Busy day yesterday. I met my assistant at the office and we threw out loads of my crap that I had been hoarding. I had planned to take Toby up to the mountains for a hike, but because of a late start I had to stay in town and go to Woodward Park, Fresno’s nicest park.
It was an easy and level 4 miles, but too busy to let Toby run off the leash much, which is why I try to get out of town for our hikes. But it is beautiful down by the river, and the views from the bluffs are lovely.
All around the area around the river is wetlands that are dry now, but will be covered with water and full of birds when the snowmelt comes down from the Sierra in the spring. Then, this whole area will be green.
Fresno is not all flat, nor is it a desert. People settled here to farm because there was water here, and there remains plenty of water for our needs. We have 4 major rivers, and a couple of smaller ones. But inexorable population growth to the north and south leads to a lot of thirsty people who are happy to brand farmers as wasters of water. Remember, California’s population has doubled since our last significant water storage project. Our problem is that there is not enough water in the state for 40 million people, not without capturing more runoff from rain and snow.
I thought some of you mountain bike Oppos would enjoy some shots of the mountain bike course at the park.
Toby met his first stink bug.
Toby wanted to play in the mountain bike area. They also have frisbee golf, which I would like to try, even though I can’t throw a frisbee for shit. I also discovered that they have a BMX course, which I did not know about.
This is the driest time of year, because winter rains have not started. Most of the park is not irrigated, which is why it is so brown. This is what golf courses in most of California should look like, and why it is crazy that we have lawns here.
I am having a bit of Monday blues. I have a bunch of shit to do that I don’t want to do (grumble...work...grumble). But posting these pictures cheers me up, so thanks for indulging me. Sunchaser headlights have gone mysteriously dead, which I need to get sorted if I want to take the car to Oxnard this week. These are the Hella upgraded lights, not the original Toyota setup. Toyota never lets me down. Let’s see if I can get these lights fixed and myself into a better mental state this week.