A Glimpse of “Country Life”

Life in the country has it’s own rhythm.  It’s own “reality” even.  Let me explain…

We have two local markets.  The one is Garberville is Sentry (it’s actually a Ray’s now but it’s still Sentry to anyone who knows).  The store in the neighboring town of Redway is the same way, it’s Murshes but actually it’s ShopSmart.  Basically, if you ask a local how to get to the nearest grocery store, you better not be looking for a sign!  But then again, neither of the towns are big enough to miss the one market in either of them.

Usually the locals here are considerate and nice.  But if a tourist happens to be somewhat annoying (or not even – we don’t really care for tourist even though they do bring in the majority of our clientele) and they ask for directions we will give them the “long way around”.  To be honest, I’ve never Actually done this but I’ve certainly been tempted.  “Well now you need to turn around just ‘head there, go back through town and take the right after the freeway exit, now continue up that road about say…a mile, maybe it’s more then that, it’s right past the driveway with the large turnaround in front and the old pile of gravel, well the gravel’s gone but it’s that driveway, only don’t take that one…keep going until the ridge flattens out and on the other side you’re gonna take a right onto a dirt road. Keep going that way for about an hour…maybe two if you get stuck behind some cows..and that’ll take you right to Myers Flat.”

(In reality, Myers Flat is about 10 miles/10 minutes North on the Freeway

When we were about 16, M and I heard about an old cemetary that was supposed to be up a road near where she lived.  Seeing as we were rather courageous (or stupid, you decide) we wanted to go check it out.  So one Saturday we went for a drive.  We had no idea where it was supposed to be, we just knew it was out this road…somewhere.  We kept an eye on the side of the road and drove.  When we saw the first No Trespassing sign we didn’t think anything of it.  They are EVERYWHERE here, and so we continued on.  Then another passed, and another.  Again we kept going, at least we Thought about turning around, but figured we’d come this far and we Really wanted to see this cemetary.  After the sixth No Trespassing sign (and I think at least one Trespassers Will Be Shot sign) we decided to turn around.  As we made our three point turn I glanced out the window and there it was!  The Cemetary!  Well of a sorts anyway, it turned out to be nothing but a little pet cemetary.  Maybe two kinda sorta headstones all grown over with vines and moss.  We laughed, and couldn’t believe we went through ALL that trouble for nuttin’!

BEAR BUMP!

As you may have noticed, the country is bursting with wildlife. Almost every day I see something beautiful and worth mentioning. One of my most memorable stories is a little short but certainly worth retelling…

About five years ago, the nursery was still in the construction phase, I was hanging out at my brothers house down the way. My father came down the hill on the rhino (a beefed out golf cart) and stopped to pick me up. We were heading down the hill to have dinner with my brother and some friends. We went out the gate, around the corner and had only gotten about…100ft or so down the road when I looked up the hill on my right directly behind my bro’s house and there was a black bear charging down the hill at us. Before I even had time to think he was upon us. He turned just as he reached us and actually bumped into the side of the rhino! My thigh brushed his fur and if I’d had the mind to reach out I would have touched him. He was as long, and almost as wide, as the rhino itself.

My dad hadn’t even noticed the bear was there before he was gone back up the hill again. The entire experience couldn’t have been more then 20 seconds but it’s something I’ll remember forever. Definitely a story to share with the grandkids someday.

I wanted to give you guys at home a little more information about the Wild California Black Bear. I found both of these sites very useful and interesting, I hope you feel the same.

http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/Documents/visitors/wildlife/bear.pdf

http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/mammals/ursu-ame.html

~ Stephanie

Wildlife Abounds

 

A buck standing at attention in the morning fog.

My family’s land is located in the mountains of Northern California.   Because of this, we are surrounded by woods teeming with wildlife.  Most people see a deer and think, “So cute!!”  Although we admire the buck’s beauty, we also see the animal that decimated our olive orchard last spring.

Whenever I walk I almost always catch a glimpse of a deer or two out in a meadow.   Maybe a rabbit might dart across my path or a coyote will howl in the distance.  Dusk is one of my favorite times to walk.   The sky turns so many colors, and the way the light shimmers thru the trees can be breathtaking.   I often find myself daydreaming as I slowly wander down the road.   Seeing a mushroom here or a pile of poop there.

However, walking at dusk has its disadvantages.   As I mentioned before, we are in the wilderness, and with the grazers comes the carnivores.   Mountain lions are aplenty here.   My father and brother have both been stalked multiple times at night.   Now they don’t go out in the dark without a gun.   Dusk is the time for hunting.  Deer (and unfortunately humans’) eyesight is poorest during these late hours of the day.   And mountain lions know this and take advantage.  Luckily I have never been on foot when I’ve spotted a lion (although I’ve definitely gotten the chills like someone is watching me attentively) but I have seen two while driving.   One I only caught a glimpse of a backside with tail.   But the other I was able to see the entire animal, or at least I hope it was all of him.   His head was going off one bank of the road while his tail was still in the bushes on the other side!  He was gone before I had a chance to absorb how huge he really was!  Without tail he had to have been at least 10 feet long.

We’ve never had an animal attack on our land (although they have happened recently in the surrounding area).  We do find deer carcasses quiet often, which is a delight to the dogs.  And although it can be kind of scary to have natural born hunters creeping thru the woods outside your bedroom window, we love it.   Having a healthy ecosystem means we can be secure in the knowledge our land remains abundant and safe, just the way we want it.

Stephanie ~ 1/27/09