September 20, 2005

�A Very Strange Thing Happened Here Last Night�

I had just gone to bed and turned out the light, was beginning to doze, and suddenly it sounded like a giant hose was spraying water down on my roof.

I bolted upright in bed...my window was half open...and listened. Then I saw it. It looked like someone outside had taken a flash picture. A few seconds later, a soft rumbling started off in the distance, and bumped along increasing in speed and volume until...there it was again! Another flash of light.

Oh my gosh. I remember this.

You see, it hadn't rained in my city since....since....maybe, last March?

And in this part of So Cal, we NEVER have thunder and lightning. It just doesn't happen. I don't know why. Maybe once every five years or so.

But there it was. It had crept in after dark, splattered itself all over a three County area, and by daybreak was well on its way north to Las Vegas and parts beyond.

Oh it rains in the desert out here. There are flashfloods all summer. But not in my town.

This morning a final spray, flung out from a trailing gray cloud, dampened the grass, flowers and leaves on the trees. They all looked up with freshly washed faces and wide eyes...surprised, but smiling.

And it was gone.

New area being developed near my home

I can drive �over the hill� and be right in the famed San Fernando Valley, which has given us among other things, �Valley Girls.� I am sure there are more important �gifts�, but that is all that comes to mind. It is the home of the terrible Northridge Earthquake, which reduced our neighborhood to a war zone in the darkest hours of a January night in 1994. I am still in my home. Many had to rebuild. Many left the area.

But the city that pushes up against our little mountain encircled community �the city, is not what is unusual. The strangest part of living here, is that I can turn away from the city, and know that I am only a couple of football field lengths away from a mountain/valley wilderness that is the home for amazing wildlife. Our mountains are a haven for deer, brown bear, bobcats, mountain lions, raccoons, possums, rabbits, skunks, coyote, and once�honestly�.I saw a statuesque Rocky Mountain Longhorn sheep high atop a rocky outcropping. I would not have believed it, except that I was not the only one who spotted it.

Sometimes it becomes a little scary. We hear stories of bears coming down for a refreshing swim in a backyard pool just over the hill from where I live. I have a friend whose daughter went for a morning ride on a neighborhood bridle trail, only to have a standoff with an aggressive mountain lion.

Over the years we have frequently experienced possum and raccoon crawling along our backyard wall. My son regularly spots deer, tarantulas, snakes, and coyotes on the greens, while golfing with his friends in the early morning hours.

This summer we had a very sad thing happen. We went out into the backyard one morning only to discover that a coyote had invaded our yard, and had killed and eaten much of our tabby cat. It happened sometime in the hours just before daybreak. It is a very creepy feeling to know that your private backyard, fenced in by a six-foot block and redwood wall�has been a hunting ground for coyotes. I have really grown to hate coyotes. They are invading our town in large numbers this summer, and many small pets are missing.

Here is a �Google Earth� map of the area where I live. My home is just below the brown road in the center of the map, stretching from left to right. The vertical canyon road just left of center top, extending up from the housing area, is the road out to the set where �Little House on the Prairie� was filmed. The set remained for some time after the show was cancelled, and visitors could tour the �Little House� village. It is now a large area being developed as a new community of homes.

I imagine they will have a few visitors in the night.

Text � copyright 2003 - 2008 The Homespun Philosopher

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