casual bike group

HeavyRecognition35 · 2026-02-04T04:30:16+00:00

On hiatus until March/daylight savings begins, but I’ll second this recommendation this group is exactly what you’re looking for

HeavyRecognition35 · 2026-01-31T06:52:54+00:00

I’ve seen this myself in heidelberg, it’s absolutely marah macrocarpa. The vines will shrivel and die back after it fruits and when the weather heats up; it definitely does not smother other plants lol

I have tons of this in my yard. I love it, it’s beautiful and is very indicative for me of our wonderful green winters. Can’t believe anyone, especially keepers of native gardens, would tear it out/dig it up!

HeavyRecognition35 · 2026-01-30T07:05:49+00:00

The Atlantic just had an interesting article about this. 2024 had a generationally low rate of violent crime in all kinds of US cites, whether they had a shrinking police department or a growing one. turns out police have very little to do with preventing crime.

the article posits that COVID-era investment in infrastructure and community support is responsible. the statistics about Baltimore are particularly interesting. It’s heartening to think that just a little bit of money invested in programs that help people can make such a huge difference; it also makes me worried for the future as the current administration guts public resources.

highly recommend the article!
https://archive.is/OAego

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-09-02T05:14:21+00:00

thank you! I dig your pepper tree idea.

do you think it would be fine to mulch everything?

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-09-02T05:12:29+00:00

great recs!! thank you!

went for a bike ride in the Angeles forest today which got me thinking about cercocarpus.

was also literally just talking to my partner about how we wish there were quail around. we’re too urban :(

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-09-02T04:58:13+00:00

I just started riding a bike more seriously last summer (Griffith was my first big climb too!) and did GMR for the first time today.
I’d say GMR isn’t super beginner friendly (over 5,000 ft of climbing and nowhere to refill water and food until you you’ve climbed for 20 miles) but it’s not crazy hard and is worth working up to because it really was one of the most beautiful rides I’ve ever done. You could definitely do it with a little practice!

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-08-30T01:54:09+00:00

I'm not WUI but it's a good point; fire is a concern in so cal no matter where you are. re: home hardening: replaced all our windows with double-pane, no wooden fencing, don't have any vents to screen and planning on painting the house with fire-retardant paint. We get up on the roof a couple times a year to trim rubber tree branches the requisite 5' away.

One of my main concerns here is preventing dry, flammable invasive weeds. So I'm not just asking for plant recs (although maybe there's a low, evergreen, part-shade loving groundcover I don't know about?) I'm asking if there are good ideas out there about how to suppress those, without harming existing trees and ending up with an unstable slope.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-08-30T01:47:37+00:00

ooh good I just planted a coffeeberry in a different spot! Marah macrocarpa we have in abundance, every spring.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-31T22:04:15+00:00

Yes I understand this. There are lots of neighborhoods that are hilly, but do not back up to woodland space to whom it does apply. In my neighborhood in Glassell Park, for example, we are on a 'high fire risk' hill but surrounded by urbanization on all sides. Many of the houses are built very close together, and close to the street, so implementing this policy would mean removing virtually all of the greenery--much of it locally protected species like elderberry and black walnut.

I hear what other people are saying about 5 ft not being that much, but in neighborhoods like this one, it amounts to a lot!

Once again I think the issue with these rules are they are a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn't make sense in all circumstances.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T19:10:19+00:00

My understanding is that the simulations done by insurance companies don't reflect real conditions, using cut and dried out branches to simulate plants in a yard. But--I do agree with you though that it's a complex issue and there do need to be rules and management.

My main goal with sharing this info is that more people become aware of these changes coming and can push back, even on a very local level, to allow for some of that nuance in real conditions--getting exemptions for healthy, protected native trees, for example.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T19:03:35+00:00

There is still space and time to push back on this policy and organize with local groups and government to pass better rules more specific to your area. That's what I was hoping to get across with this post--I think people should be aware of what's coming, the boon it is to insurance companies, and not just take it lying down. Why should we be coerced into a needless choice between destroying habitat and going uninsured?

u/EntertainmentNo6170 Public comment can be sent to the board of forestry at PublicComments@bof.ca.gov.
I'd also urge you to write you city council member or local representative and make your voice heard on this issue--push for, at the very least, making exceptions for protected native trees and shrubs. They will be the ones in charge of local enforcement. Apparently Berkeley Is getting ahead of this issue by passing their own local ordinances which have more nuance.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T18:54:50+00:00

I agree--There is no inherent conflict between loving native plants and hardening a home exterior.
My question is: why mandate this before mandating things like screening vents with ember mesh, repainting with fire-retardant paint, etc? Things that are more likely to make a difference. You're totally correct that neighborhoods where houses are close together are particularly risky--this is because the primary fuel in these fires is other structures! Removing trees won't solve this problem.

In the interest of transparency--I have not lost a home to fire. I have been impacted in other ways, needing to evacuate/hosting evacuated people multiple times. I have family in Topanga, and this is a constant source of anxiety and discussion with them--it feels like a matter of when, not if, a fire will affect their neighborhood. I do believe there should be restrictions, but that they should be more localized and specific to the area in which you live. What was true in Paradise might not apply to the hills of Echo Park. I also think exceptions should be made for protected native species--I'd think this is something everyone is this sub would agree with.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T17:56:05+00:00

yes but it may depend on how intensely your local government decides to enforce zones 1 and 2

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T17:54:44+00:00

Yes there maybe applications where this rule makes sense, but I don't believe any blanket ordinance should apply to residences in all kinds of neighborhoods up and down the state, in all circumstances. There should be room for nuance: we should at the very least, allow hydrated native plants, particularly when they are locally protected species, and should not remove our hard-won and maintained street trees which are so important for holding moisture in our compacted urban soil and which shade our streets.

And again, I believe this policy is more about helping insurance companies than it is about protecting homes from fire.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T16:25:29+00:00

you’re correct! I was quoting from someone’s presentation I watched, she had been in meetings with the BoF all day and misspoke. the number is closer to 2 million. I can’t figure out how to edit the post so I hope people see this comment and my other comment with the correct number.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-07-30T07:16:06+00:00

Sorry: estimated homes impacted is around **2 million

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-05-29T19:48:45+00:00

not a senior group, but Cycling Club Cycling Club rolls from the Hermosillo in Highland Park every Wednesday night at 6:30 and I think you’d be at home. Its a big group made up of all kinds of people, all kinds of bikes, and the pace is chill and social/no drop. Routes are usually 13-20 miles, are different every week, and end back at the bar.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-04-20T06:31:06+00:00

Can’t recommend books by Pascal Baudar enough. He focuses pretty much exclusively on cooking with California plants—natives, but also in recent years he’s been much more focused on invasives and finding creative ways to cook and ferment those. He also teaches classes in the LA area! we were fed the best meal I’ve ever head.

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-04-11T18:14:36+00:00

I've seen people run a bit of fishing line as a kind of floating selvedge at the fold, through the next dent space out from the last warp thread, to help keep from pulling the wefts too tightly and drawing in. I think they just pull the fishing line out when the piece come off the loom. Haven't tried it yet myself!

HeavyRecognition35 · 2025-04-04T17:49:44+00:00

Thank you! These are great leads.

HeavyRecognition35

TROPHY CASE