I CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RAIN

Spring is trying to spring, but the weather turns from warm with spots of sunshine to cold to windy to rainy to stormy to gale force downpours,  all within a short time. The last two days were wet and miserable. I feel guilty when I complain.


Whenever something blooms, I take a picture before the rain washes it away. Forsythia is one of three plants I have that bloom on the branches before it leafs out.


That is, excluding the fruit trees, like this wild Indian peach.


Dancing between the drops, I caught Karen, the Pied Piper with the chickens. They adore her and vice versa. They love getting out and wallowing in the green, grass. I love the green, too.


Paul was back in the hospital. Now he is in a convalescent home. Living is sometimes an uphill battle.


Pam, Wanda, John and I with our CCTV manager, Ed Lark had an important board meeting over the studio. Hopefully we'll get it transferred to new owners by the end of the year, freeing us to do things we like better. None of us produce television shows anymore. We are just cogs in the management wheel.


These last two years, we've taken to having dinner meetings. It makes things pleasantly social. John told us a great history about Hazel Fischer, a teacher who taught "everybody" in the old days, in a one room school-house. There are many stories about her quirky personality-some he claims are untrue. John is an "old-timer" to this area and he knew Miss Fischer.


I read in my local paper that Califoria is subsidizing low flush toilets. They'll reimburse you $100 for each toilet. So, I managed to put one in for me and one for my rental. I had already put in a low flush several years ago, but the new ones are better. It boggles the brain that they work. The engineering is so smart. I also have on demand water heaters in both houses. But the gas one needed a new computer board, which the company mailed to me free by Fed Ex. In all this cold, it was nice to have hot water again. The rain kept me inside long enough to read two days worth of newspapers and put a dent in my taxes. No, I can't complain about the rain.

PUBLIC ACCESS IN THE MOTHERLODE

When I first moved to the Mother Lode, people would ask me, "What do you do?" Inherent in that question was another, 'aren't you bored?' Nobody asks that anymore, and, I've never been bored. Paul Moeller is known in the area as Mr. Community Television. He started Calaveras Community Television in 1983. He went on to help nearby Amador, and Tuolumne Counties start their access programs. He taught video classes at Columbia College and at every school in the county. He promoted building a studio and it was built with the expertise of a volunteer contractor and volunteer labor. A stunning achievment. Paul is an indefatigable producer recognized everywhere he goes. He has produced 5,000 shows for Public Access in Calaveras County. At 82 years old, he is still shooting every week.
Here he is taping myself and the Ramblin Man, Jim Jaillet and interestingly, Jim has produced 95 Public Access programs for Olympia Public Access in Washington State and I've worked on over 85 programs for Public Access here in Calaveras County, mostly as an anchor. There are activities for every interest in the Motherlode. I'm probably biased but I think Calaveras County is the jewel of the Motherlode.