BCNA March 18, 2014 Newsletter

Spring Equinox Hike March 20

Hike will take 2 hours so bring water.

"Citrus Circus" Pick'n Kitchen

Ok, we've got a canyon with fruit to share and we know how to do it!

Saturday, March 22nd, 8:45AM-1:30PM

Give us a couple hours of your picking skills, and you'll have a cool service experience with a unique mix of the family of Los Angeles - Join the Citrus Circus!

"Hollywood Orchard...where the community grows"

It's our classic adventure: The Pick 'n Kitchen. Teams of "Pickers" will go through the canyon picking the citrus from participating neighbors' trees. Most of the citrus will be brought to A Place Called Home, a South LA center for underserved youth. With the rest of it, the "Kitcheners" and our chefs will lead us on how to preserve the fruit (Spicy Candied Citrus Peels and Citrus Sorbets!)

WHERE:
H.O.Base Camp - 2599 Glen Green cul-de-sac, just up the street from Beachwood Dr. Click here for Google Maps.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Please arrive by 8:45am to sign-in for the event, receive a name tag and enjoy some light refreshments. We will send off the Pickers in small crews at 9:00am The Kitchen crew will prep the pop-up kitchen. Crews will return around 11am and begin separating and preparing the fruit and, if they like, work in the on-site kitchen and learn new recipes from our fabulous chefs!

WHAT TO BRING:
Please wear comfortable, old clothes and sturdy shoes, as we'll be working throughout the morning. Bring a hat, sunscreen, a bag lunch and a water bottle. Cold drinks and snacks will be provided. Coolers will be available for your bag lunch.

HARVEST TOOLS:

If you have pruning sheers, fruit pickers, work gloves and plastic buckets, please bring them. Kitchen Tools: a paring knife, cutting board, and a quart jar for bringing home sorbet mix. (Remember to label your tools!)

TRANSPORTATION & PARKING:
Please walk, ride a bike or carpool to the Glen Green cul-de-sac as parking is very limited. Be sure to check parking signs and please be respectful of our neighbors and where you leave your vehicle.

Thanks for all your great support and we look forward to a fun Citrus Circus Pick!

Your Hollywood Orchard Team

Click here for the calendar of upcoming Hollywood Orchard events!

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Wildlife in Beachwood Canyon

P-22

P-22, as our local Griffith Park puma is known, is a young male. He eats rabbits, cats, rats, deer, and basically any varmint he can catch. Probably not coyotes though, because they can injure him, and any injury that slows a predator down, even temporarily, is potentially fatal. Injured hunters can't catch enough food, become weak, subject to parasites and infection, dehydration and a slow death. That's why you see predators on nature shows being thwarted by smaller, feisty creatures who put up a fight. The bigger animal can't risk getting badly bitten or clawed. P-22 may be on our streets because there isn't enough prey or water in the park, or he may have found hunting cats and dogs easier and water plentiful in swimming pools. He may also be looking for a mate.

Care for Wildlife - NO Rat Poison

We're killing our natural controllers (kitty cats, coyotes, bobcats, hawks, etc,) when we put poison out for the rats. The poison makes them bleed to death inside. Our cats and natural predators eat the dying, poisoned rats and mice, and it also affects them. It kills or sickens them so they die slowly, suffering parasites, disease, starvation and dehydration. I switched to old-fashioned rat traps, baited with crunchy peanut butter, and had success. Place traps tight against walls where they travel, and perpendicular to the wall, not in line with it. Got three, and a few had narrow escapes; rats got wise, moved on, or got eaten by predators. So, encourage neighbors' cats in your yard, and allow skunks to prowl at night. They want your snails and grubs, but are fond of mice too. The coyotes will come around because, well, just try and stop them; it's what they do, and they have us figured out.

Arthur Sellers

Here are some links to the video of P-22:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Caught-on-Camera-Mountain-Lion-Hollywood-Hills-Possibly-P22--249706481.html

http://ktla.com/2014/03/11/mountain-lion-caught-on-video-strolling-through-hollywood-hills/#ixzz2vnbH8bss

http://ktla.com/2014/03/11/mountain-lion-caught-on-video-strolling-through-hollywood-hills/

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Mountain-Lion-P22-Hollywood-Hills-Home-Santa-Monica-Mountains-249836231.html

More Wildlife:

Photo Courtesy of Viva Sullivan

Photo Courtesy of Cat Thelia

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Knowledge is Power
Construction Posting Requirement

Back in 2007, the city decided (Thanks to Councilmember Weiss) that it was time for people to know whom to call if a construction or home improvement was negatively impacting the neighborhood - or if things looked unsafe for any reason. The simple solution was to mandate posting on the building showing who was doing the work, who in the city was in charge of code or permit compliance and the scope of the project.

This 2007 L.A. Times article by Bob Poole explains how the program works.

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/13/local/me-noise13

"The 11-by-17-inch signs will also spell out the hours that construction and demolition are permitted: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and national holidays.

No work is allowed on Sundays.

Homebuilders and remodelers will also be given a list of "good neighbor construction practices" for contractors to follow, such as keeping streets and sidewalks open and swept, and requiring carpenters and plumbers to park on the project site if possible."

During the creation of this program/posting mandate, hours of operation were specified not to take place earlier than 7 a.m. and NO construction on Sunday at all.

Sounds like a good thing, right? Well, when was the last time you saw such a posting on any of the construction projects in Beachwood Canyon? Maybe it's time to ask the current administration, Mayor Garcetti, to put some teeth in this 7 year old program to actually make words turn into actions.

Send him your thoughts on all this and how much you would appreciate knowing who is working on the house next door to you. You need to know who to call in case of an emergency, illegal behavior of workers, or unsafe working conditions. Knowledge is power.

Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association

mayor.garcetti@lacity.org

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SAVE THE DATE: May 5, 2014

BCNA's SPRING MEETING