Stitch

Here is a new picture of Stitch just because!

Christmas in March?

We have several Christmas cactus in our board room that love it there and joyfully bloom for us each December, per their name.  But every once in a while, they decide to treat us with a second blooming!  I don't know much about Christmas cactus, so I was surprised to see this happening.  Aren't they beautiful?

Beautiful, pink Christmas Cactus





Here is another one blooming as well!

Newspapers are coming!

Progress is being made on bringing some newspaper machines to the water district for our customers convenience.  The cement slab to hold the paper machines has been poured.  Everything should be completed by this Friday.  So stop by, put your mail in the mail box and buy a newspaper.

Cement slab is poured and drying.

Today's Board Meeting

This morning was our monthly board meeting.  Next month's meeting will be held on April 13 at 10 am.  Hope to see you there.

Stitch, Mike, Lou, Dan and Joel waiting for the meeting to start.

Joel, Tom, Jerry and Becky getting ready to start the board meeting.

Paying by Credit Card

There seems to be some confusion when it comes to paying your bill by credit card.  Yes, you can pay it using a Visa card, Mastercard or Discover card.  You can do this over the phone or in person here at the office.  There is a $2.50 convenience fee that goes to the company that processes these payments for us.  We do not get that money.  We do not have a merchant account to process these payments as they are too expensive and we would have to pass the cost onto our customers.  It is up to you to decide if you want to use a credit card and pay the fee or not.  We are happy to accept checks, money orders and cash.  Many people pay us through their online banking system which is fine also.  We try to give you as many options as possible.

Our billing system is not online.  We cannot set you up on automatic payments at this time and we do not keep any of your credit card information on file anywhere.  Once the payment is processed, the paper work gets shredded.  This may become an option down the road, but at this point in time, it is not available.

If you have any questions regarding paying your bill, please call us at 951-659-2675 and we will be more than happy to answer your questions.

 

Please, Turn Your Water Off!

Wel,l it happened again.  Someone left their mountain home without turning their water off and developed a leak. This was very BIG leak and luckily someone spotted it and turned their water off before it got even bigger.

I know we sound like a broken record, but this is exactly why we keep singing the same old song.

WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR MOUNTAIN HOME, PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR WATER AT YOUR CUSTOMER VALVE!

This one small action can save you from some very big problems.  All the water that runs through your  meter is your responsibility to pay for.  We cannot forgive a water bill because you had a leak.  In most cases of really big leaks, had the water been turned off, this would not have happened.  So again, we are sending out the message to please turn your water off when you leave your mountain home and protect yourself and your property.

Rain Total

According to the weather station, we got a total of .28 inches of rain yesterday.  That's pretty good.  One of the things we discuss at the board meetings is the ground water situation and if the moisture that we have received has been plentiful enough to make it back down into the water supply.  If you have any questions on the state of our water supply, it is a good idea to attend a board meeting as they are a wealth of information. 

If you need a weather forecast, I have link posted on the left hand side of the blog to get the week's forecast. We are still trying to get the weather station live onto the blog, but so far, we haven't been able to achieve that.  But we will keep working on it.  In the meantime, I hope the links will work out.

I also posted several other links that Pine Covers might find useful.  So take a minute and look around the blog.  I am continually adding information that I think is helpful to both our full-time residents as well as our part-time residents.

Board Meeting Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that our monthly board meeting is tomorrow at 10 am.  Hope you can make it.

Raining again!

As I sit here typing my blog posts, we are shrouded in fog.  This is great.  I love a rainy, foggy morning.  I don't know why, but I do.  There is something extremely cozy about it.  Being enveloped in fog and rain is like being given permission to stay indoors and relax.  With weather like this, it seems OK to stay in your jammies all day and watch re-runs of old television shows.   It seems everyone would be content to just hang around in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, the remote control or a good book.

However, I did manage to get myself dressed and make it into work.  According to the weather station we have received .24 inches of rain so far today.  March may have come in like a lamb but this past weekend, the weather across the nation was anything but calm.  We are really very lucky here in Pine Cove.  We don't usually have tornadoes, hurricanes or flash floods to deal with.  While I am sure there is always the possibility they could happen, as a rule they do not.   We also don't usually get those frigid below zero temps and even though we might get large amounts of snow, we don't seem to get those white outs or blizzards that are common in the mid west or back east.  Being out in the snow when the temps are around 30 or so is quite fun.  This past week brought temperatures in the 40s and 50s. I am amazed at how much of last weekend's snow has already melted away.  Once today's storm clears out, the forecast looks like it will return to the nicer weather, so I expect it will all be gone before long.

Before we know it, summer will be here and the winter of 10-11 will be just a distant memory.  Snow is such a magical thing sometimes.  Watching the first flakes of the season slowly drift to the ground is always exciting.  Of course snow at the holidays always makes things seem more festive.  And a walk in the snow when there is a full moon just can't be described as anything less than magical! We are very lucky that we get to enjoy all four seasons here in Pine Cove and that none of them are all that extreme.  Makes for very pleasant living.  So as we leave one season for the next, we will have to say good bye to the rain and the snow, but  we can look forward to the garden springing to life, picnics, sandals, the summer concerts and all the other wonderful activities that go on during the spring and summer months here on the hill.

Board Meeting Reminder

Just a reminder that there is a board meeting on Wednesday, March 9 at 10 am.  Per the Brown Act, our agenda was posted on Friday, March 4th.  If you  want to know what is going to be discussed at the board meeting, you can stop by the office and read it or you can go to our website at www.pcwd.org and Becky has it posted there as well.  Hope to see you there!

Rain Last Night?

I think it rained last night.  Did anyone see or hear it?  I did not.  When I got up and let my dogs out about 5 am, everything was wet.  The weather station did not record any amount of rain, so it must not have been very much rain.  I was a little surprised though as I did not think we would actually get any rain at all. Hopefully the moisture will keep coming our way. 

All in all, it has not been that bad of a winter.  Yes, we have had some storms come through and drop a lot of rain or snow in a short amount of time, but the weather in between storms has been fairly decent.  I was actually pretty amazed at how warm it has been this week.  When the icicles are dripping at 5 am, you know it isn't too cold out.  So even though there is a lot of snow on the ground, it is still pretty nice to be outside. 

Now the question remains, will we get any more snow or is this it for this winter.  I will be curious to see what are rainfall and snow totals end up being for this winter.  It seems like we have had a lot, but I am betting that we haven't gotten as much as what we think we have. 

Snow or no snow, cold temps or warm, please remember that it is important to turn your water off at your customer shut off valve when you leave your mountain home.   

Board Meeting

Next Wednesday is our monthly board meeting.  They are always held on the second Wednesday of each month at 10 am.  If you are interested in seeing what will be on the agenda, we post it right outside our front door.   If you are interested in seeing what has happened at past meetings, you can read the minutes from previous board meetings on our website at http://www.pcwd.org/.  Everyone is welcome to attend and we hope you can make it.

Mailbox is up and running!

The mailbox move is all completed and the mailbox is ready for action.  We hope this works out well for everyone.  We will also be adding a Town Crier paper box in the near future, so I will keep you updated on that.  While it is unfortunate that we no longer have a post office, gas station or market, we are happy to be able to provide a spot for the mailbox and a paper machine.  We hope it helps those of you who don't get to town as often as you might like. 

New Mailbox Location!

As you all know, the closing of the Pine Cove Post Office, the gas station and the Pine Cove Market has left quite a hole in our little community.  With the absence of the market, the lot is not getting plowed on a regular basis, therefore making it difficult to get to the mailbox.  So Jerry Holldber, our General Manager here at the water district, contacted Kelly at the Idyllwild post office and made arrangements to have the blue mailbox moved from it's location outside the old Pine Cove Post Office to the water district. 

It will sit right on the front porch and be accessible 24/7.  We hope this makes things easier for those who need to use the mailbox.  It isn't as good as having the post office back, but it will be better than nothing.  We are located at 24917 Marion Ridge Rd right next to the fire station.  So come on by, mail your letters and stop in and say hi!
                                            
 The bench that used to be here is removed.

                                                  
 Here is the post office van backing in.

                             
 Jeremy and Martin unload the new mail box as Kelly supervises.

Installed and just about ready to go.

March is here!

March has arrived and even though there is a lot of snow on the ground, it is fairly nice out.  So I guess that means that March has come in like a lamb.  The rest of the week doesn't look too bad weather wise.  Hopefully some of this snow will melt before we get any more. 
As we enter into March, it seems like winter will soon be a distant memory.  March 20th is the day spring officially arrives.  Hopefully, the arrival of spring won't mean the end of our moisture for the season.  I am hoping that we receive more moisture for several months yet.

In the meanwhile, it is nice to start thinking about the garden.  I will be heading off the hill soon in search of clay pots for my olla project.  I will be posting my progress on that project, here on the blog.  Olla's shouldn't be used around trees or any type of bush or plant with woody roots, as the roots will break the pot.  But they will work great in the veggie garden, in flower boxes, raised bed gardens, containers and hanging baskets.  From the research I have done, it seems they are a very good way to water outside and conserve water at the same time.  There is virtually no waste involved since the pots are buried underground.  Much more efficient than even drip irrigation.  So I am going to give it a try!

Those of us that like to eat organically and grow our own food are in a kind of catch 22.  Growing food takes water, there is no way around that.  So when you are trying to conserve water, do you forgo vegetable gardening?  I hope not.  That is why I will be doing this experiment with the ollas.  It is my goal to grow my own vegetables as well as conserve water.  Down the road., I will also be working on a rain water harvesting system and will post that project as well once I get to it.  My eventual goal is to harvest enough rain water that I can water outside all summer long without tapping into my hose.  Since plants do better on rain water anyway, this would be a win win situation.  But one project at a time.

It should be an interesting summer.  I am anxious to see how the ollas work and how much water it saves.  So stay tuned!