WATER ... WHERE? -- SPIRIT FLEDGED

May Gray ... June Gloom ... but no rain.

SPIRIT FLEDGED.....  the Bald Eaglet flew early the morning of May 31st in a video you can view on my previous blog post in case you missed the update.  She continues to return to the nest periodically but will gradually hone more skills, then ultimately fly away to live independently.  

WATER ..... WHERE?

Our persistent drought caused by little rain and meagre mountain snowfall resulting in water reserves depletion has necessitated restricted water use regulations in California.  SoCal where I live the restriction specifics vary from county to county, city to city.  Los Angeles, for example, has a different water company than my city so large swaths there are restricted to watering 2 days a week while further inland we are allowed to water only 1 day a week.

I'm sharing what mandatory water conservation and rationing presently looks like, at least in my city, with details for any who might be interested.  Possibly in years to come water shortages will affect more communities in other states, countries, besides those already affected.  So, you may consider what some of you might experience in the future.  

Our lakes, reservoirs, even mighty rivers like the Colorado feeding southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico have had declining reserves these past several years.  Read how our southern border neighbor Mexico challenged also is coping in this azcentral article HERE.

The U.S. share of the Colorado river waters is divided among four upper basin states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico) and three lower basin states (Arizona, Nevada, and California).

The past year, 2021, California had to institute a Stage 1 voluntary 15% water reduction that regrettably wasn't met in too many communities.  My property was allocated to use 2 to 4 gallons less water monthly than I used the previous year.  I haven't reviewed every month's record but think I readily met my allocation, even using less water.

June 1st this year, 2022, our water company conservation plan had to move us into a mandatory Stage 2.   

(I can't help wondering if all those individuals so opposed to government prescribed "mandatory" actions i.e., wearing a mask, getting vaccinated will refuse to cooperate for the good of the community on water conservation, too?)

Here's a summary provided on the City of Claremont's web site:

 Level 2 Water Supply Shortage In Effect

New Outdoor Watering Restrictions Starting June 1, 2022

The next stage -- Stage 3 -- "mandatory" no watering outdoors.  I hope this stage not needed.   

[Water use is most commonly discussed in CCF (centum cubic feet) and gallons].       

 .     .     .Water usage -- 1 CCF  =  748 gallons.

My allocation varies each month.  (20% of my 2020 water usage.)                               

(The result is I am allocated 2 to 4 gallons less in all but one month I've determined.)  

        For example:  I'm allocated 17 CCF for June.                                                                                    (Rest of the year will be between 17-19, one mo. 20 CCF)

          April shows I used 6 CCF; previous month 11 CCF; April prior year 17 CCF.

          My current bill dated 5/23 (only 29 days) shows: I used 11 CCF well under my allocation.

[The yearly differences probably are due to the amount of rain we received allowing me to turn sprinklers off for a day, a week, or however long, or decrease the time water sprinkles in each of my 3 zones in front yard and 3 zones in back yard.  (The 4th zone to my parkway in the front yard I turned off several years ago).  Rain, temperature, and other factors affect how much water is used which is quite variable from year to year.]

There is a $2.50 emergency surcharge per CCF assessment if a customer uses more than their water allocation.

Repetitive water usage above allocation, then ignoring notices to cease will result in expensive installation of devices to decrease water emitted in addition to more expensive dollar fines.

No customers are being asked to reduce their water usage below 8 CCF per month.  Based on an average four-person household, the 8 CCF minimum accounts for daily indoor usage of 50 gallons per person.

[Interestingly, when I researched average at-home water usage I found a wide variation in the estimated gallons used from 60 gallons per person according to Water Footprint Calculator.  The U.S.Geological Survey reports 80-100 gallons average per person.

The Environmental Protection Agency 75 gallons per person based on average family use of 300 gallons per month.  Obviously, individuals' habits determine actual usage.]

Consult the EPA site for much more specific estimates on actual water usage in gallons for various functions, for example like the one item using the most water in households, the toilet -- using 3-4 gallons per flush with older toilets; 1-2 gallons per flush with newer toilets.   

There are indoor water conservation measures encouraged I've followed for many years with my washing machine, dish washer.  We're urged to operate them only when we have full loads which I always did anyway.  

Electric energy savings have been encouraged for some time here in So Cal.  We are urged to not use our electric appliances between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.   Now, we integrate our water mandates with our voluntary energy conservation measures.  

Fortunately, what could be considered conservation measurers have been common sense behaviors becoming second nature from childhood for me.  They simply continued being almost automatic throughout my adulthood.  Not much was ever wasted, including electricity and water, though I've never had water formally rationed like this before. 

The EPA link features an interesting pie chart of water usage items, also simple instructions for how to determine how much water you use.  

If you receive a water bill, it will provide a monthly CCF total.  Follow the example provided in the EPA link to determine your water usage.

I haven't yet figured out how to water special areas more than once a week since my gardeners who typically cut the grass only come once a week and likely won't need to mow grass that often.  Unfortunately, I'm currently not able to hand water myself and no teens in the area I could hire.  I need to obtain some of the special adapters described.  I had a hose shut off nozzle purchased some years ago but it seems to have grown legs and walked away.  I have a short soaker hose for one tree.  The longer one I had for years disintegrated.   As  you can see I'm not well-prepared for this so have to make time to figure it all out.  

I'm not really interested in incurring the expense of installing a drip irrigation system so I'll have to see what I can conjure.   

I'm concerned about various hedges, bushes, and several trees in my yard.  I hope my one remaining Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow bush I rooted that had grown so wonderfully survives.  The lovely petite white and lavender bloom was spectacular this spring.  I fully intended to photograph the scene beginning years earlier for permanent embedding on my blog given the connection which prompted my blog's name but obviously I've not done so.

Two young city trees in the parkway I'm responsible for watering but I capped the sprinklers to that area several years ago before the city even planted them.  The city did recently announce they will be surveying our city trees and provide extra water for any they deem in need.  "City of Trees" is our town's awarded designation based on the many quite lovely and majestic trees around town.

I'm prepared my grass will likely die.   Unfortunately, I'm no longer able to perform yard work to gradually transition my landscaping.  Years earlier long before any yards in our area had converted their grassy areas I had obtained a landscaping proposal I rejected since the whole approach which also contributed to excessive cost was not what I wanted.  I'll see when fall arrives what growth has survived and consider what is needed.

The climate changes affecting water availability we are experiencing vary within our country and around the world.  Drought, warmer temperatures, vulnerability for forest fires once mostly occurring only a few months a year are now a year 'round concern primarily here and in our western U.S. states.   Other areas of our country's residents do not experience water limitations and, in fact, have an over-abundance with flooding, more fierce storms.  Other countries experience this, too.

What sort of climate changes, if any, have you noticed where you live?  

Has your community had to make any adjustments, or have you had to make any personal adaptations?   

                     

    

THANKS -- DANCIN' -- CHILDREN'S CHALLENGE

Thanksgiving has passed -- another day home alone for many of us, but I have much for which I give thanks.    I enjoyed a delicious traditional turkey dinner delivered a couple days earlier that required my only re-heating the food in my microwave oven.  I ordered small quantities of turkey, dressing, gravy, yams with pineapple, various vegetables, cranberries and two pieces of my favorite pumpkin pie.  

I intentionally wanted to have leftovers from this nearby family-owned deli.   I was glad they had  decided to keep  their deli open after having to close their long-time independent grocery a few years ago.  They always featured quality meat and fresh seasonal locally produced fruits and vegetables but couldn't survive the competition from newly opened Sprouts and Trader Joe's just a few blocks down Route 66 from their city location.  Farmer's markets are the sole source of such produce now.  Wolfe's deli has thrived and I've occasionally purchased select items there before but only a full dinner once before.    I think I will order meals for Christmas, later New Year's Day, some different food items from their varied menu offerings since everything was so tasty.  

FaceTime calls with my children and grandchildren interspersed with videos of them preparing  food highlighted my day.  Other times internet videos of their playing games and crazy antics came across the miles as they enjoyed time together in pleasantly warm outdoor weather.  They took care to maintain distance from each other, wore masks.  I felt almost as if I was there in person for a long overdue family gathering -- maybe another time after this coronavirus is relegated to history.  

Then, to bring me even more pleasure one of my PBS stations aired the most entertaining, exciting, colorful, energy-filled showing of the 1981 Tony award-winning Broadway musical "42nd Street" filmed at London's Drury Theatre.  The next day this spectacular tap dancing production aired an encore for me to view once more to my great delight.  The show apparently is only available in SoCal streaming on PBS Passport as part of their membership benefits but was aired specially for all this holiday.  There are numerous YouTube video excerpts and here are a few for any tap aficionados like me.

Here's another excerpt.....

A final excerpt.....

Our city's restaurants are expected to contest, possibly even violate, despite $$$ fines, the recent admonition they've been given to reduce even further to 20% occupancy outdoor customer seating capacity continuing with daily closing hours recently set at 10 p.m.  Owners believe these new requirements shouldn't apply to our town since Covid19 infection percentages are below the overall level of our County, Los Angeles, that dictated the criteria specified to have necessitated this change.

However, the total numbers of people with the coronavirus in our county have increased in alarming numbers.  We haven't even seen what may occur in a couple weeks following this holiday, since many people travelled rather than staying at home as recommended.  Small businesses income in our town has been severely impacted.  Local Claremont Colleges (5 undergraduate, 2 graduate) have been offering virtual classes only, so most students are not presently living on campus or in our city to patronize them either.

Pity the children told Santa's coming but are having to wait for what must seem like an eternity, since advertisers started talking about Christmas in October this year, the earliest ever, I think. When I was a child Christmas wasn't promoted until after Thanksgiving.  Those weeks until Christmas seemed to me to last forever, but the time has been much longer now for little ones to have to wait since advertising and promotion started even before Halloween this year.

Ordinarily I would rail about this commercialization starting so early, but it may make sense this year given the pandemic.  Predictions have been there would be so much shipping of items as to overload our system so we should start early.  So kiddies ..... delayed satisfaction has likely stressed the patience of all adults in our culture even more, since so many expect instant gratification under the most ordinary circumstances.  

Our little ones may not understand at all and will just have to accept this seemingly never-ending wait for Santa in their world.   I appreciate the adults have wanted something to feel happy about so decided to rush Christmas.  Maybe it's just a matter of how all is presented to the wee ones.  My children adjusted to what they thought were lucky neighbor friends celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah.   Now, more outdoor lights and decorations are going up in my neighborhood which all ages can enjoy, though some elsewhere started decorating before Thanksgiving -- but maybe avoiding mentioning Santa until after Thanksgiving is a good idea any year.  

I hope all are having a pleasant long Thanksgiving weekend.  No doubt, you too, are making whatever preparations may be needed for our next upcoming holidays.  I don't think I'll write a holiday letter again this year to mail.  I have only a few greeting cards to address as the number of family and friends still living has continued to dwindle, so will likely restrict myself to just the personal messages I ordinarily write.   I don't expect to mail packages and will instead have items shipped directly to recipients from wherever I purchase them, or maybe I'll just send a check for them to select what they want.

How was your Thanksgiving?   

Are you making plans now for Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, other holidays?  

What do you remember about the wait for Christmas or other seasonal holidays when you were young?

MOTHER NAURE'S CLIMATE REBELLION

Life in Southern California right now makes it impossible for me to ignore the wildfires that national and world news are also reporting.  Beginning this past weekend and daily now the sun has only rarely broken through the smoke blanket covering our skies at higher altitudes.   Earlier this week there was a darkness when I looked outside which was unusual.

Gazing out my windows in daytime now the air can seem clear at ground level but generally there’s a slight haze present.  Local news tells us microscopic lung-damaging particles permeate our air.  They are not filtered out when we breathe even with the masks we wear to protect us from Covid-19, so we’re told to stay indoors.   

 

Last week forest wildfires erupted in the mountains many miles east and west of where I live during our record setting high temperatures.   Fires causes are reported in one instance to be accidental as a consequence of an ill-advised gender reveal event; another due to arson.  At least one small town is gone, other homes have been incinerated and lives have been lost with threats of more losses continuing.

 

Some residents in our city, perhaps in fringe wooded areas, reported receiving alerts to prepare for possible evacuation though they were not threatened nor is our city.    Some local areas experienced a rain of ashes but I’ve seen none where I live below the foothills. 

 

We’re sandwiched between two only slightly partially or uncontained wildfires but great distances apart with no likelihood they will join together.   The San Bernardino Mountains wildfire named the El Dorado is many miles east of here with many cities in between.  West of here, but closer is the Bobcat wildfire in the Los Angeles National Forest, also separated by many cities.   Fortunately, the unpredictable treacherous Santa Ana winds have not whipped up in late afternoon, evening or night to completely alter the fire’s direction and volatility as can occur.  Regardless, my city and I remain quite safe.

 

News accounts and photos of Northern California, smoke-filled orange and blood-red darkened San Francisco fires are awesome to view in photos but are indicators of the devastation that is occurring  elsewhere.  Oregon is experiencing incredible losses with dangers continuing.  Smoke is coming our way from those areas and now heads east with reports of being present as far as midwest Great Lakes state Ohio.

This climate change so many choose to deny or even recognize as a need to address is only just getting started.  Future years will be no less better and are expected only to worsen. 

 

Will we humans accept our responsibility for how we’ve corrupted our environment, continue to do so, and undertake to correct our planet’s self-destruction – if not for ourselves, at least for our children, grandchildren and future generations?    May all reading this remain safe, staying healthy as I am.    

 

HOME CLEAN ENERGY -- CURSIVE SIGNATURE -- LETTERS

A few matters occupying some of my time and attention ......

RAIN – we got lots of soaking-the-ground rain with four successive storms over almost a week to combat the drought where I live – Hooray!  No one in our neck-of-the-woods was subjected to flooding, mud or rock slides, but we usually aren’t -- unlike other areas of Southern California in the Hollywood hills, coastal Malibu area near scenic Pacific Coast Hwy, or wild-fire damaged areas. 

* * * * *

LOCAL CHANGES -- possible in future for other cities  ......

CLEAN ENERGY OPTION FROM POWER COMPANY

Our city has entered into a program with our electric power company that is providing options transitioning residents power source to clean energy.   Our local newspaper, The Claremont Courier, has offered a two minute plus video link HERE succinctly explaining our choices and what appears to be nominal cost differences.  I will be making a selection.

I wonder if any of you have encountered similar clean energy programs being offered by your community electric power companies?  If not, be aware this may be the future in more communities across the U.S. – or in the rest of the world, too(?).    Your comments and observations about such programs are welcome.

* * * * *

LIVING COSTS -- going up .....

RESIDENTIAL INSURANCE

After all these years, in the past two we've started receiving notices from utilities, also the city regarding sewer lines, gas lines, disclaiming any responsibility for the integrity of that portion of pipes/lines beginning at our property line to our house should they develop leaks, breakage.  We’re then informed of Insurance for these lines we can purchase and have the cost automatically added to our monthly bill – five dollars more here, and five more dollars there as this contributes to increasing the  cost of living.   We’d already had an increase in general sewage and other fees.

* * * * *

CITY REDISTRICTING .....

Our city is also changing our City Council composition from electing five city-wide Council members to establishing five defined districts with a representative from each.  Seems there is a purported risk legal action could be taken by others (though presently none immediately threatened) that would cost the city considerable money in attorney fees even if we didn’t need to change.    

One of the issues will be to guard against gerrymandering.   We do have some ethnic /minority groups making up the majority of residents in various parts of our cities.  For example, the report noted a predominance of Mexicans in one area and Asians in another area.   I wonder if this redistricting will bring to the forefront more meaningful representation or accentuate, even invite, more dissension based on what can be politically dividing factors?

* * * * *

CURSIVE SIGNATURE OBSOLETE – LETTERS A NOVELTY?

I received a letter from my elementary age grandson this week.  We began exchanging occasional letters when he was younger.   His first letters were pictures he drew, then he progressed to printing words, later sentences.   I’m told that he really enjoys receiving letters.  I continue to use block print alphabet letters though he’s of an age now when schools used to teach cursive hand writing.    Then, I recalled, they don’t teach cursive in most schools any more.   That’s a change to which I have not yet completely adapted in my mind. 

We can tell a lot about a person by their handwriting that I don’t think hand printed block letters reveal.  This has been one area of assessment in my professional work which reveals vital fine motor, language, cognitive and other functional skills. 

On a personal level a family member or friend’s handwriting gave even a lay person some indication of a loved one’s physical health and mental status in ways that won’t be as readily revealed with other writing.  But I guess that’s what happens with most change – we lose some features that are useful and hope those losses are offset by more but different benefits than those lost. 

I suddenly found myself thinking – my grandson will have no signature – or at least the traditional signature as I think of it.   Of course, I know credit card companies no longer require signatures on charges.   But a person having no signature – that seems really strange to me as I think of a signature as highly unique and personal that everyone would prize as part of their identity.  

He could develop his signature at any age though, if he wanted one.   Also, there are free web sites that aid in creating a signature in any desired font to use on the Internet with keyboarding which I suppose someone could even practice developing to write in cursive if they desired.   But where would he use a signature?   We no longer are required to sign items – checks are becoming obsolete for financial transactions.

Seems really strange to me that eventually, actually soon, even now, many people will no longer be able to read cursive writing.    I recently heard an anecdotal news tale of a grandmother writing her teenage granddaughter an actual paper and pen letter, but the girl couldn’t read it – thought it was a foreign language.  

Meanwhile, I’m going to continue periodically writing letters to my grandson -- hand printing in block letters as I don’t want to run them on Word and off the printer.   His parents say he really looks forward to receiving my letters in the mail.   I wonder if they are so rare as to qualify for “Show and Tell” at school as a novelty, or would they just be out-of favor -- considered ancient,  old-fashioned and of no interest?   Will they be valuable antiques some day?