First order of business… happy Father’s Day everyone!
the inevitable question i get from garden visitors is ‘was is always this way?’
my short explanation is ‘no, my dad terraced the land by hand in the early years with a shovel and wheelbarrow, building broken concrete retaining walls as a pastime, a form of exercise & entertainment.’
the ‘entertainment’ part was his dreams for the land… ranging from a plan to build a miniature train to encircle the garden property to a tropical fruit farm, as it was originally an avocado and citrus orchard, to ensure abundant food supplies in the event of war.
the miniature train never materialized and neither did war, thankfully, but as it turned out the garden produced decades of plentiful crops of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables enjoyed by family and friends.
when i took the park ranger helm about a decade ago there were some difficult decisions to make as the Malthusian writing was on the wall as far as California drought management policy was concerned.
opting to remove the lawn areas and formal vegetable garden, retaining the fruit trees and aiming for the goal of a peaceful Mediterranean retreat (that could be modified as weather allowed) seemed like the best course of action in a hostile environment.
over the ensuing years i have become a fascinated (not in a good way) observer, student of California’s decades of misguided water management policies and the resulting hardships faced not only by its citizens but also by its farmers (a persecuted class), problems to be exported to the rest of the country, world… to you.
the topic is complex but important. the dystopian intrigue is well summarized in Edward Ring’s (California Policy Center) ongoing California Globe series ‘The Abundance Choice.’
… my dad, the sometime realist, would’ve deemed this an excellent summertime read! meow!
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-15-our-fight-for-more-water/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-14-infinite-abundance
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-13-the-lords-of-scarcity/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-12-numbers-dont-lie/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-11-the-desalination-option/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-10-time-to-stop-wasting-wastewater/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-9-can-reservoirs-be-part-of-the-solution/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-8-the-union-factor/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-7-an-environmentalist-juggernaut/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-6-biased-hostile-media/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-5-californias-fractured-farmers/
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-4/
(part 4: crafting the initiative for more water)
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the abundance-choice-part-3/
(part 3: the mechanics of ballot initiatives)
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-two/
(part 2: the problems with indoor water rationing)
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/the-abundance-choice-part-one/
(part 1: California’s failing water policies)
…💧💧💧🐱💧💧💧…
editors note: links to individual articles in series are not working... please click on first link to California Globe website and search ‘The Abundance Choice’
There was an abandoned reservoir that SF turned into a park , instead of restoring as a reservoir. I guess the city has decided that the ability to get water from hundreds of miles away is adequate, so the reservoirs that were once necessary have been abandoned and eliminated, which means I guess they don't think too many folks will need much water here, although there still are plenty of out of the way reservoirs, tucked in the corners. But the biggest two i knew of were both paved over for either parks or parking. We'll figure out the water thing later, after we don't have any here. regards from SF
love your pictures, good to see you writing some too, Kitten.