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Archive for 'Neighborhood'
Mountain Lions in Whiting Again
Though I told my Facebook users that I feared the worst for the lion, Fish and Game seems to be following a So-you-wanna-be-around-humans-we’ll-let-you-live-around-humans” policy and sending it to a zoo.
Posted: July 17th, 2012 under Mountain Lions, Neighborhood.
Comments: none
A Ragged Shape
One of those things that worry me flitted into consciousness the other night. Lynn had just turned off of Saddleback Ranch Road onto Ridgeline when I spied it off to the left: a dark gray-brown form, ragged at the edges and possessing four legs. It looked to me that Lynn was about to hit it [...]
Posted: June 30th, 2011 under Bipolar Disorder, Neighborhood.
Comments: none
It Moved Like a Cat
There’s something out there,” he said. “A cat.” He held out his arms to show how big it was. “I didn’t see what it was, but it was this big and it moved like a cat.”
Posted: June 8th, 2011 under Creatures, Neighborhood.
Comments: none
Dead Skunk and Turkey Vultures
Two black bundles of feathers swaggered along the curb on Ridgeline Road. The turkey vultures held their scarlet heads even with the horizontal tilt of their tails. As we passed, they abandoned their carcass and flew into the trees. The brash, bitter scent of their prey — a skunk — blinded the nostrils. Three hours [...]
Posted: May 26th, 2011 under Creatures, Driving, Neighborhood.
Comments: none
Passing of the Purple Plum
Long time readers of this blog remember my long antagonism with the tree in front of my condo, the dreadful purple plum. The tree savagely bore down on my head when I passed on the sidewalk and obstructed my view from the deck ever since we moved in 1999. No edible fruit grew on it. [...]
Posted: August 5th, 2010 under Neighborhood.
Comments: none
The Fires in Orange County
Things are not so interesting here as they were last year. The Orange County fires are on the other side of our mountain in the Santa Ana Canyon. We do have some light Santa Ana winds blowing, but they are northeasterlies which means we are well out of harm’s way. I stopped to watch the [...]
Posted: November 15th, 2008 under Disasters, Neighborhood.
Comments: none
Coat Weather
Rabbits have begun to appear in the coyote brush that fringes Portola Hills. I saw three on a short walk around Concourse Park in the fog yesterday. In the spring, they will breed more, and then the offspring will discover that the burnt-out district is quite free of predators. So this year will be a [...]
Posted: March 3rd, 2008 under Neighborhood, Santiago Fire.
Comments: 1
Webcam in my Neighborhood
The USGS just launched a new webcam which is positioned about a mile from where I live in Santiago Canyon as a means of monitoring post-fire floods. It should be quite the thing to watch on Thursday Friday. Wouldn’t it be fun to stand in front of the camera for a picture? Read more about [...]
Posted: December 4th, 2007 under Neighborhood, Santiago Fire, The Orange.
Comments: none
Trilobite Clouds & A Yellow Corvette
Three soft, pink trilobite clouds scavenge for ice crystals in the azure sky-sea above the Santa Ana Mountains. Dusk draws them to the tide. My neighbor hunts for something in his garage. He keeps his yellow Corvette covered.
Posted: August 13th, 2007 under Neighborhood, Weather.
Comments: 2
Scenes from the Bipolar Ghetto
My neighbor across the way moved out abruptly. The sound of hammering woke me on Monday, but I did not connect it with anything until I saw a workman breaking up the deck. Pieces of wood and insulation flew about for a couple of days before ceasing this morning. Last night, I noticed that the [...]
Posted: July 12th, 2007 under Neighborhood.
Comments: 7
About the Lost Blunderbuss
It might be nothing more than local legend, but the lore has it that my community name derives from the results of a bit of horseplay. On July 24, 1769, Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra came through the vicinity. They camped next to what is now Aliso Creek — Aliso meaning “Sycamore”, a [...]
Posted: July 4th, 2007 under History, Neighborhood.
Comments: 1
Prowling Like a Cat for A Cat
The stretch of Saddleback Ranch Road running between the school and its intersection with Ridgeline became excruciatingly longer after we posted several “Lost: Black Cat” signs. What usually disappeared with a little pressure on the gas pedal took us five to ten minutes to pass. Even as the clock approached midnight, cars and pickups zoomed [...]
Posted: April 13th, 2007 under Cats, Neighborhood.
Comments: none