Author: Lady in the Forest

Lady in the Forest http://mylady.blog I am a retired lady, who happens to live in the Stanislaus National Forest, in Northern California.

NaNoWriMo?

[Note: November is National Novel Writers Month]

Like every October, I find myself debating if I want to dedicate November to working on a book. For the last few years, I have finished (then edited) Involuntary Tourist. The 7th draft (this year’s edit, because I need to correct and research more areas) will be put on hold. I have not abandoned my former story; I still have a love for the characters, storyline, etc. BUT –

I want to work on something new. I have not yet brainstormed about a new story, plot, or characters, so this book will be as new to me as to any reader. I am excited about this and terrified. What if I only have one book in me? Can I create a new and completely different story? Will I spend this November banging my head against my keyboard in frustration?

No. I decided if I am going to give this a go, I need to be positive and happy about it. Plunging into a project feeling negative about it is not healthy. This project is a way to break free (for a while) from Involuntary Tourist and reboot my brain. AND, this can’t be a story that I researched, or began years ago either.

I downloaded the NaNo Prep workbook this morning, and when I get home this afternoon, I will begin Session 1. “Develop a Story Idea You’re Passionate About”

I’m in trouble already…

A Good Soaking Rain or Two

Will really help us forest creatures a lot!

The forest is dry. The trees look tired – even the majestic pines and cedars appear sad. And why shouldn’t they be? They have lost many of their kind in the past two years due to PG&E’s Fire Prevention Plan.

I hope the giant utility company has some kind of logical plan. I don’t see any sign of one, only their “no trees, no fires” approach. Last summer and this one have had the constant sound of chainsaws and the ground-shaking booms of fallen trees.

The noise is annoying, and I can’t hear myself think. Every boom breaks my heart. We are killing trees that have lived on this land hundreds of years before we were even born. Their crime? Being too close to powerlines. The injustice of that angers me. This is MY forest, I rant. Technically, that is not true, but I live here, so I’m extremly protective.

Did you notice that I said, “We are killing trees?” and not, “They are killing trees?” As much as PG&E angers me, it is not just them. All humans demand the convenience of lighting, cable TV, internet access, etc. We are irrevocably entangled with electricity to charge our phones, run our appliances, and modern conveniences. I cannot make dinner without electricity. I can’t piece a quilt without it or write a blog.

Even with our solar panels on the roof generating energy, we can’t actually use it. Not directly. We remain on the grid that feeds energy to PG&E. Our bill is lower; however, the solar installation cost will not be recovered in our lifetime. If that isn’t depressing enough, when we lose PG&E power, our solar panels do not work. No matter how sunny the day is.

I think about this as I drink coffee at my desk. My view is mostly obstructed by my monitor as I write, but I am surrounded by my forest. Above my screen, I see majestic cedars and the power lines that weave through them up the mountain. It suddenly occurs to me that if it takes electricity to run solar panels, how does this help our efforts to “go green?”

I can’t be the only one on the planet confused by this. I would love to get YOUR opinion on it!

The Lady is Waiting (for your comments)

Thank You!

Lf

How Clean is Your Home?

I used to laugh at this. Now I’m living it.

Whoops, I did it again! I let my spare bedrooms turn into work areas, using the beds as my workbench. Now I must organize and get things into a permanent place.

HA! You say. It’s true that I only have a week to get it done. But getting it done the best I can is the goal. The last time I hid things, shoved them into a closet. At least, I could do less shoving this time.

The weather is making me crazy. A couple of sunny and warmish days, motivate me to get deep cleaning done. Then the gloomy, cold weather returns with freezing breezes. I have dying seedlings all around my office because they need sun! I don’t dare plant them in their outside pots because temps are still in the 20s and 30s overnight. The forecast for next week is even more dismal. I would probably be more upset if I didn’t know that we already had spring in February.

When our second winter ends, it is summer. No transitionary period that one could call spring. One day it’s winter. The next day and I mean tomorrow, you are wishing you had gotten summer clothes out of storage and washed them yesterday. You have musty and wrinkly clothes on today, but hey, it’s summer! For the first time in months, you wake up warm. Your nose is not an ice cube and you can stand to touch your body with warm fingers. This makes getting dressed so much easier. You don’t scream if your spouse touches you. A happy day all around.

Now that it is May, my ecological clock is ticking. I want to be outside weeding my garden, which I must plant in large pots to keep on our deck. This keeps them semi-safe from the woodland critters. I say semi-safe because if a bear wants your herbs or veggies no little fence is going to stop him. Deer are more subtle about getting to your plants and flowers. However, they are pigs. One day you have flowers. The next day you have short sticks. Forget about roses. Roses are like chocolate to deer. You are begging for trouble when you plant them.

Because summer won’t be here for another week, I decide to plant the seedlings I have left into a box of dirt and potting soil mixed together. This gets them out of the biodegradable starter pots and room to grow. Next, the flower seeds will be started in new little pots so they can germinate and get a head start. It will be in the mid-60s tomorrow, so I can treat them to some sunshine for a couple hours. Supervised by Ziva and myself.

Knowing how things change, you may not see pix of the temporary garden in the next post. You may see my shiny clean doors instead, or the quilt I plan to baste today. At this point, you know as much as I do.

TTFN

A bit of trivia: The reason you see roses planted at the edges of a vineyard is that grapevines are the second favorite food of the deer.

April Showers

Woke up this morning to snowflakes falling. They say, up here on the mountain, that winter isn’t over until it snows on the Dogwoods. My friends, who have Dogwood trees swear that this is true, and who am I to argue? I do know that Dogwoods are blooming now, and it is snowing.

I am so ready for winter to go away. I love watching snowflakes fall out of the sky and cover the pines and cedars and oak trees. Our wood-burning stove makes the house cozy and my chair is close and I am comfy. I am sated with all that and now I am anxious for warmth from the sun. Even Spring cleaning sounds appealing. Every inch of the house has a fine layer of soot. It looks like dust, but I know it is more serious than that.

Photo by Oleg Magni on Pexels.com

From my window, I see that the big flakes have stopped and what looks like a mix of snow and rain is misting down. I can’t make up my mind about going to my morning meeting. I’m sure I could get across town because the roads are not snowy. But can I get back up the mountain in 3 more hours? There is no way to tell that. The temperature is still below freezing and there is no sun trying to peak out.

I really hate this kind of decision! Especially when, like now, the snow starts back up at a stronger pace than it was 2 minutes ago. The weather report said 100% chance of snow, all day long. A different report said it would rain all day. Sigh.

I finish my coffee and tell myself to buck up and act like a mountain woman. I’ve lived in the mountains for 10 years now. I have a Subaru cross trek, warm leggings, and boots to protect me. I got bundled and layered, said goodbye to my dog, and went out into the drizzle. It kept snowing lightly all morning, but nothing stuck to the road. On the way home, it rained gently. And now, I am parked in my recliner, next to the fire, thinking seriously about a nap.

Very Seriously.

The Vast and Ever-Expanding Gap

I realize that I could be talking about the Grand Canyon or different generations with this title. However, I am talking about this gap between our Home Insurance Company and me, which I will refer to as HIC.

When hubby and I read all the “stuff” about our new policy, we discovered that we qualified for a 2% discount based on our town being a part of a “Fire Wise” community. Our agent told us to decrease our balance owed by $50 when I sent the payment. I even wrote on the invoice the reason for the deduction.

Today, I received a bill from HIC for, guess how much? Yep. $50. Sigh.

We also qualify for a 5% discount because we are compliant with a different Fire Prevention incentive. We asked our agent to send us a copy of the rules for this discount, and she was not supposed to share it with customers. What?? We convinced her to send us something so we could prepare for the site inspection.

View From Our Back Deck

The agent’s summary of requirements was lengthy and downright impossible for not sending us the actual list. According to HIC, we cannot have any trees within 10 feet of our property. We laughed aloud when we read, “there can be no trees within 10 feet of each other. That probably can work in the suburbs and cities. However, we live in a National Forest. There are many, many trees, and they grow wherever they want to. In fact, these trees have been growing L O N G before we were born.

Because we refuse to chop down trees or move them, it is pretty sure we will not get that 5% discount. So why go through all the trouble of getting the inspection and filling out paperwork? Because that is our way. We try because it could happen, and if we do not try, it will never happen.

Is there a vast gap in your life? Tell me all about it in the comments.