YouTube has been feeding me snippets of The Crown so I went back to Netflix and have been binge watching the whole thing. I'm totally appalled by Charles and Camilla and how horrible the whole family was to Diana. If she had been a new dog or horse she would have been treated so much better but Charles was a dud from the very beginning, and Andrew and Edward - what losers! Be glad you weren't born into royalty. The only redeeming value of the program is to get a perspective on all the political drama Britian went through, it makes today's politics seem slightly less traumatic. If I can imagine a little distance between myself and current events, I feel calmer. What the heck is the end game here, folks? How is this farce going to play out? Republicans won't act until their base blows up; it's what politicians do, they don't "lead," they follow. I know nothing of cults, that's something to read up on, and "redemption." Certainly, Congress is giving the base what they asked for. We'll see when they've had enough.
Last night I spoke before the City of Sonoma Planning Commission during the Public Comments section at the beginning of the meeting. At first I was going to wear jeans and sweats, instead I pulled out all the stops and dressed more formally. I'm glad I went to the trouble because all the commissioners wore suits. I spoke to introduce the concept of Beaver Dam Analogs to reduce downstream flooding which is an important topic this year as the city offices almost flooded when a nearby stream burst its banks. I had AI write my 2-minute speech, which it did very well and in 30-seconds. Normally it would take me hours to weigh every single word and rewrite, and rewrite. I discovered that having someone else write your speech is detrimental to being able to remember it! I was having such trouble practicing I thought "Why bother? Who cares? What difference will it make? I'll just go home." Then, as the room is filling, "Well, I am here and look at this room full of architects and businesspeople; this is an opportunity to educate all of them!" I was the first to speak and managed to get through it well enough. As I turned to leave, I noticed the line of people waiting to speak went out the door - all in jeans and sweats. I didn't linger; they were probably going to whine about national politics.
I've been bugging the local ecology center to get more heavily involved with boots-on-the-ground riparian restoration but they're too busy running a local State Park, a 2nd-to-5th grade environmental education program, managing a large garden park and organizing wildflower walks. Ok, they're doing a lot but where are the culvert replacements? The fish barrier removals? Their excuse is they don't have staffing (money) to pay someone to interact with all the private landowners, and grants don't pay for staff, etc. So, by me speaking to the Planning Commission, and next month the City Council, I hope to give them a kick in the rear. Heck, the ecology center isn't talking to me now, I've got nothing to lose. "You say you don't have money? Well, ask the City. Here, they're ready for you." I have a personal motto: I talk to strangers, bring people together and solve problems (seen by some as butt-biting.)
Nothing much else to report. My car has developed a leak in the front right side, it's flooding the passenger side. We've had a lot of rain this year. Kevin and I have been mucking about with towels and fans. Finally, we went to the auto parts store and bought a 'car cover,' it's like a shower cap for your car. I am uncharacteristically glad to see the end of the rainy season.
I have ended my interest in making tabletop beaver dam educational tools. It looks like the local environmental groups are doing a good enough job. I'll keep making and distributing my Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT) maps (they're hard enough). I'd like to help landowners fill out Conservation Easement forms, which sounds intriguing. We'll see.
The sun is shining, daffodils are blooming, the weeds are growing...
What are you up to?
Karla
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