Monday Musings

August is here!  Wow, where is the time going?  Wasn't it just the 4th of July the other day?  Well, we still have lots of summer concerts and the Jazz Festival to look forward to before we head into Labor Day weekend.  July went out spectacularly.  What a lovely, rainy weekend.  While I didn't get any painting done on my shed, I can't complain.  The rain was well worth putting off the painting for another week. It will probably take me until Christmas time to get it done anyway.  The rain was a good excuse for staying inside and napping!  I did do some inside chores, but I also took the liberty of goofing off as well.  I just love waking up to a cloudy, rainy morning and it puts me in a good mood for the remainder of the day. 

This morning as I walked to work, everything looked so refreshed.  I think most of the pine pollen has now been washed away, as I saw very little of it during this storm.  The last storm that came through created yellow rivers and puddles, due to the large amount of pine pollen that had settled onto everything.  I noticed the plants and trees all looked extremely happy this morning.  Freshly showered and cooled off, they were standing taller, looking greener and I think some of my trees actually grew over the weekend!  Rain is an amazing gift and it rejuvenates everything living here on the mountain.  The plants and trees  Rain is so incredibly refreshing during the summer.  I tire easily of the heat and the dryness.  But the rain brings a coolness to the air that is invigorating and I think plants, animals and humans are grateful for the break from the unrelenting sunshine. 

We have a couple more chances for rain this week and I do hope they pan out.  Here in southern California, I don't think we can have too much rain in the summer time.  At least not in my opinion.

Monday Musings

Each Monday morning, I try to take the time to go through the stats for the blog.  It is amazing that we are getting hits from around the world!  A lot of them are due to searches people are making and a related post from our blog pops up in their search.  While they are are not specifically looking for Pine Cove Water District, I still think it is pretty neat that our little blog is being seen and some posts are being read around the world.  We do have a lot of hits from people coming directly here to read the latest posts or about the board meetings or various other things going on here at the water district as well and we are grateful to those who read regularly.    We want to thank everyone for their support of our little blog.

We are working our way to 10,000 hits and this is amazing to us.  I remember when we hit 1,000 and thought that was really great.  We never thought we would get anywhere near 10,000 hits, so we are very excited about that.

 We would also like to encourage everyone who reads the blog, to let us know what subjects they are interested in seeing here on the blog, as sometimes we feel like we are repeating ourselves quite a bit.  Water is a very important subject and can also be a very deep subject as well, (I know, very puny) but we are trying to keep it light and local here on the blog.  So if you have a suggestion for a subject, please let us know.

 If you would like to write a post on a topic that is pertinent to our blog, drop me an email and if it fits our format, I will publish it and let everyone know it was a guest poster.  You can be anonymous if you prefer, but I would love to have some guest bloggers to give the blog a bit of variety.   You can email me directly at pcwd2675@yahoo.com.  We would also like to encourage everyone to leave any comments they might have as we love to hear from our customers.

We hope you are all enjoying the nice summer weather and have a fun filled summer.

Monday Musings

I think summer is finally here.  What an odd spring we had this year. As summer arrives tomorrow, the weather is due to heat up for the next couple of days.  I am sure since we had such a cool spring that this will feel like a heat wave to many people here in Pine Cove.   I think we have been having perfect weather lately.  It doesn't get any better than the low 70's in the day time and 50's at night.  What could be better?  The coming week looks to be very pleasant once we get past Wednesday's predicted high of 86.  It will then go back to the 70's and night time temps will drop from the 60's back to the 50's.  It is during this type of weather that I enjoy living in Pine Cove the most.  It is truly idyllic.

Monday Musings

What a wonderful weekend we just had.  The weather was absolutely beautiful.  There is nothing better than warm days and cool nights.  Makes for wonderful sleeping.  Well, unless you  have to listen to your neighbors barking dogs from 1 am until about 8 or 9 am each day. Please forgive me for the rant that follows, but I have gotten no more than about 3 or 4 hours sleep each night over this past weekend and I may not be in my normal good humor, as I am not one that can function well if I don't get my 8 hours per night!

Here in Pine Cove, I would like to think that we are all neighbors, regardless of our specific addresses.  Since I work at the water district and get to met many of you, I view you all as my neighbors and would hope that you would return that favor to me as well. That being the case, I try to keep my home's appearance and noise level to what I would consider reasonable for my particular neighborhood and I would hope that others would return the favor.  I am finding out that this is not the case.

 Since I have moved to my current home, I have been inundated with music blasting so loud it rattled the dishes in my cupboards, couples fighting in the street using extremely vulgar language within ear shot of my two young daughters,  a pit bull breeder who beat his dogs in the front yard despite my attempts to stop the abuse, various renters who brought with them assorted problems such as drug use and child abuse, a condemned property, a drug dealer who had customers coming and going at all hours and then there was that whole woman's shelter fiasco.  If I described some of the goings on I have witnessed over the past few years to people unfamiliar with Pine Cove, they would think I was living in the ghettos of the inner city somewhere!  I don't think that my experiences are typical of life in Pine Cove though.  At least I hope not.  As each one has moved on, I breath a sigh of relief and think OK, now things will be normal.  But to no avail, as one problem seems to be replaced with another.  I am beginning to think that I have had the misfortune to purchase a house smack dab in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle of Pine Cove. 

I have long pondered why people get dogs, only to shove them out into the yard and pay little mind to them or their socialization and training.  My dogs are not perfect and every naughty behavior they have developed is due to either a lack of training, discipline or an over indulgence on my part. They are not to be blamed.  Such is the case with the barking dog in my vicinity.  He is obviously lonely outside all night and all day and is trying to get his human owner's attention.  Barking is the only way he has of communicating.  When he is ignored, he continues on in hopes of getting attention.  Unfortunately, from what I heard, all he got was shouted at. What people don't seem to realize is that dogs do not train themselves and do not just automatically behave in the ways we want them to.  They have to be taught

This really breaks my heart to think of a dog not getting the love and attention he so desperately wants and needs.  So I would like to remind everyone that being a dog owner is a very long and serious commitment.  Sometimes as long as 15 years or even more. Please do not get a dog without taking the time to really stop and think it through.  They look to us to meet all of their needs.  There is so much more to owning a dog than just feeding it every day.  They have mental needs as well as physical needs and providing them with plenty of  mental stimulation is just as important as giving them  lots of exercise and  fresh, clean food and water.  On top of that, they need training, discipline and lots of affection and interaction with their humans.  There is also the financial aspect of owning a pet.  They need shots, visits to the vet, get sick and of course need things like food, collars, leashes, toys and medications.  So please, be brutally honest with yourself before you adopt a dog, because it you aren't, then it is the dog and your neighbors who will pay the price for your bad decision.

We have a very special and unique community here in Pine Cove and it would be my dream that we would all live by the simple rule we learned in kindergarten.  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.    It is really that simple.  Please, think through your decision to get a particular pet and really be honest with yourself as to the level of care and commitment you can realistically provide for the animal before you get it.  They have no control over who adopts them and I am sure it isn't the dog's choice to be locked outside in the yard all night.  I know my dogs are at their happiest when they are with their human family.  I hope that this particular dog's owner will see the light and provide his dogs with the attention they are so desperately trying to get.  And if you are thinking of adopting a dog, make sure you can do so for the right reasons and that you can provide for ALL of it's needs.  Please take the time to think it through and be sure you are ready to make such a huge commitment.  Everyone will thank you for it.

Monday Musings a day late!

Well I didn't get to post yesterday, so here I am today.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the holiday, if you celebrate.  The weather was not so good, but at least there was no snow!  For some reason, snow just seems really wrong at Easter time.  But the rest of the week looks pretty good.  Hopefully it won't be long until spring is here in full swing.

Next month will bring the Earth Fair and Pine Cove Water District will again have a booth there.  I would encourage you to stop by and say hi and see what we have to show you.  As you all know already, we are leaving Stage I, however, that doesn't mean you should stop conserving water.  So part of our focus at the Earth Fair will be on how to conserve water in the garden.  If we get into good habits of conserving water, then even when we have dry years, we will be able to still enjoy our gardens. 

There are a few tricks we can all do to help make our gardens retain water throughout the summer months.  We will be demonstrating examples of how to do this at the Earth Fair.  We hope you can stop buy and say hi.

Monday Musings

Welcome to the last week of January 2011. Time is whizzing on by as per usual. Before you know it, spring will be here. All this nice weather isn't helping either as it is really giving me a whopping case of spring fever. I am trying to control my gardening urges as I know winter is not over and I would be fool hardy to even thing about starting to planting things right now. So I console myself with cleaning out the beds, removing fallen branches and needles and planning what I want to do in the garden this spring. It will be hard to go back to winter after several weeks of such nice, mild weather, but I know we aren't done just yet.

If you really can't resist the urge to get out there plant something, bare root trees can be planted during the winter, however, I do not fancy having to go out and water them in the cold, so I stick to fall or spring for my tree planting. But, if you are brave and don't mind doing a little winter watering, you can go ahead and plant a tree right now. Just be mindful that if you do and we do not receive a generous amount of snow or rain, you will have to go out and water that tree in the cold!

At my house, this creates a problem because I have disconnected my hose to prevent my pipes from freezing. Of course, I could always hook it back up, however, the snow from my metal roof slides off right in front of the hose and it doesn't take long until I have a 4 foot high mountain of snow there. I also do not want to be caught with my hose hooked up during a storm and have to scale that mountain to try to disconnect it after it has frozen. So no hose would mean toting buckets of water out into the yard and frankly, it just doesn't seem worth the effort when I can just wait a few more weeks and not have to deal with the snow and cold in the garden. Once I think the worst is over, then I will do some tree planting.

It is easy to forget that even though the weather isn't hot, that sometimes our trees and plants need watered during the winter. A lot depends on how much snow and rain we get and how good your soil is and how well you have mulched. Now is a good time to do that since the snow is gone and the daytime temps are pretty nice. Just remember to water around late morning or early afternoon so the water has a chance to soak in before any freezing could occur. And remember to disconnect your hose when you are done. Covering you outside faucet is a really good idea as well.

Try to avoid planting trees during the heat of the summer. This is probably the worst time to plant, as they will need an excessive amount of water just to stay alive. If you are like me and don't want to brave doing it in the cold, then just opt for spring or fall planting. While you will still have to water, it won't be as frequently since the temperatures won't be as hot. If you plant in the fall, which is really the best time in my opinion, then it isn't long before the snow and the rain helps you along and you don't have to do so much work. Just be sure to check on them and make sure they are getting enough water and supplement them if they need it.

With a little care, we can help our trees make it through the winter months, nice and health. Healthy trees are better able to fight off diseases and make it through the long, dry summer. Now is also a good time to add some compost to the soil and put on a layer of mulch if you haven't already done so. We still have FREE MULCH just for the taking, so stop buy and pick some up. It will slowly decompose and enrich the soil by making a lovely compost and you won't have to do a thing. Mother Nature will take care of it for you. What could be easier?

Monday Musings

Monday again. How fast they seem to come around. While the weekend wasn't all that warm, it was nice to have a break from the snow and rain. This week is calling for fairly clear weather. I am personally hoping that the snow we have gets to melt off before we get more. We are off to a good start with moisture. I hope it continues through the rest of the winter. However, I am hoping that we do have a nice spring this year as I don't prefer snow in May like we had last year. Unfortunately, the weather rarely seems to take my wishes into consideration.

Once the holidays are over and we get into January, it is hard not to start to look forward to the nicer weather here on the hill and planning for the garden. We still have free bark chips that make excellent mulch if you are in need of mulch. It is an excellent way to help your trees and plants retain moisture. It also slowly decomposes, adding important nutrient rich compost to your soil and you don't have to do a thing. So stop on by and pick some up

Monday Musings

It is beautiful Monday morning. Cold, but clear and sunny. After a long holiday weekend, it is nice to get back to the daily routine. While holidays are nice, I always feel like I am living in a dream world for those few days. Once Monday hits, it is back to reality and I find that comforting. Since I am very routine oriented, I am always happy to be back at my desk here at the water district.

All the employees here at the Pine Cove Water District, hope that each of our customers had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. But now it is back to the business of running the water district. You will notice the boys, Jerry and Jeremy, out and about reading meters. New water bills will be out shortly.

We would like to remind everyone that we bill every other month on the even months. So we will be sending out December's bills in a few days. Remember that water bills are due on the 25th of the month. If you have not paid your bill by the due date, you will receive a late notice reminding you that the bill is due and that a late charge will be added to your account should it not be brought current.

We would also like to remind our customers that we now accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards. You can stop in and pay with your card or you can phone us and pay over the phone. There is a $2.50 processing fee that is charged by the company who processes the credit card payments for us. This money goes to them and not to us! We hope this option helps you manage your water bills.

If you need more information on our billing policies, please feel free to call the office at 951-659-2675 during regular business hours, which are now Monday thru Friday from 9 am until 4 pm.

Monday Musings

I cannot believe this. I woke up to rain again this morning. I was very happily surprised that we were blessed with more moisture today. I do hope this trend continues, even though the powers that be are predicting a dryer than normal winter. We may not be breaking any precipiation records, but in my book, some rain is better than no rain. I do hope this pattern keeps up.

The trees are turning colors and it is really looking like fall here on the hill. Add to that the cooler, foggy weather this morning and it adds up a perfect autumn day here on the hill. Of course, the weekend was beautiful as well. It seems that everyday is a beautiful day here on the hill no matter what the weather is doing.

We still have free mulch available for those who want to get some mulch down prior to the snow flying. Just come on up and help yourself. The mulch pile is located on Marion Ridge Road right behind our workshop/garage. You can't miss it!

Monday Musings

Mondays are sometimes given a bad rap as the day no one wants to see come. I don't mind them though. There is a certain rhythm to live, especially when one is working at a job or going to school, and sometimes the weekend can leave me feeling a little at lose ends as I have no set schedule to abide by.

Come Monday, things seem to settle back into place and my schedule is set for me. No guess work as to what I am going to be doing and when. I can plan my work and work my plan.

Starting on Monday, October 4, we are now open during lunch. Previously, the office was closed from 12 until 1 for lunch. But now, I will be working a set schedule in which I will be here during the lunch hour. We hope this works out well for those of you, who have in the past, called or stopped by only to find us "out to lunch." No more. I will be here usually from 9 until 1 or from 12 until 4. So come on by, the door is open!