Sep
03
2010
0

The West Fire

Tuesday afternoon, July 27, at around 2:40 pm, I headed into town to do my volunteering at the library. But I got no more than around 300 yards down the road, when I saw smoke from a fire off to the right. A couple of trucks were parked along the road, and a fire truck was just arriving. Merle, our Property Owners Association President, was parked on the other side of the road. She told me to go back and park alongside the road—they wanted to leave the road clear for firefighters. She said someone had been clearing brush, and a spark from his equipment had started a fire. At the time, it was still confined to that one property, but the fire was clearly getting bigger even as we talked. She kept one eye on the blaze, and saw flames shoot 30 feet high!

I told her I would just turn around and go home, which I did. I called my mom next door to let her know what was happening, then called the library to tell them I wouldn’t be coming.

Not long after that, one of our neighbors and volunteer firefighter, George, came by to tell us to evacuate. The fire was getting out of control and we needed to get out. So I called my mom again and we started hurriedly packing. I threw my laptop/iPod/books/bandages into bags and a lot of random clothes into my suitcase. I told mom to bring her stuff and her cat down to my place, and I’d fix a cardboard box with holes in the top for her to use as a carrier for her cat. I needed to do that for one of my cats, too, since she’d outgrown her carrier ages ago and I’d never gotten around to getting a new one. I continued packing and soon Mom arrived with her cat, Buddy.

Then George came back. “We have to go right now! Take what you’ve got and let’s go!” (more…)

Written by Cody Nelson in: daily ramble |
Apr
17
2009
0

Fresh vegetables

I get my first delivery from Abundant Harvest Organics tomorrow! I’m kind of excited.

I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to handle picking up my weekly delivery plus working on Saturdays. The delivery has to be picked up between 10:30 and 11:00 am at Mama Hillybeans, and then I work from 1:30 to 5:00. So that’s two and a half hours to fill. I don’t like the idea of driving back and forth to town twice in one day. I can have lunch at Mama Hillybeans, but that won’t take the whole two and a half hours. I had thought of taking my laptop and using Mama Hillybeans’ free wifi to hunt dragons. But I’m scroll-locked right now, and it doesn’t look like any of my hatchlings are going to grow up in time to let me to pick up any more eggs tomorrow. Oh well, maybe next week!

Written by Cody Nelson in: daily ramble |
Apr
13
2009
0

The Dragons of Spring

<div class=\"postavatar\">The Dragons of Spring</div>

Saturday, I had lunch in town at Mama Hillybeans cafe´, local coffeehouse that I’ve been meaning to try out for ages. As soon as I walked in, I felt at home. I felt as though I were back in San Francisco, at one of the zillions of funky little corner cafe´s that dot the city. They had menus written on chalkboards full of organically grown vegetables and Fair Trade coffees and teas, scuffed tables and chairs, a few couches and easy chairs, a fountain in the corner with a Buddha head decoration, a cheerful mural painted on the wall. I had a cup of lentil soup with cornbread, a salad, and hot chocolate, and it was all delicious. The music playing was a combination of Billie Holiday and hippie rock classics. I was surprised and pleased to hear Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Ohio” on the sound system, and even more pleased to hear the amiable-looking middle-aged man at the sofa behind me singing along. There are hippies in Tehachapi! 🙂 And this is where to find them.

Not only that, they have free wifi. I will definitely be going back regularly.

While I was there, I also saw a notice saying that they are now a drop-off point for Abundant Harvest Organics, an alliance of small organic farms that delivers produce weekly to drop-off points around the region. So I went there and signed up for the small box of yummy food, and am looking forward to getting my first delivery of fresh, organic food next Saturday.

Adopt one today! Adopt one today!

Adopt one today! Adopt one today! Adopt one today! Adopt one today!

Written by Cody Nelson in: daily ramble |

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