we’ve lost a lot of lovely pines too, but i have to admit [whisper] i’m not sorry to see the water oaks go. [/whisper] unfortunately, an awful lot of the live oaks are still looking stressed. i think their future may be limited.

Don’t forget that every dog is an individual, and some just don’t like clippers, Hipparchia. My Mother’s last dog, a miniature poodle, was fine with it, but my neighbor’s shih tsu was mental about it.

We only have one large pine left after Ivan, and it’s protected by oaks. All of the free standing pines have either blown over, or been killed by the salt water.

I remember, Jill. I lived in Monterey for a couple of years while attending the Defense Language Institute. It was pain to get to, and PCH was not guaranteed to be opened any time of the year.

Here in Santa Barbara, we are only three mudslides away from being cut off from the rest of the world. At least we have a few more options than those up in Big Sur. (they get helicoptered out when the fires and slides come around….)

pines at least look good, and live here. palm trees are ugly.

I remember holding my breath in some particularly dry summers, waiting to find out whether wildfires near Livingston, TX were headed for my parents’ trailer… which, in a stroke of irony, survived all the possible fires and ended up, years later, surrounded by fallen trees due to Hurricane Rita, not at all the end I expected for that property.

This is one of the rare summers that Houston has a little rain every day, with only an occasional flood day. The rest of the nation is not so lucky. Stay safe, everyone.

You wouldn’t be a fan of sandspurs if you had to help someone get them out of their shih tsu’s coat.

sandspurs, bring em on.

It isn’t even time for the Santa Anas and SoCal is alight.

Know where the ocean is at all times, Jill. It’s going to be a long summer until the rains and mudslides start.