Taking a little break. Left IB at 5:15 and got here at 6:30a and there was a lot to do but I was glad to see it was quite a bit overcast even a little misty/foggy so I had plenty of time to water before the sun came. Watered right away, then I reposted the big signs that point toward the US as all had fallen over. One fell on top of the Rhus inside the stawberry garden, but it seems to be ok. Also found some of the signs the UABC students made and put them back in appropriate spots to match the plants. The Peritoma Arborea is looking better. The large quantities of water seem to be the right formula for it.
As I was watering and fixing things up, I was thinking about the Jojoba how amazing it is and the poem I recited about it last night at the poetry reading (link this). I walked one garden circle over to the cactus garden and it was gone. I couldn't believe it. I was devastated I rested my head on in my raised forearm up against the border wall. This Jojoba on top of the two Salvias that were taken last week was more than I could take. It was the best thing for this soil and vice-versa and had a year's growth. After a couple minutes of feeling hopeless, I got over it enough to keep working fixing signs and then doing another round of watering. I also planted a jumping cholla branch through the fence that I pruned on Sat.
"¡Daniel!" Carlos, the short rolly polly attendant for the bathroom just down the hill under the lookout, stopped to greet me on his way down to chat for a bit.
"¿Siempre llegas tan temprano?" I asked.
"Sí. A limpiar y perparar todo antes de que llegue la gente. ¿Tú? No te había visto a esta hora?" He asked running his words together super fast in his raspy voice like he alwasy does, as if every sentence was just a word or two. It seems like he speaks so fast becuase he doesn't want to bother you so he talks as fast as possible almost ashamed that of himself that he's talking.
He was right. I usually arrive a little later since the weather has been overcast. He actually was interested in my explanation of not watering too late because the water droplets can act like magnifying glasses and burn the leaves if it's hot enough.
"Y si riegas en la noche corres el riesgo de que se formen hongos." I continued to explain.
"¿Hongos? pero cómo?" He stayed intrigued as I expained the fungus risk with no sun for too many hours if you water at night.
It was cool that he was so genuinely curious. I'm normally used to him telling me about his lastest accident. He gets hit by cars and falls a lot. Or asking if I could tell Maria Teresa if he wants to talk to her. He seems to open up with her and feel more comfortable than with most people I've seen him interact with. For those of you who know María Teresa, the border photographer/Mom, that's often walking around documenting and talking to people, I'm sure you're not surprised.
It's one of the things I like most about working in the garden, the people I run into and get to know.
A little later Rodolfo Anguiano, an environmentalist and activist that I've know for 15 years and has been working in Playas for decades, passed by on his morning walk and I told him how I was aguitado about the Jojoba.
"Esperamos que él que lo haya llevado lo haya tratado con cuidado." He consoled me and himself.
"Sí, y que sobreviva el transplante."
Besides the initial disappointment of loosing the Jojoba that had been growing for almost a year now in sync with its twin/mirror on the US side, I remembered how I tried to transplant the other one from one side of the garden to the other and it didn't work out. That was after it was stepped on and uprooted, though, so maybe there's more hope. I consoled myself by saying first that I'm not planting anything else until we get the wooden picket fence in then maybe, MAYbe I'll try again. I also thought maybe I'll start a rock garden. I really like that idea.
Anyway, I think Rodolf noted my discouragement because he came back a few minutes later,
"Oye, Daniel por qué no te pones a dar clases a los niños?"
"A la mejor... ...me gustaría" Thinking he was probably refering to teaching kids about native plants and gardening and had a group or something, but not really sure what he was imagining.
He went on to explain that his kids are bilingual grammar school and high school teachers and talked about how amazing the 6th grade kids in Chula Vista can be. "Estaba pensando en ti hace unos días que vi las aulas donde dan clases mis dos hijos en Chula Vista."
"Lo he considerado. Me gusta dar clases a niños. ¿Qué le dio por pensar en mi para eso?"
"Porque eres bilingue..." He didn't give much explanation as to why he thought I'd be a good school teacher but he was pretty enthusiastic about it.
"Lo voy a pensar." I said sincerely. I really would consider it and will although right now I seem to have other plans. We'll see.
"Haz eso amigo...", were his last words of advice to me as he waved and walked off.
Anyway I'm taking a break from the last task of finishing the grass weeding Rossy's student from the prepa that came last Thurs. I was running late that day and didn't have time to stop by to get them the good tools that would've been more efficient so I brought the tiller today. It seems to be working pretty well almost done with the extended circle part.
I went back to work and finished tilling out the circle extension and picked out a good deal of the weeds and did the 3rd round of watering giving the plants as much water as I could cause I'm going to be gone for a week and it's predicted to be hot.
peritoma arborea -7-10 gallons
salvia apiana picada nueva en jardin flores amarillas - 6-9
both encinos 6-9
Cherry Mex 7-10
Cherry US 3-4
Salvia apiana hidden flores amarillas - 4-6
Salvia apiana main circle in new area - 1-2
transplanted encelia US side 2-3. looking good
strawberries both side - wetted
Hierba mansa - wetted
I went back to PFEA and dropped all the equipment off and got a rake and a pair of scissors and came back to clean up. I worked all together about 3.5 hours and could've done more. Definitely an improvement though.
As I worked still processing the Jojoba problem I realized something or it home a little more than when I suspected it before that no one has taken the Salvias that are right next to the sign we put up. I'm starting think there's a good chance if we put another over near the wish garden and yellow flower garden people won't take plants there either since this is where the jojoba disappeared this week and the two salvias disappeared as well. Bummed I can't do it today or this weekend cause I'm flying to see Joanna tomorrow. Hope no one takes anything while I'm gone.
6.06
double day at the garden to get both sides. Left house in IB at 10a and now it's 9p and I'm watering on the Mex side. The bike ride out was really nice. On the way out I saw a girl standing across from Smuggler's gulch with an I Love a Clean San Diego event sign. Her name was Amanda. Turns out they were doing a cleanup in a small wetland area behind the trees there.
She thanked me for giving ILACSD free publicity on the garden fb page and I said, "Sure" and stuttered out, "I love... I Love a Clean San Diego"
It was beautiful day. I rounded the vehicle road curve inside Border Field sate park and could see Coronado Island really clearly.
I arrived and got a friendly greeting from Agent A and Agent Staples. I told him I'd be in the garden today if that's alright. I usualy send him an email or text as a courtesy heads up but didn't this time.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem." and he walked out with me just to be friendly and stepped on some plants on the way out that were in the pathway slightly.
I brought up the drum circle event up and asked if we got an event permit would BP then allow us to drive a car in.
"If it's on their roads, yeah, of course. We have no control over that area. Pedro Rios asked the though and they said no."
I was thinking that was because Pedro just asked and I said that. Later I remembered that BP acts like they don't influence what state parks does but I've seen definite evidence that they do pressure them at least at times to keep the road closed. And I'm convinced that BP tries, in as hidden as a way as possible, to discourage attendance at our events. Although they've accepted a few are going to big, well 1 or 2. I asked Agent A in a very polite way if he could try to avoid stepping on the plants mentioning that I would trim them so others won't either. I noticed later that he walked around one that he had stepped on. That was nice. He was walking with a young kid explaining the rules in Spanish saying that at the momunent you can get up close but here you can see better the only thing is you can't get up close and the boy answered "por las plantas" finishing his sentence showing him had learned that. This bugged me cause it's not because of the plants that people can't get up close it's because of BP rules. The plants serve as a buffer that can help them in enforcing their rule but there are plenty of spots where people can walk up to the fence without stepping on plants. I repressed my momentary anger about this manipulation and just kept working.
My main goal was to prune some of the cacti leaves that were startig to extend into the pathway on the US half of the last of the 3 bi-national circles, the Cactus/wish garden, so they wouldn't poke anyone. I struggled to get them off without poking myself but managed with a double glove and lots of back ad forth before the paddle came loose on the Nopal. I remember to pull and push back and forth as opposed to twisting to cause the least amount of damage, like pulling out a loose baby tooth. I was chatting with the same young kid who Agent A told about keeping his distance. He had come from LA and walked down the beach from IB to get to the park to see his Mom.
He asked me what the best way to get back was by foot and was wonderig about other routes besides the long one along the beach he had taken. Walking wise, it was the shortes route. I think he thought I was a rules enforcer too and cause he asked if it was ok for his Mom to pass her phone through. I told him that if Agnet A sees you he'll kick you out. I told him he could ask him to see what he says, off chance he'll let him. I came back a little later and he had the phone jeje.
I guess they see each other farily often. They said they saw each other about 3 mos ago.
"Tú no puedes cruzar a verla verdad?" I asked him.
"No pero en un mes voy a tener mi Green Card." He had spoke English to me already and done pretty well with a strong accent. He then turned to his very young Mom. "Si sabías mamá? Que voy a tener mi Gring car?"
"Que qué? Que te van a mirar?"
I laughed. "Sí, ¿verdad? 'Green card' suena a 'mirar'" I like those funny linguistic mishaps.
I managed finally to break off a couple leaves of the nopal and one branch of the cholla. I put them right up against the fence so we could pull them through from the mex side and plant them. The Mex side is pretty barren in the cactus garden because of the ones that have been stepped on.
While I was in the wish garden and chatting with the folks, I cleared out the rocks from the binational pathway and did some more minor weeding and trash pick up. At some point after he had the phone he asked me to take a pic, since I was allowed to get a little closer, of his Mom. I took a couple til it turned out the way they wanted it.
I started checking out and admiring the UCLA groups work from last week. turns out there actually was one casuality. One of the Encelias had been uprooted.
Shame but defnitely still a net gain consideing all they did. I learn every time on these outings. Next time I'll be even more careful to point out all the natives in the area people are going to weed beforhand. I mean not just show them what the weeds and the natives look like but show them every native in the area and maybe even mark it some way.
America texted me that she couldn't make it so I was resigned to the fact that I'd be alone in the work today. I continued to pick up trash and trimmings from the UCLA work. I noticed there were quite a few encelia branches laying around and realized only when I started weeding some out, that it was really difficult not to break their branches when you got the weeds out around them. No harm there really, might need to trim them a bit before weeding them out in the future. Inside the garden itself, the encelias aren't as invaded by weeds.
I took a load of trimmings and weeds out and headed down to the shed for the pruners and a rake.
I pruned the plants down a bit and as I was working, I saw Emily walk up. She's so cool and I was glad to see someone I knew. She got to chatting with Agent A and asked him if she could film from the watch tower at some point. He kindly responed that he doesn't even know who goes up there.
I started trimming the plants in the garden since Agent A had asked that they be trimmed. I asked "How do you like your haircut shorter or is that good?"
"2 feet. That's what the rule says."
I told him I wasn't going to trim it that far and repeated the whole thing about how when that rule came out about no plants allowed that grow higher than 2 feet, the plants were already planted and I asked if trimming to 3-4 would be ok and never got a response. We didn't get into an argument or get into it too much. But he did explain that it's mostly the full ones that someone could hide behind and pointed one that was over 2 feet but it was ok cause you could see through it. Made sense from his point of view actually.
"Like that sage over there, you can't see through that."
I told him that wasn't a sage and we got sidetracked talking about what plants were what. Not sure if it's a facade, but he seemed to be more interested today in learning about the plants. We had a conversation about the strawberries a little earlier.
This whole time there was another family meeting near the beginning of the main circle.
"So what's the main goal for today?" Emily asked me.
I explained everything... "Oh and I would like to do a short video of me giving as a guide for the people doing the tour mañana. Could you help me with that?"
She was totally willing but we waited a little bit while she continued to chat and I worked in the wish garden a little more while she filmed off and on, I think. Agent A was near by and I notice him doing something in the binational pathway.
"Did you clear out the rocks from here Dan?"
"Yeah." I said innocently not realizing that was some kind of issue for him and that he had actually put them in the pathway. He explained that he put them there so people wouldn't be tempted to walk up to the fence.
"That was the idea of the design." I said to him. Trying not show how pissed I was that he was blocking off the pathway. It does make sense from his point of view of keeping people away but it totally thwarted my idea of creating a pathway where people could come together. I was frustrated for a while but, smartly I think, didn't argue and consoled myself saying I'd talk to superiors about it and this is where the touch area would be thaat we are working on.
Emily and I did a take and I actually got out my frustrations on camera a bit. Seemed like the take tured out pretty good in general and didn't need to be anything great, just a guide, but she suggested another take and that we take a break in between. She went over to the BP unit and was talking and filming Agent A and Staples. She has slowly worked her way to gaining their trust and i think she's gotten some pretty interestng comments from them. I later told, "You know I haven't heard of anyone getting BP to open up this much on camera. I'm really anxious to see your final product."
While she did her thing a 100 yds away or so I was weeding out some areas near the West end of the main circle and couldn't help but overhear another family meeting. It was a guy named Andrés who was visiting San Diego from Nebraska with his husband. Today was there 2 year aniversary. His mom was from somewhere else in Mexico and was visiting relatives in Tijuana so he brought his husband so they could meet each other. They had a friend with them that was transgender (M to F). Anyway, I thought it was fascinating. His Mom seemed to be very accepting but I couldn't get much detail of the conversation. On the way out I managed to get their email and asked if I could post their photos on garden FB page. They were totally ok with it and confirmed that they had come from Nebraska. Emily was leaving at the same time as me and we headed out together.
Now, it's 10:35p and I'm sitll in the garden on Mex side. I watered two rounds and am waiting for the water to absorb. I wanted to get to it earlier but forgot my keys to PFEA where the hose is and had to ask Ricardo to help me out with his copy. Luckily he was around and was able to help. Cool guy. I think I'm going to do the last round. The water has gone down a bit at least in all that need and if feels good like everybody got what they needed or wil with this last round.
A couple observations. All of the little signs that the UABC student put up with the plat name were gone. Made me wonder if they actually came and took them to redo them since they were falling apart or if someone stole them. Seems weird that someone would take all of them. I remember earlier in the day seeing a toddler throuh the tubes playing with one of the signs. The other odd thing I noticed was that I didn't see any migrants the whole time. Very unusual especially at night that at least a couple people don't wonder over from yogurt canyon where they sleep to chat and ask for advice or change. Could be coincidence or could be that the police did a round picking them up or they managed to cross. I hear, sometimes, when people are able to cross, it's several that come up with a plan together and cross in a group.
