Red Car Canyon: Now That The Property Is For Sale, The City Finally Cleared Fire Hazard

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, July 31, 2012.  Interesting, how once the Red Car Property was listed for sale, that the City finally cleared fire hazard, the giant pile of dead trees.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

For months, neighbors had been asking City Councilmember Eric Garcetti's staff (CD13) to get the giant pile of dead trees (since the December 1, 2011 windstorm) and brush cleared from not only the canyon but throughout the Red Car Property.  City Dept of Lot Cleaning trucks and equipment were seen again on the property today.

Red Car Canyon: Brush Clearance Update

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, July 28, 2012.  You need a backhoe to get rid of non-native invasive Pampas Grass.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Several neighbors reported more brush clearance occurring throughout the Red Car Property today.  A City truck was seen parked at the Corralitas end of the property this morning.

Lake View Ave: Coyotes Have No Respect For Fences

Photo: Russell Bates, July 29, 2012.  Fences don't keep coyotes out.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Russell writes: "We woke up this morning to the sound of our chickens making some very unusual and panicky sounds. I looked out the window to see a big coyote inside our fenced yard, running around the perimeter of our chicken coop and trying to find a way inside. The chickens were not pleased, but stayed safe. Our local urban wildlife is obviously hungry." 

Photo: Russell Bates, July 29, 2012.  That looks like a big healthy coyote using the fence as a vantage point.  Coyotes will easily scale a 6 foot.

I've always seen more coyotes in our neighborhood during the day than night.  Learn more about living with coyotes: City of LA Animal Services

Red Car Canyon: Giant Piles Of Dead Trees Remain A Fire Hazard

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, July 28, 2012, 9:31 AM.  Despite the difficult lighting conditions, you can see the 12' pile of dead trees remains in Red Car Canyon.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, July 28, 2012, 9:31 AM.  It looks like some of these branches may have been removed or rearranged. 

Red Car Canyon: Some Brush Clearance Today

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 15, 2012.  No word on if the giant piles of dead trees had yet been hauled away.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Today, a number of neighbors reported seeing a crew in the canyon doing brush clearance on the slopes between Lake View and Corralitas today.  Neighbors reported seeing the crew chief instructing workers to hide the branches up behind other dense brush in the canyon.  What part of "Notice to Remove Rubbish & Brush" means dump it elsewhere on the property? 

See all our brush clearance posts.

NorthEast LA Residents For Clean Air: Metrolink Community Meeting TONIGHT*

Click on flyer to enlarge.  Click here for a printable version. 

Elysian Valley & Cypress Park neighbors have decided their community’s health and children’s future should not be the price for getting more cars off the road and people into public transportation.

Hold Metrolink accountable for promises they made to clean up their act.

See all our Metrolink posts.

More info: NorthEast LA Residents for Clean Air

* 7-27-12 UPDATE: Read more about Metrolink's spin on the meeting as well as what community members had to say (in the comments): The Eastsider.

Red Car Property: Here We Go Again

Photo: Futterer, Holyland Exhibition Collection, 1960.  The Red Car Property could look a lot like this again if developers get their way.  The Red Car Property was a source of fill dirt for grading when the 2 Freeway was built.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Yet another realtor has dreams of overdevelopment on the Red Car Property.  Read more: The Eastsider 

The Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract is a constant reminder of why we fight tooth and nail against rampant real estate speculation. 

Be assured the Red Car Property neighborhood leadership is organizing.  We've been through this a few too many times before.  Stay tuned to this blog and The Eastsider. 

All the large lots in our neighborhood have a history of decades of failed development.  

Red Car Property: Legacy Of Failed Development

Excerpted from January 29, 2009 post.
Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 2005. Countless tons of earth were removed for freeway construction in 1960, leaving the Red Car Property slopes to slide in heavy rains. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Speculators salivate over the large vacant lots in our neighborhood, usually attempting a zone change and hoping to make a quick buck. Developers get a turkey of a property that often ends up being sold at County tax auction because their money runs out. Most of the large lots are where huge quantities of earth was removed for, and dumped after area freeway construction.

The history of failed development on the Red Car Property is long and well documented. More than once, speculators gained approvals for a zone change. Each time the zone change expired unused. Grading was a primary concern. Of course, being in a hole next to the Freeway might have something to do with it too.

A series of Red Car Property owners refused to limit vehicle access to the property resulting in another nuisance. Since the property is used by neighbors as a park, the property has fewer problems with homeless taking up residence.

Metrolink Rail Yard: Waiting For Improvements, Community Meeting Thursday

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 25, 2012, 8:05AM.  That's not fog, it was a crystal clear, bone dry morning. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We've written lots about air quality and the dangers of Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) in the past year.  Prior to the community meeting with Metrolink in January 2012, scenes of haze hanging over Elysian Valley (photo above) were almost daily occurrences. 

The DPM that does real damage is microscopic, PM10 & PM2.5. The particulate matter gets down deep in your lungs.  It's small enough to cross into the blood stream and cause a host of major chronic illnesses.  It's what you can't see that will kill you. 

According to Elysian Valley neighbors, Metrolink has made reductions in idling times for their trains in the service yard just across the LA River.  However, without a Health Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction Strategy, we have no way to measure if the changes Metrolink is making are really reducing the toxic pollutants we can't see.

Attend the Community Meeting Thursday, July 26, 2012, 6PM at the LA River Center.  RSVP: Assemblymember Cedillo's office, (323) 225-4545

More Info: Northeast LA Residents for Clean Air

Click here for all our Metrolink related posts.

Red Car Property: No, The City Notice To Clear Rubbish & Brush Does Not Mean Dump It Elsewhere On The Property

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 20, 2012.  Debris that may have come from behind a house on Adelbert, was dumped further south on the Red Car Property near Rose Scharlin Nursery School. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 20, 2012.  Like the last batch of dumping in May, it appears someone made an effort to drive so far down the Red Car Property to dump the debris, driving and tossing out the back of a moving truck.   

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 20, 2012.  Also discarded was one of the City notices posted on the north end of the Red Car Property.  It was a few feet away from the dumping in the previous photo.  The APN identifies one of the Red Car Property lots at India St, not the lot it was dumped on.  

Northeast LA Residents For Clean Air: Metrolink Service Yard Community Meeting Thursday July 26, 2012

Back in January, then Metrolink CEO John Fenton made a bunch of promises to clean up Metrolink's Central Service Facility's act.  The diesel railyard emits dangerous air pollutants into the Elysian Valley & Cypress Park neighborhoods. 

While some reductions in shortening idling times for trains have been met, few of the promises made for improvements that were supposed to happen within 5-7 weeks have been met. 

Attend Thursday's community meeting sponsored by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo and hold Metrolink accountable for cleaning up their act.

Northeast LA Residents for Clean Air

Community Meeting

Thursday, July 26, 2012

6PM

LA River Center

570 W. Ave 26

Los Angeles, CA 90065

More info: Northeast LA Residents for Clean Air

Click here for all our Metrolink posts.

Red Car Property: Red Tailed Hawk's Hunting Ground

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 20, 2012, 8:07 AM.  Most any day, you can see Red Tailed Hawks hunting on the south end of the Red Car Property.  This one looks like an adult, as opposed to the hawk seen on July 10, 2012.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 20, 2012, 8:07 AM.  The tall trees and telephone poles are prime perches for swooping down on unsuspecting gophers, rats and squirrels. 

Click here for all our hawk posts.

Click here for all our Red Tailed Hawk nest videos.  (Be sure to select full screen HD version for best resolution.)

If you have urban wildlife encounter photos or videos, shot in the Red Car Property Neighborhood, send them to us: redcarproperty@gmail.com.  Be sure to include information on where, when, and what behavior the animal was engaging in before/during/after your encounter.  

Corralitas Drive: Business End

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2012, 10:01 PM.  The baby skunks only pointed the business end at me after much discussion amongst themselves.  Luckily, they still can't produce a spray yet.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2012.  The baby skunk looking at the camera in both photos, is the one we rescued from the trashcan last week. 

See the City's Animal Services website for information on living with urban wildlife, including useful advice on skunks.

Red Car Canyon: 6 Months Ago

Photo: Diane Edwardson, January 21, 2012.  Heat and humidity has me thinking of greener, wetter times.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Red Car Property: Some Lots Posted For Brush Clearance

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 17, 2012.  The City gave notice on July 16 for brush clearance on the 3 lots north of, but not including the really bad problem lot that many neighbors have been expressing concern about for almost 8 months.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The problem is the City Department of Lot Cleaning has jurisdiction over vacant Hillside lots in the Northeast, not the Fire Dept., unlike Los Feliz or the Hollywood Hills where the LAFD has jurisdiction over the vacant lots. 

Enforcement of brush clearance standards are unfair in Silver Lake, Echo Park, Glassell Park, Mt Washington, El Sereno, Hermon, Monterey Heights, etc, where the homeowners have to (justifiably) clear their brush to LAFD standards, but the City only enforces brush clearance on vacant lot owners if the neighbors bitch constantly about it. 

Click here for all our brush clearance posts.

Corralitas Drive: Tropical Storm Fabio

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2012.  Tropical Storm Fabio provided a dramatic sunrise from Corralitas Drive.  (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Corralitas Drive: Young Cooper's Hawk?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 17, 2012, 2:46 PM.  What appears to be a Cooper's Hawk was harassed by Mockingbirds all day yesterday.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

For years, I've been unable to get a good photo of the elusive Cooper's Hawks in the Red Car Property neighborhood.  Tuesday, I got tons of photos in my own backyard.

Just before 10 AM, a neighbor and I witnessed a small hawk chased through my yard and into a Eucalyptus by a gang of Mockingbirds, hummingbirds, Cedar Waxwings and a variety of other small birds.  It took us about 10 minutes to locate the hawk in the tree, despite all the birds taking turns dive bombing it.  Even one of the Red Tailed Hawks made a few low, slow circles around the tree.

For the rest of the day, the harassment continued in various trees in my yard and my neighbors' yards.  

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 17, 2012, 10:47 AM.  I'm speculating it's a young Cooper's Hawk because it was the right size and had a horizontally striped tail.  I think it's a recently fledged bird, since none of the other birds had any fear of it.  Cooper's Hawks hunt birds.

I even ran into the same bird around 5:30 PM.  It was sitting on top of the telephone pole at the top of the Corralitas Public Staircase.  Of course, I had no camera with me.  It eventually flew to Red Car Canyon, which is prime Cooper's Hawk territory.

Each time I saw it today, I had more than enough time to go inside, grab my camera and shoot dozens of frames before it either flew to another tree or I got bored shooting.  This has never happened to me before with the elusive Cooper's Hawks.  It was an extraordinary experience.

Read more about Cooper's Hawks: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Red Car Canyon: Piles of Dead Trees Still Awaiting Clearance

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 4, 2012.  Arrow points to squirrel atop the 12' pile of dead trees awaiting clearance in Red Car Canyon.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 4, 2012.  How's that for scale?  That's the squirrel the arrow's pointing to in the first photo.

Back on July 3, 2012, Red Car Canyon neighbors received the following email from City Council District 13 Deputy, Ryan Carpio:

Our office has been working with the City's Department of Building and Safety, Fire Department, and City Attorney's Office on this situation. Building and Safety has issued a "notice to comply" to alert the owner that he has until July 18 to clear the brush.

The Red Car property is actually three parcels.*  It will require both machine and hand work to clear and several days to clean. Building and Safety estimates the cost is between $22,000 and $28,000.

Our office believes that the owner -- not taxpayers -- should be responsible for the cost of the clean-up, so we are giving him until the July 18 deadline to complete the work. After that, Building and Safety can send its crews and bill the property owner for the job.

Since we've seen no activity to clear the dead trees since the December 1, 2011 windstorm, we'll see if the City actually gets them cleared before December 2012. 

*The Red Car Property is actually 6 parcels.  We sent the APNs to CD13 in response to this email on July 3.

Red Car Canyon: Defensive Landscaping

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 6, 2012.  In an attempt to thwart more dumping in the canyon, a neighbor arranged the logs to bar vehicle traffic in Red Car Canyon.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

A few weeks ago, a neighbor heard vehicle activity in the canyon around 5 PM on a weekend.  He saw a white truck , heard doors slamming after what was likely another neighbor yelled at the people in the truck.  The first neighbor ran down the Corralitas Public Staircase to snap a photo of the offending truck.  He saw 2 guys in the white truck, with a bunch of junk in the truck bed.  They were leaving the neighborhood as fast as possible, and the neighbor was unable to get the license plate. 

The next day, the neighbor did some landscaping with the logs in the canyon to prevent future dumping and driving in the canyon.



Corralitas Drive: Little Stinky Has A Harrowing Friday The 13th

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 13, 2012, 9:04 AM.  "Quick get your camera!"  How many times have I heard this?  It usually involves wildlife in my yard.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 13, 2012.  Overnight, Little Stinky, the smaller of the 2 skunk babies, managed to climb into the 18" tall trashcan containing only few discarded napkins and paper.  It was enough of an irresistible scent to attract the omnivorous creature.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 13, 2012.  When I arrived with camera, it acted like a puppy, giving me the look of "Come on, get me out of here!"  It looked really tired and acted like it wanted to be picked up.  Knowing better than to pick up a wild animal, we took the trashcan down into the yard, where the skunks crawl through the fence. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 13, 2012.  Despite tipping the trashcan on its side, Little Stinky did not want to leave the trashcan.  It took some shaking and lifting to get the skunk out. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 13, 2012.  Once out of the trashcan, Little Stinky raced for the small gap in the fence behind the potted cactus.  It never moved so fast as it ran into the dense brush in the neighbor's yard.  It made no attempt to even fart skunk at us.  It isn't able to project its skunk spray yet.  We're grateful for that! 

Click here for all our skunk posts. 

2 Freeway @ Red Car Property: Young Red Tailed Hawk Resting Its Foot

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 10, 2012, 8:17 AM.  We used to see the recently fledged Red Tails on our deck railing, resting one foot at a time, like this one: seen in the tree from yesterday's post.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

2 Freeway: Last Month's CalTrans Tree Trimming Damaged Fence On Corralitas Walk

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 8, 2012.  A month ago, Davey tree trimmers damaged about 40' of fence adjacent to Corralitas Walk, a public right-of-way between the 2 Freeway and the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

CalTrans contracted with Davey, who butchered trimmed the large trees on the 2 Freeway adjacent to Corralitas Drive & the Red Car Property.  The fence has not been repaired, nor the large tree branches removed. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 10, 2012.  Aesthetics were apparently not considered when they butchered trimmed the trees in the 2 Freeway parkways.  The Red Tailed Hawks still use the trees to launch hunting forays onto the Red Car Property.

Corralitas Walk is a 9'8" wide, public, pedestrian right-of-way we got in return for losing our second means of vehicle access to Allesandro Street when the 2 Freeway was built.  Corralitas Walk connects Corralitas Drive to Allesandro Way (not Allesandro Street). Corralitas Drive has one means of vehicle access: Rosebud Ave.   

Corralitas Drive: Little Stinky

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 10, 2012, 8:58 PM.  Actually this is Little Stampy, but Little Stinky is more appropriate since this one at least attempts to fart skunk at me, its  larger sibling just ignores me.  They can't project their stink yet.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Click here for all our skunk posts.

Red Car Canyon: Spider Season

Photo: Red Car Canyon Neighbor, July 8, 2012  A neighbor sent a photo of a large mystery spider he caught in his front room.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The neighbor reports the spider had no fear of him, and he caught it out in the open.  A quick check of BugGuide and UC Davis Integrated Pest Management prove that it probably is NOT a Brown Recluse or a Brown Widow Spider.  It might be a spider in the Tengellidae family.  Both resources indicate Brown Recluse Spiders are not common in California, despite a media frenzy over them in recent years.

Black Widow Spiders are found throughout the neighborhood.  Neighbors on both sides of Red Car Canyon have seen lot of them in their basements and other cool dark places under their homes or in garages. 

Spiders are common this time of year.  They do not actively pursue humans to bite them, but will bite in self defense.  When in doubt, shake your shoes out before putting them on.  Spiders should be encouraged in the garden, as they provide vital pest control services.   

Corralitas Drive: Rubber Tree Fruit

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 4, 2012.  Fruit from Rubber Trees (Ficus elastica) turns brown on the outside when ripe.  It smells a bit like Kiwi fruit.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Apparently, fruit of the Rubber Trees in my yard is like crack to animals.  After watching skunks, opossum, raccoons, rats, parrots, birds, squirrels and dogs obsessively eating the tiny fruit, I had to look investigate further.  (I had been calling them beans, because that's what they looked like.)  

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July , 2012.  The Rubber Trees in my yard bear fruit year-round. However right now, it must be extra tasty due to the warm weather because the dogs have never been so interested in it.

It is a non-native species that grows 98 - 130' tall.  It is a drought tolerant species, but it will knock a house off its foundation to get to water; its roots will break into water and sewer lines.  They are very hard to completely remove once established.  In this neighborhood, they must have been a landscape trend because so many neighbors have these large mature trees near planted too close to their houses (built in 1910 - 1960). 

Disclaimer: The Corralitas Red Car Property Blog prefers to quote reliable sources, such as CalFlora and California Poison Control, on the issue of toxicity. We often get email suggesting some plants are edible. If you are eating your way through the Red Car Property, we DO NOT recommend you eat any plant you find in the Red Car Property neighborhood without first doing your own research.



Silver Lake Ave: Public Staircase Tourism

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 30, 2012.  Every weekend you'll see public staircase tourists, guidebooks in hand, hiking the area's staircases.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

New Mexico author, David Ryan, who's book, The Gentle Art of Wandering highlights the Red Car Property neighborhood, posted photos of his recent hike through our Silver Lake - Elysian Heights neighborhood.  His photos make our neighborhood look downright rural. 

Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Hawk Update

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 4, 2012, 8:54 AM.  A Red Tailed Hawk was calling insistently, perched on the telephone pole (seen in an earlier post, frequented by the hawks) high above the meadow of the Red Car Property.  I don't think it was an adult, but one of this year's juveniles.  The distance was too far to get a better shot.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We've been seeing the young hawks practicing flying updrafts with the adults. We usually only see one young hawk with an adult at a time. You can tell they've the recently fledged because they are unsteady in the air, have skinny chests (they haven't developed much muscle yet) and often soar with their feet and talons outstretched as if they were saying, "Holy crap! I didn't mean to fly this high!"

At least 2 of the young hawks have very red tails. Last year's fledglings did not have the red tail at this stage.

In the late afternoons neighbors have seen a couple of hawks flying low slow circles over Red Car Canyon, between Lake View Ave and Corralitas Drive. We are seeing them more than last week, but not as often as years past.  Last week, neighbors report hearing at least one hawk calling to be fed near the intersection of Walcott and Peru in the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract.

See a great slide show of what life is like in a Red Tailed Hawk nest: Cornell Lab of Ornithology on YouTube.

Corralitas Drive: I Hate The 4th Of July

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 4th, 2012.  Illegal fireworks filled the sky over Elysian Valley & Glassell Park last night.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

When you live in the hills, once the sun goes down, the 4th of July is not a relaxing holiday.  For weeks, we've all been hearing the nightly explosions, increasing in frequency as the 4th approaches.  Even after 21 years here, you never get used to the war zone sounds of the 4th.  The really scary ones ones are  set off by the yahoos who think it's OK to set these types of airborne fireworks off in the hills.  My windows rattled and my backyard lit up when a neighbor's party-goers set some off directly over the big trees in my yard.  You could here the debris falling from the fireworks into the tree.  Holy crap, that's scary. 

One neighbor, originally from New York, asked me why Los Angeles hasn't made fireworks illegal.  I told her they are illegal.  Good times.

Corralitas Drive: Little Stampy

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 30, 8:15 PM.  The tiniest skunk baby is as noisy as Stampy, stamping about in the crunchy leaves, jumping at me (shooting photos from 20' away) trying to sound like a bigger animal.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

For the past few nights, in different parts of the yard, at different times, I've encountered Little Stampy.  The baby skunk is 5 or 6" long with a tail twice that size.  When threatened, Little Stampy puffs out his hair so it appears 3 times wider than it really is.

I nearly fell over laughing, when it stood did a headstand, hind feet in the air, tail pointed straight up, and farted skunk at me.  (Luckily the babies don't actually spray at this stage.)   I couldn't get a photo of that behavior, though I tried.

Click here for all our skunk posts. 

Corralitas Drive: Disabled Skunk Mom?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 27, 2012.  The baby skunks were herded around the yard by this small limping skunk.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

This skunk was limping badly on both her left front and rear legs.  She seemed to be walking on the lower part of her hind legs, rather than her hind feet.  Her tail appeared to be broken and at half-mast.  She made no attempt whatsoever to threaten to spray me.  

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 27, 2012.  I did not want to get close enough to test whether she was capable of spraying.  However, I did zoom in with the camera because I could not tell if it was a fresh injury.  It looks like an old injury, as there was a bald patch on her butt.  I'll speculate she was the victim of a dog attack quite some time ago.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 27, 2012.  The small skunk is about the same size as Stampy.  Stampy seems to act as the decoy to draw attention in the opposite direction from the disabled skunk and the babies. 

I don't know whether Stampy or this skunk is the mother of the babies, but this skunk seems to act like mom.  It could be that since the disabled skunk is not able to defend herself, she is hanging around with her sibling, Stampy, and able to act as a babysitter.  When the babies were romping around in the leaves in front of me, she got them in line and herded them away from me.  I watched the same behavior on several nights in the past week. 

Last year, the mother would come through the yard first, spray a warning blast and leave the babies to fend for themselves in our yard.  We rarely saw the mother with the babies.

Click here for all our skunk posts.