silky fox

And this part of the thread is after all a Love story,so as a couple re-united after almost 40 years what adventures did we get up to? As soon as 'Miss Silky' had some time off work i planned a road trip.Time to leave the Wild West and head North (In search of Trees of course) and a Romantic getaway 🚙 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

I will return to the Chumash again as they were the most significant part of my first encounter of Turtle Island (or the USA as it is now Known throughout the world). It is increasingly difficult to keep up with the events in my life at this moment but bear with me and i shall continue to get thd thread up to present day!

So during my vacation when i wasn't spending time with my Lady i spent the whole time between the Mountains and the Pacific and learning about the Chumash.Their name means "Shell money people" and they were seafaring people.There are only a couple of indigenous peoples that made boats as they did.Not from dugout logs but planks sewn together and sealed with tar found on the beach.This coastline has an abundance of natural tar and the planks tbey used were cut from Redwood that floated down from the North or Pine.They were known to travel hundereds of miles.They were able to do this because of a very clever solution to be able to carry drinking water.They were also known for the woven shelters and baskets they made which had tar poured inside them and once dried could hold the water they needed to sustain long journeys....Their boats were called "Tomol".

Has a ring to it Al....Kinda like this.A road named after you in Santa Barbara🤩

19.3 centigrade here in the golden state (my favourite working temperature) but it feels like 25+

Digifix over here too...but i see you found them...All the best for 2023 matey anyhoo👍

Hey Al 🖐 I believe these are available in the U.K

Yup. We love a good Lunge.

https://www.facebook.com/stories/113084731591790/UzpfSVNDOjY4MTAxMzM0NzE4NjE4Ng==/?view_single=1&source=shared_permalink&mibextid=Nif5oz

Early Pioneers used the tree to make wagon wheels.

The Chumash tribe have been here for thousands of years.The first person i met and befriended here is Chumash decendant and taught me all about this area from the the Valley up through the mountains and down to the Ocean.He showed me the sites of ancient cave paintings.I learned about their history which was both Fascinating and tragic in equal measures.But we became great friends and i will share that as the thread continues...Back to the Tree.The most important species to the Chumash people.It's an Oak.Coast live Oak to be precise.They ground the Acorns and then purged them of toxins to make food.I saw many boulders full of holes which were used over generations for that purpose.

Which brings me right back to the Telephone Tree.

There are signs of settlers here and there only dating back a couple of hundered years.The main language i heard was Spanish and the majority of people i met were Mexican/Latino but i was mainly interested in finding out who are the indigenous people of this Land?

But rising to 18 degrees in a few hours.🌝

The monsoon has gone and we have nine months or so of unbroken sunshine on the way give or take a shower or two although that is unlikely.We live in an area classed as extreme drought so the garden looks beautifully lush after the downpours.It's bitter at 5 a.m when i wake up.All the bird baths were frozen this morning but once the sun comes up its instantly very warm.(18 degrees right now) and will continue to rise each week until the ground and anything outside become almost too hot to the touch.Very different climate to the one i left behind in County Durham and Weardale.Californians are still amazed when i explain how muggy and hot it can get every summer in England.I used to find it unbearable without cooling water close by.Here,the Pacific Ocean brings cooling breeze during the day and all the heat goes at night.

This post goes out to the creator of this thread.Mendiplogs loved a good weather report.Shout out to John wherever you are...Today's weather is the same as it has been for the last few weeks.We have had continuous storm warnings and a lot of flooding especially around the Montecito area further along the highway.Roads have collapsed and there have been boulders tumbling down the mountains along with the usual landslides which bring down Trees into the once dried up rivers.Thankfully we have had the worst,and have warmer drier weather to look forward to🙂

Fantastic thread Mr Stubby.I was adopted in 1968 at 2 weeks old.Throughout my life i have always felt there was a piece of the jigsaw missing. I was told about my birth mother from a very early age and tried to trace her during the eighties but other than the fact she was of mixed race and was unmarried meant she was for some reason unable to keep me.The nurse at the hospital who was the only person i know who saw her and my Grandfather (Who was Indian) helped find me a home with her sister...i drew a blank until i joined Ancestry.com a few years back.My DNA results showed that i was just over half U.K and one quarter Scandinavian.The rest of my DNA from Northern India.Last year i received a message through the App. I had found the information i was looking for most of my life. Sadly my Birth Mother who was born in India passed away in 2000 but i have been in contact with my Older Sister ever since.I also have four older Brothers.The first time i spoke to them was the most significant moment in my life... All the best for 2023

Mr Honda, i appreciate your comment very much Sir. This thread is just a continuation from that original post and will only end....at the end. I never expect anything,i just go with the flow like a free spirit.I just have an endless amount of determination and self belief and of course i am lucky that i am able to be around and work with the most important living things on the planet (in my opinion)...Trees 💚🌳🌴

Broken arrow 🏹 No elephants here mate 🐘 and i've certainly never been in one.So nice to hear from you.

This picture gives you an idea of the surroundings and the spot is less than five minutes from the front door and is where i spent the majority of my time when i was alone...At night it was so peaceful with huge starry skies and just the occasional faint sound of coyotes in the distance....

I would spend a lot of time in the garden.A great place to get used to the heat and get to know about her favourite hobby of gardening and growing things...There are about forty kinds of roses,mainly David Austin and the peaches are tropical snow.

Black Widows are fascinating and although their venom in many times more potent than a rattler they are not aggresive and rarely kill but you would not want to take a bit from one! I,d take this life over city life anyday.We are all share this planet and i rather liked living in this very real world...To finally be together after two years was all that mattered and the dog ate anything that ventured into the garden during the day.Shebu's are fearless.

Even though she was female,i called her Boris. (From the Who song) and it seemed appropriate at the time...😄

It's pretty safe at the house as long as you know what shares the home and garden with you.Hummingbirds are the most obvious and blue bellied fence lizards,blue jays,hawks and alligator lizards.Thankfully rattlesnakes prefer to stay off the beaten track but it is always advisable to check the log piles,garden furniture and anything around the darker areas in the outbuildings for rather a formidable resident crawler...she either squashes them or gives them to the chickens to eat but this time she gave me it to observe.I kept her for an hour or two then let her go in the canyon....

So yeah...we had three months together surrounded by large expanses with few people around and a whole lot of nature...Now,this really is the wild west and not the sort of place to wander of the beaten track as there are Bears and mountain lions and if they are hungry you are on the menu and anything left will be eaten by the ever present turkey vultures overhead.Thankfully my lady has lived here for over thirty years and is a lecturer in Botany and an expert on all the things that grow or inhabit this area...