The North Idaho Front Porch (Sandpoint, Clark Fork: suburbia, nuisance, firefighters)

[elousv]

Hey CFF, is Atilano's really the BEST burrito in San Diego? The signs on the ones around here say so!

[Sage of Sagle]

I can tell you that it's just like eating at the places in Chula Vista or the hole-in-the-wall places that were so good in East LA.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by elousv

Hey CFF, is Atilano's really the BEST burrito in San Diego? The signs on the ones around here say so!

Uhh...I don't really like burritos......and we don't have any Atilano's down here...Tripadvisor says, "This ain't San Diego!"
This Ain't San Diego, But ... - Review of Atilano's Mexican Food, Spokane, WA - TripAdvisor

But try Guadalajara in San Diego Old Town! Or Fidel's in Solana Beach!

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by mtngirlatheart

I should hav clarified, at least for me, I will be looking into alternatives for any future animals we have such as OSS (ovary sparing spay) or vasectomy. I haven't done extensive research but it is something I've started looking into and plan to learn more about. From what I have found so far, it makes much more sense to me to go that route rather than neuter/spay.

Yep, that's perfectly fine from a health standpoint, and won't negatively impact temperament either. Also, with a halfway competent surgeon, it's a lot less invasive. (What's with these 6 inch spay zippers nowadays? Have none of these younger vets heard of a spay hook? it was invented almost 100 years ago... tho the inventor had his own issues...)

Be aware that chemical castration does the same thing as mechanical castration -- after a few months the hormone levels drop to zero.

[elousv]

Happy Mother's Day all
Took DW (a mommy) for a nice drive on the back side of Lake CDA. This is along Rt. 3 through the Chain Lakes area. Mile after mile of greenery overload.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

8 wildfires burning in San Diego County...we have a Santa Ana condition with strong winds, 100+ degree temperatures and 2 percent humidity...This never used to happen this early in the season--this is September weather. We're in for a long summer...

Roads are clogged with people trying to get to their homes or away from their homes, and we're revising our evacuation lists, hoping we won't get the call to evacuate. Keep your fingers crossed for us...

[Cnynrat]

CFF - Be safe, and we'll be thinking about you. It does seem like we're in for a long fire season this year. Hopefully the El Nino forms up and we get some much needed rain next winter.

Dave

[Reziac]

Fingers, toes, eyes, and wires... yeah, early in the year but not so unique... had some early fire seasons when I lived north of L.A.

Conversely, here in MT, two mornings ago we got snow!! You want to trade weather for a bit?

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Cnynrat

CFF - Be safe, and we'll be thinking about you. It does seem like we're in for a long fire season this year. Hopefully the El Nino forms up and we get some much needed rain next winter.

Dave

The cooler it remains in the spring, the shorter the fire season in the summer. I think so far this year, we've been lucky. If May remains cool and we get some more rain, we might be able to have a warm summer without major fires.

We truly have been lucky this winter. We avoided the worst of everything during the winter, and so far, we have avoided the worst of the seasonal change into spring. I think that if the summer is mild, with temps around 80, we'll do fine.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by banjomike

The cooler it remains in the spring, the shorter the fire season in the summer. I think so far this year, we've been lucky. If May remains cool and we get some more rain, we might be able to have a warm summer without major fires.

Which has its own downsides with a shorter growing season and higher food prices.

The real issue is that SoCal forests are terribly overgrown -- on average they have FIVE TIMES the amount of trees and brush the available water can support. Which means they're all stressed, most trees suffer from pine beetles and other pests, and if they don't die outright, they're dry as a tree can be and still be halfway alive (tho last I heard, the death rate was approaching 80%). Same with the underbrush. So there's this huge pile-up of fuel, lots of it high in volatiles, so instead of a natural-type cleanup fire, you get a conflagration.

This is what happens when you halt both natural fires and logging. Forests need one or the other (and it doesn't matter which) to avoid fuel buildup and the massive summer firestorm that's become the annual SoCal event.

Healthy forests are sparse enough that fires just sweep out the brush and don't catch the treetops.

But so long as Smokey the Bear and the treehuggers are in charge, forests will remain unhealthy and this problem will continue, regardless of what the summers are like.