Palomar Mountain News

Everyone is always welcome at the Palomar Mountain Planning Organization (PMPO) meetings.

This Saturday, Fire Station, 10:30 am

Click for the Agenda

We had a great Fire Safe Council meeting Saturday.  Cecelia Borland, Tim Gray FS, Yvonne Vaucher, Josh Balboa FD, Bonnie Phelps (me), Thomas Shoots FD, and Martie Hale FS, plus Gina Aven and Mike Wilson via speaker phone.

Tim Gray explained the ‘Prescribed Burn’ signs we occasionally see at the Summit, and the work they are doing, when the weather permits and sent the message below. Read More…

We have the opportunity to perhaps receive $500.00 toward the following:

The very small community of Palomar Mountain would greatly benefit from this grant to help fund an educational Fire Safe activity. Our Fire Safe Council is coordinating an ‘Information Bazaar’ this spring at our Fire Station.  We will have materials available; including evacuation routes, defensible space preparation, fuel reduction, and community chipping programs.  Thanking you in advance! 

How can you help?  Simply click to vote:

You’ll see the name Mike Wilson who volunteered to go to work to submit this request.  Discovered the system would not take the Fire Safe Council PO Box, so used his home address in Grover Beach.  Didn’t know that city name would show up – of course, it can’t be changed, so here we are.  Ah, computer systems.  Thanks for your time and patience Mike! Funds would be used here on Palomar!

Please vote EVERY DAY as every dollar counts toward fire safety on this little Mountain.

• All votes must be submitted by Sunday, February 28, 2016 by 11:59:59 pm ET.
• Winners will be announced on March 3, 2016.
• Contest limited to one vote per person, per day.

Thank you!

Palomar Mountain Fire Safe Council

Isn’t this beautiful???!?  This amazing log home on 8 acres is ‘coming soon’.  Sellers are finishing up having a few more things done for YOU.  But, the cleaning gal just left and it is so warm and inviting!  If you are game for a ‘pardon our dust tour’, I am!  Some details are here – lots more to follow.

Oh, we need a wonderful name for this log home!  What are your ideas? Meanwhile, grab your jacket, the family and let’s go see!

Bonnie Phelps-burning-the-midnight-oil!

An old cowboy came home today with a Union Tribune.  He’d been on a city run, having breakfast in a favorite coffee shop, relaxing and reading about this storm before he broke out his crossword.  News for Palomar Mountain caught his eye:

On Palomar Mountain, a gust hit 70 mph just after 3 pm.  “I saw on the forecast 75 mph winds could be possible up here and we agree with that number,” said Bonnie Phelps, who lives on the mountain.  “It has really been crazy, crazy windy.”

Phelps said she saw rockslides and several tree branches down as she took an afternoon drive around Palomar, but didn’t spot any big trees toppled by the gusty winds.  There was no snow, either.

“We are going to have to have the temperatures drop a little more to get snow tonight,” Phelps said.  ” we don’t say this kind of weather is bad – this is good.  We love the four seasons, and we love this beautiful rain and we really love the snow.”   (Storm Lashes County by Lindsay Winkley and Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune)

This is a pretty great job, running around on days like this taking photos of new listings!  Of course I had to have a couple for YOU, too!  Apparently it looks like it snowed on Palomar, looking up from the surrounding cities.  The trees are still so beautiful after our storm last night, finally cooled down a bit, and turned to ice. Crestline was treated to a very thin blanket of white, but most of the top of the mountain was in a fairy land of lacy, icy trees.  So beautiful with bright blue sky with clouds rolling through, never got above 28 degrees today!

Great times on the Mountain!

Bonnie Phelps

Had a fun call from an editor at the Union Tribune.  Doing a 2015 wrap-up for San Diego County, he is featuring the top 10, highest priced homes, sold in the county last year.  Those will be pretty fancy and all happen to be in La Jolla.   In addition, he is also going to include (drum roll) the 10 lowest priced homes. 

I knew right away what he was getting at.  Read More…

A neighbor called about wanting a cabin close to his land.  Knowing the “Twin Oaks Palomar Retreat” was coming back on the market soon, I took him in.  The owners had some foundation work done and finishing up more now.  So, it was perfect timing for a quick offer and opening another escrow.

We could sure use some other listings up here, just saying!  Click to see Palomar Mountain Real Estate.

Bonnie-enjoying-the-storm-but-no-snow-yet…

Showing a cabin today, a neighbor came by and invited us over. His wife’s grandparents were up to see their new cabin. That is when they learned that the family roots go way back on Palomar!

It was so fun to meet John and Barbara Botti. John said he started coming up to Palomar in 1949. He has lots of stories of the Mountain and said, “some of them are true!”

Barbara’s parents, Authur and Naomi Evans Whigham, met while working for the Mendenhalls. They homesteaded above Lake Henshaw and Art was known as “The Fiddler” in these here parts. The Evans family homesteaded near Lake Wohlford in Valley Center. (Real Estate was a little different then!!)

I’m looking forward to those stories! The family promises to head them our way real soon.

Meet Nadine.  She is lovely.  She came up today with her son and his wife to see about selling their family property.  Maybe a decade ago, I met her husband and we walked all over their 48 acres of adventure.  He was a pilot and we had big plans to fly over, taking photos from the air, showing that view all across the county.

The family loved to camp and have been to every National Forest and State Park this side of the Mississippi. Lots of happy memories sitting ’round those campfires. Nadine said they were married 59 years, 1 month and 10 days.

Let’s all give a big mountain hug to Nadine!

We’ll get some road work done so we can get you in to see this land real soon.

Bonnie Phelps