Raven Jake Dawes

Garden 2012, Week 13

Folks, those of you who haven't experienced a full-blown  ground squirrel  infestation might think of them as being cute. There's nothing cute about what they're doing to my vegetables, and I have exhausted all diplomatic resources in negotiating a hostage exchange.

Case in point, that picture to the right is all that remains of the zucchini. Malicious damage inflicted by a plague-carrying delinquent.

Below: The California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi). NOT CUTE.

Avaricious is a better word. Squirrel, you're going down.

And over here to the right, evidence that I found at the scene of the crime. Caught you red-handed, varmint.

Garden 2012 Update

Well, folks - Sunday is going to be week 13, so I've got some catching up to do. Over at the right is week 9. Corn's getting taller, squash bushier. Lookin' good.

Here, we've got week 10 happenin.' Starting to pick some delicious  cucumbers  and some reasonable peppers. Initial results from the War on Rodents were positive.

 

 

By week 11, the  ground squirrels  were out of control and I went for a containment strategy. Now the "green kids" have their own room. It helps, but it ain't perfect. Those furry rats fave tunneled underneath, and they ate the  Brussels sprouts  with impunity. My "peace, love, and understanding" approach doesn't extend to being a sous chef for a gopher. Next year:  raised beds  and this year: By Any Means Necessary.

 

Week 12 - Still getting nice cucumbers and peppers and the tomatoes are starting to form. The squash have been decimated.The corn are the stars of the show right now - they're all taller than me, have their tassels in full effect and ears are starting to form. Up in front, we've got a cucumber cage crawling with yummy Japanese cucumbers.

Stay posted, it ain't over yet!

Vote for the Sun Runner on Facebook

To my Desert Rats on Facebook,

Shanghai Brown is trying to get some grant money for the Sun Runner, an independent publication that supports all sort of Desert Ratishness, and therefore it's a good cause. Only takes about two minutes, and it's a worthy cause:

Hey folks,

I'm asking for your help from those of you who use FACEBOOK, but it's really easy. My magazine, The Sun Runner, is applying for a Mission Small Business grant through Chase and LivingSocial. This grant would make a huge difference for our ability to cover serious desert issues, as well as to help promote desert arts and culture, history, tribal matters, and more.

Facebook users can help support The Sun Runner Magazine with a few clicks.
In order to be eligible, we have to get at least 250 votes before June 30. The more votes, the better for our application.

To vote, all you have to do is go to https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/, log in with Facebook - then like them & then near the bottom of the email search for Sun Runner, California, Joshua Tree, and when we pop up, hit "Vote."

That's it. It only costs you a few seconds to help us be eligible for a grant that could make a significant difference for our ability to serve the desert region. Thanks for your help and support! ‹Steve "Shanghai" Brown

Goodbye, WKNTNKA

Now it was with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to the scrap iron in the driveway this week. Our landlord wanted it gone and well, it was time. So we called Pick Your Part and they took the Camry we had about 2 grand invested in - someone's gonna like the new transmission, new brakes and new power windows on that wreck - my F250 that I bought to replace the F150 and only lasted about two months before the transmission blew, but worst of all was losing my white buffalo, WKNTNKA. And the '72 Arrow camper.

Especially the camper. Man, did we have some good times in that thing. I'm not sure it is replaceable. I got it from my friend Jim, a guy I was working with, in about 2002 or so.  He and his wife had gotten a new motor home and just wanted it gone. It was immaculate. We took it on our honeymoon and a bunch of adventures since. Of course, city living hasn't been kind to it and its suffered all kinds of dings and dents since then.

I always picture it as looking just like this, though. Here's Jane and me, sittin' on the tailgate on our honeymoon back in 2003. We were doing a mostly-Arizona trip and ended up camping in a field near Walnut Canyon National Monument. It was an amazing journey, full of new discoveries and happy memories.

Now the truck it's sitting on, WKNTNKA, has had some issues, and they turned out to be terminal. Our truck doctor, Gazo, has kept it going years past its natural life expectancy, but on the last trip to see if the radiator could be replaced, he discovered that it also needed a new water pump and the engine was mostly shot.  It crapped out on me about 1,000 yards from home and I had to push it the final block. And shout out to the anonymous kids on the bus bench for helping out. I hate to admit it, but it helped put closure on a very sad day.

So now we've got a big ol' empty driveway, 'cept for my drum trailer, but now that the shock's wearin' off, there are a few perks. For one, we can now get to the woodpile. And I'm feeling like the back yard could use some raised beds...

Farewell, WKNTNKA/Arrow. Sometimes you just need to clear out some old stuff to make room for some new stuff. I can't wait.

"Significant Objects... and how they got that way"

"Significant Objects... and how they got that way" is an awesome literary exercise in adding value to absolute crap with a compelling story.  In other words:

"A talented, creative writer invents a story about an object. Invested with new significance by this fiction, the object should — according to our hypothesis — acquire not merely subjective but objective value. How to test our theory? Via eBay!" 

here's how this snow globe went from .99 to $59 (and sent $58 to Girls Write Now)

Now this touches my heart, 'cause a couple of days ago I bid farewell to my old truck. I'll post about that in a little bit. It ain't a dead truck in your driveway you miss, it's all the investment and memories that went into it. But I tell you folks, I wish I'd spent a little time writing up a sad tale about it before I called Pick Your Part.

Insider Magazine Now Available

Matt Kemper's article about me, a couple o' posts down, is finally edited, compiled and ready to roll. Here's the 2012 issue of the Insider, GCC's student magazine.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cake pop

GCC's Community Garden

Shout out to Glendale Community College for having the forethought to start a community garden on campus! Some of the students and faculty, the Environmental Club in particular, have really put themselves into this project, and it's starting to show. The new raised beds are looking great.

Insider Magazine Article

Here's a special preview of my upcoming profile in Insider Magazine. Thanks, Matt!

Open publication - Free publishing - More blog

Music Showcase at Citrus College

Here's a cell phone clip of me last night at  Citrus College  performing "The Moon Fell Down," one of my original tunes.