NATURAL PERSPECTIVES:When good weeks go bad

Have you ever had one of those weeks when it didn’t pay to get out of bed? This was one of them.

Actually, the week didn’t start out too badly. I managed to get free delivery of the 200 native plants I bought for a Thursday planting at Bolsa Chica by piggy-backing my order on the delivery truck with a larger order. Normally, I have to pick them up myself.

I had to meet the truck alone because Vic was in class. I’m recovering from pneumonia I contracted after having the flu in late October, and my lungs and energy level still aren’t back to normal. Unloading the truck was exhausting.

On Wednesday, our twin grandbabies went to Los Angeles to audition for the NBC drama “Heroes.” They made it to first runners up, meaning that they’ll go in for filming next week only if the first-choice twins get sick. Nicole and the babies stopped by our house on their way home.

The delightful but unexpected visit threw off my schedule by several hours. I had to drive to Hydroscape in Orange to pick up Driwater, a gel irrigation supplement that keeps plants watered for months. I needed it for planting on Thursday.

Unfortunately, my order hadn’t come in yet. I bought every container they had in stock, but it was only half of what I needed. By the time I got to Bolsa Chica, the last pink glow of sunset had faded to purple.

For planting days, I place colored flags where I want each plant to go. Each species of plant gets a different color flag. Unfortunately, I had eight species of plants and only five colors of flags.

To prevent confusion, I decided to place plants by their flags. Mind you, the sun had gone down. It was dark and cold. I was muttering to myself like some crazy person as I toted gallon pots from their drop-off point to the planting area. When it got too dark to see, I turned on the car headlights and continued to work. I got about 40 plants placed before I gave up.

Next morning, I was at Bolsa Chica’s south parking lot by 7 a.m., doing more flagging. I had to meet my orientation crew of 12 teens from the Orange County Conservation Corps at 8. We emptied trashcans and loaded tools and water bottles provided by the Bolsa Chica Conservancy. At 9 a.m., we were joined by a group of volunteers from the Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

I continued to haul pots of plants to where I wanted them planted. With 20 people planting, I could barely keep pace with them. By 11:30, we had installed 90 plants and were out of gel irrigation supplement, so we quit for lunch and went to the beach.

Normally, the conservancy’s education director, Laura Bandy, provides education to my crew in the afternoon. Unfortunately, she was out sick with the flu. I asked Vic if he would substitute.

Vic decided to teach the crew about oceans. We walked to the top of the sand berm overlooking the Pacific. After giving the kids some facts about oceans, Vic told them to take off their shoes and socks so they could experience the ocean more intimately. A storm was blowing in; it was freezing cold; he was out of his mind.

Incredibly, the kids took off their shoes, but at first they wouldn’t go into the water. To encourage them, I took off my shoes and went in first. With much coaxing and cajoling, Vic and I got the group in the water up to their ankles.

But as surely as waves ebb, they come crashing back. We got to experience the Pacific Ocean up close, cold and personal as ankle-depth water turned to hip depth with the next breaking wave. We voted to not let Vic teach us any more about oceans.

I came home wet, cold and tired to find that the power was off. When it came back on, our cable reception was fried.

I didn’t think that the week could possibly get any worse, but when I went to the corps on Friday to teach my orientation crew about local conservation issues, I discovered that it was also Planned Parenthood Day. This is really an excellent program. However, while I was trying to teach ecology, my students were filling out forms about their sexual health and activities, giggling about words like “testicular.”

I had to explain to one young man that when he and his male cousin had a “romantic” evening together with a girl, it was not the same as him having both male and female sex partners. Some of the corps kids tend to copy from one another. The boy next to him copied his form and also checked “both.” When I explained to them what having both male and female sex partners really meant, the boy who copied was aghast. He got up and took a seat on the other side of the room.

These kids are a real challenge. I can’t print most of the conversations that went on during that particular class. Suffice it to say that my job is to educate these young adults, and I do my job.

I came home from the corps and slept for 17 hours. Bring on a new week.