May
23
With the Memorial Day weekend fast approaching, there are picnics, yard sales and BBQs being planned all over the hill. However, let us not forget what the true reason for the Memorial Day holiday really is. Here are some images that touched my heart.
May
23
Just a quick note to remind everyone that the water district will be closed on Monday, May 28, in order to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday. We will resume our normal schedule on Tuesday and will be open from 9 to 4 as per usual. Hope you and yours enjoy this first long holiday of the summer.
May
23
Wow, is it Wednesday again already? Sure is. How is your garden growing? Is it planted yet or are you still holding off? According to the National Weather Service, we will be having a cool off this weekend. Friday night it is supposed to dip down to 32 over night. That is a bit chilly for new veggie plants.
If you have planted yours already, you might want to cover them up for the night to protect them. If you are like me and haven’t planted them yet, you might want to hold off for just a couple days. I knew you couldn’t trust that Mother’s Day planting rule.
By Sunday, we will be back up in the 60′s again and hopefully we will be good to go then. So just a small little bump in our gardening path.
May
16
Since spring is in full force and summer will be upon us soon, I thought this would be a great time to start doing a gardening thread each Wednesday. Wednesdays are just stuck there in the middle of the week and I think we need something to look forward to on Wednesdays. So here goes. If you have a topic you would like to have discussed, please leave a comment and if it is a subject that we think would be of interest to a lot of people, we will do a Garden Wednesday blog post on it.
Here it is, the week after Mother’s Day. Ever since I moved to the hill, I have heard over and over not to plant anything until after Mother’s Day. I did that one year and the next day it promptly snowed on all my newly planted plants. So while there may be some truth to waiting until after Mother’s Day to do your planting, I wouldn’t necessarily put all my eggs in that one basket. I think a better plan is to check the weather forecast and decide for yourself if it is time to put your plants out into the garden. A back up plan such as row covers or cloches might be in order as well. You could also use cold frames or a greenhouse prior to actually planting your plants in the garden.
So the question remains, when to plant things outside? Do you trust Mother Nature not to throw you a curve ball if you plant at the beginning of May or do you wait until June? Our growing season up here is incredibly short, so I like to put my plants out as soon as possible, which is usually early in May and try to protect them should unfavorable weather befall us. Many times, autumn sets in and puts an end to the garden long before I have harvested the full bounty, so I am always looking for ways to start a little sooner rather than later. After all, it is much easier to try to cover and protect small plants that it is to cover and protect a 5 foot tall tomato plant.
From my personal gardening efforts, I have come to the conclusion that soil temperature plays a big roll in how well the plants do once they are set out into the garden. I am considering putting down black plastic over the garden several weeks prior to planting just to see if it helps to raise the soil temperatures a bit. I could be way off the mark here, but it just seems the years when it is warm earlier and the soil has a chance to warm up, the plants do much better than the years when it stays colder later and I then have to rush to get things in the ground by the end of May.
One thing is for sure, gardening at 6200 ft in these mountains is a challenge. But it is one that I plan to overcome. I love growing some of my own food and I think the results are well worth the effort it takes to do so. How about you? What are your gardening efforts like this year? How are you planning to outfox the weather and get a longer growing season? Perhaps someday my yard will look like this!
May
15
This Saturday, May 19th, is the annual Idyllwild Earth Fair. It runs from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Pine Cove Water District will have a booth there again this year. Our focus this year will be rain water harvesting. This coincides with our rain barrel project we have going on for our customers. Collecting rain water is an easy way to supplement your garden water needs. Remember that for every 1 inch of rain, a 1000 sq. ft roof will catch 600 gallons. That is pretty amazing. So stop by the Earth Fair on Saturday and say hi. We hope to see you there.
Harvesting the Rain!
May
14
OK, now that we have our homes secure, what is the next step in preparing for an earthquake? According to the Southern California Earthquake Center, the next step is to make a plan. From their website earthquakecountry.info they suggest:
Will everyone in your household do the right thing during the violent shaking of a major earthquake? Before the next earthquake, get together with your family or housemates to plan now what each person will do before, during and after.
Once the earthquake is over, we will have to live with the risk of fire, the potential lack of utilities and basic services, and the certainty of aftershocks. By planning now, you will be ready. This plan will also be useful for other emergencies.
Have occasional earthquake “drills” to practice your plan. Share your plan with people who take care of your children, pets, or home.
So how about your family? Do you have a plan? If not, make one! Once the ground starts shaking, it is too late to get ready.
May
14
Now that we have gone over the rooms of our homes checking for potential dangers, let’s not forget about our garages, carports, storage areas, utility areas and hot water heaters.
I think we all know that hot water heaters need to be secured to the wall. Unsecured water heaters can fall over, rupturing rigid water and gas connections. If your water heater does not have two straps around it that are screwed into the studs or masonry of the wall, then it is not properly braced. Bracing kits are available that make this process simple. Have a plumber install flexible (corrugated) copper water connectors, if not already done.
Items stored in garages and utility rooms can fall, causing injuries, damage, and hazardous spills or leaks. They can also block access to vehicles and exits. Move flammable or hazardous materials to lower shelves or the floor.
While we cannot do anything to prevent an earthquake from happening, we can do as much as possible to be prepared. The more prepared we are before and earthquake, the better shape we will be in after an earthquake.
May
14
As you all know, we have been working to get rain barrels for our customers at a very reduced rate. We have had a tremendous response and it is time to order them. However, they have to be paid for prior to the company shipping them. So now is the time to send in your money! We will be emailing and calling those who responded to give an exact price. The price fluctuates due to the shipping charges. The barrels are $47 each and shipping will be added on to that. So if you sent back a form saying you are intersted in purchasing the rain barrels, please be prompt in sending your payment. The shipping quotes are only good for approximately 2 weeks from the time they are quoted, so we will have to be quick about this.
We are very excited to be able to bring these rain barrels to our customers. So stay tuned for more information regarding the exact cost. We should have it shortly.
May
10
Last post we discussed how to secure the items in your kitchen to minimize damage and injuries in the event of an earthquake. Today, let’s discuss how to secure electronics and furniture. Things like collectibles, lamps, vases and other pottery or decorative items can become deadly projectiles during a major earthquake. Even very heavy pieces of furniture such as bookcases, file cabinets or china cabinets, can be top heavy and topple over cause severe injuries. Other items such as televisions, stereos and computers can also cause a lot of damage should they fall during an earthquakes.
There are various methods you can use to secure these items. Objects on shelves, tables and mantles can be secured using either hook and loop fasteners (Velcro) on the table and the object or you can use earthquake wax. Mirrors, framed pictures and other objects can be hung from closed hooks so they don’t bounce off the walls, or you can use Velcro products such as are produced by Command to hang items. Only use soft art such as tapestries or quilts over your bed or sofa.
When securing heavy or large or tall pieces of furniture, you can use flexible fasteners such as nylon straps to allow tall items to sway without falling over. You can also use metal L brackets to secure large pieces of furniture to the wall, but beware that the screws used with the L brackets can damage furniture. If you have something very valuable, you might want to go with the straps instead. Which ever method you decide to use, be sure to to anchor to the stud, not just the wall. And if possible, do not put large pieces of furniture near exits where they could topple over and block your exit.
To prevent the contents of your bookcases from falling out, you can install a thin metal or plastic rod, a wooden dowel or even an elastic band across the for of each shelf. You can also put a lip on you bookshelves using 1 x 4 pieces of wood and then stain or paint them to match the rest of your bookcase.
For securing Electronics, you can use flexible nylon straps and buckles for easy removal and relocation as well as something like Velcro. Also make sure that the table or desk your electronics are sitting on is secured as well. It does no good to secure your television or computer to something that isn’t secured. Remember that a little prevention can go a long way when it comes to earthquake safety.
May
8
Thursday is the monthly MEMSCOMM meeting. We will be discussing earthquakes on the San Jacinto fault and on the San Andreas fault. I think that it is very easy to get complacent about preparing for earthquakes. Especially at this time of the year when so much focus will be on fire prevention and abatement. Which is very important as well, however, we cannot forget that we live in earthquake country and earthquakes can happen any time of the year and any time of the day or night.
So let’s take each Tuesday and go over some steps we can all take to get more prepared for earthquakes. According to the websites www.earthquakecountry.info and www.daretoprepare.org, there are 7 step to getting prepared for earthquakes. This week we will look at the number one.
Identify potential hazards in your home and begin to fix them. What does this mean exactly? It means reducing and eliminating potential hazards throughout your home. By making your house as safe as possible, you can greatly reduce your risk of injury or death during or following the next earthquake or disaster.
Start by going through your house and having a hazard hunt. This should include anything heavy enough to hurt you if it falls on you and/or expensive or fragile enough to be a significant loss if it falls. Let’s take a look at things we can do to secure our homes, one room at a time.
In the Kitchen:
Websites such as http://safetycentral.com/earprep.html have a large selection of items to help you secure your appliances and many other items in your house.
Tomorrow, we will discuss furniture and electronics and how to secure those items as well.
May
8
Tomorrow, May 9, 2012 is our montly board meeting for May. It will be held at the water district office in the board room. We start at 10 a.m. sharp and hope you can join us. Everyone is welcome to attend.
May
3
I was asked to write an article for the Going Green insert that will soon be in the Town Crier. Since I have made many posts and written articles about composting, rain water harvesting and mulching, I felt it was time to write about another way to save water in the garden. Container gardening! I know, you may be thinking that containers are a lot of work as they dry out quickly. However, there are a couple of products out there that can alleviate this problem.
Self watering planters, such as those made by Earthbox, have a reservoir under the soil area to allow the plants to wick up the water as they need it. This solves several problems. First of all, it reduces the amount of water used. You fill up the reservoir once or twice a week, depending on the weather and the plants in the container, and the plants do the rest. The other benefit of this type of planter is that you can never over water or under water your plants. The plants take up the water as they need it as so they are always perfectly watered.
For a more low tech option, we introduced Ollas to you last year at the Earth Fair. Ollas as simply unglazed clay containers that get buried in the ground with your plants. You fill the olla with water and it weeps out through the unglazed clay, thereby watering the plants. Ollas can be used in containers or in your garden. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and you can even make your own out of unglazed clay pots.
Keep an eye out for my article to learn more about these simple, time and water saving methods of gardening.
May
3
Wednesday, May 9th, 2010, is our montly board meeting. It starts at 10 a.m. sharp and everyone is welcome to attend. Board meetings are held in the board room at the water district office, which is located at 24917 Marion Ridge Road. Hope to see you there
Apr
24
According to The James Reserve Weather info, another storm is on the way! Doesn’t look like a lot of snow this time around….just a lot of rain!
Apr
13
Another winter storm has arrived here on the hill. At 10:30 a.m. it is starting to lightly snow. Here is what the weather forecast has to say about the next couple of days.
Today: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Some thunder is also possible. High near 35. Breezy, with a west wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches possible.
Tonight: Snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 19. Breezy, with a west wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 34. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. West wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
As always, if you are planning to travel up or down the hill, take chains with you and use precautions. Check the highway conditions and be on your guard for the unexpected. When driving in winter weather, you never know what the other person is going to do. There have been many occasions when I was driving along only to come around a turn and find a car slide across the road or someone stopped in the roadway to put on their chains. If possible, it is best not to drive during the. Wait until it subsides and the road crews have had time to plow.
Hopefully this will be Old Man Winter’s last horray and spring will come back soon! I know I am ready for it. How about you?
Apr
13
Hi everyone! Well here I am at the new blog. Hope you found your way over. The old blog is still up at www.pinecovewaterdistrict.blogspot.com. I will let it up for a while just in case there is any information on it that you would like to save. All my new postings will be here at the new blog. Look for new posts about water saving topics like rain water harvesting and how to create a garden that retains water rather than shedding it. There will be lots to talk about as the summer progresses. Hope to see you all at our new home!
Apr
5
Special Offer from PCWD
PCWD has a special offer for it’s customers. We are taking Pre-Orders for Ivy Rain Barrels. They are 50 gallons barrels, with locking lids and a linking capacity. These normally run $139.00 each, plus s/h, but we are offering them to our customers, on a pre-order basis for approximately $47.00, plus s/h. If you are interested in purchasing one of these for your property, please call Vicki @ 951-659-2675 between the hours of 9 and 1, and she will be happy to take your order.
Mar
23
If your planning on coming up to Pine Cove this weekend, make sure that you bring your chains, and warm clothes! The hill is expecting snow: Sunday: Rain likely, mainly after 11am. Snow level 7300 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%, with more snow expected Sunday night and Monday. Make sure you have food, water and a warm blanket in your vehicle, in case of an emergency.
Mar
22
Please be patient while the District transitions to this new Blog. While we are doing this, you can still log on to our old Blog at www.pinecovewaterdistrict.blogspot.com to see any prior posts.
Mar
22