My most important crop
It took 33 years for me to notice that my most important crop was always here and living here quite happily, but was in need of a little sprucing up. The V6 needed to wear its grass a little longer and any bald spots needed some extra protection. Most all of the ranch trees look very satisfied with their lot in life except for the Valley Oaks that have tried for years to compete with a farmer and his plow and his desire to grow a grain crop. Both wanted this very fertile class one soil for each to flourish and guess who won? Restoring the Valley Oak to its former prominence is most likely not going to happen because a Valley Oak that can live 400 or 500 years is a slow grower. I think this fact will wear out our commitment because it’s going to take several generations of human care before it can make it on its own.
This is where I need to deal with the reality that I can’t afford the time or the money in a wasted effort to return the V6 to its pre 1854 beauty a date when the three Imus brothers arrived. What I do know is that the V6 is beautiful right now, in it’s present state, so this will be my starting place. The ability to divide the ranch is gone by virtue of the fact that a Conservation Easement protects it from those who would cut it up into little pieces. So, if I don’t cultivate the soil anymore to grow Barley and cattle won’t cover all the costs and I won’t sell the land how do I pay the bills? I’ll start by saying that the ranch will always be in need of grazing animals and the more different types that are here the better as Mother Nature never likes to put all her eggs in one basket. She demands complexity so there will be weeds in the pastures because of past transgressions and there will be too many Ground Squirrels also a product of past transgressions. So what am I to do?
Within four hours driving time of the V6, there are 30,000,000 million people. That scares me, but from these millions I only want a few that care for this land like I do, that are willing to help pay the cost of operation so the V6 can continue to fill a need in all of us to enjoy a special place where the land is still mostly same as it was in 1854 when the three Imus brothers arrived and a visitor today will say “oh my god” Mother Nature is alive and well and then feels deep down in their soul that she is sending an invitation to become one of her followers by making our presence harmonious with this special place that the Youkut Indians called Cholame. Which in their language means “The Beautiful One.”
I don’t want to scare anyone into a feeling that whatever I do I might offend Nature. What I really want to put forth is the idea that our mountains and valleys need very few rules when we use Common Sense and the Golden Rule as our environmental and moral compass. “Treat others the way you want to be treated” and remember to “slow down all those raindrops that fall on your land” and the sunny side of the street will always be yours to walk on.
See Ya,
Jack