The Bamboo Harvest
By Christie Seeley
Vallartasounds.com
Friday, 22 May, I took a fall. It was a beautiful sunny day in Oakland, California, and we were on shut down because of the coronavirus so no one could go anywhere or do anything much. During our time at home, we noticed the timber bamboo planted on our property by the previous owner was spreading into our neighbor's property. It was quickly covering the side of our zero lot line back house, endangering the roof and the siding. We decided to ask our friend Jose to come and remove all of that bamboo even though we knew it was a big and expensive project. We considered it to be essential for the well being of the property.
It was amazing how much bamboo came out of that harvest—each stalk at least 40 feet long. Jose's group worked very efficiently. They took the tops to the dump but trimmed and cut the lower parts preserving beautiful long poles in 10-foot and 6-foot pieces, which we put out on the sidewalk and invited people to take. There were suddenly hoards of neighbors with trucks and wheelbarrows carrying loads of bamboo, very happy to use it in their gardens and other projects.
Close to the end of the day, my son finally decided he wanted some of it, and so we reserved the rest for him. He would come down from Sebastopol and pick it up the next day. Friday, the next day around noon, Justin and Jenny showed up with the kids, everybody in masks, with their pick up truck, and loaded the bamboo onto the vehicle.
Let me back up a little. Two weeks prior, my brand new tenant stumbled and fell out in the driveway and broke her leg in three places. On the morning of my accident, she was going in to have surgery to set the pin. Her sister and niece were visiting to help her recover from the surgery, and they were arriving from the hospital as we finished loading the bamboo. They came out the door to retrieve their mail. Since I was on the street side of the fence, I offered to open the mailbox and take out a card that was there for my tenant. I started to hand it across the barrier but decided to go around the big gate to the other side where they were standing. Little did I know the concrete block that we used to prop the gate open was right there at the front, and I, in my usual hurried fashion, sped around and tripped on it as I entered the driveway and fell flat on my face. I sustained a bad break in my shoulder, a broken wrist, some cuts, and bruises, and was generally beat up. EMT managed to get me on the gurney-- I passed out in the process--into the ambulance and to the hospital. My family, of course, was frantic: extremely concerned and stressed. I arrived at the hospital at about 2 o'clock and didn't leave until about 5:30. At the hospital, they performed CT scans, EKG, and lots of x-rays. My entire family was there but not able to enter the hospital because of COVID19. Family members are not allowed to enter hospitals. When I was released, Ariel came to meet me, checked me out, picked up the prescription for meds. We got take out Vietnamese food in downtown Oakland and headed home. The food was delicious and comforting, and I was glad to be back. I went immediately to bed, still in a lot of pain, but expecting the meds would put me quickly to sleep.
Well, here I am looking forward to 4 to 6 weeks in some degree of incapacity. Ariel, my nurse daughter, is taking great care of me. I'm so happy to have her and all of my family nearby. My first thought once I realized that I was down for the count was, "oh my and everything was going so well, this is just going to turn everything around and make it all horrible." That was what I told Ariel as I lay in the driveway, bleeding, and in pain. She said, "no, mom, we will just take care," and so I realize now. Of course, it's a few weeks of inconvenience, and I'm sorry it happened, but life does go on, and thank goodness it does. Nothing will be ruined; nothing dramatic is going to change. I'm just so glad I'm alive.
Slow down and watch your step, everyone!
By Christie Seeley
Vallartasounds.com
Friday, 22 May, I took a fall. It was a beautiful sunny day in Oakland, California, and we were on shut down because of the coronavirus so no one could go anywhere or do anything much. During our time at home, we noticed the timber bamboo planted on our property by the previous owner was spreading into our neighbor's property. It was quickly covering the side of our zero lot line back house, endangering the roof and the siding. We decided to ask our friend Jose to come and remove all of that bamboo even though we knew it was a big and expensive project. We considered it to be essential for the well being of the property.
It was amazing how much bamboo came out of that harvest—each stalk at least 40 feet long. Jose's group worked very efficiently. They took the tops to the dump but trimmed and cut the lower parts preserving beautiful long poles in 10-foot and 6-foot pieces, which we put out on the sidewalk and invited people to take. There were suddenly hoards of neighbors with trucks and wheelbarrows carrying loads of bamboo, very happy to use it in their gardens and other projects.
Close to the end of the day, my son finally decided he wanted some of it, and so we reserved the rest for him. He would come down from Sebastopol and pick it up the next day. Friday, the next day around noon, Justin and Jenny showed up with the kids, everybody in masks, with their pick up truck, and loaded the bamboo onto the vehicle.
Let me back up a little. Two weeks prior, my brand new tenant stumbled and fell out in the driveway and broke her leg in three places. On the morning of my accident, she was going in to have surgery to set the pin. Her sister and niece were visiting to help her recover from the surgery, and they were arriving from the hospital as we finished loading the bamboo. They came out the door to retrieve their mail. Since I was on the street side of the fence, I offered to open the mailbox and take out a card that was there for my tenant. I started to hand it across the barrier but decided to go around the big gate to the other side where they were standing. Little did I know the concrete block that we used to prop the gate open was right there at the front, and I, in my usual hurried fashion, sped around and tripped on it as I entered the driveway and fell flat on my face. I sustained a bad break in my shoulder, a broken wrist, some cuts, and bruises, and was generally beat up. EMT managed to get me on the gurney-- I passed out in the process--into the ambulance and to the hospital. My family, of course, was frantic: extremely concerned and stressed. I arrived at the hospital at about 2 o'clock and didn't leave until about 5:30. At the hospital, they performed CT scans, EKG, and lots of x-rays. My entire family was there but not able to enter the hospital because of COVID19. Family members are not allowed to enter hospitals. When I was released, Ariel came to meet me, checked me out, picked up the prescription for meds. We got take out Vietnamese food in downtown Oakland and headed home. The food was delicious and comforting, and I was glad to be back. I went immediately to bed, still in a lot of pain, but expecting the meds would put me quickly to sleep.
Well, here I am looking forward to 4 to 6 weeks in some degree of incapacity. Ariel, my nurse daughter, is taking great care of me. I'm so happy to have her and all of my family nearby. My first thought once I realized that I was down for the count was, "oh my and everything was going so well, this is just going to turn everything around and make it all horrible." That was what I told Ariel as I lay in the driveway, bleeding, and in pain. She said, "no, mom, we will just take care," and so I realize now. Of course, it's a few weeks of inconvenience, and I'm sorry it happened, but life does go on, and thank goodness it does. Nothing will be ruined; nothing dramatic is going to change. I'm just so glad I'm alive.
Slow down and watch your step, everyone!
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