Sunday, July 20, 2014

Hog Wallows that Are Not HOG Wallows


I find hog wallows fascinating and irresistible because they are unusual, and their cause is debated. They have been preserved for us by the Buckman family of Exeter marked by a Tulare County Historical Society marker in 1979.  
Historic Spots in California:  5th Edition briefly describes the phenomenon of hog wallows and records a history of their origin and the demise.  “The Yokuts Indians believed they were leftover earth dumped from work baskets after the building of the great Sierra Nevada. (p. 540).”  Another early theory was that they were formed by pressure from escaping water and gas. Still another idea attributed the hill building to local gophers. (Ibid. p. 540). 
Courtesy of Tulare County Library
The earliest scientific article I found about Hog Wallows was written in the 1877 article, The “Hog Wallows” of California by Alfred R. Wallace quoting an 1874 article by Prof. Joseph Le Conte in the American Journal of Science p. 366.  They both credited “surface erosion” as the culprit for creating the mysterious mounds, but Wallace observed that the areas covered by hog wallows have the unique attributes of being treeless and having  “a moveable” surface soil covering a “less moveable one” below.  Wallace stated that the surface is eroded down to the pebble layer in places leaving elliptical shaped mounds that vary in size, but average 5 feet high by forty feet in diameter.

Hog wallows were removed with the help of the Fresno Scraper, first patented in 1882, to make the fields ready for agricultural purposes.  When tractors were added in 1910-1920, the scraper become even more efficient, and “laser beam controlled scrapers have also reduced surveying and operator skill requirements for land leveling for agricultural and construction. 

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Decorating with Relics from Woodlake's Past

In the rustic western town, Woodlake, California, and surrounding countryside, people often decorate with relics.  It takes artistic flair to arrange relics to look more than junky.Relic1I'm still at the junky level.  My friend Sally Pace has moved beyond that.  She and her husband host weddings and many free events at their rustic ranch.Relic 5Mike pampers his favorite relic.  Not only is it in the barn, but it's covered.Relic2The following 1940s picture is a relic even though Sally's road looks almost the same.relic7Sally's house and all its decorative relics weren't there yet.Relic10Woodlake Hardware boasts of nearly 100 years of service, making it somewhat of a relic, yet the building today hasn't changed much since the 1940s when Morris Bennett started working there.Relic8Woodlake Hardware_RMorris decorated the walls with relics from the past.Relic9Of course, the pair of skates is my favorite relic. Relic3At 90+ Morris still works most days.SFW 08132013 Morris Bennett027rHe's my hero, but he's NOT a relic!  :)