Two Surprises I Found at Larry Moore Park

A Short Walk in the Park

Fallen Part of Split Tree, © B. Radisavljevic

The house was warm; the background television noise was stressing me. I needed to get out. The sun would soon be gone. So off I went the two blocks to the park. I actually had a mission. A couple of weeks ago I had reported to the park maintenance office that a tree had just split. I sent them a photo. I wanted to see if anyone had acted on my information and corrected the situation. When I checked last week, the fallen part of the tree was still on the ground. You can see it in the photo above.

I was pleasantly surprised on this walk to see they had cleared the fallen tree away. I was sad they had been unable to save the tree, but I guess the split had killed all of it -- not just the fallen part of it. I'll have to give credit to the  maintenance people for getting the job down so quickly. That was my first surprise during my walk in the park.

The Sad Surprise

New Memorial Tree in Foreground, Stumps of Split Tree in Background, © B. Radisavljevic

As I was walking over to take a photo of the tree stumps, I noticed what appeared to be a small decorated Christmas tree. It had not been there three weeks ago when I walked past that area. You can see it in the foreground on the left.

It looks like they chipped a lot of the split tree right there, since wood chips covered the area. You can also see some of the logs from the tree stacked not far from the stumps. After taking the photo I took a closer look at the little Christmas tree. I had to wonder who would decorate a tiny tree in a public park at the end of June. So I read the note under the tree.

Decorated Memorial Tree, © B. Radisavljevic

When I read the note, it broke my heart. I'm a bereaved mom, too. I would like to know Ryan's story, but I probably never will. Was Ryan one of the homeless who camped in the Riverbed or the child of one of them? Did he drown? Or did his death have nothing to do with homelessness or the river? Perhaps his parents just wanted to put a monument in a public place for him that everyone in the neighborhood who walks the park will see.

Whoever Ryan was, however old he was, someone is grieving his death. They don't want it to be forgotten. I hope they leave this little tree here to grow up. Perhaps Ryan never had that chance. If anyone reading this knows Ryan's story, I hope they will comment below. I'd like to know. I won't tell the city maintenance people about this tree. But I'll keep an eye on it.

I reluctantly left to go home as the sun said goodbye.

The Sun Sets As I Grieve for Ryan and his Parents and a Fallen Tree, © B. Radisavljevic

Other Posts You May Enjoy

Kite Practice at Larry Moore Park at Dusk: My first experience watching a person use a parafoil kite.

What's Lurking Under the Willow Tree? Is that hollow a good place to hide?

What I Observed from My Bench at Larry Moore Park: You can see a lot from a park bench. Includes a video.

The Paso Robles Area is Where I Belong

In my first garden in Templeton, 2001 -  taken by my husband.

I started this blog on a theme day, February 1, 2015. The theme that day was what we would miss most if we ever had to leave where we live. I wrote then What I'd Miss Most if I Left Paso Robles Forever.

Today we are to write about why we feel we belong where we are, or where we feel our homeland is. Of course, my homeland is America. What I wrote last year about the part of it I occupy is still true this year, except that the Paso Robles area means even more to me after another year. We've now been here 23 years, and that's longer than I've lived in any other area. I grew up in Los Angeles County and spent the first 43 years of my life there. I had no idea what I was missing.

We moved up into Ventura County for 15 more years before moving here. I loved Ventura County when I was there. I've never lived far from the coast, and we lived within walking distance of  Mugu State Park in Ventura County and could hike there very conveniently. If we had enough time, we could actually walk all the way to the coast. I was perfectly content.

A Fallen Tree at Larry Moore Park in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

Then in 1993 we moved to Templeton and I knew I'd really found my place. We also live in Paso Robles sometimes. Whichever place I lay my head each night is still home. The trees and vineyards are easily accessible. I feel the trees I've been photographing on the streets, in the parks, and in the vineyards are like friends I've watched as they grew larger and sometimes even fell or split. They are part of what being here means to me.

A Part of the Zenaida Vineyards Few Visitors Ever See, © B. Radisavljevic

One thing I love about this area is being able to stroll through the quiet vineyards with my camera, exploring them and discovering some remarkable trees and birds. The photo above was taken where a strand of trees separates upper vineyards from lower ones closer to the highway. Some of the most beautiful oak trees in the area live at Zenaida. One day I saw a group of turkey vultures in the trees. Later that day I saw my first acorn woodpecker.  Birds love vineyards. Some like to steal grapes and others help keep the rodent population down.

Turkey Vultures at Zenaida Vineyards, © B. Radisavljevic

I also love the coastline here, especially the north coast which is closest to me. We had beaches in Los Angeles and Ventura County, but I love the character of our rugged coastline here. This was taken as I walked the boardwalk at Moonstone Beach.

Taken from the Boardwalk at Moonstone Beach,  © B. Radisavljevic

To get a better idea of why I love this area so much you'd need to follow the blog and see the photo or photos I post each day as I walk around with my camera. As I take my pictures,  I turn some of them into postcards and posters in my Zazzle Store. Here's a sample postcard from the collection linked to below.

Postcard: Heart Hill in Autumn, Paso Robles Postcard Browse for more postcards from zazzle.com.

You can see the rest of this postcard collection from Paso Robles Wine Country here.

Related articles

• A Photo Walk Through the Vineyards of Zenaida Cellers
• Exploring Venteux Vineyards in Templeton

If a Tree Fell and No One Heard It...

Ah! But when this tree fell  at 3 AM, someone did hear it and it rather scared them. After all, they were sleeping in the mobile home on our property that they rent from us, and this tree, had it fallen in a different direction, might have landed on them. We're not sure why it fell, but I'm guessing the drought and the recent winds may be partly responsible. As you can see, the tree is very large -- about a yard in diameter. It was hard to get its full length into this photo. For a closer look, click to enlarge photo.

This photo shows this tree with its neighbors last October. As far as I can tell, the tree that fell is the one on the right that is leaning. For sure it is one of the pines in the photo. The leaning one is taller than it looks. Its top is next to the sky farthest right. It's probably as tall as the one next to it. The corner of the mobile home is in the foreground, right corner.

This photo gives you a close-up of the tree's root system. That's not a lot to hold up a tree of this size. You will also get an idea of how rocky this ground is. Do you see the huge rocks the roots have uprooted? Remember, if you click on them, the photos will get much larger so you can see the details better.

Related articles

• Several mobile homes damaged by trees in Westfield
• The Survivor Tree in the Vineyard

N is for Neglected and Abandoned Buildings

As I walk around the North County, it's hard not to notice the many vacant buildings. Many are in out of the way places, but not all. As I wrote in a previous post, the old Hometown Nursery site occupies almost a full  block of Spring Street. Wilson's Restaurant is also vacant, but it is at least cared for rather than being neglected. One of the more visible abandoned buildings I see often is right in the middle of 46 West Wine Country. It appears to be part of the Castoro Cellars property, and I've always wondered what it used to be. A home? An old winery? I have pictured it here.

Another rather interesting neglected and abandoned building is a house between Main Street and the railroad tracks in Templeton. I have several shots of it, including one with an old chimney and a pair of shoes rotting away on the ground. There is more than one abandoned building on the property. I chose this shot because of the fallen tree in front of it. The whole scene portrays the neglect. It's sad, as all abandoned buildings are. I know there must be some stories behind these buildings, but I haven't been able to find them yet.

This last home is also abandoned. In fact, at the end of October it's even haunted. It, too, is in Templeton, on the east side of Main Street. This first shot is an overview taken from across the street.

Although it's abandoned, it's not totally neglected. On Halloween it officially becomes a haunted house. I suspected that when I looked closely at these boarded up windows. Then  I confirmed my suspicions with a bit of online research. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything online about the other abandoned buildings.

If you want a closer look at any photo, just click to enlarge it.

 Poster of Abandoned Building on 46 West

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• A Windmill on My Mind