Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving


Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving with a photo of a wild turkey I took north of Sacramento and a 2009 post that's an oldie but goodie:

Some interesting turkey facts on this Thanksgiving Day.

Turkeys are the biggest game birds in North America. Wild turkeys have dark feathers to help them blend in with their surroundings. They eat seeds, berries, acorns and small insects. At night, they evade predators by sleeping on tree branches.

Wild turkeys populate many areas of the country. Seems wild turkeys were also native to the Los Angeles basin. Don't know if any wild turkeys remain here. But, there are wild turkeys in northern California. The flock above was photographed in the Sierra foothills.

None other than Benjamin Franklin championed the turkey for the nation's Great Seal. Dismissing the bald eagle as a scavenger of bad moral temperament. Franklin preferred the turkey because, "though a little vain and silly" it is a "Bird of Courage." I think Franklin more loathed eagles than exalted turkeys. He also made a case for putting a rattlesnake on the Great Seal.

Ever wondered how the turkey got named? The Story of How the Unofficial Bird of the United States Got Named After a Middle Eastern Country is an entertaining piece on the MIT website that explores the question. And yes, our word "turkey" was named after the country Turkey.

The turkey on your table this afternoon is a distant cousin to the birds that fed the Pilgrims or which roam wild in the foothills. The National Turkey Federation website describes modern turkey production. Domesticated birds have been bred to maximize breast and thigh meat, can't fly, and have white feathers which don't leave pigment spots when the bird is plucked. The NTF reports that per capita consumption of turkeys in 2009 is estimated to reach 17 pounds.  That's a lot of turkey.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Forecast: Hot

The forecast for today, October 1, is very hot -- 105 with a real feel of 109.  Pretty much the same for tomorrow.   PSN's award winning columnist and Temple City blogger, Steve Scauzillo, has a good piece on our spate of oppressive weather including some observations from JPL scientist Bill Patzert.  Experts say we're in for a hot and humid October.  But looking ahead, I see Accuweather's calling for cool temps next week and even rain for next Monday.  We'll see.

Anyway, the photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when we had the whole weather works going -- heat, thunder, lightening and rain.  Today, no clouds.  Just hot and humid.   Crazy weather for Southern Cal.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

1961 Cadillac at TJ's

Forty grand will get you this 1961 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible, parked and on sale today at the Trader Joe's parking lot.   There's an information sheet on the side window that says the this '61 was one of only 1,450 made and was designed as a "toned down" version of the more ostentatious Cadillacs of the late 1950's.  No mention of the Elvis plate -- maybe the King owned one.  In 1961 this car would cost you $6,477, which equates to about a $50,000 car today.  

 I'm not normally big on cars.  But, this is history.


Saturday, August 4, 2012

County Official Points Gun at Compost Guru?

Earlier this year I posted about my meeting with local legend, Tim Dundon.   I recounted my visit to his home in northwest Altadena, which is more or less a monument to compost.   Chickens and geese run loose at Tim's place and have for more than three decades.  That's Tim pictured above dumping a a load of compost in our yard.  

The Pasadena Star News has posted an excellent video interview with Tim.   The piece was filmed by Walt Mancini at Tim's home, which Tim refers to as the "Wormisphere."   The video captures Tim as an entertaining and eccentric lyricist and compost guru.  It also touches on Tim's most recent encounter with The County.  As Tim describes it on the video, The County's actions are absolutely shocking.

Now, if you want to get real technical about things, conditions at the Wormisphere might violate one or two County rules.   And, apparently a new neighbor called with a complaint.   So,it is not surprising to me that The County would send someone to check out the Wormisphere.  

But, I'm shocked to hear that The County sent officials to Tim's place with weapons drawn.  Yeah, that is what is reported in the video and in a companion PSN story.   In the video, Tim reports and demonstrates that a gun was pointed at him.       

And, earlier this week, the PSN ran a story by James Figueroa reporting that, according to Tim, Los Angeles County officials came onto his property,  "held a gun to his face" and threatened to kill his dog.  In a creepy parallel, the story also quoted a County building official urging Tim to cooperate with The County and stating, "We're pretty good about working with the public." 

What am I missing here?   How on earth does a complaint about loose chickens and plants lead to The County entering Tim's property with guns drawn?

You can call Tim visionary or eccentric, but he's hardly dangerous.   The County's actions are outrageous, scary, and need to be immediately redressed.     

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bear Attack Kills Two Chickens

 
Early Tuesday morning I took one step outside and saw this.  Sometime during the night, the side of our chicken house had been ripped off. 

Right away I knew it was bears.   A mother bear and two cubs have been in the area for weeks now.  Sunday night they were in a yard up our street and attracted the attention of the police, animal control and a helicopter.   On Monday morning, which is our trash pick up, they upended our trash cans and those of many up and down the street.    

As I put on my shoes, I was stunned, mad and sad all at the same time.  I knew we had lost chickens and I knew the bears had gotten them.   I walked to the hen house and saw a mass of feathers inside.   And the nesting boxes I made had been broken apart.   It was not hard to envision what had happened.    

I counted five chickens.   All were intact and looked fine.   Two of our flock were missing.   

I walked the yard and quickly found the remains of our two hens.    One hen, dubbed Speedy by our daughter, had been eaten no more than 20 feet from our back door.   The other hen, a pretty buff and white feathered chicken, had been taken to the front of the yard.   Very little was left of either bird.

I also saw plenty of other bear evidence -- two piles of bear poop, a broken fence and punctured volleyball.  


Though we live in the City of Pasadena, we're no strangers to wildlife.  I've devoted more space on this blog to wildlife than anything else for the simple reason that I'm amazed by it.   It is fascinating to see a hawk, coyote or bear in real life. 

Until now, I've thought we coexisted reasonably well with the wildlife.  But, the bears present an unusual challenge.  They're just so big and strong.   Coyotes can be fenced out. But, bears -- they go where they want and do what they want, including breaking through fences and ripping the siding off a chicken coop.        

I have to admit they're wearing on me.   I can deal with the trash barrels.    I don't like it, but I can fix a fence or two.   But, I hate losing our chickens. 

***********************

As I post this, I'm not sure what we're going to do.  We hear from others that bears are still in the neighborhood.   As things stand, we have no way to stop them from breaking into the coop again.   And, if we left our remaining chickens in the coop, the bears would certainly return for more.   So, while we figure things out, we've temporarily  relocated our chickens to another home.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Bee in cardoons

 Our cardoon plant took off this year and is now about eight feet tall.  It is related to the artichoke, and grows dramatic purple flowers on top of a spiky globe.   The bees love them.  Supposedly, cardoon stalks and flowers are popular food items in the Mediterranean.     We tried the stalks and found them stringy.  Maybe we harvested too late in the year.