Hot Times in Mineral King

When it is Really Hot down the hill, it is just hot in Mineral King in the sun and on the trail. Sitting in the shade isn’t too bad, if you are covered in bug spray, the kind with a lot of DEET. When the heat is on, the biting bugs are very very active.

Independence Day

We raised the flag on Independence Day at the neighboring cabin with the tallest flagpole.

Work

Several mornings, I worked on another neighbor’s cabin trim, just until the hot sun hit.

before
after

Trail Guy was Road Guy before he retired, and he regularly uses many of his skills from that era for the benefit of Mineral King. Together, we pruned a very brushy section of road.

Before
during
during

I was too hot to take a decent “after” photo. Just wanted to go back to the shade and swat some biting flies and mosquitoes.

Crystal Creek Goes Rogue

One day we walked to Crystal Creek. I was shocked to see that it has changed channels.

The first section of stream has always (in my lifetime) been the strongest. (photo from 2021)
Now the first section is dry.

Keep walking—you will find the water.

Since I walk in my Crocs and my feet are numb, I am the one who gets to wade into the stream and toss rocks and logs around. Trail Guy and the Farmer put together a “bridge” so non-Croc-wearing folks who aren’t fond of cold water can cross with dry feet.

The flowers were great, as they always are in the beginning of July, even when the heat is ridiculous.

wild blue flax
blue-eyed grass and a dandelion
This larkspur was blue instead of purple

lots of baby’s breath

The trail was thick with lupine, and Spring Creek was roaring across the valley; good thing the bridge was up, because “EVERYBODY” goes to Eagle Lake.

Nature Trail

One afternoon, Hiking Buddy and I went down the road and then trudged up the Nature Trail in the humidity and bugs. This was a necessity, since there was way too much eating going on over that stretch of days.

I am not complaining, because compared to what the weather was down the hill, this was very pleasant. Besides, look where we were!

We didn’t stop to put our feet in because the biting bugs were ferocious.
When passing through this swampy area, a branch whacked me on the brim of my hat and knocked off my sunglasses. We looked several times, but they apparently have turned invisible.
Lupine never photograph as beautiful as they look in person. (Me either)

This post has gotten too long. How about if we continue on Monday?

Three Ready and Two Not Ready to Sign

I made a list of what to fix on Red Barn, Big Oak, fixed it, and decided it is good enough to sign. (There is time to change my mind and add, correct, or subtract.)

I put another layer on the bridge, which is going to be a challenge for many reasons. This is the Marble Fork Bridge, one that most people probably just zoom over and don’t notice.

After taking another series of drive-by-shots, sketching some possible corrections, and making a list of things to improve, these hills seemed ready to sign.

Glowing Homer’s Nose was fun with these colors and simple plain distant hills. It seemed ready to sign.

I added a lot of detail to the big Classic Mineral King painting, but didn’t even get to all that was on the list. It isn’t ready to sign yet.

None of the colors seem accurate, but I photographed all the paintings inside on a day when the light outside was orangey because once again, it is fire season in Three Rivers, Sequoia, and the foothills.

Thinking About Old People Things

In case you were tired of watching paint land on canvas, here is another post on things I think about.

Now that I am firmly in the Ss, along with most of my friends, I am observing changes. We are beginning to do Old People Things. Much of what we have found normal most of our lives is now in the category of Old People Things. As I am wont to do, I have made a list.

  • Birdwatching—no one cares about birds until they hit their late 50s. Then, birdwatching becomes almost normal. Some people make lists, take photos, compare notes, and read books. Others just watch the birds. (Some of us try to keep our cats from catching and eating the birds.)
  • Dinner at 4:30—not us, but lots of people eat at 4:30 or 5:00. It’s probably better for digestion and sleep, but only if you don’t dive into snacking all evening.
  • Jeopardy—a few years ago I spent several nights with some friends. They “played” Jeopardy each evening, using a fancy gizmo on their teevee that allowed them to stop the action and take time to guess the answers. While in Texas, we “played” without that gizmo. It surprises me how many people my age love Jeopardy.
  • Reading a real newspaper—most people get their news from somewhere else now. Reading an actual newspaper made out of paper with ink on it is something you will only see old people doing, and sometimes you will find them. . .
  • . . .clipping an article—I clipped an article for a friend and found myself. . .
  • . . . putting it in an envelope with a stamp to the friend, which is unheard of because now people who are weird enough to read actual newspapers probably just photograph the article they want to share and text the photo to a friend. (Or they send a link. . .) but then I found myself
  • . . .handwriting a letter to go with it. Yeppers, I wrote a letter by hand, with a pencil on paper. This is very VERY old fashioned, and several of my friends and I do this anyway. We are in our 60s and can do almost what we want except when our bodies betray us which leads to. . .
  • . . .talking about medical problems is normal around old people. “When I had my gall bladder out. . .” “. . .sleep apnea, and the dadgummed machine. . .” “this stupid neuropathy. . .”
  • Wondering what in the world is wrong with people because they won’t look up from their phones.
  • Lamenting the loss of skills such as map reading, dialing a phone, driving a stickshift, reading a clock, speaking on a phone with manners, enunciating clearly, not using foul language as if it isn’t offensive, understanding basic punctuation, using a dictionary.

Is it an Old People Thing to think fruit is beautiful? Why is it here? Easy—because it is summer fruit!

Community Life in Mineral King

Mineral King is a place for backpackers, campers, day hikers, day trippers, and cabin folks. Today’s post is about the cabin community. (Last summer I posted regularly about cabin life.)

There are cabin communities all over the mountains in this country, and most likely in other countries too. I’ve written in the past (2018?) about what makes them special: Cabin Thoughts, One; Cabin Thoughts, Two; Cabin Thoughts, Three, A Few More Cabin Thoughts, and Final Final Cabin Thoughts.

Today’s post is what happens on a busy weekend in our cabin community of Mineral King. There are several parts to the community: our immediate neighbors, those across the creek, the settlement one mile down the road (formerly known as “Faculty Flat”, now “West Mineral King” is the preferred name, and no, I didn’t ask for pronouns); Silver City (private property 4 miles down the road); and Cabin Cove (7 cabins about 5 miles down the road from us).

This is what happens on any given weekend—the closer to the end of summer, the more activities. We:

  1. gather at someone’s cabin for “happy hour”, eat fun things, catch up with one another, and then are too full for dinner
  2. eat dinner together
  3. (Trail Guy and The Farmer, not me unless The Farmer isn’t around) help with various repairs. (The cabins are OLD.)
  4. hike together (hike: carrying pack with lunch and water)
  5. walk together (no pack, no lunch)
  6. give one another rides up and down the hill
  7. bring supplies for one another when coming up the hill
  8. share books
  9. lend knitting needles
  10. let people use our telephone (when we had one) and borrow the neighbor’s phone now
  11. clean up the platform for the annual “Music in the Mountains” event
  12. prune in one another’s yards (okay, that’s just me. . .)
  13. use a hav-a-hart trap to catch bushy-tailed woodrats (definitely Trail Guy, NOT me)
  14. explore historic sites
  15. lend tools
  16. repair water line breaks
  17. go through the junk we discover in our respective cabins, sometimes trading items of interest
  18. share missing recipe ingredients

We stay in touch throughout the year, because our friendships are solid, not simply seasonal.

Mineral King Without Hiking

There is always work to be done on cabins; I’m the self-appointed Chairman of the Neighborhood Beautification Committee. As such, I said “I can” when a neighbor asked if I knew of anyone who could paint the trim on his cabin. The very faded and peeling trim.

A new pair of socks is on the needle (yeppers, one pair at the same time on one needle).

There was a lovely evening time around a fire with neighbors who are cherished friends. We choose to hang out with our neighbors, and time up the hill is always enhanced by their presence.

I took a short (very short) walk to see what is in bloom. The lupine are profuse.

There is more larkspur than in the past, and it is very small.

In my ongoing efforts to learn trees, I stopped to photograph this lodgepole pine. Did you know that lodgepoles are the only 2-needle pines? That means the needles grow in pairs. Duh.

There is still whitewater, and yes, that is smoke obscuring the rock outcropping on Empire. There are multiple fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills right now.

It was so very green (if I ignored the smoky sky and the dead trees.)

Heading back, I was struck by how different this little group of aspens looked with the sunlight behind. (It is the same group of four shown in the previous photo.)

Thus, we conclude another few days of hanging out in Mineral King, keeping occupied without hiking.

Things I Don’t Understand

My life isn’t only focused on Mineral King and making a living with art. While I am puttering at the cabin or at home, painting, yardening, knitting, splitting wood, listening to something, I think.

Sometimes I think about things that I don’t understand. None of it is very important or life-altering. As a Questioner, I wonder about stuff. Here is a current list:

  • Sun tea: Who cares if it brews in the sun or in the refrigerator?
  • Sun-dried tomatoes: Who cares if they are dried in the sun, in a dehydrator, or on a shelf in the back window of your car?
  • Sea-salt: What difference does it make if the salt comes from the “sea” (don’t they mean “ocean”?), from Death Valley, or from those dreaded salt-mines?
  • Artisanal or hand-crafted: Does this actually improve the flavor?
  • Anti-science: since when is asking questions “anti-science”? I thought questions were how you figure out what is true.
  • Tailgating: it causes accidents, creates tension, and never causes the one in front to drive faster. What is wrong with people??
  • Horror movies: who wants to be scared? Why?? Isn’t life scary enough?
  • Have you noticed that there is a tremendous amount of advertising for beds, mattresses, and linens? Do you think there is some sort of correlation with the explosion of high-energy drinks available? Here, get amped up, and now you can’t sleep? Just buy a new bed!

If you leave comments and don’t hear back from me or see them appear, please be patient. It means I am in the Land of No Electricity, Phones, or Internet, probably thinking of more things that I don’t understand.

And now maybe you don’t understand why I used all these photos of sunflower paintings. Easy—because it is summer!

Really Big Oil Painting of Classic Mineral King

The day finally came to finish this painting. Well, not entirely finish, because after I photograph a painting, I usually see a long list of things to fix or change or improve. I don’t know why this becomes evident when looking on a screen; it is also true for my drawing students and other friends who paint or draw.

The tall trees were the next thing to paint, and I decided it was time to go in search of my floor easel for larger paintings. We have a lot of storage space, and it wasn’t easy to find or retrieve this thing. But, it was worth the effort—tall easel=ease of painting but ease of locating.

I cleared off the table where an easel usually sits. Whoa, I have a lot of brushes.

Then I lowered the painting so I could sit on the stool and still reach the top. I used to paint standing up. My feet used to not be numb. I’m thankful I can still paint at all.

Stop procrastinating, Central California Artist! You have a large painting to complete, so chop-chop!

First, I redid some of the background details (not so as you’d notice in these little photos, but I didn’t want you to think I was just sitting there.)

A tree grows in Mineral King/Three Rivers/on canvas.

And another tree grows.

Shrub and water time.

Now the canvas is covered. Time to let it dry.

I wondered what it looked like in real sunshine so I carried it outside for a photo. It isn’t signed and the edges aren’t painted, so it didn’t matter that the easel cast a shadow on the top.

Let’s have a little fun. . .

I think this is fun. Simple pleasures. . .

Before I put on my metaphorical critical hat, I just want to enjoy the sense of almost completion of this 18×36″ oil painting of classic Mineral King. I wonder if it will sell at Silver City, sell from my website, or hang on until the solo show in October at CACHE. . . more will be revealed in the fullness of time.

18×36″, oil on wrapped canvas, suitable for framing or ready to hang as is, Classic Mineral King, $1500

Seven Things Learned in June

I didn’t learn much in June; is this the result of 2 weeks spent blowing my nose? Here is my monthly list, minus many AHA! moments.

1. The lotion I’ve used on my face for more than 20 years is no longer available. Why do companies stop manufacturing items? Yeah, yeah, because they aren’t profitable enough. Sigh. I looked on eBay and the least expensive is $75. No thanks. I used to balk at paying $13.

Expect more wrinkles yearly.

2. My normal preferred route to Hume Lake was closed due to construction. There is an alternate route, one that involved roads I never knew existed, paved but one-lane. In the past I would have taken the new route without question, excited to learn a new way. However, in his old age. Fernando is only cautiously adventuresome. Sigh. Maybe I learned acceptance of limitations of our advancing ages.

3. A friend needed a room in Newport Beach for a pickleball tournament. Did you know that $120 is considered a bargain??

4. Colds can slam you at any time of year, regardless of how carefully you avoid sick people. Something changed with Covid; I used to go as long as 5 years without catching anything. Or did something change with age, as I moved into the S’s? Never mind. Was it Covid? I don’t care. What have I learned? Never mind. Just complaining a little. (Do colds last two weeks for you too?? They used to last 7 days.)

5. I am skeptical about the claims of many medicines, particularly those for colds. A cold will last as long as it lasts and will do whatever it does, regardless of our attempts to stifle or shorten it. Here is an article that backs up my skepticism: Doctors question value of other cold medicines. . . I realize this is the internet, where opinions and experts abound, and there is much contradiction, but this article backs up my own experiences.

6. Even if I am grounded in Mineral King by the sorry nature of my numb feet, it is still a great place to hang out in the summer.

7. I hired someone to feed the cats and water the yard but she never showed up*. Four different friends have stepped into the void. I learned to accept a (HUGE) gift of help, and unfortunately, to not trust someone.

*It wasn’t a hot weekend and the cats had access to their regular abode, water, and dry food that they usually ignore.