Life Itself

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.

Bunny Dumpster

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.

For Tomorrow's Archeologists

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.

Merry Christmas

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!

Free Stuff

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

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.

A Light In The Darkness

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.

St Nicholas Day

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.

Forest of the Already Cut

These Christmas trees were cut and available for sale since before Thanksgiving. Cool weather and pots of water must be enough to keep them fresh. By contrast, the Danish tradition is to put up and decorate the tree on Christmas Eve, then leave it up for the ensuing twelve days of Christmas. Then, after the Epiphany (commemorating the visit of the Three Wise Men) on January 6th, it is removed.

My Danish ancestry influenced our celebrations growing up, and we always opened our presents on Christmas Eve, as they do (or did). But our tree always went up ahead of time.

Election Day

Today, American citizens fulfill their duty to vote for their choice of candidates for President of the United States. This time, it seems, the whole world is holding its breath.

Vote Jigsaw Puzzle

Sweet Treats

Sara N. of Mashhad, Iran, has given me the Blogging Friends Forever award. She is always so kind, and I am grateful for her friendship through our shared interest in City Daily Photo Blogging. And dear Meead, now of Portland, Oregon, has given me the same honor. He is a prince among men, and was the first to introduce me to his country. Now his challenge is to comprehend mine, and I wish him many angels in his adventure here.

Now it is my turn to give the award to five other bloggers, according to the following rules:
1. Only five people are allowed
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award

My five are invited to pass this award along, if they choose to do so. (Even if they do not, I hope people will visit their blogs. Some visit Willits DP silently, others with many kind comments.):

1) Kelly of Geneva, Illinois
2) Babzy of France/Iceland
3) Afyon of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
4) Hilda of Manila, Philippines
5) Petrea of Pasadena, California

In addition to the sweet treat of blogging friends, the organic treats in the photo above can be found at Mendonesia Cafe in the heart of Willits.

City Daily Photo bloggers have just been informed by a much admired Turkish blogger that "access to Blogspot/Blogger websites has been suspended in accordance with decision of Criminal Court of Peace in Turkey." This means that their blogs remain visible to the rest of us, but that they themselves are prohibited from logging on to those pages. This is frightening news.

Graffiti Fight

I found evidence of paint-roller activity under the rail viaduct at the southernmost end of Walker Road, in Little Lake Valley, as graffiti and gang tagging are kept at bay. The moss is certainly the worse for wear. I love moss almost as much as I love lichen, so you can understand my sadness.

GraffitiFight Jigsaw Puzzle

Some Close, Some Distant: Half a Year Done

Half a year has passed on Willits Daily Photo, with a mix of details and wider vistas. Like these friendly but silent cattle pictured here, more folks seem to be watching what goes on here than when I started out. In the beginning, I tried to keep my descriptions to a minimum, just wanting the snapshots to stand on their own. I thought this would just be my secret little "thing" to do. But as I began visiting some of the other City Daily Photo Blogs, the pleasures of interacting revealed themselves.

My special thanks today go to some of my first comment-leaving visitors. Jana of Susanville started her City Daily Photo Blog around the same time I did, and it was nice to hear from someone in another small northern California town, but she developed computer challenges, and doesn't seem to blog any more. Benjamin Madison of Victoria, Canada has been an encouraging spirit from very early on, and because our blogs started within days of each other, I consider him my Blog Brother. His photography is really not to be missed, and I am humbled by his kindness. A couple of Kiwis were quick to make me feel welcome; Sakiwi of Hamilton, and Ben of Nelson. They also served to show how unlimited the geography of a blog audience can be. And here I thought the interest in Willits would be limited to the few people in Willits who know me. True to his spirit as the Ambassador of Blogging, Abraham Lincoln (yes, related to that president) came around with generous comments for this new kid on the block. He struggles with the pain of arthritis, yet his comments grace City Daily Photo Blogs the world over, and like everyone, I welcomed his kind notice. Gerald England, of Hyde, England, was also quick to come by and notify me that he was including me in his vast archives of daily photo bloggers old and new. Someone mysteriously named iBlowfish stopped by with good wishes, and when I followed his profile to Cleveland, I was blown away by his stylish photography. I'm sad to see he has stopped, even as he was listed as a Blogger of Note by the folks at Blogger.

I am grateful to all visitors to Willits Daily Photo, and I realize many of you don't leave comments, but check back to see new posts once in a while anyway. My little visit counting widgets tell me that I get around 50 or 60 visits a day, most days now. A good quarter of those are probably just me, but still that's more than I expected when I started. We'll see if I can can keep this up for a full year. Thanks again!

Some more pictures of hay are on my Overflow Blog.

Centennial Monument

Situated at the center of Bud Snider Park (sometimes called City Park), this marker was set in place in 1988, the 100 year anniversary of the official cityhood of Willits. I suppose the wide ring of railing protects it, a bit, from casual vandalism. With the current drought, and mandatory water rationing, I suppose flower beds would be impractical. At the far boundary of the park, you can see the Farmer's Market at full thrust on a hot summer afternoon.

I'll be out of town for a few days - Mom's 80th birthday today!

3D Memories

I wasn't the only person with a camera at the rodeo. I saw a fellow near the arena gate with a fancy rig that held two cameras about a foot apart. I didn't give it much thought and probably assumed it was a way to get good coverage of the action. I didn't realize until the next issue of Nickel & Dime came out that he was producing stereoscope type images! Several businesses that distribute this "good news" paper had the red and blue eye window headsets for activating the effect, and they turned out great! It looks like the printer was off alignment if you don't know what's going on without the special glasses. Craig Gardner was the wizard-photographer, but he doesn't list a website. You can enlarge this photo for contact information. This was shot at a table in J.D. Redhouse after I'd already cleared my tasty dish of raspberry ripple ice cream. Next time, I'll share.

Arte Y Pico Honor

My thanks go to Kelly, at Geneva Daily Photo, for honoring me with the the Arte Y Pico blog award. Here are the guidelines for this recognition:

1. Recipients choose five blogs considered to be ‘deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and which contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language they are in’.
2. After selecting your honorees, list the name of the blog author and a link to his/her blog so they may be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to display the award, and include name and link to the blog that conferred the recognition.
4. All award winners will link to the Arte y Pico blog so that everyone will know the origin of the award.
5. Provide a copy of these guidelines.

The originator of the award appears to be a doll crafter in Uruguay (I used Google Translate to examine the site). On the one hand, it is a way for the originator to show his humble wares (so you can decide whether you want to click on that link or not 8^)), but on the other hand, it's lovely to be offered such an acknowledgment from a fellow blogger in whatever form it arrives. This particular exponential chain appears to have just started in June, and who knows how far it will reach. No money lost, no money gained. Most of the blogs I've been visiting lately have been part of the loosely affiliated City Daily Photo community, but I'll break this out from that circle a little more with my list of five. It will be up to the listees to decide whether they want to receive it and pass it on:

1. Kym of Redheaded Blackbelt and Other Strange Connections

She writes beautifully and compellingly of her life adventures, as well as community news in southern Humboldt county, California, and beyond. Her photos are superb!

2. Elisa of Elisa Saca Fotos

Elisa is the sister of an Argentine CDP blogger (his site is great too!), and her photography is marvelously original.

3. Desiree of The Adventures of Chopper Chick

Readers of Redheaded Blackbelt were just recently pointed to this exciting, action packed blog of a professional helicopter pilot. She seems to do every kind of copter work.

4. Ms Puddin at A Taste of Fresh Banana Puddin'

Her blog is rated NC-17 for a reason. She has twenty-something, beyond-sex-and-the-city attitude, holding nothing back. It's a funny and fresh view of life that I don't see much of anymore, because I'm really close in age to her parents. In fact, I'm acquainted with her parents - long time residents of Mendocino county. She probably won't get off on an old lady noticing her blog, but that's sort of why I'm listing her.

5. Palm Axis of Palm Axis

An artist in the Los Angeles area, this blogger presents her own art as well as the well observed art, nature and history around her - three things that matter to me as well.

1500 Free Audio Books on LibriVox.org!

If you don't know about it already, lend me your ears! LibriVox is an amazing, globally sourced project of volunteers committed to recording every book that is certifiably in the public domain - either because it was published in the United States before 1923, or because it was otherwise created in the public domain at the outset. Started by a Canadian guy named Hugh in 2005, when he couldn't find inexpensive audiobooks for a long road trip, it has grown from a handful of his helpful friends to a worldwide volunteer base of hundreds of amateur (along with a few spirited pros) readers, editors, project coordinators, and proof listeners. Everybody just uses their computers at home, along with a microphone, to create mp3 files of themselves reading whatever eligible texts they sign on for.

The best part is that nobody puts any copyright or even creative commons restrictions on the resulting material. Whatever public domain texts are being recorded, the recording itself is dedicated to the public domain as well. It's pure cultural altruism, which makes it possible for anyone anywhere in the world with a connection to the internet to download "Jane Eyre", "Huckleberry Finn", "The Works of Tacitus, Vol. 1", or "The United States Bill of Rights" along with other titles in more than 100 languages other than English, and use them in schools, or for the illiterate, or while they knit, or to chop up into a video mash-up on YouTube. Free speech for anyone anywhere. Get it? If you do, please investigate, buy a USB microphone, and get started recording! There are thousands of public domain books yet to be done, and everyone is welcome to help.

Go to http://librivox.org/ and make your speech free. Or just take a listen! Oh, and uh, this photo was taken in the Willits Branch of the county library. We love them.

Also Neatly Stacked

These Willits Telephone Directories may be waiting for a finishing slice on the printer's cutter. The "big" commercial phone books usually include both Mendocino and Lake counties together, as a practical matter in such thinly populated areas. But when you just want to know what's available within a ten minute drive, a local collection of business ads and numbers comes in very handy.

Gutter Balls

I encountered these perfectly spherical iron balls in a street gutter while walking around my neighborhood. Some of them have rusted in slightly different colors, and when I picked one up, it felt solid. Old bearings from industrial machinery? Conceptual art? This is just as I found them. The crushed aluminum can provides scale.

May Theme Day: Numbers

Dipping below half a tank. Distances are long in Mendocino county. Several choices beckon at the most intensively lit corner of Willits, the junction of 101 and 20, with three gasoline stations available all night. All high prices, going higher. If I can keep this old Nissan puttering for a few more years, the next vehicle I buy will be petroleum free. Here's hoping. Fingers crossed. It's all a numbers game.

City Photo Bloggers around the world participate in monthly theme days, with fascinating ideas for interpretation. Click here to view thumbnails for all the participants. The portal will lead you on a wonderful journey. Enjoy!