Forestville the good Life by Lucy Hardcastle - June 2020

So, What Are We Going To Do About It?

You know. How do we remake ourselves? How do we redesign financial and health care systems to work better going forward? How do we tweak things towards justice and compassion vs avarice and greed? I’m thinking right now is a good time to start on those things. Not so much a revolution, even though those do get your attention. No, I’m thinking more of an evolution. Something that requires a bit more enlightenment. I recently subscribed to the Gaia Network as it resonates with me. Quantum physics and all. Makes sense to me.

You know contemplating our navel and baking pies for a couple of months was nice for introspection, if not for the waistline. However, let’s face it, we’ve got some important decisions to make in the next weeks, months and years for ourselves and the world at large. I think we should take each problem we face today, look at it deeply, without varnish from all sides then put energy into fixing that problem so it benefits the most people. It will be the follow up action steps we take that determines how we’ll come out of this era intact with “please God” more common sense, compassion, honesty and especially open minds. You know what they say… breakthroughs most often spring through the cracks of a break down. If this isn’t a break down in the world right now I don’t know what is. Start thinking of how to make things better.

While out walking the other day I ran into Tony, the mayor of Farrell Drive. He is a masterful carpenter who designs and builds wonderful decks and such. We were talking about it being an early fire season and how to get ready. He told me when the 2017 wildfire broke out he was building a deck in Bloomfield. On that Bloomfield deck he found huge chunks of burning embers which flew all the way from Fountaingrove. It’s really the embers that spread fire. They land in brush, get caught in a debris pile outside the door or blow into the attic.

Living in the woods, down a long one lane road, up a canyon, you are taking a risk. You trade this uncertainty for the pleasure you get from your special spot on the planet. But you can be prepared for this risk. First of all,…

• Get informed. Hop onto Lynda Hopkins Facebook page for all the updates. She is hosting Town Halls on all sorts of important issues so get informed.

• Upgrade your insurance. If we are going to learn anything from Coffee Park it’s check your insurance. Too many people didn’t have enough and couldn’t afford to rebuild. It ruined them. Don’t be that person. It’s recommended you spend around $350 per square foot insurance. If it’s around $200 a sq. foot you don’t have enough. Don’t bury your head in the sand.

• If you can’t do it yourself, hire day laborers to clean up around the perimeter of your house. Studies show it matters. And even if it’s the embers flying from miles away that will get us, let’s give them less stuff to ignite. Having decently clean neighborhoods will keep the roads open longer for more people to get out.

• Have copies of your important papers in your “go-bag”. Refresh your bag, check the batteries on the flashlights. Plan for where you are going. Have gas in the car.

• Know if any of your neighbors need help getting out. Be kind.

Vacation Rentals – It’s an issue whose time has come. I did some research to prepare a Lower Russian River MAC ad hoc Vacation Rental Committee report to Lynda Hopkins. You can find a copy of that public report by simply going to our own 95436.org website. Look under “Blogs” It’s a fascinating topic I’m sure we’ll hear more about. Let me know what you think.

Next month we can finally open up the Forestville Farmers Market. It starts July 7 and runs Tuesday evenings 4-7 pm through September 29. Our returning Market Manager Mary Rand reports they will be abiding by all current guidelines for a safe and successful market. “Our Farmers look forward to bringing you the freshest nutrient dense local fruits & veggies around. Our Food vendors look forward to offering you delicious, tasty take out foods. We will be here for you. Please come by and support your local food system.” More in next months article.