lost in the ozone again

looking down at the south fork of the yuba river from the old bridge on hiway 49. there are hundreds of deep spots like this along this stretch of the river.

our trip to nevada county, in the foothills of the sierra nevada mountains east of sacramento, turned out well. we braved high temps (for us) and didn't wilt; at least not entirely. we liked the twin cities of grass valley and nevada city, 4 miles apart. both of those are at least a thousand feet higher in elevation than where we stayed with my sister in penn valley. the higher places are cooler, so that's where we are focussing our search for a home. our wonderful friend and agent here referred us to an agent up there who suits us fine. we will go again soon with arrangements to see several houses. if we find the right one we'll have to actually decide whether to live there. and then go through the real estate purchase maze. our agent, wonderfully complete in her flow of local info, told us that we should check out ozone air quality problems. she also directed us to the swimming area in the yuba river, pictured above.

we found out that there are "spare the air days" in the area sometimes, due to ground level ozone, which is produced by the action of sunlight on the pollutants from vehicles and industry. hmmmmmm. a colorless and odorless gas, toxic to flora and fauna. hey! we're fauna! how toxic? the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District website shows 5 levels of danger, progressing from good through moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, and unhealthy to very unhealthy. click on the map to get an animated map of the ozone contamination over time each day.

from the website mynevadacounty, under environment/air:
"As ozone damages our delicate lung tissue, it inflames and constricts airways and upsets the fluid balance in our lungs. It can cause the muscles around the airways to tighten. The most common symptoms are a tight feeling in the chest, shortness of breath, and a decreased performance level in athletes. Studies are being conducted to evaluate the role of ozone exposure to the onset of asthma. Other studies indicate an increase of emergency hospital admissions from respiratory distress during periods of elevated ozone concentrations."

the high ozone levels are caused by both local traffic and ozone produced 50 miles away down in the sacramento valley, that drifts upward and eastward and bumps up against the sierra nevada mountains and a temperature inversion. it does, apparently, over time dissipate or drift upward, hopefully to join the tattered ozone layer up high, which we humans have damaged. when the ground ozone level goes up we are encouraged to drive less and perhaps even stay inside. at least to lighten up physically. children are affected more than adults, as are people with respiratory problems and older people.

we don't have breathing problems, we are moderately old. this isn't a proverbial deal-breaker. we have to live somewhere. how's the air where you live?

Sometimes Really Cool Thing Are Happening...

...right behind you.

Out Of Town Sights

We've been away from the coast since Monday. We headed inland to the hot interior of the state to look at houses and land. But for me, I always just get sidetracked by the critters that cross our path. Houses are so blah blah blah. Dragonflies, turkeys, and various beautiful unknowns are what catch my attention. So here are a few the important things we've been seeing in the neighborhood.






We spent Wednesday playing and skinny dipping in the Yuba River. Here's Roger cooling off in the 100+ temps.
It's the pretty things that always catch my eye.

More Sea Lion News

The local news has been full of stories about our California sea lions. They're hungry and dying on our shores. We hear them at night barking and barking. It's never quite been like this.
The other day I noticed one climb up on to a dinghy tied to an anchored sailboat. I grabbed the binoculars and watch a few more hop on board. They stayed there for several days. I kept a watchful eye on them, knowing that sooner or later they would be ousted from their resting spot.
On Sunday, while I was busy doing household chores, the sailboat owners came and displaced those forlorn beasts. I didn't get to see how they were compelled to leave. The dinghy was empty while a crew of four spent the afternoon in the sailboat basking in the California sea and sun.

I had hoped once they left, the sea lions would return and rest easy in their safe place, but by Sunday evening the dinghy was still empty.

We'll keep you posted.

For Friday: A Feeding Frenzy

We were having dinner Thursday evening, looking out at the bay and watching a surprising number of pelicans diving for sardines. The sardines have been running for almost a week. The trawlers were off in the distance and had finally pulled in their nets. It was great to see the pelicans and cormorants getting food. So, after dinner we took a walk down to the wharf to see if we could get a photo or two of the action. This is what we saw. We couldn't tell if they were harbor seals or sea lions, but they were churning up the water and eating like there's no tomorrow. (We exported the video in the lowest quality possible so it would download quickly. A lot of quality is lost in translation.)

Wordless Wednesday: Reflection

Dominion

We are living in a tourist town at the moment and it has pretty much driven us insane. Well, it's not that we weren't insane before, it's just that it was at a comfortable and manageable level. Now our abhorrence of crowds and noise has driven us indoors on even sunny days. While it may be true that what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, what happens in our little tourist town filters up from the streets into our open windows. We hear a cacophony of car radios, conversations, sirens, dogs barking, coast guard helicopters, slurred foul shouts from the throats of ignorant drunks. There is an omnipresence of noise matched only by the endless light that casts its eerie glow rippling out and further out on to the night sea. It never freakin' ends.
If you were to look out the window at the expanse of Monterey Bay that spreads before our eyes everyday, you'd swear we were in the most heavenly spot on earth. But here's what living here the past nine months has revealed to us: The ocean cannot defend itself from our every insult. What appears pristine is a body of water that no longer can adequately feed the marine life that must find food here here. The sea otter, which once made a comeback from being mercilessly hunted for its fur, is in decline for the first time in a decade. Sea lions are dying in droves. Yearlings are washing up on our local beaches. We spared you a photograph of one that we spotted just below these achingly beautiful cliffs. Both the pelicans and cormorants have been starving this year. We watch them flying back and forth, back and forth searching for what we have already taken by the net-fulls from the sea.
There is something so incredibly pacifying about staring out at an endless horizon along an expanse of blue blue waters. So many come here to appreciate this beauty, but many come to treat the earth with a heartless disdain. Their fishing lines snag and snarl whatever innocent happens along; their propellers rip the flesh of unseen mammals; their oil and gas leave paisley slicks on the surface; their effluence goes straight to the heart of the matter.

People often ask us why we would ever want to leave here. There is only one real answer: Staying means staring into the most beautiful of illusions everyday.