Meadows Yard Sale this Saturday!

We have twenty houses participating in the Meadows Yard Sale this Saturday from 8-12. So, get out there early if you want the primo pick of items

Here's a list of the houses:

4076 Canyon Dell

4105 Aralia
4200 Aralia
4234 Aralia
4274 Aralia
4276 Aralia
4301 El Prieto
4318 Canyon Crest
4361 El Prieto
4370 El Prieto
1072 Hollygrove
1078 Hollygrove
4234 Canyon Crest
4287 Canynon Crest
4346 Canyon Crest
4380 Canyon Crest
4400 Risinghill
4434 Risinghill
4455 Risinghill
4554 Risinghill

McCallister on a Ride-Along

Great story of achievement from one of our Meadows residents:

"Want to let you know that my son McCallister (11th grade John Muir High School student, who is also autistic) will be going on his first ride-along with the Pasadena Fire Explorers today at Station #34  from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  He has worked hard for 3 years finishing a task book and passing physical tests to be able to go on these ride-alongs, and I believe he is the first autistic young man to be successful in the Pasadena ire Explorers Program."

here's a pic of McCallister at the station this morning.

Meadows Yard Sale Oct. 8

We have about 15 residents participating in the Meadows-wide Yard Sale on Saturday, October 8 from 8-12.

If you haven't contacted me already and want to participate, please email me at gstanton@sbcglobal.net.

There's still time to join.

Thanks,
Greg

Rambro is Back

This information was sent to the blog today.  Again, please use caution in any interactions with him and call the Sheriff:

"Rambro/The Black Robin Hood" illegal deer and bear hunter was spotted Saturday @ 10AM by a Rising Hill neighbor on the upper El Prieto trail (dressed in camo and carrying his crossbow) walking south on the trail that is located behind the homes on the upper west side of Risinghill.

Although I didn't witness this, I believe that he is now parking and getting access via El Prieto as several Risinghill residents have threatened to call the authorities every time that he comes up here.

I have attached pics of the vehicle that I personally saw him drive in last year when I told him he had to leave our area up here and followed him down the hill. HOWEVER, on Saturday I do recall a green Honda Accord driving up past our house and I never saw it come back down...so I'm unsure if it was a legit hiker.

Pic of his truck:

MFSC Working on Oaks

The Meadows FireSafe Council (MFSC) begins its final efforts of the 2010 grant with the trimming of Oak trees that have received permits from L.A. County Fire.  Work will begin on those trees they have permits for and other assessments not completed last year will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Pick Up Truck on Lower Canyon Crest

From a comment to the blog:

Today I was driving along Canyon Crest in the canyon, and spotted a brown pickup with metal in the back and two guys getting out of the truck. When I circled back around to check it out, the two men were not with the truck, I took a picture of the truck and it's licence plate, then called the Sheriff.


I just received a call back and they reported the two were arrested and the truck was impounded.

Thank you, Altadena Sheriffs for your diligence.

New Bear Picture

New bear picture from a resident on Risinghill.  Not sure of the date.

Tabby Cat Found - UPDATED

UPDATE: Cat was returned to its owner.

Comment posted to the blog:

"We found a Tabby cat near The Meadows, owners missing cat may call Tonya at 626.993.4383"

Got Books?

I'm leading a second annual used book sale for my church.  We're looking for any gently used books that you would be interested in donating.  It's a great way to clean out your libraries and share books with a new owner.

Please let me know if you have books to share.  I'm happy to pick them up from you.

The book sale is in mid-October.  Am happy to pick them up in September.

Thanks,
Greg

A Nice Message from a Past Meadows Resident

This post came into the blog. Thought it was a nice note about The Meadows:



I came across your website on The Meadows. I grew up there in the 60's and 70's

I lived at the very top of El Prieto (GREAT HOUSE) on the right just before you go up the road to what used to be a Nunnery.

Memories...We were evacuated in the sixties (during the moon landing) because the hill behind us was on fire. (same hill we used to fly our kites over)

All the neighborhood kids played Indians up in the hills. It was great fun.

My parents bought a little house on Sunmore Lane in the 70's.

In the summer I worked for Charles White doing filing. They lived up the street. Nice family, I remember Mr. White was ill and never was out of his house robe. I will always LOVE The Meadows...Who knows I may buy a house up there again some day.

Meadows FireSafe Council Recruiting

The Meadows FireSafe Council (MFSC) is looking to recruit new members to carry-on the great work they have been doing over several years.

While we are wrapping up the work from the 2010 grant, some members will be stepping down. Our heartfelt thanks to them and all the volunteer hours they have put in.

We don't want to see the MFSC go away as it has been instrumental in providing fuel reduction and education to our neighborhood.  Their efforts and relations with all parties were very beneficial to us during the Station Fire evacuation and recovery.

We need some dedicated new members that want to continue the effort.

If you are interested, please contact me either by providing your contact info in a comment to this post, email me at gstanton@sbcglobal.net or call 626-644-4760.

We'll hold a meeting and talk in-depth about the effort and invite new members.

Thanks,
Greg

Bear Resistant Trash Cans

A note from Alice Wessen about bear resistant trash containers:


If you live in an Altadena area where you feel you need a bear resistant trash container (I do not dare say "proof") please contact Athens, our new franchise for trash collection and request one.

Be sure to list your address so they can verify your area is within the Altadena franchise area.

http://www.athensservices.com/contactus.asp

Bears generally do not go for landfill or green waste trash. But if you are putting out what I might call 'enticing trash' with food scraps and such, and you are regularly seeing your trash hit upon by bears, please be sure to contact Athens at the link above and ask.

We do not want to habituate bears to eating trash. Not good for them.

Bear pic

Here's the first pic we've gotten of the younger bear.  This was taken from inside a house on Risinghill at 10:30 last night.

Great Pyrenees an Option for Critters?

Interesting info on the Great Pyrenees from a Meadows neighbor:


"There is much talk about bears and mountain lions and how to deter them. I thought neighbors should know about the many Great Pyrenees dogs available for adoption which could serve as wonderful pets while deterring the wild predators with which we all choose to live in harmony.

"They are bred to be livestock guardians and as such their instinct is to patrol their property and ward off any threat to their family whether it be human or livestock. My two Pyrs discouraged the young mountain lion from approaching the back of our property on Canyon Dell, so I can personally attest to their ability."


Some resources from GPASC Rescue volunteers.

Many Great Pyrenees available for adoption

Great Pyrenees Association Southern California Rescue has rescued every Great Pyrenees dog that was out-of-time at a shelter, pound or when an owner turned it in for the past 35 years. The dogs come from Southern and Central California and Southern Nevada. The director and volunteers have done a great service caring for them and finding homes for 1000's of gentle giants.

Because of so many people losing their homes and jobs, the rescue is very crowded. We need to find homes for more than 40 dogs in the next 2 weeks.

If you have ever had a Pyr in your family you know the calm love of these gentle giants, their allegiance to the family, their care of children and other animals. Please consider adopting one of our Pyrs.

If you have never had a Pyr, please read about Great Pyrenees to see if this breed is a match for your family:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/greatpyrenees.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyrenees

http://www.akc.org/breeds/great_pyrenees/

http://www.justdogbreeds.com/great-pyrenees.html

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/dogs-101-great-pyrenees.html



Pyr rescue has a few puppies, a number of young dogs 1-2 years, mostly adult dogs 2-6 and a few older dogs 7-9. There are photos and descriptions of each available dog on www.petfinder.com. It is easiest to access this information from the rescue's website:

http://www.greatpyrrescue.org/

You will need to have at least a 6-foot fence surrounding your yard since Pyrs jump lower fences and can wander.

They need daily exercise. They eat as much as a retriever, about 3.5 - 4 cups of kibble a day. They don't need washing as their coat protects them during all seasons. However, they do need to be brushed weekly.

If you know a Great Pyrenees is a good match for your family, please fill out an application on the website, www.greatpyrrescue.org. A volunteer will contact you shortly.

Thank you for considering a Great Pyrenees as a companion dog or flock guardian.

If you know someone who you think would enjoy such a calm, loving, and protective dog, please let them know about this opportunity.

Figs

Dale let me know that he has figs from his backyard and is offering them to anyone in the Meadows.  Dale can be reached at 408-334-8098.

Thanks Dale!

Meadows Garage Sale?

An idea has been floated for having a Meadows-wide yard sale in late September or early October.

We'd do it on a Saturday morning from 7:30 - 1 and everyone could set up their wares in their own yard. We'd then have a map for buyers to go from house to house.

Please let me know if you're interested by either responding to this post with your contact info or email me at gstanton@sbcglobal.net

Bear Aware (continued)

There has been alot of discussion this week about the bears in The Meadows.  And that was meant to be plural. Past posts have talked only about a younger bear, but it turns out there is at least one other older bear, Together, they may be mother and cub. So, thought it worth to post again to keep awareness to it.

The bears have been mostly on Risinghill and continue to go into the trash cans to forage.  They've been seen as early as 9 p.m. in neighbors' yards faraging through trash cans and eating fruit from fruit trees, particularly figs.

So, continued suggestions for living in harmony with our wildlife:

• Don't put your trash out until trash day morning.
• Keep trash cans in your garage if you have one.
• Use double trash bags to minimize the scent.
• Keep pet food inside at night.
• Harvest your fruit. If you have some to give away, let me know and I'll post to this blog to share with neighbors.
• If a bear is near your house, make loud noise (clanging of pots and pans). Bears will usually leave the scene when noise is heard.
• Also, lights deter bears.  Maybe a motion sensor light is a good solution.

Calling the Sheriff may not be a real solution for a couple of reasons.  First, the bears will likely be gone by the time the Sheriff arrives.  Second, it's there policy to respond only when an attack has occurred and we can do plenty (all of the above) to never come near that situation.

Again, we share the land with the animals. Let's do all we can to coexist.

Car Window Smashed

This morning, a neighbor reported that a car window was smashed on Canyon Crest and a laptop was stolen from the vehicle.

As a side note, Altadena Sheriffs have been encouraging everyone to not leave valuables in your car and to make sure the car is locked even if you're at home.  There was a string of car break-ins earlier in the year in Altadena where valuable items were being stolen.

Mountain Lion on El Prieto Monday Morning

A neighbor midway up on the canyon side of El Prieto called to say a mountain lion hopped her fence this morning at around 9:00 a.m.  He was probably a younger one as he wasn't that large. 

He was in her backyard before heading back down into El Prieto Canyon.

Bear Tracking

I'm adding these posts from neighbors just so everyone is aware of where our bear is.  Seems to be it is primarily on Risinghill except on trash night where its been seen on other streets.  A couple of posts have talked about how it heads down into Millard Canyon. 

Would love to post a picture if anyone gets one.

Here's one from tonight:

"On my run this evening at around 9:30PM, on Rising Hill, I unknowingly passed a residence with a bear in the front yard/driveway. After I was up the road for about ten yards, I heard the noise of some animal running, and I turned around to see a bear bolting from the residence into Millard Canyon (the portion of eastern side of Rising Hill where there are no homes). I ran a few yards futher up Rising Hill and turned back and made a few loud clapping noises, hoping to scare the bear, as I passed the open space of Millard Canyon."


"I'm constantly inspired by the natural scenery of the Meadows area."

We agree!