Category Archives: Pine Mountain Lake

Deepening My Understanding of Holism

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Over the past two years while living in Pine Mountain Lake, I have developed an understanding of the holistic philosophy that is much deeper than appreciating the beauty of Nature.  In the beginning of this period, we met the Oler’s who encouraged a natural approach to health.  At the same time, Jeremy was reading voraciously on the topic.  Both encouraged us to change out eating habits.  Now we eat more protein and fat – as our ancestors did.  We look more carefully at the sources of our food and buy as much as we can from local farms who farm responsibly.  We take supplements made from real food.  We incorporate natural probiotics into our diet.  We strive to eliminate sugar and other toxins from out diet.

Over this time, we’ve become healthier people.  We also came to understand the trickle down effects of departing from the traditional lifestyle (the lifestyle we evolved from) and how this impacts our health and the health of the environment.   Non-traditional behaviors include current industrial farming practices and industries that pollute our air, water and soil just to name a few.  Fueled by feeling great, we both strive to learn more and do more to have a positive impact on the environment, since doing so will eventually benefit our health–thus forming a positive feedback loop.

We now:

  • recycle our green waste
  • grow our own food (when possible)
  • buy locally grown food (eggs, cheese, milk, fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, pork)
  • care for the woods on our property
  • give to charities
  • support our health through holistic means [this feels self-referential]
  • communicate our knowledge and ideas through this blog
  • meditate daily

We value businesses that are responsible to the environment.  We value leaders that see the connection of today’s actions on future generations.  I now understand that it is NOT ONE thing but instead it is EVERYTHING that matters.  One change to the system, our planet, has cascading effects that can impact each of us.

I have gained a greater appreciation of the whole of holism.  I now see how my choices in what I do and how I spend my time can give me a greater of connection to the whole and have a positive impact on our future.

Experimenting with a Winter Garden

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In the Fall of 2011, we decided to try a winter garden since many of our neighbors were going to give it a try. We pick up winter hardy vegetables including chard, kale, Brussels sprouts, spinach, various types of lettuce, cabbage and carrots. In addition, we planted about 180 onions.

To protect the plants in the area outside our grown house, we built another, using PVC pipe to build the frame. We covered it with the same plastic used for professional green houses. Over the winter months, we had little rain and little sun (The sun was at a low angle in the sky and blocked by nearby hundred foot Ponderosa pine trees). At one point, we put 60W of light into each grow house which were on 8 hours a day. Unfortunately, the vegetables still didn’t grow much. Eventually, we took off the plastic and let nature take its course.

In March, things took off (probably because the plants were getting more sunlight since the sun was at a higher angle in the sky). Since then we have been eating wonderfully fresh salads and sauteed kale frequently. In April, we had a few snow storms. Regardless, the garden held up fine through hail, sleet and snow. This year’s winter garden was an experiment. Even though we didn’t harvest in January and February, we were still able to harvest in March and April – which is far earlier than we would have planted vegetables in the past. The garden handles freezing conditions and up to six inches of snow without much of a problem. Sunny winter conditions, like some of our higher elevation neighbors had, would have resulted in an earlier harvest. Given the conditions we had to work with, we’ve been delighted with the results. We will plant another winter garden this year.

Winter Flight Over Yosemite

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Today was a beautiful, clear day in February. There were few clouds in the sky.  The temperature on the ground was around 60F. Winds were light.

We took our Light Sport Airplane (Flight Design CT) out of the hangar and taxied to runway 27 at Pine Mountain Lake Airport. After lining up on the runway and throttling up the engine, we were off the ground in short order.  I circled over the airport to gain about 2000 ft of altitude and then flew “IFR” (I Follow Roads) towards Yosemite Valley. I followed the contours of highway 120 and continued on a steady climb to 12,000ft.

It was a beautiful day for the flight. The air was crystal clear. We could see the white jagged peaks to our south as we flew to the valley. We also noticed snow on Tenaya Lake.

As we approached the valley, we took pictures of Yosemite Valley and specifically Yosemite Falls.

We circled over the top of Half Dome. It’s hard to put into words what it feels like to be circling over such a majestic world. I can say for a moment that I felt as if I were circling overhead – independent of the airplane.

You can see all 210 photos we shot (the good and bad) in the  February 2012 Yosemite Flight album.

The Move to Pine Mountain Lake

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Pine Mountain Lake and Airport

To move up to Pine Mountain Lake (PML) full time, we needed to check on the availability of essential items at our new home.  These included a well-stocked grocery store, health care (for humans and kitties), reliable Internet service, along with several other items.

The Main Street Market in Groveland is very well stocked and a five minute drive from our house.  Since we expected to go into the Bay Area at least one time per week we could stop by Trader Joe’s, Safeway or Costco as needed.  In addition to the market, there is a weekly Farmer’s Market and also multiple CSAs which offer fresh eggs, milk, honey, and seasonal produce.  We currently get all of our meat from local farms.

The area does have some very good restaurants (Groveland Hotel, Charolette’s, Priest Station, The Grill) however, there is not nearly the same diversity and choice that we have in the Bay Area.  This has encouraged us to cook more with the added benefit of saving money and huge benefit to our health:-)

Groveland has limited health care options.  However, this has encouraged us to explore Oler Chiropractic.  We will discuss this topic more in future blog postings.  As a preview, interactions with the Oler’s has had (and will have) a significant impact on our lives (in particular our health).

As far as our pets go, Groveland does have a vet clinic with an on-site vet one day a week and technicians available the rest of the time.  Their main office is down in Sonora, which is a 40 minute drive and has a more extensive infrastructure (including emergency care for both humans and pets).

Internet service in Groveland is worth of a whole separate posting, but the options have improved greatly in the last year.  We have three choices now, two of which we actively use.  DSL service is available from AT&T (or provides like sonic.net and Motherlode Internet) if you live close enough to the main entrance. Cable service, which now includes an Internet option, is provided by Sierra Nevada Communications. And there is also wireless service available from Sonnet Wireless.

Though we’ve made some compromises to live in our dream location, the new location definitely encourages a healthier life style. Since there are limited restaurants, we have learned to cook with a wide range of mostly fresh ingredients.  At this elevation, the air is clean and clear.  Where ever we go, there are steep slopes to walk and a good workout for the heart.  I see the benefits in the residents who often appear to be ten or fifteen years younger than their age.

Moving Up to the Mountains from the Bay Area

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Over a year ago, Jeremy and I moved up to our dream house in our dream location.  We moved out of our town house in San Jose and up to our much larger and more private home out in Pine Mountain Lake (PML) near Yosemite National Park.

Living in the Pine Mountain Lake has been a dream of mine ever since I discovered it during a trip to Yosemite about 7 years ago.  During that trip, I was considering moving to Houston, TX to take a post doctoral position at Johnson Space Center.  The job opportunity was a very interesting one, but unfortunately I would be living in Houston.  At the time, there were few opportunities for a fairly new graduate.  In addition, before seeing PML, it was difficult to persuade myself that I could have a comfortable standard of living in CA.  After being a poor graduate student at Stanford University for years, I was craving a better lifestyle.

At an auspicious meeting at the Big Oak Cafe, I went on a limousine ride with Doyle who took me on a tour that would alter my future.  First, he took me to the airport where there had recently been a landing accident.  (Since then, the airport conditions have been improved.) I remember being impressed by the views of the surrounding foothills and seeing the Sierras off at a distance.  We walked around.  Doyle pointed out the various kinds of aircraft parked at the surrounding airport homes.  These included twin engines, small jets, helicopters and even gliders.  I could see that it would be a great place for an aviation enthusiast to live!

Next on the tour was a view of Pine Mountain Lake.  As we drove around, I was impressed by the houses within the PML community.  The houses were of different styles (not like the condos I had seen in the Bay Area).  Each house had a generous plot of land which looked like the forest I’d seen in Yosemite.  The Ponderosa Pines were all around, standing tall at over 100ft.  Deer and fawn were spread throughout the area.  I had the sense that these houses were plopped down into a forest.

During the tour, we saw the Lake.  It was blue and appeared well maintained.  I also noted there were several public beaches. I asked Doyle about the price of these houses.  He said that in some cases they were $200,000.  Wow!  I thought I could live here!  I would be 20 miles from the entrance to Yosemite (one of my favorite National Parks).  (See the picture of Tenaya Lake above.)  I could commute to the Bay Area for work via airplane (I was working on my Single Engine Land rating) and have a good size house and some privacy.

That would be a dream come true.

A few years later, I met my husband (another dream come true:-)).  I shared my dream with him which soon became our dream.  In 2007, we bought our house in Pine Mountain.  In 2010, we moved up to Pine Mountain full-time.