and cat(s). April is helping me move my stuff out of Brian's tomorrow with her pick-up truck. I'll put my things on the porch until I can weed out some of the things inside. I'd love to hire someone to come in and clean it but I can't even find a cleaning lady.

I'm still exhausted, but fortunately tomorrow is the beginning of my regularly scheduled three day weekend. I hope by the next post, I'll have pictures of the new place and it will be livable. I think it will end up being a very nice place for us. There is the bright orange paint on the bathroom walls, but I'm free to paint over it.

Oh, the kid's bake sale - they raised $1800. One man paid for a cookie with a hundred dollar bill. Keep the change.

Me and Tule McGee

The good news is that I rescued Hayduke on Friday. I took him to Brian's house where he set up housekeeping under the bed. Alas, Brian was coming home yesterday. So I took Tule to doggie camp with Saint Auntie Donna, the dog lady. Tule will be safe and happy there for the meantime. I moved a few things down to Ralph's house while they are on vacation this week. But I left Hayduke under Brian's bed with a big note on the door to be careful not to let him out. This morning when I stopped in, Brian had looked high and low for the cat who could not be found. I don't know how he could have gotten out, but this is what I feared - that he was not secure there without me. So I don't know.

And I've been down the past few days as I've not found a place to live, lead after lead falling through. But yesterday I got a couple more leads that may pan out. And my friend Judy who lived up on the creek has been wonderful. She and Charlie got a new double wide to rent earlier this week. She has been my closest ally through this as we understand each other's ups and downs.

Other ups include all the help we have received. The Salvation Army is cooking meals for folks displaced and work crews that have come in. They have also set up a storefront in town with clothes, furniture, small appliances, etc. for us all. I will visit them when I find a place to live. Although the librarian offered me a sofa and bed that were on their way to good will, so I don't need those from Sally A. The Red Cross gave me a voucher to Kmart for clothes, linens, food, etc. I was able to get a refund for the undies and t-shirts I'd bought earlier in the week, and put those on the voucher. The Kmart people were very kind. Kids held a bake sale in town to raise money for the creek fund.

I've gone to work today to get ready for the archeology dig starting tomorrow for two weeks at Manzanar. It's the bane of my existence right now and it was not my idea to hold it in the heat of summer. So it goes. It's a good project, an important project. But I'm done digging stuff out of the mud/dirt for the time being.

I hope to report soon that I am no longer homeless. Until then, I am safe and comfortable in Ralph and Anne's nice home with their nice dog and cat.

A Day in the Life

Saturday, July 12
Driving home just after 6, stopped on the highway. Flooding across the highway. A neighbor is there - her husband is trapped on their roof. Later he talks about the 8-foot wall of mud. He watched furniture and animals float by in the mud. His neighbors outbuildings crash around his house. I go to Gerry and Shar's with Mark, another neighbor and coworker. Mark and I are distraught and dispondent. We can't eat. Later we go for a walk and end up next door at Tom's house. I decide we should eat and ask Tom for an omelet with cheese. While waiting for the food, I have a change of attitude and am better. As I'm eating my omelet I joke that in Portugal they let the cheese run out and get all crispy around the edges. Tom replies that he normally would have asked me how I like my omelet but he thought under the circumstances...

Sunday, July 13
Got up very early after not sleeping anyway. Drove up to Oak Creek with Gerry in his big truck. Mark was already up there. Waded through mud up to our knees for quite a ways to get to the house. Gerry got there first, poked his head back up that Tule was in there and she was growling at him. I got in there and got to her on the bed. We were both hysterical. The house smelled of propane and the electricity was still on. We pulled the guitar out of the mud and out of its case, setting it on the bed and the case open to dry. But we didn't take anything but Tule. Mark carried her out of the house and she was able to wade out with us. The mud in the house contained stuff. The bathroom floor was very rocky and there were some branches too. Later on Sunday, I spent a long time cleaning the mud out of the tires of my car. I had driven through some of it on Saturday night and it clung like cement. At the end of the day we went back up and Gerry brought out my guitar, my checkbook, and my camera cable.

Monday, July 14
Went to Bishop in the morning with Shar. I bought a bag of dog food, a new pair of shoes, and some undies and t-shirts. Fortunately, the shoes on my feet were my good park service hiking boots. So those have been perfect for getting in and out of the mud. But I needed something for running around. Then came home and got to work. Kirk and I went up and started boxing and bagging everything salvageable. Alisa joined us later, and by dinnertime we were done and stacks of boxes filled my sofa, bed, desk, and stove.

Tuesday, July 15
Met Troy and the YCC kids from Manzanar, our big work truck, and Kirk and his trailer and went up to the house at 7:00 a.m. In about 2 hours we got all the boxes and bags out and down to Brian's house. We stacked everything on the lawn. My heroic moving crew then went back up on the creek to help whoever needed help. They got my neighbor's new motorcycle out of the mud which was a big morale boost for her, as she lost most of her house. As for me, I spent the rest of the day scrubbing furniture, sorting through boxes, and starting laundry. In the evening we had a public meeting. One woman pushed the blame game pretty hard and irrationally. Fortunately another woman who lost the family ranch stood up and calmly explained the extreme nature of the rain event and asked for acceptance.

Wednesday, July 16
Catching up on emails, on my way to the grocery store. Later I'll finish laundry and start looking for a place to live.

Here are a few more pictures. I'm as tired as I look, but not nearly as dejected as I look. I'm very much at peace, and incredibly grateful.

Next Up, Pestilence

Last year we had the fire on Oak Creek, and my house survived. Saturday we had the 100 year flood, and although my house is still standing, it is 2 feet high in mud. Other houses did not survive, some did with no water inside. The creek now runs in front of my house instead of behind. I was able to save my Tule. She was on the bed when the flood came and stayed there until I was able to get to her early Sunday morning. I do not know about the cats. We are all safe, no one was hurt all up the creek, as far as I know. As of yesterday, getting to the house required wading a good way through mud. My plan today is to go in with boxes and start salvaging/packing. I won't haul stuff out though until we can get a vehicle closer. I have lots of help and good people taking care of us. As you look at the photos, know that I used to have a nicely fenced front yard ringed with sunflowers. We were very happy on the creek, but I knew it and appreciated it while I had it.







On the wall in the room where I am staying at Saint Gerry and Shar's, there is a reprint of something written in 1692 and posted at St. Paul's Church in Baltimore. I would like to reprint it here in its entirety as it gave me great comfort when I could not sleep Saturday night:

Go placidly among the noise and haste, & remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their stories. * Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater & lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. * Keep interest in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. * Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. * Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. * You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. * Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. * With all its sham, drudgery & broken dream, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. *

Lions and Tigers and Bears

Oh My! Figs are now ripening on the site, apricots are fading, blackberries keep renewing themselves, and peaches and pears are on the way. Which not only makes us happy, but it's bringing bears down to valley level. We've had one on site damaging our historic pear trees. And reports of one around my place at Oak Creek. Even though it's been over 100, the bears follow the creeks down from the mountains, enjoying the shade in the trees. The surprise, though, is at Oak Creek where we lost most of the riparian vegetation in the fires this time last year. And the trees have not recovered. So we have a determined bear.

Last week we had a visitor report a bear out on site. I took off to investigate, spent an hour walking around in the heat of the afternoon, and didn't find it. So the next morning before coming into the office I drove around the site. No bear, but I found a bobcat in a shady spot and we watched each other for quite some time before she trotted off. Very yellow and black in her striping which made me think Tiger. I was quite happy to see her since it's been well over a year since I've seen one.

Then the next day when Tule and I went for our morning walk, I saw another bobcat near our house. The place I've seen them previously around here is up the creek from me before the fire, running across the road to or from the creek. I assumed with the fire they had moved elsewhere. I'm happy to see one around. Again, she didn't seem too shy of me but moved on nonchalantly.

I googled bobcat and what it means to see them, since this seems like too much of a coincidence. I learned that it's a sign to be patient. As my thesis is currently in the toilet, this is good advice. Ugh, I don't even know how to talk about needing to find research to show that irrigation and groundwater pumping can benefit biodiversity. There's a reason I haven't included it thus far! While I'm trying to overcome my bias, I'll soothe the soul with more fruit. This picking it off the tree thing really doesn't get old. I'll make a salad tomorrow with my figs, goat cheese, and toasted almonds. Unless the bear gets the figs (or me) first.