Yellow-tail butterfly tasting the sweet nectar from the tiger lilies.
Swiss chard anyone? Yep, it is fully mature, but not going to seed yet.
The City of Etna has been working on and off since 2001 to improve its 50-year old dam and establish a fish ladder that will allow coho salmon to swim much higher on little Etna Creek. Thus expanding the habitat available for the coho salmon.
Coho salmon were listed with the federal Endangered Species Act in 1996 and with the California Endangered Species Act in 2002 giving the two governments jurisdiction over improving habitat for the species of salmon that typically do not return to Scott River and then into Etna Creek until after Thanksgiving, December and the first part of January.
Etna City Councilwoman Marilyn Seward is the Project Manager and has been working for five years to facilitate this project. After a variety of starts and stops, all Permits and licenses have finally been received to do the project, including improve the cement diversion where the city’s Water Right legally takes the water.
Recently, the city was able to sign a contract with the contractor bid winner Larry Neel to begin work on the project, while the water level is low — simply because it is late summer and the water volume is at its lowest in late summer and early fall, before the rains begin.
This is the only water that supplies the 700 residents of the City.
The dam was built on Etna Creek in 1960 and is 12 feet tall.
At one time, there was a deep hole above the dam, but through years of high waters and several floods, the creek bed is now 12 feet deep and has filled in above the dam. Hence the need to put in boards to help encourage water to flow into the diversion.
A fish return can barely be seen here (above the here) where an 10 to 12-inch cement hole allows a bit of water to return to the creek below. Any young fish would have to survive falling through the sticks and debris that high waters have stowed here, after struggling through the rough cement hole and tiny big of flowing water.
Here you can see the fish return in the cement wall, just above the metal (angled) fish ladder.
Another picture of the fish return on the left coming out of the cement wall and a close up of the fish ladder over the dam.
Another of the fish return high above Etna Creek and the fish ladder, which fish, especially coho salmon, were expected to navigate.
Two Etna City Councilmen, Mike Duguay in front and Christopher Liles in back, stand behind the turn-stile for the water diversion. This is the intake of water that supplies the City of Etna through its adjudicated Water Right.
My frustration is with the California Department of Fish and Game and the National Marine Fisheries Service, who are in charge of managing the improvement of habitat for the coho salmon under the Endangered Species Acts.
Both agencies should have been more helpful in securing this project, if their GOAL is truly to improve or add-to the habitat of the coho salmon.
Both agencies have had to deal with state and federal budget problems and Seward has worked hard to obtain California Prop 50 monies for the project.
But just a month ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sent a Biological Opinion on the project and demanded that the City reduce its allotment of water in low-flows — which is NOW!
That is a direct intrusion into the city’s Water Right and cannot be agreed upon. For fire safety alone, this cannot be agreed upon.
Several city councilmen, Mike Duguay and Christopher Liles, realized the “mandatory” reduction was not acceptable and convinced other members on the council that disagreement must be sent to NMFS.
The city did write a letter and did receive a change in the Biological Opinion from NMFS to “recommended” reduction of Water Right flow, which in my book is still not good enough.
The Army Corp of Engineers and the California Dept. of Fish and Game came through just in time for the project to be funded and contracted out within the window of opportunity to complete the work, before winter.
We must stand vigilant and not allow our government agencies to trample upon us. Government officials are trying to gain power over the people and are using a variety of means available to them.
Yes, we must question each regulation, each demand, each new law. Why? Because our Constitutions are been eroded by these officials and bureaucratic agencies.
If we want our “Bill of Rights” to protect us, we must take a stand and say “NO” in many instances and cases.
As I drove over Gazelle Mt. summit on July 25th, the storm was nearly over. The aroma of fresh rain sizzling after the heat of summer days is amazing.
As I neared Callahan, about three miles out, I noticed several smokes from lightning strikes on the hillsides. So I turned up Highway 3 that heads towards Trinity Center to see if I could spot it. A helicopter was already on it and I could see a Forest Service crew below. I was lucky enough to catch it dropping the water.
It was a dry old hillside and surely could have easily made a big fire.
As I drove back down the mountain and on the hill just outside of Callahan was this smoke.
Lightning struck throughout the north state of California and our Scott Valley was hit pretty good.Luckily, heavy rains hit as well and hopefully put out all potential fires.
Thank you fire crews for your speedy work on the bigger smokes.
Here is one of the clouds before the storm.
Check out Pie N Politics.com at http://pienpolitics.com to see a great photo by Jess Bigham the next night, July 26th, after lightning, wind, hail and rain drenched Quartz Valley and Greenview. You may need to scroll down a few posts.
The sky was on fire as the sun set. A friend told me the entire air around her had turned red.
After two afternoons of thunderstorms, tonight was a spectacular show. I was talking with Cyndi Baird, when she said that the sky was on fire. I went and took these two pics.
I remember when we lived in Greenview, the clouds and sky to the northwest over Quartz Valley and the Marble Mt. Wilderness provided fabulous scenes.
For a super shot by Jess Bigham taken from his Crystal Creek home towards the Marble Mt. and the sunset, go to Pie N Politics.com at http://pienpolitics.com
It was Friday night, when five local Cowboy Poets drove into town — Etna — to perform with the Blue Grass Band “Shades of Blue.” This event kicked-off the Annual Blue Grass Festival weekend for Scott Valley.
It was great to see Butch Jones, from Shasta Valley, up on stage doing his “Pert neer” poem. Butch had a heart attack that badly damaged his heart about 20 years ago. But last spring that all changed and Butch received a new heart as he was a heart-transplant patient in a hospital in San Francisco. Butch looks great and of course he hasn’t lost his sense of humor.
Larry Arkfeld, left, introduced each poet and kept the show rolling throwing in a classic poem himself. Scott Valley rancher, Mike Bryan, is on the right.
Bill Roberts and Peggy Goshgarian sang several songs and Bill remembered a poem or two.
Phil Laubacher stood proudly as he recalled most of his first poem.
Then he put on his roller skates.
And tried to skate down the aisle, which is pretty steep in the Avery Memorial Theater providing extra entertainment.
So he decided to walk down sideways. Then turned around to skate and ended up on his rear. It had to hurt, but up he got up and rolled on down to the stage to do his poem about catching a cow, while wearing roller skates.
Phil said he takes “exception” to the title I gave him last year, when he did the same poem with the same skates at the Avery. I sent in his photo to the “Pioneer Press” and labeled Phil “crazy.”
So, I asked Phil on Friday night, the adjective that he would give himself. He quickly said: De-ranged. I agree!
Thanks Siskiyou Cowboy Poets, you were lots of fun.
Here are some flowers that are blooming in my garden today.
This is a perennial ice plant that survived the 4 degree temps last December. There were two other ones over two-feet wide in one flowerbed, but they did not make it. Luckily, this one is closer to the house and had some protection.
Yarrow is also perennial and this one grows five feet tall and stays yellow for nearly two months. It is a little late this year, I think because of the cool, rainy April and May we had.
I purchased a six-pack of zinnias and have them planted by the Shasta daisies that are about ready to dry up.
I am still looking for the correct name of this two-foot tall plants that grows like weeds here. But the purple bloom is pretty.
The blue morning glories are just beginning to trail up the lattice. It seems they never bloom until mid-August, but the big blue trumpet blooms are worth it.
To see a photo of the blue morning glories from last year, click on:
http://lizbowen.wordpress.comBe sure to go into the older posts as I put them up several months ago, when I was needing a colorful flower fix.
Also, up-to-date garden pics are on the lizbowen.wordpress.com
Boy is the corn growing.
Last week, a wild turkey crossed the road just outside of Fort Jones.
I stopped and took a photo as it safely made it across State Rt. 3.
Later in the day, I was driving home from Yreka and one of the new-but-not-working Deer Signs was blinking. I turned around and took a photo of it and then it stopped blinking. Guess it was bashful.
I had never seen this sign working before and was under the assumption that the mile-long project, which is said to have cost a million dollars — all in the name of protecting deer from being hit by drivers — ran out of money and the blinking deer signs were not yet in working order. Guess this blinking deer sign decided it was time to blink on this warm summer day.
But now I am wondering, if the California Fish and Game Commission will decide there should be a blinking wild turkey sign installed two miles down the road — to protect the wild turkeys?
Photos of Bonnie O’Brien’s All-American mailbox on Island Road in Scott Valley, can be found at my other blog: http://lizbowen.wordpress.com
Pulled into the church parking lot, which is situated on the outskirts of Etna City limits, population 700, and these two bucks were resting on the Sabbath — in the shade.
Nice set of horns on both of them.
These are flowers in my garden. The top is a favorite of the dry area with lavender and silver leafed California sage; then these two roses on an 8-foot tall bush.
Below is a Siberian iris, or maybe it is an Oriental iris; then volunteer Shasta daisies with rose-colored sweet william; some of the wild roses that were in bloom; and the blue delphinium.
