Are you longing to escape the city?
Have you been thinking about a refreshing mountain getaway where you can relax and rejuvenate? Would you like to have the option to perhaps work from your own four season mountain hideaway? Read More…
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | August 6, 2020
Custom Log Home For Sale
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | August 5, 2020
Family Photos on Palomar
Would you like to have your weekend getaway, special event or family photos taken on Palomar? One of our full-timers, the lovely Jillian Milam, does such a beautiful job! Check out her links for just a peek at some of her beautiful photography including weddings, engagements, professional business photos, and baby pix – they grow up soooo fast!
Jill is glad to meet at your cabin, campsite, home or ranch and/or venture out to some special places she knows about for your photo shoot. Simply connect and you’ll have some wonderful memories to cherish forever, that’s a promise.
Jillian Milam
Early Morning Light Studio
http://www.earlymorninglightstudio.com
http://www.instagram.com/earlymorninglightstudio
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | August 1, 2020
First Aid at the Firewood Stand
One of the many things I love about my life is being able to greet folks at the grandkid’s Firewood Stand out front. Daniel and his daughter Rena, were loading wood for their campfire but I noticed a pretty creative dressing on his leg and asked about it.
To get to their campsite in the State Park, they take a path down from where they parked. Daniel slipped and did a pretty good job of scraping his leg. He did the best he could with a napkin and some packing tape. I offered our First Aid Basket. He scrubbed with some antibacterial soap, rinsed it off at our hose, then Nurse Rena got him bandaged up, just like a pro.
Bringing Smiles at the full-service Firewood Stand!
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | August 1, 2020
I’m so glad you came into my life!
It was a pleasure to meet a musician from a band I remember from my high school days. He has been coming to Palomar for years and had his first Real Estate tour this week. When he saw the guitar in the Tiny House on the 68 acres, he picked it up, played and sang a bit of an oldie I remember from decades ago:
… Now I’m having so much fun
You treated me so kind,
I’m about to lose my mind
You made me so very happy
I’m so glad you came into my life …
Palomar is a breath of fresh air, provides inspiration for another song and just good for the soul. And, I betcha you’ll be humming this song all day long!
Bonnie
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | August 1, 2020
Dumpster is FULL
Folks were lined up early to beat the heat! As I was leaving that big 40-yard dumpster, a van pulled in and if they can get everything in, there will not be room for a toothpick.
Thanks to David Reed for helping unload our pickup. Cleaning up stuff from another new listing. Sellers live in Idaho now and very happy on the phone last night to hear Palomar had a dumpster day today.
Hooray for Linda Thorne manning the dumpster this morning and all the work Fire Safe Council does to keep those dumpsters coming. Hoping to get more dumpsters the next couple months.
Stay cool today!
Bonnie Phelps
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | July 30, 2020
Kitty and Peter
What a pleasure to meet Kitty Lasner and Peter Brossler. Such a sweet story. They pulled in at Woodpecker Firewood Stand. Out on a day trip, they didn’t need any wood but Peter asked if there happened to be a washroom available for Kitty. Well, of course!
We had the nicest visit. They met 70 years ago when Peter came from Austria to visit for just a year. He enjoyed his time so much that he is still here, with occasional visits back to visit his family and friends on the other side of the world.
Kitty and her husband took him in. He has always remembered how kind she was. But, they lost touch. Peter was married for 57 years and at a birthday party, coincidentally, they reconnected and their friendship was renewed. Kitty’s husband had passed away, and Peter was so thrilled to learn Kitty was doing well and living in Ramona, California. Peter drove out three times from his home in Chicago and has been here since June. Kitty is blind now and Peter gets to be her eyes.
Kitty celebrated her 97th birthday in July. They are enjoying each other so much and look forward to small excursions in the “wild, blue yonder”, including beautiful Palomar that reminds Peter of the mountains and trees of his homeland.
Peter and Kitty are welcome back anytime.
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | July 29, 2020
What is happening in Real Estate?
Thank you for asking!
Two new listings are coming up. We’re very busy staging, finishing some remodeling, updating, cleaning and both have had needed tree work done. A couple days ago, those two standing dead firs in the middle of a view were put on the ground. Extra patio furniture at a log house was looking to be re-homed. The seller at the cabin-on-the-way came to the rescue. We helped load the furniture, then got involved with dragging slash for the chipper. A 16 foot cedar log was located to replace a broken one on a fence, so there was more slash to clean up. Lots of fun, back and forth in the dusty Polaris… I suddenly remembered I had a noon appointment. So, I asked for the time. 11:45??!? I had 15 minutes! As I was rushing away, the seller kindly said, “You might want to wash your face before your clients show up”.
I just had to laugh. When I saw myself in the mirror, it was pretty bad and there was a very good chance I would not have even looked if I hadn’t had that nudge.
Got some of the dust off just in time to show the 68 acres of Adventure. They followed me to the property in their nice, clean, city car. However, it was not the right vehicle to take on the little dirt road. They didn’t feel comfortable inside my car, but it was hot and quite a long walk. So we decided on an E-ticket ride, standing on the running bars, hanging on for dear life. Lots of laughs and fun for that showing!
We’re getting close to finding the next owner of that land. Meanwhile, very busy getting more options for all of you anxious buyers looking for that perfect piece of paradise on Palomar.
Please keep those listings coming my way! Glad to roll up my sleeves, get out in our fresh mountain air and put a wash cloth to good use to get your property rolling, too!
Let’s connect soon,
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | July 27, 2020
Sit-and-See with Ernie
Like a stress break? Sit a spell and take in another beautiful photo and article by Ernie Cowan via SD Union Tribune:
Comet Neowise and Milky Way put on show above Palomar Mountain meadow
The evening was gentle with a rainbow of pastels from orange to yellow, and pale blue to indigo painted across the western sky as the bright flame of another day muted to glowing embers.
I found an old, weathered windmill in the meadow to use as a foreground object, and as the darkness deepened, I located the comet. Away from city lights, it was visible to the naked eye, and stunning through binoculars with a wispy tail pointing away from the setting sun.
It was time to begin taking photos. Using an electronic trigger, I only had to sit back and let the camera do its work.
It was a time to reflect and drink in the beauty before me.
This quiet Palomar Mountain meadow is a special place for me. I was married here under the spreading branches of a sturdy, ancient oak tree. I’ve spent happy days fishing in the little pond, sharing picnics on warm summer days and sharing tears at too many memorial services for dear, departed friends.
The tranquility of the scene was enough to quiet the soul. At a time when the world is spinning in a pandemic-driven storm, it was a chance to be grounded in a universe that is far larger than us.
Soon, I settled into the moment.
The scent of pine trees filled the air and their silhouettes were still vaguely visible against the afterglow of the setting sun.
Then the mosquitos arrived, requiring the addition of a long-sleeved shirt and a facemask. In nature, the annoying can also be part of the big picture.
Soon, as darkness swept away the last of the daylight, my sit-and-see became mostly sit and listen. I closed my eyes so my ears would open wider.
A male great-horned owl hooted in the distance, answered by the singular raspy squawk of a female across the meadow. A coyote yelped and the response was a plaintive howl from a fellow night hunter.
Somewhere near the pond a night heron sounded an alert, perhaps warning others of a meandering bobcat also looking for an evening meal.
There was comfort in knowing that all seemed right here in the natural world.
It was now more than two hours after sunset. Following the sun, comet Neowise, moving at 17,900 miles an hour at a distance of 160 million miles, was dipping closer to the horizon. How does one grasp such a cosmic scale with an earthly mind?
In front of me stood an old, lifeless windmill. Time and technology no doubt replaced it. Behind in the heavenly distance glowed a timeless object on an orbit that will bring it back to us again in 6,800 years. What a poignant juxtaposition. Something so momentary by the Grand Calendar silhouetted by the glow of a distant, immense object of the vast universe. While we may think in terms of years, the heavens measure in eons.
As the comet slipped below the horizon the curtain raised on a new show. The starry clouds of the Milky Way rose in the southeast. Saturn and Jupiter were tagging along as if in pursuit of Scorpio, the great scorpion.
In the clear mountain air, this view to the edge of our galaxy was stunning. It amazes me that there are city dwellers who have never seen this spectacle.
The heart, the mind and the soul need to see this. A clear view of the Milky Way provides a humbling scale to our place in the universe.
Sometimes a sit-and-see can be out of this world.
Contact Ernie Cowan at Packtrain.com or follow http://erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com/
Click for this San Diego Union Tribune article by Ernie Cowan
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | July 27, 2020
Free Dumpster time!
IT’S DUMPSTER TIME!!
PALOMAR MOUNTAIN FIRE SAFE COUNCIL WILL
BE OFFERING LARGE DUMPSTERS AGAIN THIS
YEAR FOR COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP
August 1st and 2nd at the Fire Station
Open 8 to noon Saturday and Sunday, or until full
2 pickups full per household until noon Saturday,
then all you want.
NO TIRES, PAINT, HAZMAT, ELECTRONICS,
CHEMICALS, or LARGE APPLIANCES
DONATIONS GREATY APPRECIATED
Come early; bring your combustibles, trash, small
appliances, and other rubbish that litters your yards.
If we get more grant money, we will sponsor more
dumpsters and free chipping again.
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Posted by: Bonnie Phelps | July 25, 2020
State Park Walks and Talks
Check out virtual State Park walks and talks! The park is OPEN so you can visit in person, too! Come on up for our sunny skies and fresh air and be sure to like them on Facebook!
Thanks to Rosemary Johnston for sending the info our way.
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Meyst, William@Parks
Here are links to the videos that myself and Cuyamaca Interpreters, Maggie and Michele, have been posting.
Palomar: https://www.facebook.com/palomarmountainsp/videos
Cuyamaca: https://www.facebook.com/cuyamacaranchostatepark/videos/?ref=page_internal
We had some themes to the videos we made:
Jr Ranger Adventures – these videos followed along with the Junior Ranger Adventure guide that kids can do as a self-guided activity in the park. Each video addresses a different page or section of the adventure guide. Palomar and Cuyamaca did their own version of these videos every week.
Journey into Nature Journaling – These videos focused on showcasing more aesthetic aspects of both Palomar and Cuyamaca and sharing different techniques to document nature.
Draw with Me! – this series was only at Palomar and consists of myself going through the steps to drawing various critters that live in the park.
Live Streams – these are some of the live streams we conducted here at Palomar, and there are only a few because we quickly found out that Palomar does not have the reception quality to be able to do consistent live streams, unfortunately.
I totaled up the engagement we received from our videos and the summary looks like this:
We had 30 videos uploaded to the Palomar Facebook page uploaded from May 2nd to July 5th, with 14,481 engagement instances, 1,052 post clicks, and 428 likes, shares, and comments. The most popular videos were the interview with Adam Borrello, our Ranger, and one of the Draw with Me! videos about drawing leaf shapes. To put those numbers in context, we normally receive about 10,000 engagement instances from all of our posts between Facebook and Instagram in a single month combined.
The numbers mentioned above are solely from the videos we uploaded in that 2 month period. So, the public has definitely taken an interest in the videos, and given the circumstances around COVID-19 in San Diego, we are going to continue uploading videos, and they will only be better quality now that we have had the benefit of developing and actually creating these videos. We also were very quick to adapt to these new circumstances and our interpretive team has received a number of honorable mentions when interpretive leaders speak about how interpreters can still reach their audience in these changing times.
During these trying times, people have expressed their gratitude to us for providing small windows of connection to the park when they are unable to visit themselves.
We are going to keep moving forward with connecting the public to the park with videos, live streams, and virtual event such as the upcoming Great California Virtual Campout, which I will have more information on coming up soon.
Please let me know if you need any other information for your report and I’ll be glad to discuss it!
Best wishes,
-Will
Posted in Palomar Mountain News
Palomar Mountain News 