Benefits of living in Tehachapi

Recently I was posting a for-sale-sign on a 22-acre property towards the end of Deertrail and found this elk family resting under the still dormant blue oaks. It is a more remote region of Bear Valley and wildlife is more abundant. One still hears the call of the meadow lark once heard throughout the valley.



The wildflowers photos are taken on the Tejon Ranch, on the westerly side of Bear Mountain, on the way to Arvin and some were taken along Gen. Beale Road going south, then turning into the orchards, going east.

THE REAL ESTATE MARKET: I think we have reached bottom, multiple offers are the norm on short sales and inexpensive properties. Investors are looking and buying. Yesterday I visited a class that educated me on short sales, so I can better help buyers and sellers. It is a complex way of selling, but it has benefits to the seller as well as the buyer who wins the bank's approval.

Friday 13th, Snow in Bear Valley Springs

Nothing scary, if you can watch the beautiful snow falling from a safe place. The roads were another story. Some drivers still drive without chains or light cables, which resulted in cars off the road, streets blocked and people waiting outside the BVS gate, some for hours. Some folks said they just sat there, no one from the police department came to tell them what was going on and what time line to expect in their wait. The post office personal had to walk up Bear Valley Road to the top of the hill, where their husbands could meet them and drive them from there.
Driving in snow is not for everyone and luckily snow is not an ongoing problem here, it is mostly an inconvenience. I think we had seven snow days this school season, a first in my 25-year history here. So take heart, this is not the usual winter!
My biggest concern are those folks who cut corners on mountain roads and often are driving too fast to boot. Many times I am met with a wide-eyed driver in my lane, not expecting anyone there.

But now to the fun part: Children sledding, building snow men, birds come flocking to the feeders, species that normally do not visit, joyful dogs romping through the snow and lots of opportunities to take photos to memorize this miracle. This year we should have a "filled to the brim" aquifer. And our trees will be happy too. The moisture should go deep into the ground. Our seasonal streams will flow and it could be one of these stellar years with wild flowers.
I have seen the first fiddle neck flowers on the way to Bakersfield, the hills are in their best spring green. Poppies and lupins cannot be far now.