Another Smoky Stay

Labor Day weekend was smoky, but conditions kept changing. We only did a few short walks, not wanting to develop emphysema, allergic pneumonitis, or black lung.

The first batch of photos were taken on Saturday.

The smoky green tunnel.

An unknown yellow flower flourishes in the diminishing creek bed at Crystal.

Sierra Gentian can still be found.

This is the Honeymoon Cabin, AKA Point Cabin from an angle that is rarely noticed.

These next photos were taking on Sunday, which was hot hot hot. Yes, I know, not compared to down the hill, but in the 80s and smoky in a place without electricity is not what we expect for Labor Day weekend. There has been snow on some Labor Day weekends in the past. 

Sort of a hood ornament.

OF COURSE I stopped to put my feet in.

The last two photos are how things looked when we left around noon on Monday. Nope, not sepia photos, just the normal kind.

May God have mercy on us all.

7 Things I Learned in August

These abalone shells have nothing to do with this post, in case you were wondering.
  1. “Anon” means soon, shortly, presently. A friend said to me, “See you anon”, and I said, “What does that mean? Never mind, I can figure it out, but never heard it before. Is it French or Latin?” She didn’t know, so I looked it up in the cabin dictionary (from 1936) and learned it is English. Who knew?? It doesn’t seem to be related to “anonymous” in any way other than appearance.
  2. Techno-wizardry in perfect harmony – listen to this song with your best speakers. I sent the link to an acquaintance who told me he doesn’t feel proud to live in the USA right now. I did not want to hear his answer of why that is. But his response made me sad, and my hope is that if you feel sad, this beautiful song will lift your spirits. God Bless The USA
  3. After 33 years, is it unreasonable to expect my washing machine to keep working? I looked up the problem on DuckDuckGo (rather than asking The Google, I ask the Duck) and found out there is something called a lid switch. A replacement doesn’t exist, but a Q-tip dipped in white vinegar can clean it back to working condition. Phew – avoided having to go shopping and make a decision.
  4. Isn’t it interesting how you can “know” someone for 30+ years but not know them? I made a new friend in August, and it was such a privilege. (Yes, a distant shot, because we respect people’s privacy here, “we” being the Royal We, since it is only me, myself and I.)
  5. Some people believe that wearing masks is helpful, some believe it is harmful. Is anything easy to figure out anymore?? I am doing my best to make drawing lessons happen again for my students, but it is tricky business to be able to group people together in classes where Maskers and Non-maskers can work together. I am thankful for a large workshop room in an accommodating gallery along with understanding and gracious students.
  6. Trail Guy and I got 2 census forms. We filled out one and tossed the other. Now it has become our problem to slog through the bureaucracy, notifying them that we have indeed complied with the census. Maybe we should have just gotten counted twice and avoided all the hassle that THEY created. (And we are supposed to trust THEM to do mail-in balloting? I feel tired.)
  7. On my trip to the Central Coast with a lifelong friend, we drove by the weird house in Cambria called Nitt Witt Ridge. What a mess – a historical landmark that cannot be lived in (no water meter any more) nor turned into a place of revenue (wrong zoning). It is privately owned, and the owner took us on a tour. He calls it the “anti Hearst Castle”. Indeed. Fascinating, and truly a peculiar sight.

Did you learn anything new and interesting in August?

Smoky Sierra

Of course I am discussing Mineral King here, but “Sierra” sounds better with “smoky”.

In a walk along the road, I saw something that can only be described as trust. Some hikers completely trusted the public when they left their belongings unsecured by their car. It is heartwarming to see this in our current era of highly uncivilized behavior.

I was tempted to park my patoot here and simply knit all weekend. You know, smoke and all.

What got me moving was actually two things: 1. Summer is winding down and I haven’t hiked much. 2. A long time acquaintance asked me to hike with her someplace she had never been. We discussed the Franklin/Farewell trail and also White Chief, and I described each trail and destinations as thoroughly and fairly as possible, leaving the decision up to her.

But first, we had to stop by the Honeymoon Cabin so I could show you the newly refurbished sign. I don’t know why it is also called the “Point Cabin” – can’t see the point there (but can see the smoke.)

Since we were at the base of the White Chief trail, the decision was easy. Besides, Trail Guy was also heading that way (at a much faster pace), and he took a photo of us together where the trail breaks into the lower canyon. My friend (because over the course of 2.5 miles of walking together we had become friends for sure) was blown away by the beauty of White Chief and stunned that in all her years of coming to Mineral King, she hadn’t been there. 

It was a pleasure and privilege to share this place with her, and as an added bonus, my favorite flowers Explorer’s Gentian were in bloom. (Do you have your copy of Mineral King Wildflowers: Common Names yet?)

The light on the way back down the trail was weird and orange. Nothing quite like a natural smoke filter to distort the colors.

It was well worth hiking in the smoky hazy dirty air to make a new friend, see the Explorer’s Gentian, be in White Chief, and revisit the joys of hiking. 

 

 

Not Scared

Did I scare you with that rough painting of a rough cabin on a rough shutter?

These deer weren’t scared.

Let’s soothe your fears with some giant Sequoia trees.

Well, oops, it might have scared you to see them lying sideways. Let’s try it again while they are hanging up to dry.

I’m feeling so proud of this that my head might pop. That’s a scary thought.

Pippin’s not scared. He feels very safe behind the chimney next to the window near my chair. He scared Tucker away from that spot so his selfish little self could have it.

Three Rivers Post Office

When it was time to mail the cabin drawing to the customer, I packaged it. Trail Guy came out to the studio to offer his delivery services, and I was delighted to not have to interrupt my work with a trip to the Post Office. Yes, I know it is only 3-4 miles away, but in the summers, my work days are limited because I keep going to Mineral King instead of keeping my feet planted in front of the easels. So, I value my work time and appreciate not having to do my own errands.

Trail Guy returned from the Post Office with the receipt and an explanation of why it cost $18 to send a piece of paper to San Diego – had to buy a box, pay for insurance, etc. And “piece of paper” isn’t meant to discount the value of an original pencil drawing, but essentially, to the post office, it was a highly insured piece of paper packaged carefully in an overpriced box.

He turned toward the counter in the painting workshop, picked up a taped-together bundle of cardboard and said, “What is this?”

Ahem. That would be the drawing that I thought he had just mailed.

When I got back up off the floor from laughing, I emailed my customer to tell her to expect a box of cardboard, minus her drawing before actually receiving the drawing.

Later that afternoon, I went to the Post Office with the actual drawing. The clerk retrieved the box from the back, we opened it, inserted the drawing, and she taped it back up. No new packaging, no new payments. It was in time to go out with that day’s mail.

I LOVE THE POST OFFICE IN THREE RIVERS!!

This is the Kaweah Post Office, not the Three Rivers Post Office. The unframed original is available for $200. Interested? Give me a pair of minutes to look for it because I can’t find it right now. What else would you expect from someone who mails empty boxes to customers?

 

Smoky Weekend

 

While up the hill, I repainted signs for 3 cabins. That counts as work, yes? Here is one of the befores (it was too smoky to care about photographing it afterward – how is that for an excuse?)

I took my baby pumpkin plants up the hill to babysit them. Here they are when we first arrived:

Here they are 4 days later: If they had been left at home, they would have shriveled and croaked, unless a deer ate them first.

We took one short walk. Look – a car with a man-bun.

Parking is at a premium and some people let their car stick out in the already precariously narrow road. People don’t know that by August, the car part eating marmot activity has ceased. Maybe they just feel safer wearing masks.

It was a thrill to be in the green.

Trail Guy said, “Hey Farmer, why are the aspen leaves sticky?” I think the answer was something that meant bug excrement. Trail Guy dropped the leaf and marched onward.

This is a peculiar sight. A smooth boulder is encased in the rough rocks. We didn’t go closer to investigate because this is the time of meat bees/hornets, very aggressively defending their nests in the ground. I do my best to avoid Hornet Holes in the ground.

On Sunday, the air was truly terrible.

It got worse as we headed down the hill.

And in case you are wondering, at the time of these photos, there were no wildfires in Central California. The smoky conditions demonstrate how the pollution travels to the Central Valley. We tend to have terrible air here and get penalized for it, in spite of it being generated by Northern California cities. Those folks love to blame the farmers. Hope they don’t do so with their mouths full.

Harder and Two Gifts

An old insulator that we hoped to install it in a cabinet but we have yet to get a key that fits.

A wise friend of mine often reminds me that “life is much harder than I expected it to be”. 

I am inclined to agree with that statement because somehow I assumed that adulthood would smooth out the bumps, either because I’d have money, wisdom, or experience to solve or avoid problems.

Haha. Fall down laughing.

  1. When you have a plumbing incident, you do NOT want to hire the guy whose name is always followed by “bless his heart”. (But “all’s well that ends well”, as Ma Ingalls used to say.)
  2. When you order something online, it is a real nuisance to have it arrive in the wrong color or size. The emails and paperwork tell you what you ordered, but the actual item is clearly wrong. This precipitates phone calls to navigate through tangled phone trees where they lie and tell you that the long wait is “due to an unusually high volume of calls”. There are ALWAYS more calls than can be handled; it is not unusual. So then you go to the website, and it doesn’t work. Sigh.
  3. Upgrades for technical devices provide you with 2 choices: skip them and eventually things won’t work or do them and immediately things won’t work.
  4. When you buy something that has to be assembled, you can assume that there will be typos, parts will be called by the wrong names, little pieces will be missing or won’t work, and then you can go through the same type of maddening exercise as in scenario 2 above..
  5. When you have a key made to a door or perhaps a locked cabinet, just assume it won’t fit and that you will have to have it remade. Recently I am three for three on failed attempts to get keys made right the first time.

In spite of these situations, every once in awhile life hands you a little gift or two.

  1. It was time to buy oil for Fernando (he burns some but what do you expect at 230,000 miles?) and IT WAS ON SALE FOR HALF PRICE!

I only bought 2 quarts. Motor oil, cat food, and printer ink should all be bought in small quantities. This is one of my guiding economic principles in life. You can probably figure out the reasoning behind this decision.

2. And a friend sent me this unexpected gift, because she is thoughtful, generous, full of good humor, and tuned in to what I enjoy.

 

 

Mellow in Mineral King

Something about arduous hiking is not ringing my bell this summer. When I am in Mineral King, I am opting for quiet time knitting, sitting (to read, visit, or knit), and splitting (wood), or easy walks with friends, alone, or with Trail Guy. (He does his hiking when I am working.) This summer is especially mellow because all the regular events have been cancelled and suddenly, we have reclaimed many days that used to be scheduled for us. I confess to feeling relief at being released from the mandatory activities.

 

The Honeymoon Cabin is the museum of the Mineral King Preservation Society.
Trail Guy found this along the road several years ago and we tried to put it in the Honeymoon Cabin museum but alas, the key to the case didn’t fit. (Have you noticed that when you get a new key made, you often have to get it remade?)
Felwort is bluer in real life than in this photo
This large dual trunk is a Jeffrey pine along the Nature Trail. If you stick your nose against it, you might get a hint of a vanilla scent. There used to be signs along the trail. The Park made replacements but got sidetracked by a virus; now the trail needs signs and to be brushed.
This might be a nice trail painting, especially if I add in wildflowers.
For fun, I took 6 different photos of Sawtooth to paint from next year. This is number one as you walk up the Nature Trail.
view #2
#3
#4
#5
#6
Evening light on the bridge is magical. We like to sit on the railing and watch the light change.
Is this a flower??
Glacial daisies look like bigger, fuller, white asters.
New (to me) flower
There were good gentians (Sierra like this one and Explorer, my favorite) along with many other flowers at Soda Springs.

Thus we conclude our tour of a mellow weekend in Mineral King. (Not lazy – I made great progress on a sweater, split a pile of kindling, finished 2 books and started a 3rd, spent great time with cabin friends and took 2 walks. So there.)

Painting The Desert

There are people who like the desert; I am not one of them. When I was in Israel a few years ago, I remember thinking “THIS was the ‘land of milk and honey’, ‘the Promised Land??” Deserts make me feel hot and thirsty, worried about water, missing green.

There must be beauty in the desert for so many people to like it. One of the strong motivational forces in my life is to find beauty wherever I can. While visiting a friend in Death Valley, I enjoyed looking for the beauty and then determined that I would find something in my photos to paint.

Have a look at the progress since I first showed this to you.

The painting was on hold while I finished some commissions. While waiting for others to dry in order to continue, I finished the desert painting.

And as always, when it is dry I will scan it so you can better appreciate its qualities (and it will be squared up, something that eludes me with a camera.)

9 New Things I Learned in July

  1. Thieves’ Oil is a blend of 5 essential oils that is said to have protected grave robbers from contracting plagues. People today use it to build immunities and prevent infections. Look it up if this rings your bell. I’ve been using it, and so far, no China virus (not that I think Thieves’ Oil is the reason).
  2. I had a day that required mask wearing for more than an hour because I was indoors with lots of other people and learned that it is very uncomfortable and unnatural.
  3. To paint well, a printed photograph is better than (or in addition to) the screen.
  4. Good wildflowers in the foothills isn’t a guarantee of good wildflowers in the high country.
  5. Teaching to draw via Zoom is workable to a point; when it is time to shade, hands-on is the only way I can be effective.
  6. I met a veterinarian with a mobile practice; I hope I never have to wrestle my cats into a carrier and then drive them somewhere, ever ever ever again. She is a delight! Emily Farmer, Woodlake Vet Housecall (or something like that), Phone Number: 559-769-3666
  7. Fraudsters prey on grandparents by gleaning info from young folks’ social media and then hire actors to sound as if the grandkid is in trouble and needs cash, pronto. They know how to tug on heartstrings and scare grandfolks. You might have known this, but warn the grandparents in your life. I keep hearing more and more accounts of this that will make your skin crawl from the utter depravity of preying on the vulnerable in society.
  8. Heavenly Blue or Blue Mantle – finally learned the name of these flowers that bloom each summer at Wolverton Point on the Mineral King Road (and on the 3 mile road leading out of Hume Lake).
  9. Sometimes high-end cheese comes in a can. I am not making this up. It looks like a giant tuna can. No, really, look at this (and it is really good, very mild):What did you learn in July?