Willits Daily Photo

NWP Tracks Over Old Highway

2009-03-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

This short viaduct crosses the old Highway 101 route now called Walker Road, as the former Northwestern Pacific rails double back to climb the grade to Ridgewood Summit. From there, they descend Laughlin Ridge south to Redwood Valley and Ukiah, then on to Sonoma and Marin counties.

The local paper reported the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for starting freight service from near Santa Rosa up to Willits on these tracks, which is very good news indeed! It would be such a shame to lose this valuable infrastructure after all the work that was done to build it in the first place, more than a hundred years ago, and the North Coast Railroad Authority is working hard to move it forward.

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This post concludes one full year of Willits Daily Photo. When I started this blog on March 13, 2008, I had no idea where it would take me within Little Lake Valley, or if I could come up with 365 subjects to post. I feel amazingly blessed to have a new circle of international friends with city daily photo blogs of their own, offering insights and discoveries that enrich my perceptions of the world. Their kindness here in the comments has been immense, and I will treasure them always. I encourage everyone to see more City Daily Photo blogs at their portal website.

This a good point for me to retire Willits Daily Photo. There are more photos in my archives that I'd like to share, and more new pictures I'm sure I'll feel compelled to snap, but the time commitment of "every day" is more demanding than some might imagine. I'm not one to call this a "Daily" photo blog, and then not post daily. I want to keep learning and growing and building skills, and time is what I need for that. But, I have an alternative! Built into this blog is a link to my Willits Photo Overflow blog, and that's where I'll be posting additional images from time to time. They could be out-of-season, or different views of things already posted here, or entirely new images of Willits and Little Lake Valley, and possibly further afield. They will be posted sproadically and without warning, but if you would like to "follow" that blog to catch what comes up, you are more than welcome. It's my way of not having to go "cold turkey" on photo blogging altogether.

If you are new to this blog, and want to see what has been posted throughout the previous 365 days, you have several options. You can scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the words "Older Posts" on the lower right, and keep doing that as far back as you want to go. Or you can go to the sidebar (right column of this page) and find the Archives link, arranged by year and month (they can each be expanded by clicking on the little triangular arrows). Or you can go to the sidebar and look for the list of "Labels" to click on those for loosely categorized groups of posts for each idea. I expect to be expanding and refining that label list sometime soon.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your visits and comments.

Click here for Willits Photo Overflow.

CWR Water Tank

2009-03-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

This old, wooden water tank still stands at the ready along the old California Western Railroad (the Skunk Train) tracks just as they head west to Northspur and Ft. Bragg far beyond. As you cross the tracks on Highway 101, look east and you'll see it. There's a pipe mechanism that extends out to go above the tender tank, to refill any steam locomotive awaiting in need.

No news on whether the Skunk will run more frequently out of Willits this year or not. All of the events posted on their website right now are out of the Ft. Bragg depot. The coast end of the line gets far more tourism business than we do, so it's easy to imagine Willits will get the short end of the stick in this economy. The Ft. Bragg depot and trains have been featured in Racing With the Moon and, I think, The Majestic.

They Have a System

2009-03-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

They have a system, these two men, as they find their way around town to do errands on any given day. One seems to shift forward to blaze the path across the day's obstacles, to find the safe path. The other seems to lean back in counter balance, blind and holding his head high, poised to meet the day, in complete faith that his comrade will not lead him astray.

Willits High School Hallway

2009-03-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

The floor seems to float in the downstairs hallway of the old building at the high school. Generations of Willits Wolverines have had their stories of adolescent drama and despair, played out upon this stage. Hang in there, kids. Your brains are still growing, and better perspective will come soon enough. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Eye Doctor

2009-03-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

This is another residential type building converted to a medical office. I like the symmetry, appropriately enough, for an eye doctor's establishment. I also like the shadows cast by the bare branches of a sycamore, as the winter sun lowers in the west. Elsewhere, ornamental plum and pear trees are just beginning to open their blooms. Soon, it will be spring again.

It's countdown time at Willits Daily Photo. This blog was started last year on March 13th. There's just a few more days to go.

Mimosa Blossoms for Women's Day

2009-03-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

The only mimosa tree (also called acacia) I've noticed in town cascades over the barbecue hut next to the Masonic Lodge on Main Street. They used to have salmon barbecues here as an annual fundraiser. Right now the blossoms are at their peak.

March 8th is International Women's Day, but is almost never observed in the United States. The first time I heard of it was when I lived in Hungary a dozen years ago. Saretta pointed out on her Molfetta blog that Italians traditionally give women yellow mimosa blossoms for this occasion. So today, I offer these to you, wherever you are.

Just four more days will complete a year of Willits Daily Photo.

Miner's Lettuce

2009-03-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

Our recent spate of cool rain successfully conjured secret gardens of Miner's Lettuce, tucked away where no one will notice it (next to the Odd Fellows building). This native annual herb has disk shaped leaves around tiny clusters of white flowers. The gold miners of the 1850s near Sacramento were said to have eaten these as an early season source of vitamin C, to prevent scurvy. It seems I seldom see them growing wild, except along urban margins like this, and even then only in forgotten spots where someone hasn't "cleaned up the weeds".

Construction Progress

2009-03-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Work continues apace on the office construction on the site of Mason Cook's towing and automotive services lot. When the developer started, it was to be a mixed retail frontage, but an engineering firm down the street spotted it, and grabbed up a lease on the whole new and spacious complex. It's good to hear that the firm needs to expand and add staff, and good to see builders employed. Before the recent rains this past week, the roof was already on.

Drinking Fountain

2009-03-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

Before this most recent series of storms embraced us with welcomed rain, I explored a greenbelt trail up in Brooktrails. I hadn't realized they had an old parcourse, children's playground and this softball field along the way. Why am I featuring the drinking fountain? I just read in Wednesday's paper that, here in Little Lake Valley anyway, the water crisis has been averted by the water falling from the sky! Our supply reservoirs are nearly topped off, which should carry us through the coming dry season if we are sensible about its use.

Yay! Elaine will stop talking about drought all the time!

Casino Name Change

2009-03-04T00:02:00.000-08:00

The Sherwood Valley Pomo Rancheria has the small Black Bart Casino on its land, which is now undergoing a name change to, simply, Sherwood Valley Casino. As with all American Indian gaming businesses, it provides important income for the local band or tribe, and can employ Pomos and non-Pomos alike.

For those unfamiliar with the name Black Bart, he was a legendary stagecoach robber in the late 1800s in northern California, accomplishing one such hold-up just on the other side of Ridgewood Summit, to the south of Little Lake Valley. That Wells Fargo stage happened to have Hiram Willits as a passenger that day. Charles Bolles, aka Black Bart, was a white man, so "black" didn't have racial significance, rather he adopted the name from a popular fictional character of the time. He eventually served time in San Quentin. I'm not really one for romanticizing criminals of any era, so I personally welcome this casino name change.

Abalone Ash Tray

2009-03-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Outside the front entrance to Anna's Asian House restaurant, guests may stub out their cigarettes in this carefully presented abalone shell.

Sport fishing of abalone is only allowed in California north of San Francisco, and there are strict limits on the number and size anyone can gather. The "bag limit" is only three a day, 24 a season. The edible part is the big foot muscle of this big flat snail, and it has a flavor something like scallops. The meat can be quite tough unless it's pounded thoroughly with a toothy kitchen mallet. My grandfather used to prepare them for us, but it was a rare treat. Because the resource is limited, no commercial sale of abalone is allowed.

Having said all that, there's hardly an old barn or farmhouse in this region that doesn't have a few of these "red" abalone shells around.

Officer Down

2009-03-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, mourners gathered at Willits High School to honor Officer Dave Tiller, who finally succumbed to cancer last Wednesday. Members of law enforcement from all over the area gathered along with local family and friends in the Auditorium, then proceeded to the Community Center for a reception. As with the recent Smith memorial, the Boy Scouts set out American flags to line Main Street and Commercial in Tiller's honor. We are all moved by a community united in grief.

March Theme Day: Glass

2009-03-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Twenty five years later, this art project by Willits High School students still brightens the row of windows on the side wall of the City Council Chambers. About a dozen panes in all, they depict cultural and natural history themes of our area. Arts education has many lasting effects, and this investment in it was sponsored in part by an Exemplary Arts Grant from the California Arts Council.

For more examples of glass seen in cities around the world, click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's City Daily Photo Bloggers theme.

Life Itself

2009-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

On Friday, California Governor Schwarzenegger declared a water emergency for the state, and warned that we can't count on upcoming years to be any better. Leaking toilets, cracked underground pipes, leaving the water running while brushing teeth - all add up to wasted gallons of this necessity of life. Some people can't stand to drink plain, pure water. I savor it, like this glass at Ardella's Diner.

The Mortuary

2009-02-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

There's one mortuary in town, Anker-Lucier, located on the corner of Commercial and School Streets. The red tile roof with white stucco is rare in this county, and reminds me of the Spanish Colonial Revival style found in more southerly parts of the state. There were a couple of Mexican land grants in Mendocino, but the Spanish era missions came no further north than Sonoma county.

I did not personally know Dave Tiller, but earlier this week he lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer. I do know that he was a police officer who touched many lives here in Willits, and his memorial will be this Saturday. Photos of a barbecue to raise funds for his treatment trips to San Francisco were posted here last June.

Corraled Black Cattle

2009-02-26T00:02:00.000-08:00

Little Lake Valley offers wide swathes of pastureland, but I read recently that the dry winter we've been having has slowed the natural growth of grass on the fields and hillsides. What currently look like putting greens ideally should be full of lush grazing by now. At a season not normally requiring it, ranchers have had to purchase supplemental feed for their herds. It's a clear indication of the fragile balance of nature with local economics. The Willits Action Group is exploring what it would take to revive local grain and legume farming, and have started by investing in small scale storage facilities, and offering shares in the commodities to the local population. If the capacity and demand can be put in place, the our area's own farmers might be willing to fill the void.

Bunny Dumpster

2009-02-25T00:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not entirely clear on what all the spray-paint tagging on the one dumpster means, but at least I can read the word "bunny" on the right. Can anyone tell me what it says on the left?

These were just the outer edge of a large collection of commercial sized dumpsters, apparently being stored on the big lot next to the Solid Wastes of Willits transfer station. They turned out to be fun photo subjects, so I may have to post some more from that excursion. The large structures in the background are part of the Willits Redwood Company mill, across Blosser Lane.

Water Feature

2009-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

This big vacant lot is smack-dab in the middle of "old" Willits, and is right next to the Deco house on the Hiram Willits property seen yesterday. To the south is the Van Hotel. To the west is St Francis in the Redwoods church, at the intersection of Main and Commercial Streets. I've been in Willits since 2001, and this is how it has always looked - puddles in the winter, dry potholes in the summer. It would be great to keep it open with a vast food and medicine producing garden, with all the Highway 101 traffic lumbering by, but maybe the owner has other plans. Right now, it serves as a sort of downtown art installation, with random amoeba shapes dispersed all across it. A sea of holes.

The deeper history is that the Willits Hotel used to stand here. It had over a hundred rooms, and included all sorts of traveler's amenities, but was torn down more than fifty years ago. I would have thought anything else built here since then would still be standing, but I don't have more information about it. It catches rain. Hurray for rain!

Deco in Blue

2009-02-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

Moving away from the Craftsman Challenge set forth by Laurie in South Pasadena, this house is a rarity in Willits. Although it's without much of the embellishment associated with Art Deco, this building includes many of the elements that followed on from the post-Craftsman era. Extremely simple and lean in comparison to the woody struts and and natural materials of Craftsman design, and even further removed from the lacy Victorians, the glass brick flanking the front door was a huge leap in visual ideas. Also note the oval curve of the front step overhang. This is located across the street from the Van Hotel, under several big redwood trees. The booklet that told me about Churchill staying at the Van tells me this was constructed on the site of the old Hiram Willits farmstead in 1936. That must have been a shock. The former Willits house was a two-story Victorian dating back to the pioneer's settlement of 1857. Now, in its turn, this house is historic as well.

Shuster's Truck Lot

2009-02-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

The "domino" effect of the shrinking economy will likely put the squeeze on any number of local businesses. The Shuster family has been around here for generations, and their fleet of white trucks are commonly seen on the roads of the region. Let's hope they "keep on truckin'" for a long time to come.

Winter Bee

2009-02-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Willow catkins are opening up these days, offering plenty of pollen for bees to gather in their leg pouches.

Loose Caboose

2009-02-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

The Loose Caboose is a popular sandwich eatery tucked away on Wood Street behind the Book Juggler, with their dining patio leading to the restaurant. As you step through the gate, this fantasy painting greets you with childlike conceptions of castle and rainbow and fairy, along with a "loose" caboose, unaided by a locomotive. The railroad theme is appropriate for a town with so many rail connections, and so many fantasies of seeing them all operate again.

Dog Laws

2009-02-19T00:02:00.000-08:00

This sign was posted all around the periphery of the cemetery. I suppose the neighboring properties have livestock, and when mourners bring their pets some conflicts ensue. Tucked away on this edge of the lot, the grave of an infant lies, long gone in 1910.

Mariposa Metamorphosis

2009-02-18T00:02:00.000-08:00

I wasn't around Willits for the beginnings of Mariposa Market, but I'm told they once were located in the shop spaces behind a wall I posted on this blog last spring. For the past decade, they have done business behind this iconic mural. Now, once again, they have metamorphosed into a new and larger space, right next door to the last one, on the site of the old Skunk Motel. They dedicated themselves to natural and organic foods, health products and clothing way back when only "hippies" were interested in such things. Today, they have more mainstream competition, but seem to be going strong on greater mainstream interest.

METALfx Employee Patio

2009-02-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

The outdoor break area is too damp for comfort these days for employees of METALfx. A recent story in the local paper indicates far greater discomfort is looming for them if this manufacturing company decides to leave town. The hope is that they will sufficiently retrench by simply consolidating their two Willits plants into one. If that doesn't pencil out, 150 jobs will go somewhere else.

Lichen With Rust

2009-02-16T00:03:00.000-08:00

A collection of valves and other parts rest on a yet-to-be restored open rail car in the work yard of Roots of Motive Power, punctuated by a spontaneous primitive garden. I kept this in my secret stash for a few months, so the dry sunshine is misleading. The blessed rain still falls these days.

Happy belated 200th birthday to President Abraham Lincoln, celebrated along with the birthday of President George Washington, together designated a holiday today in the US.

Meat Marketing

2009-02-15T00:02:00.000-08:00

The John Ford Ranch is right here in Little Lake Valley, and makes the beef they raise available locally, with their name right on it (the package on the right). Willits is a good place to be if you value knowing exactly where your food is coming from. The cattle take a detour to Eureka up in Humboldt county, where the nearest licensed slaughterhouse is located. But the food comes back here, and I am reassured that I can talk to the Fords, see the cattle in the pastures, and trust the environment they have been in.

We can also get American Bison meat, raised near the Ukiah Valley just 25 miles south of us, from the J Bar S Ranch (the packages on the left). Nearly driven to extinction in the 19th century, they've made a comeback as a marketable food source. I've never tried the meat, but it is said to be low in fat, so appeals to calorie-conscious diners.

Heartwood

2009-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Up at Howard State Forest, about as far south as I can go while remaining within the watershed of this blog, a young tanoak tree was recently cut up and stacked. We have a cold storm pelting us with hail, accumulating nicely at this higher elevation, and snow is building up on the ridgetops. Many households in the area, especially those outside the city infrastructure, still use wood-burning stoves to heat their homes, and tanoak properly cured packs a good amount of heat. The dark center of the wood is called heartwood, appropriately for Valentine's Day. Sort of. Even better, I love the lush growth of lichens on these logs, even as my heart breaks for their possible destiny in a fireplace.

Bonus Valentine trivia: The movie Heartwood was filmed in and around Willits and these mountains, with many locals involved in its production.

The Flower of February

2009-02-13T00:02:00.000-08:00

With our daffodils running strangely late, it's nice to see the violets are right on schedule. I caught this one several days ago, before the blessing of rain now falling. Happy Friday the Thirteenth!

The Memorial

2009-02-12T00:02:00.000-08:00

After the procession and flag raising and the multitude of preparations, came the actual memorial for Jeff Smith inside the vast warehouses of the former Little Lake Industries. The announcement in the paper simply invited "family and friends" to come here at 3 PM on Sunday. The city limits of Willits contains about 5000 people. The planners of the event were wise to anticipate about two thousand guests. For more images of the memorial setting, click here for my Overflow blog.

Half a dozen speakers told their stories, and eulogized the man. His professional gifts were widely known. He had been awarded an unprecedented two Medals of Valor from the California State Firefighters Association; once for retrieving a man from a "fully engaged" burning fuel truck wreck, and most recently for intervening as a gunman shot two women and then himself. Jeff saved the life of one of those women, but he was the sort who never felt he deserved the medals. As one speaker said, he was a low visibility guy in a high visibility job. A similar spirit has recently been demonstrated by Captain Sullenburger, who safely landed his passenger plane in the Hudson River, when he said he was just doing his job, and even though the event went as well as possible, he continued to imagine how he might have done better. Such humility combined with such competence inspires everyone graced to witness it, and Jeff Smith was all of that.

He was also a man of tremendous good humor and good will. Those of us who glimpsed it through his professional role and composure, and those endowed with his high-spirited friendship at play, will be forever grateful.

The Preparations

2009-02-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

A former industrial site, developed by Little Lake Industries once upon a time, now leased for storage by a horticultural/agricultural supply retailer called Sparetime, was the location for the memorial ceremony. Jeff Smith had died Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday his fire department colleagues launched forward with one of their many professional skills: logistics. Calfire work camp inmates came to move out tons of sacks of fertilizer, etc., along with department and community volunteers, who then cleaned and arranged warehouse spaces, installed temporary toilets, etc. Word went out to schools and churches for tables and chairs, as well as other community networks for staging equipment, food, beverages, waste management, etc. Decisions had to be made quickly about what would happen, who would do what, and where, and when.

With the ready stand-in assistance of other regional fire departments, the Little Lake/Willits crew were all able to participate in the event. None of them wanted to miss honoring their former Chief. A matching ladder truck was brought up from Ukiah to hoist and bear the huge flag, along with the Willits ladder, which was suspended over the entrance to the industrial grounds. Brooktrails fire trucks were positioned at the Main station in case of any alarms.

By the end of the procession from the south end fire station, winding up Highway 101 (Main Street) to the headquarters station, then west to the Little Lake Industries site on Commercial Street, the Percherons had pulled the heavy steamer pump for about a mile, with a couple of inclines, and were dripping with sweat even on this very cool day. Click here to see more photos of these events on my Overflow blog.

The Procession

2009-02-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

The memorial for Jeff Smith was Sunday, and began with a procession through the length of town. As I noted earlier on this blog, he was a member of the Willits/Little Lake Fire Department for 31 years, and was Chief for 22 of those years. An antique "steamer" pump wagon, provided by the California State Firefighters Association, led the way, followed by a stream of the department's trucks and personnel. Bringing up the rear was a pack of Smith's Harley-Davidson riding buddies. For more photos of the procession, click through here to my Overflow blog.

I like the quote in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat obituary, where a long-time colleague pointed out that Smith was "the closest thing to a celebrity we had in Willits." When I positioned myself to catch the action near the Willits Arch, I had no idea how moved I would be by the sight of the black cross, pulled by three draft horses. Then, even more, by the long line of silent, flashing fire trucks, knowing how respected he was by so many who knew him so long.

There were no California Highway Patrol officers anywhere to be seen. I believe they were busy looking the other way during this unconventional use of Highway 101. City police officers handled traffic control.

This will be a short series. More tomorrow.

Antique Wheel

2009-02-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

It was a gray day Sunday, but this brightly and minutely decorated wheel cheered up all who saw it. It was a 200+ photo day, an emotional day, and I'm beat, so more tomorrow.

For Tomorrow's Archeologists

2009-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Remnants of technology gone by, these glass telephone line insulators lie near the abandoned railroad tracks crossing Walker Road, itself a remnant of old Highway 101. Chipped and broken, I suspect these are not collectible like the ones recycled by crafters for last year's Christmas fairs. I appreciate finding such treasures of the past, but would be glad to see all the overhead wires and cables go underground. Perhaps any kind of land-line will soon be obsolete.

Dog Walk

2009-02-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

Finally a little rain broke the dry spell on Friday, and while it wasn't enough to contribute to the municipal reserves (less than an inch predicted), at least we are somewhat damp again. But while the sun still shined, people could walk their dogs without much suffering. My camera couldn't resist this recumbent tricycle rider with his gorgeous husky strutting by Recreation Grove.

Birdwatching Horse Watching Bird

2009-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Or is it a horsewatching bird watching horse? In either case there's a bird on the fence seen through the barn, and the two could be having a stare-down. (Even if you enlarge the photo, it's hard to see.)

It's easy to imagine that only humans take any pleasure in observing the fauna around us, but I suspect more than a few creatures size each other up, determine the level of threat, watch for patterns of behavior, and might even become amused. Certainly we must be the prime objects of such sport, with the One Who Brings Food garnering a very different reaction than the One Who Walks By or the One Who Shouts. But there's a time for observing, and a time for munching hay.

Handicap Parking

2009-02-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

With the redevelopment of a central city parking lot, regulations to supply handicap access took effect. It really is the right thing to do, jokes about "political correctness" and "too many rules" aside. Here, two parking spaces are specifically designated for specially equipped vans, with side lifts, for wheelchair using people to have room to get in and out of their vehicles. The curb of the sidewalk slopes down to accommodate them as well. I hope if I'm ever disabled, this kind of infrastructure will be in place, to allow me to interact with my community with a minimum dependence on others, with the self-determination that able-bodied people take for granted. I explain all this because readers from some other countries don't yet build this way.

This is another wall of the building you saw here and here.

Fire Training Tower

2009-02-04T00:02:00.000-08:00

Here we are in February, and already we're thinking about, talking about, and preparing for extreme water limitations. And where there's drought, there's fire. Last summer's Lightning Complex fires showed how fragile the system is, and as big as those fires were, there's still plenty more to burn out there. With government budgets crashing from top to bottom, and water reserves practically nonexistent, I can't help but wonder where the resources will come from to protect us this year.

Meanwhile, anyone know what those 6000 pound blocks are for?

Sad news to report. Retired Little Lake Fire Chief Jeff Smith died Monday night. I hope he knew how much our community loved and admired him. He had been retired less than a year. Late edit: Jeff Smith's obituary in the paper.

CWR Switch Signal

2009-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Along the still active Skunk line track, it speaks for itself.

Such A Name

2009-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Seeking new vistas on my territory, I went to Willits Cemetery, on acreage rising from Highway 20 just west of town. My first time here, I wandered a bit to see the names and artful monuments. There were a couple of areas with these standard military veteran's grave markers, with surviving vets and casualties of the 20th century wars indicated on the inscriptions. This one stopped me short.

George J DeBourbon-Habsburg, California, PVT [Private], Army Air Forces, World War II

Notice that he was born in 1901 and died in 1973. That's pretty old to be a lowly soldier in that war. How did someone with such a bombastically historic name from two royal houses of Europe end up in Willits?

I could have held this one back until I could do some more research, but the mystery itself appeals to my inner novelist/screenwriter, and there may be no information to be found. I did check the county phone book, and the names don't appear to continue here. Do any local readers know his real story? Or should I continue to imagine one of my own?

February Theme Day: Paths and Passages

2009-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

In yesterday's post, I mentioned three paths, and these are the other two. Here at the northernmost point in Little Lake Valley, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad crosses Outlet Creek through the gap in the hills. Alongside runs Highway 101, also crossing the creek via a bridge, and upon which I ventured on foot to risk getting yesterday's shot. Writing this, I realize I haven't made the passage out of the valley, in this direction, in probably two years. The trains no longer pass here, and it won't be long before the water below dries up too.

The first day of each month is always Theme Day among the hundreds of City Daily Photo Bloggers worldwide. Click here to view thumbnails and links for all those participants, and enjoy their interpretations of the theme.

Outlet Creek Heads North

2009-01-31T00:02:00.000-08:00

I ventured to the northernmost end of Little Lake Valley to find the convergence of three "paths" leading out of this blog's territory. One of them is Outlet Creek, the destination of the valley's watershed, which all flows north to the Eel River, which flows even further north before turning west to the Pacific Ocean.

I'm sad to hear that this may be the highest water level we'll see in it for the year. More than sad, I'm alarmed!

Deer, Deer, Deer...

2009-01-30T00:02:00.000-08:00

Black-tailed deer are very common in our coast ranges, and one of their favorite things to do is cross rural roads at dusk. Smart drivers take blind turns at more moderate speeds in the evenings and nighttime, knowing that to damage a "deer-in-the-headlights"* is to damage your vehicle as well. You can drive past them pretty closely, but if you stop and get out, they "high-tail it" (run away), because you're doing something unexpected.

They can sometimes be seen grazing in the valley pastures alongside horses and cattle, but they mix in a lot of browsing of tender new shrub growth and low hanging tree leaves into their diet as well. Often, an old orchard looks as if someone pruned all the limbs and twigs about five or six feet from the ground, but actually the work is done by deer. In the autumn, they love to eat fallen apples, and rural gardeners need to protect their rosebushes from being completely stripped of leaves.

*This phrase is often used to describe someone staring wide-eyed in confusion in an overwhelming circumstance.

Muir Lane

2009-01-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

Muir Lane is actually an alley running behind business properties from the Van Hotel on Commercial Street, south to the Henry Baker Muir department store property now occupied by J.D. Redhouse. Reading a biographical sketch of the man from 1914, Muir was a shrewd businessman with his hand in lumbering, milling, retailing, banking, energy development, telecommunications, and land brokering. There's no mention of any relationship to John Muir, the noted conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club.

Three Layers

2009-01-28T00:01:00.001-08:00

To show the contrast with a manzanita shrub's bark I posted a week ago, here is the trunk of a madrone tree. You can see where two past years growth didn't completely peel away. I'm sure I don't need to point out the delightful moss misguidedly creeping up the transient surface from below.
_______________________________________________

Hilda of My Manila daily photo blog, tagged me day before yesterday to reveal five details about myself so, like peeking at the layers of a madrone, here goes:

1. As student body president of my elementary school, I discovered politics was not for me.
2. My great-great-great grandfather was a Gunner in the Royal Artillery during the Napoleonic Wars.
3. I like my eggs scrambled, soft.
4. I love old Nat King Cole recordings.
5. I'm an Aquarius sun, Aries moon, and Libra ascendant in the Western zodiac, and was born in the Chinese Year of the Earth Pig. (Do you know your astrological signs?)

Now I'm supposed to tag five other people. Let's see if they are up to the challenge!

1. Ron in Fort Bragg, California, USA
2. Kris in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
3. Petrea in Pasadena, California, USA
4. Sara in Mashhad, Iran
5. Meead in Portland, Oregon, USA

Unforgettable

2009-01-27T00:01:00.002-08:00

Today is Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day wherever Jewish people live. The systematic gathering up and execution of millions of European Jews, by the Nazi Party of Germany and collaborators in their occupied countries during World War II, was based on the ethnicity of the victims, not their degree of religious practice. In fact, ethnic Jews who had converted to Christianity and married Christians were hunted and killed as well. Having just one Jewish grandparent was enough to "qualify" for the death camps. This "genetic" component of the Holocaust is what made it a "genocide". The other ethnic group targeted for death were the Roma (gypsies). (It was also the biological origins of Tutsis in Rwanda that subjected them to massacre by extremist Hutus in the 1990s which made that a genocide as well.)

In addition to the genocidal policies of the Nazi regime, they rounded up and executed political dissidents like union organizers and Communist Partisans, and a notable religious minority, the Jehovah's Witnesses. These victims were killed for their personal beliefs, not their genetic makeup. It was through the Witnesses' own communications network that they first got word out from Germany what was happening in the internment camps. But then, as today, "peculiar" people were not taken seriously, and those very early warnings were ignored. On this Day of Remembrance, I remember them too.

Translated from a poem by German Protestant pastor Martin Niemöller:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

See an academic's research on the origins of the oft quoted and variable poem.

For further information about genocide in modern times, and US policy decisions in various case studies, see "A Problem From Hell" by Samantha Power.

Churchill Slept Here

2009-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

According to the Willits News, Winston Churchill stayed at the Van Hotel on September 13, 1929 with some other associates on their way from Canada to San Francisco. Are we strategically placed? Or just a celebrity magnet?

VanHotelDetail Jigsaw Puzzle

Sparkling Craftsman

2009-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

The City Daily Photo blogger of South Pasadena has, with no small amount arrogance, issued a Craftsman Photo Capture Challenge to her cohorts in the San Gabriel Valley. I sniff in her general direction when I point out that northern California has many lovely enclaves of the hundred year old style, and I'm not too humble to start throwing it down from right here in Willits. This spectacular example seems to have a more modern installation of red brick for the lower front porch, but everything else stands up to period scrutiny, and the overall effect is charming.

Engine Tender

2009-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

The picture books and films of old steam locomotives always seemed to have a little box of coal heaped in an open car just behind them, when I was a kid. We naturally assumed it was full of fuel for the fires that kept everything going. Almost half a century into my earthly consciousness, I finally asked a knowledgeable railroader about it when I didn't see any coal on this "tender". It turns out that much of what these carry is a big supply of water to feed to the engine for steam! The coal, if there is any, usually sits up in a funnel-shaped hopper, surrounded by a U-shaped enclosed tank containing the water. So all those childhood illustrations were sort of camouflaged, unless you knew what questions to ask. Also, I always thought they were only black, but this beautifully maintained Simpson tender car is a spectacularly cheerful orange. Note that rolled up hose on top. Big clue. The things I learn living in Willits.

Younger Than Springtime, Are You...

2009-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

One of our local bloggers, Ron Bloomquist of Walking Fort Bragg, is now in Washington state caring for his mother-in-law. With seamless grace, he continues to blog his new surroundings as well as his personal adventures along the path of life. A recent post showed his discovery of the beauty salon his mother-in-law patronizes, with him watching like a kid in a foreign land.

These hair dryers, seen through the glass door at Valerie's, remind me of tagging along as a kid with my mother in the 60s, when carefully placed scalp-fulls of rollers and clips roasted under the tiny jets of air. Then, when unrolled and combed and brushed and fluffed and sprayed, a halo of controlled chaos crowned the well groomed customer. In today's fashions, these machines are mostly used to apply heat to chemical applications of color or "permanent waves". My thanks to Ron for reviving the memories, and my best wishes to him and his entire family.

Manzanita Skin

2009-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last spring, I posted a picture of manzanita blossoms with the intention of highlighting the beautiful bark at a later time. Well, it's been harder for me to get up close to any mature and well lit specimens than I thought. They are usually on the other side of slippery roadside trenches, or way up steep slopes, at least when I notice them. Today's photo was taken through a fence along a railroad right-of-way, so I still didn't have perfect access. But this gives you a bit of that smooth, skin-like texture of the living wood, and the bonus bits of lichen on the dead branches mixed in. Some species of Arctostaphylos create big tangled domes with marvelously twisted branches. Others hug the ground.

I Thought Our Air Was Clean

2009-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

We have had a couple of weeks of a high pressure weather system (called an anticyclone in Britain), keeping the skies clear, the winds calm, and the nights cold. The afternoons have been pleasantly warm, but as night falls the households with wood burning stoves and fireplaces begin to kindle the evening's warmth. The dense air above traps the smoke in the valley, as you see in this view of Little Lake Valley from the Reynolds Highway, also called an inversion layer. Rain is forecast for today, and we could dearly use it.

Cracks and Jack

2009-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's so rare to see custom tile work like this any more, that I grieve to see it drilled into for a pointless railing dividing two shop entrances. The "Colonial" must have been a hotel or apartment building long ago. The crack suggests it could have endured a fairly strong earthquake, and the upper facade, seen in the photo below, shows such evidence as well. When the 1906 quake hit this area, the only fatality happened when a brick hotel collapsed on the proprietor. Residential chimneys fell down all over the area, but the wooden framed houses themselves endured pretty well, being able to flex with the earth. I don't know if the Colonial was around for those events. It seems unlikely with all its brickwork still standing.

Few people realize the epicenter of that shaker was closer to Santa Rosa than San Francisco, and the rupture continued quite strongly up the fault line north. Writer Jack London toured these areas with his wife, Charmian, soon after, and wrote about his observations for Collier's magazine. In her diary (held by the Huntington Library in San Marino), Charmian mentions Jack writing part of "White Fang" while they stayed at a hotel nearer to the railroad depot in Willits.

As Melodee pointed out in the comments, the Colonial name applied to the cinema once operated in part of this building. Thanks Melodee!

Fore! Or Forest?

2009-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Brooktrails is a vast subdivision in the mountains northwest of Willits, outside of the city limits, which maintains its own special districts for water and greenbelt management. One of the recreational amenities is the nine hole golf course. The course operators have decided that about 40 trees must be removed in order for the greens to be suitably maintained for golf. Redwoods cast long shadows, and the sporting turf has suffered for lack of sunlight. The question for the community is, do they want to cut the trees and continue to golf? Or do they leave the trees, and allow the acreage to become a non-golf parkland area. Brooktrials Township sponsored a community walk to help people to consider the question. This putting green has an unfair midday sunshine advantage, situated by the parking lot.

Information Age

2009-01-18T00:30:00.000-08:00

It's a lot to take in all at once, even while traveling along Main Street/Highway 101 at the recommended 25 miles per hour. If you want to turn up Wood Street, you better know that you do, and are allowed, in advance of seeing these.

Winter Irises

2009-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

It happens every year. This one variety, whatever it is, of Pacific Coast Iris blooms here in the dead of winter. We've had night temperatures consistently at or below freezing, last month saw weeks of snow, ice, drizzle and dark skies, and yet these flowers felt the impulse to form. Normally, Pacific Coast Irises bloom in the spring and early summer. They are native to this region, if not this far inland, and have been collected and hybridized by horticulturists for garden use in a surprising variety of colors. They should call this one January Survivor.

Back at the Diner

2009-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Great news to report: the Ardella's crew is back in action after their long winter vacation! I couldn't even wait for my food to arrive - I had to take a celebratory picture. It's the beautifully reflective black granite counter top that has me whipping out my camera every time.

Jazz in the Afternoon

2009-01-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

A local jazz trio offered cool sounds on an easy afternoon at coffehouse Mendonesia last weekend (the piano is out of frame). We may be small, but we've got it all. Some time, I'll try to capture the open mic poetry readings done here each month.

Double Arrows

2009-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

The loading dock for hay and other feed from J.D. Redhouse is also the exit passage for their parking lot, so for just a moment or two, we all get to feel like farmers.

Fantasy Land

2009-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Coincidentally combining elements from the previous two posts, the westernmost end of the J.D. Redhouse building mural casts the Mendocino coast into a planet of fantasy, with a moon in a pink sky as the viewer looks north. The camouflage tarp reveals the contrast between fantasy forest green paint and more realistic hues. I'm not a fan of the color "teal", but I actually like this mural. I suspect the black trailer is there if needed for deliveries of hay bales to area farms.

FantasyMuralCamoTr Jigsaw Puzzle

Old Moon on the Rise

2009-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

According to the calendar, the Old Moon still had another day to wax full when I took this, but I was glad to catch it in semi-daylight. Willits is nestled against the western side of Little Lake Valley, and the shadows of evening darkness creep across the landscape west to east - first the town, then the valley, then the hills, and finally the high mountains I described on Friday. Here to the east of us, they glow pink in the filtered spectrum of sunset coming from overhead; the endless sunset that never dies, but continues to sweep across the globe to each rock and tree and wave, in its turn, while we scamper about below, remembering to check our watches, or start the fires, growing hungry for supper, perhaps traveling home, or fearing for our lives.

Feminine Mystique

2009-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Remarkably, the artist's signature on this mural indicates it was painted in 1977. The storefront facing the street is now a watch repair shop, so I had always assumed this beauty salon reference was just left up for the sake of the artwork. It wasn't until I walked around this side of Main Street today that I discovered Valerie's on the opposite side of the building, still an active business. I need to get out more.

School Bus Loading Shelter

2009-01-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Blosser Lane Elementary School was pretty vacant last weekend, but it gave me a chance to show some of the farthest mountains to the east of us, viewed from the rising western edge of Little Lake Valley. The first ridges visible (see the gap on the right) are in the 2000-3000 foot elevation range, and are the only thing you see when in the center of the valley. (The valley itself is about 1300 feet above sea level.) Beyond those, the higher mountains of the inland Coast Ranges rise nearly 7000 feet at a few points. With any luck, the next two months will bring us cold, wet storms to deposit a thick "snow pack" up there. Our water supply, and the health of the streams and rivers, depends on that bank of frozen water to fill our reservoirs for the summer through fall dry season. The snow that has fallen so far has already melted away. I'll try not to worry.

Groovy Moss

2009-01-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

These pavement grooves signal a change in the sidewalk's surface angle, as it slopes down to meet the street for crossing by wheelchairs or the visually impaired. They seem to provide secure footing for some moss as well, but the bits of lichen sprinkled about blew down from the trees in the rain and wind, and won't be sticking around.

MossySidewalkGroov Jigsaw Puzzle

American Dream

2009-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

I took this picture about a month ago, and it wants to be posted, rather than passed by like hundreds of others that don't make it to the light of day. I feel I sometimes neglect the residential face of Willits.

Home ownership has long been held up as the ideal in a stable American-style democracy. Over the last twenty years, the prices put on property grew so disproportionately compared to the only slight growth in ordinary salaries, that only people who already had equity in a house before that period could safely leverage that value to move to something bigger and better. Anyone trying to step into the market stream after that, had to find "no money down" options to finance ridiculously inflated price tags on something even as simple as this little blue cottage. People now lament the "wealth lost" by folks in the first category, but forget the impossible position of folks in the second category, who now face forclosure.

Perhaps as the next ten years unfold, the phrase "affordable housing" won't strike fear in the hearts of "nice" neighborhoods, and housing development models can be imagined and built to include everyone. And now turn to #225 in your hymnal...

Wet Winter Park

2009-01-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

In an icy cold morning fog, a figure of mystery is barely discernible through the trees of Recreation Grove.

Rosehips

2009-01-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

A splendid load of rosehips awaits the landowner's harvest near a roadside in the valley. Like most plants in the rose family (apples, blackberries), the fruit of roses is a useful addition to the human diet. While difficult to eat raw (apparently hard and sour), rosehips are loaded with vitamin C, iron, and anti-oxidants. When dried they make a fine addition to herbal tea mixtures, or steeped on their own. They can also be cooked into jams and pies - especially good mixed with other fruit. Of course, they are also pretty just left on the vine.

Abundant Lichen

2009-01-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

A wooly fleece of lichen clothed a winter-bare stand of hardwood trees just east of town. I thought the horses set off the color of the lichen to great advantage, don't you?

And don't miss this great page of ten things you should know about lichen.

Bright Eyes

2009-01-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

Willits is blessed with an abundance of railroads. While much of the derelict equipment was removed a few months ago, some railcars have been consolidated together on a couple of tracks of the NWP, and fenced in to help prevent additional vandalism. The headlamps of this locomotive reminded me of the eyes of a spider.

CCTLocoHeadlamps Jigsaw Puzzle

Winter Gold

2009-01-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

The last of the yellow willow leaves are finally letting go along the many stream sides in Little Lake Valley.

Beginning Again

2009-01-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

I was able to grab a fair number of images from an abandoned auto service center building complex in 2008, and a few weeks ago added the image above to the list. A new owner for the property has apparently been found, so the old buildings have been disappearing a little at a time. This laborer is in a trench up to his knees, but I'm not sure what he is doing. The back wall of the post office is behind him, and the floor of a now vanished retail showroom spreads before him, shortly to be jack-hammered away.

On sunny Tuesday, I found further progress on the site. New concrete has been poured into the same building footprint as the previous structure, and this strange rotating machine was polishing? texturizing? the fairly fresh surface.

It's good to see some investment still going on, even in these hard economic times. But I miss the glass brick entrance of the former building. All the boxwood and datura is gone as well.

January Theme Day: Best Photo of the Year 2008

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

This isn't what I consider my best photograph just on visual quality, but it was my best post for the year of 2008, for the story of my shared quest to photograph that horse through the Ardella's Diner windows. It speaks to the experience of doing Willits Daily Photo like no other, and this particular moment was so joyful. Read the story behind it on the original post, here. I hope anybody passing through Willits will be inspired to have a meal at Ardella's.

For some of my other favorites from the past year, see my Overflow blog. It's been an interesting year, and this blog has connected me to Willits in ways I never imagined.

The first day of the month is always a theme day among more than a hundred City Daily Photo Bloggers who choose to participate, all around the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all the participants answer to the theme "Best Photo of the Year".

Let the Sun Shine

2008-12-31T00:01:00.000-08:00

As much as we needed the long, steady rain of the past week or more, it was great to see the sun break through the gray blanket of fog and rain on Tuesday. Some people even wore t-shirts, but it was still far too cold for that. Instead, I celebrated by capturing the sunlit moss on the trunk of a tall, tall oak tree. I love moss almost as much as lichen!

Latte No Foam

2008-12-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

After the photo safari to the valley brought very few photos to bank in my computer the other day, I went for warm refuge in Mendonesia, housed in the former Bank of Willits building. With compassion and efficiency, the kindly crew simultaneously whipped up a latte and a Pine Mountain sandwich for my tired soul.

Public History Mural: The Persico Boys

2008-12-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

Dated 1994, a series of "snapshot" images mimic a large photo album mounted on some walls downtown, probably organized by the county museum staff of that time. Various local painters were given photographs of local personalities of note to create these large boards for display. This one shows two of the Persico men in their childhood on trick ponies they rode in parades and at rodeos. The Persico family has been in Little Lake Valley for many generations.

The spirit of this public art project exemplifies the movement to "public history" that arose around the 1970s and 80s. By engaging local artists, expressing the life of local individuals, and placing the results in high foot traffic locations out in the community, it is definitive of people presenting their own history stories to tell one another, and is strongly influenced by Studs Terkel and his interest in the lives of everyday people rather than just the generals and senators and captains of industry.

Bright Brambles

2008-12-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

With so many indoor and in-town pictures this week, I decided to try for something different in the gray, foggy, drizzly valley. My reward was a hedge of colorful berry vine leaves beneath a lichen bedecked young oak.

Chad's Obsession

2008-12-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

A British visitor once declared that Chad's Fish and Chips were the most authentic he had tasted anywhere in the US. What is not British is the singular enthusiasm Chad has for the Oakland Raiders, an American football team. The photo of the back wall, above, shows only a fraction of the team paraphernalia on display at Chad's. A former Raider has even stopped in a few times. As you can see, if they are playing in a game, you can be sure it will be on the widescreen TV for the dining area, as well as on another in the kitchen. His devotion spans decades, to a time when they were one of the leading teams in the nation, and when their on and off-field reputation was notoriously wild. I'm not a follower of the sport, but even I can figure out they weren't doing too well against New England the day I snapped this. Times have changed, but loyal Chad has not.

Noyo Neon Detail

2008-12-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving and Christmas are big business at movie houses. With households full of gathered relatives, the food gets eaten, the games get played, then somebody gets designated to drive the younger ones to see a show. Film distributors schedule openings of selected films just for this occasion, to take advantage of ready-made packed houses. Three screens accommodate varied tastes at the Noyo cinema right here in Willits.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

May today be one of comfort and joy to you all. I'm away from my computer, with my Mom (she's in the little black dress).

This just happens to mark my 300th post to this blog!

Crochet

2008-12-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to see all these crocheted doilies at one of the recent Christmas crafts fairs. I didn't think anyone did this kind of handwork anymore, and they were very reasonably priced. Did I buy any? Well, no. I happen to have more of these (in these same patterns) than I will ever have any use for.

I remember some of them draped on the tops of the easy chairs at my grandparents' house. And under vases on the mantle. I rarely use them myself, but they remind me of my mother's stories of going to San Francisco every Christmas, where her Danish grandparents lived and my grandmother grew up. Christmas Eve was the time for the main festivities, and smatterings of the old language were sprinkled in the conversations of the elders, surrounded by dark wood floors and oriental carpets and pipesmoke. Souvenirs of the sea captain's travels to every continent were displayed here and there. Woven paper hearts and real candles were on the tree. Is it possible to inherit memories?

I'll be away from my computer soon, making more memories with Mom.

Free Stuff

2008-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, the papered-over windows of the old Sears franchise store glowed onto this little collection of boxes, bearing the sign "FREE STUFF". It's not so unusual to see larger items out on a home's sidewalk being offered to whoever will take it away - things that really aren't in any condition for a charity shop to try to sell. But lately, I've seen several of these displays of clothing and books and shoes and toys, left out where no one will monitor anyone's rummaging through (allowing for some dignity?), but away from commercial complaints as well. Perhaps it's an effort to get such items right into the hands of someone in real need, so they don't even have to pay pennies to a benevolent fundraiser, because resources are so slim.

I didn't get to catch up with last week's newspaper until today. It turns out that the light glowing inside was because the space is being used to sort and wrap donated new gifts for needy children in the area. As the article says:

The children have been confidentially referred to the program by teachers, service agencies and other agencies. The children fill out red gift tags that include their first name, age, needed clothing, and their big wish from Santa.

Tags are hung on Christmas trees located in businesses around town. Community members are encouraged to pick tags off the trees, purchase the items listed and bring the unwrapped gifts to the old Sears building for wrapping and distribution.

The question of why there are homeless and needy people in America has come up in another blog recently, and the problem is certainly complex. But on a local level, people try to do what they can, with what they have, where they are. We have always been a nation rich with volunteers. We are free to assemble, free to give, free stuff.

Parking Spot

2008-12-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

The snow level has lifted to the mountain elevations, but here in the valley it falls as a cold, light, but steady rain. In weather like this, it's not unusual to hear the sirens of emergency response vehicles wailing up Highway 101/Main Street. As dry as our year has been, it seems drivers haven't adjusted their speeds for the slick conditions.

My wish to all holiday travelers is to stay safe, so that time can take care of itself.

The Night Train

2008-12-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Skunk train has been running twice daily specials lately, with elves and music and enchantment, even in these dark evenings and cold temperatures. It's good to hear the not-too-distant horn of the engine as it rumbles through town, snaking off to the fields and forests to the west, and making life-long memories for the children aboard. Happy Solstice, everyone! From here until late June, the days grow longer.

Christmas Shopping

2008-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

This will be the weekend I try to get it all done. It really is nice to have a truly "general" store in town like J.D. Redhouse, that's locally owned (not a "chain", yet), and stocked with good quality inventory. You can drive away from here with everything from a bale of hay, a pony bridle, and birdseed, to a bath mat, boots, and a bra (or berry smoothie). But what to get Mom?

A Light In The Darkness

2008-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Willits Charter School recently made news for being awarded a bronze rating among schools across the nation by USNews and World Report. This lovely mosaic bench sits just outside the school entrance. I'm glad to have something bright to post on a very rainy day.

An Open Face

2008-12-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

With all this arctic air numbing our toes and crusting our windshields, it's high time we found refuge indoors. A warm, comforting meatloaf on a gravy-smothered, open-faced sandwich (with side salad) at Ardella's is just the thing in this weather. Good news for the owners and staff: they will be taking their winter break from December 21 to January 7. For the rest of us: bad news. But they have earned it.

Frosted Rail

2008-12-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

I amazed myself yesterday morning by actually leaving the house with time enough to stop for pictures on my way to work. This plant, snuggled up next to an NWP rail, clasped an autumn leaf through the night, and together they awoke covered in a mighty frost. If this is what autumn looks like, I wonder how our winter will be. Just four days until winter solstice.

Snow-dusted Buckeye Tree

2008-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well, there it is. It snowed Monday morning and I have the photo to prove it. This is a Buckeye, with all its leaves and nuts fallen for the season, bearing a light load of snow on all its branches and twigs in equal measure. In dormancy, the lovely, evenly spaced and curved network of branches is best displayed, showing the unmistakable form of this species.

The snow came off and on Monday, but did not accumulate much and melted away by afternoon. At one point, a particularly dark sky unleashed a downpour of small-grained hail. But tonight, the prediction is for very cold temperatures (22F) and possibly two inches of the white stuff. The morning will tell.

A View More True

2008-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

The forecasters promised us snow on Sunday, but down in Little Lake Valley we only got drizzles of rain and plenty of gloom. This squirrel perched on the stub of a redwood branch, making chung-chung noises while sheltered by the evergreen canopy high overhead. The flock of birds beyond just waited and endured.

Scroll down here for the Willits forecast from NOAA.

Give Me Bus Shelter

2008-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

A cold mass of air swept down on Willits yesterday from Canada and Alaska, bringing a short flurry of snow, so there will be no sitting in the park enjoying warm sunshine for a while. Fortunately for folks waiting for the MTA bus, this shelter at City Park offers some comfort in rain, hail, snow.

Holiday Crafts Fairs

2008-12-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, the local paper listed at least three Crafts Fairs running simultaneously in Willits, and there will be another one at the Community Center today. The offerings are all home-made gifts and decorations, and often baked goods as well. Some of the more unusual items I saw were these antique glass insulators converted into electric lamps. The insulators were used on telephone poles to separate the wires from the wood brackets with non-conducting glass. With these, the screw-on opening at the bottom holds the light element, strung through the turned wood base the crafters made for each.

I also encountered a competing photographer on the job!

Tippy Toes

2008-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

I've featured quite a few dogs among the animals on this blog, but I find and photograph more of them than I can reasonably accommodate here, given the scope of what I want to do with Willits Daily Photo. This gal patiently waited outside a downtown shop, without even being tied up. I envy her long, shapely legs, but it wasn't in my genes. I've posted some more canines that I've collected over the past many months, on my Overflow blog.

Today is an indulgence, and I recommend that dog lovers seek out Jilly's Riviera Dogs blog for a wonderful gallery of pooches she finds in her fabulous corner of the world. Jilly, it should be noted, is a world-class judge at the most prestigious dog shows, and conveys her love and respect for them beautifully. While you're in the area, take a look at her spectacular Daily Photos of Monte Carlo, Monaco and Menton, France.

Another dog-lover who often features her beloved Boz, Petrea of Pasadena gave tribute yesterday to the parallel universe they seem to inhabit, gently beside us.

Local Drugs

2008-12-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

I finally realized why the local Rexall affiliated pharmacy doesn't light this neon sign, even in the early hour of darkness of winter: much of the tubing is missing!

Other local drugs, of the outdoor sort, have been harvested for the season. Thanks to my favorite Humboldt county blogsister, Redheaded Blackbelt, I'm now aware that there was something of a regional harvest festival, with awards for the best produce, right here in Mendocino county very recently. Click here to learn about "sun bud" and related trends in green thinking.

Human Rights Day

2008-12-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

I wish I had remembered that the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was coming up today. I might have planned a better photograph, etc. The 1948 declaration by the United Nations covers a wide scope of basic, inherent rights that anyone, anywhere should be able to expect under the authority of any state.

Probably the biggest current issue around such rights, here in Willits, has to do with claiming equal marriage entitlements for homosexuals. Following the elation of electing Obama for president, most of us were heartbroken for friends and family who faced passage of a California referendum against gays and lesbians having state recognition of their partnerships. The photo above is the only one I could find in my archives that tied in to such human rights, a wonderful musician from San Francisco performing show tunes at Shanachie Pub in Willits not long after voting day. It was a mix of gays and straights that night, combining Obama-joy with Proposition 8-grief. Also present was one of the foremost activists for gay civil rights, from the days when known homosexuals were not even allowed to teach at universities. We need to crack down on war criminals, not people who love.

Steampunks

2008-12-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned the group Roots of Motive Power before, and how they were steampunks long before today's young steampunks named themselves steampunks. I clearly love the word "steampunk". These guys here in Willits love to make big rail engines work, usually involving steam, and all the rail cars that go with them. They had their Christmas season steam-up on Sunday, featuring free rides around the loop track in a caboose or on a speeder (I did both!). I got so many photos, I couldn't make up my mind which one to lead with today, so I'll put a few more on my Overflow blog.

BaldwinEmblemSteam Jigsaw Puzzle

Redbud Leaves in Autumn

2008-12-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Redbud is another plant native to our area, especially in the drier hills to the east. Their floral display is spectacular in the spring, and a related species populates the Mediterranean countries. I never really noticed any of them turning colors at this time of year, until I spotted this one in front of the county museum. The coral-pink/chartreuse colors are just as my camera captured them, without any applied contrast or saturation. Around the corner, another redbud was dropping its leaves while they were still the ordinary green of summer. I have no explanation.

Running Skunk?

2008-12-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

After a long season of feeling neglected by the company that runs the Skunk Train, several Christmas trips were planned this weekend from the Willits Depot, and next weekend, and the week leading up to Christmas. The refurbished, but scantily used depot, now houses the offices of the local Chamber of Commerce.

St Nicholas Day

2008-12-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

As far as I can tell, St Nicholas Day is practically unknown in the US, but considering how early the decorations go up, including stockings for bearing little treats, we might as well let his story out. I spent a couple of Decembers in Hungary in the 90s, where children clean and shine their winter boots or shoes on the night of December 5th, and set them out. The next day, St Nicholas Day, they wake to find them filled with goodies. I also witnessed St Nick visiting a classroom full of kindergarten kids on his saint's day, enraptured to see him and receive his gifts.

I know, this is just weird (of me to post). They may not have Princess Parking anymore, but City Hall has a great, big Christmas stocking hung on a pair of doors to the Council Chambers.

Aging Gracefully

2008-12-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

This fine old Victorian home sits prominently near City Hall and the old Carnegie building. While the bark of this tree looks similar to redwood trees, the foliage gives it away as a cedar. Someone has beautifully planned the garden for year-round beauty, and it was here that I photographed some spuria irises in June. In this view, you can just make out the green curtain of wisteria on the wrap-around front porch.

Red Hot Pokers

2008-12-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

These showy flowers, Kniphofia, defy the seasons and brighten up the darkening days of December. They are native to Africa, but have been growing in Mendocino county for at least a century. Like the spuria irises I mentioned before, they were planted around some of the hotels and farmsteads. I remember when my grandfather had wrought iron fireplace tools, and if you left the "poker" stuck in the fire and coals, it would turn this orange-red color. His house was on the site of an old stagecoach hotel, and one of these grew below a nearby redwood.