Foothills Sentry - January 2024

Page 9 Foothills Sentry January 2024 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 1 /3 1 /2 4 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket Sandbags and other water toys At the Inter-Canyon League meeting on Dec. 5, Kevin Koth- low, from the volunteer organi- zation Team Rubicon, presented information about how to use sandbags and other material to deal with flooding. To build a diversion wall, fill sandbags 1/3 to 1/2 full, fold the tops over across the corner, facing away from the water, and stagger each layer of bags over the one below like bricks. For every two rows of bags added to the top of the wall, add another row behind. Rows of prefilled “burrito-style” bags can be alternated with other bags. Long rolls of straw, a few inches in diameter, are called “wattles.” These can be used for erosion control, not diversion, by catching dirt on hillsides, but they should be partially buried and se- cured with wooden stakes. When ruts are already present, sandbags can be used to build check dams to slow water down. The top of each dam should be as high as the base of the next uphill dam. For structure protection, duct tape Visqueen to the outside (in- cluding doors), and pile sandbags on top. And, finally, store trash cans somewhere where they can’t wash away and plug culverts. Seasonal celebrations Santa Ana winds did not deter crowds from Christmas in the Canyons at the Silverado Com- munity Center on Saturday, Dec. 9. This annual vend-o-rama fea- tured booths hawking holiday gifts, like arts and crafts, jewelry, clothing, tote bags, pet bed cov- ers, kitchen sink mustard, more jewelry, tea towels, and your photo with Santa, Santa’s pony, or Santa’s lizard (actually, a cos- tumed bearded dragon). Another Silverado tradition took place on the Saturday af- ter Thanksgiving: a community potluck where the park district subsidized turkey and ham, while attendees brought side dishes and desserts to share. Outlaw country band The Boilermakers (“a drinking group with a music problem”) performed in the park. Since the original Thanksgiving was a three-day feast, this was an authentic reenactment starting on Thanksgiving Day, except that the Pilgrims did not take Black Friday off for door-buster tallow sales. Anyone interested in starting a January tradition might want to consider an annual party on Mil- lard Fillmore’s birthday (Jan. 7), Elvis Presley’s birthday (Jan. 8), or Houseplant Appreciation Day (Jan. 10). There is also National Nothing Day on Jan. 16 “to pro- vide Americans with one Na- tional day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.” Of course, celebrating that holiday is impos- sible. Parks and re-creation All the playground equipment at the Silverado Park has been replaced, and the same thing will happen in Modjeska, if it hasn’t happened already. Modjeska is also getting new picnic tables and an ADA-compliant gate. Because of newer playground swing regulations and, after so- liciting input from some local parents, the Silverado-Modjeska Recreation and Park District opted to replace all swings with extra climbing structures. One surprise during replace- ment of the Silverado equipment was discovering an old cesspool under the playground; that was filled with extra concrete. Per- haps the cesspool was from the old Silverado Elementary School that used to be where the Com- munity Center is now. There was a time, though, when the school at that site relied on two outhous- es (boys and girls), plus a well for water. Family matters At the corner of Santiago Can- yon Road and Jamboree, the roadside bushes sporting yellow daisy-like flowers with dark cen- ters are common sunflower, also called Western sunflower. Native to much of North America, it can be up to nine feet tall, and is the ancestor of the cultivated sun- flower that people grow for its seeds. A few miles away, there is an- other sunflower species—slender sunflower—that is found only in our local foothills and a few oth- er spots in California, plus Baja California. It is almost as tall as common sunflower, but is less bushy; stems branching near the ground give it more of a bamboo look. Botanists classify plants hav- ing similar characteristics into groups called “families.” The sunflower family encompasses over 20,000 species, including asters, chrysanthemums, zinnias, dandelions, telegraph weed, and anything else having daisy-like flowers. The flower structure is what all these plants have in common. On any sunflower, what looks like a single flower is actually several smaller flowers called “florets,” usually of two kinds: long ray florets that look like pet- als surrounding the central “but- ton,” and tiny disc florets that make up the button itself. Each disc floret produces a single seed. Lettuce is also in the sunflow- er family. If you leave it in the ground long enough, lettuce will shoot up a stalk that blooms and releases seeds, just like a dan- delion. Lettuce is normally har- vested before then, though, since that’s when the leaves supposed- ly turn bitter. If we could sample those, we could decide for our- selves, but the farmers won’t let- tuce do that. Slender sunflower The OPA Women’s League Hot Trotters hosted their annual Caroling on Horseback, Dec. 9. Despite a windy day, a select few equestrians bravely turned out in full holiday costume to ride through the streets of OPA, singing Christmas carols. The horses were accompanied by lots of kids, strollers, walked dogs, and decorated golf carts. The City of Orange Police Association (C.O.P.A.) hosted its 18th “Shop with a Cop” event, Dec. 13, pro- viding 100 disadvantaged children with dinner, funds to shop for their family and themselves, photos with Santa Claus and more. Each child’s personal shopper was a police officer in uniform.