Foothills Sentry March 2021

Foothills Sentry Page 15 March 2021 Family. Friends. Community. We’re all in this together. State Farm, Bloomington, IL 1801073 Ron Esparza, Agent Insurance Lic#: 0C79663 827 S. Tustin Ave Orange, CA 92866 Bus: 714-505-3400 ron@ronesparza.com FREE ESTIMATES: 714-477-7175 Exterior, Interior Drywall Repair, Ceiling Scraping Garage Floor Epoxy Deck and Fence Staining and Painting Gutter Removal and Installation Residential, Commercial We take Visa, MC, Discover CSLB# 1063943 LOOKING FOR A QUALITY PAINTER NEAR YOU? www.colorworldhousepainting.com/orange-county-north For being the most intelli- gent species on our planet, and probably in our solar system, sometimes we aren’t exactly the brightest. There has been con- struction on my street for a few months now. There are road signs a mile before the construction begins indicating that the lanes will merge, yet I’ve seen four ac- cidents at the merge point in the last month. Case in point. Similarly, I take calls from cli- ents all the time who tell me “My tree has been perfect for 20 years, and all of a sudden it just died!” If I had a dollar every time I heard that … But those words “all of a sudden” stick with me. Outside of natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, how much actually happens “all of a sudden”? Once I get to the site, I point out the evidence of annual top- ping, the marks from the weed trimmer cords whipping the base, the stained trunk from years of sprinkler water pounding it, or the concrete-like soil. Believe it or not, your tree has given you signs that it doesn’t like to be mistreated, but it learns to live with its conditions. How- ever, after continuous torment, your tree will “give up.” Wouldn’t you? As a tree matures, it loses vigor and will bounce back slower and slower, until it just doesn’t any- more. Sure, pests and pathogens are the cause for some tree fail- ure, but mostly, failure is due to site conditions and improper care or pruning. Your tree will show you signs. Maybe it won’t grow back as quickly, maybe it won’t fruit like it normally does. Maybe it produced a TON of fruit this year after being bare and lifeless for the past couple years. This could be a sign that it’s about to fail and put out one last effort to continue its line. It makes me think about the signs and symptoms my own body is sometimes screaming at me. Subconsciously, I know that I’m in my physical prime. “I can handle it” or “It’ll be fine” are all too often my responses when my shoulder shoots pain up my neck. Do as I say, not as I do, and pay attention to the signs, before it’s too late. See the signs Ed Arnold Golf Classic returns The annual Ed Arnold Golf Classic is returning on Mon., May 17 at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irivne. Proceeds from the event benefit the Santa Ana Col- lege (SAC) Student Athletic Pro- gram, the Athletic Hall of Fame and student-athlete scholarships. The tournament was named after sportscaster Ed Arnold, who attended SAC in 1961 and played football. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with a bachelor’s in speech. He is actively involved in the SAC Athletic Hall of Fame executive committee. For more information or to register for the tournament, visit sac.edu/founda- tion or call (714) 564-6091. The renovated Canyon High School gymnasium is nearing completion and will reopen to students for conditioning in mid- March. Features include a new hardwood floor, new bleachers, upgraded restrooms, a Bose sound system, new entry doors and new interior and exterior paint. The project, totaling over $1 million in improvements, was funded through a partnership be- tween the Canyon High School Foundation and Orange Unified School District. Bobcats in your garden By Robert Detrano “Mommy, there is a big pussy cat with a short tail eating a rabbit in our flower garden.” An ancient Shawnee Indian tale tells about the rabbit that got away. Arabbit, chased up a tree by a bobcat, persuades her tormenter to build a fire in order to cook delicious rabbit meat. The bobcat ignites brush and branches, and soon, a fire is raging. The embers scatter on the cat’s fur, leaving dark spots on its body and rings around its legs. The cat’s tail catches fire, and before she can extinguish the flames her burnt appendage is short and stubby. Meanwhile, the rabbit escapes, leaving the beautiful hungry creature shown here. During my trail camera adven- tures in the Silverado/Santiago creek beds, I imaged 99 bobcats, all but one alive and well. One unfortunate juvenile cat met its end between the jaws of a hungry fox. Of all the animals that my cameras captured, bobcats were the most numerous. These felines populate wilder- ness areas of Orange County and often invade adjacent residential regions. Sprawling urban devel- opment has fragmented much of their habitat, and, sadly, in some of these disjointed areas, they are disappearing. If you live in the canyon area and are vigilant, you will see these lovely creatures. The best time for sightings is late after- noon. They stroll in creek beds and on unused roads and trails. They are twice the size of a do- mestic cat and have short tails. You will never mistake them for mountain lions if you remember that bobcats have short tails, li- ons have long ones; bobcats have spots; lions, except for young kit- tens, do not. Healthy bobcats are harmless to humans, though they occasionally attack small cats and puppies. They keep the rodent population in check. Rats, mice, rabbits, snakes, birds and lizards are their most frequent meals, though they also like to occasion- ally dine on grass and herbs. My friend Alexa imaged a cat carry- ing a tasty snake on her property. Their most common predators are coyotes, mountain lions and foxes. Unfortunately, anti-coagulant rodent poisons that have gotten into the food chain are now kill- ing these creatures in large num- bers. When a bobcat consumes a poisoned rat, the chemical ad- versely affects the cat’s immunity to parasitic infections. In more urban towns, like Or- ange and Tustin, they are much less likely to be sighted than are coyotes, raccoons and skunks. A recent study, conducted by UCI wildlife biologists, found that bobcats have declined to the point of being undetected by wildlife cameras in the same lo- cations where they were found 10 years ago, at the San Joaquin Marsh and open space areas sur- rounding the university campus. This study supports previous sug- gestions that passages set aside for wildlife movement between habitat blocks are compromised by road undercrossings that are unsafe, or otherwise unsuitable, for this species. If you sight a bobcat in your canyon neighborhood, report it at octrackers.com. That way, ex- perts can keep track how their populations are changing over time in different neighborhoods. Robert Detrano is a retired car- diologist and missionary doctor who has returned from his char- ity work in China and Burma to his cottage in Silverado Canyon. Detrano has fallen in love with his wild animal neighbors and is working to protect them and their habitat.