Shot Thru the Fence . . . graffiti and all

About two miles down the hill is a large shopping center, anchored by Alberson’s and Kohl’s. Along one side of Kohl’s is a strip of a parking lot and a fence protecting people from wandering into sensitive habitat. There is a meandering creek which eventually falls into several ponds then cascades over the rocks. The land, until recently was a sand and gravel quarry. Now, the area around this natural beauty has been purchased by a big developer who plans to put about 600 homes in this valley.

Before the fence went up, my hubby and I hiked down far as we could get to the waterfall. Over the last few years, taggers have decided to mark this landscape with their form of expression. The graffiti turns the rocks into canvases, unnatural and of no artistic value. A few years ago I reported the graffiti to the property owners, they caught a couple of college kids and had the graffiti removed.

Last Sunday, we stopped by to see if the most recent graffiti was still there. I had taken shots of it and reported it. While I was there, a father and son were on the other side of the waterfall and the boy hiked down aways. He was not the least bit interested in the graffiti. A skateboarder came rolling by, hopped off his board and I asked him if he was here to check on the graffiti, he said yes. He had a bag and a backpack. He threw his belongings, including the skateboard over the fence and hopped over it. I didn’t get to stay, but he certainly seemed like a person of interest.

I received an email today telling me that the graffiti was in the process of being removed. Always carry your camera, you might perform a public service and helping the environment is a good thing.

A shot of the falls from a few years ago.

and we are not . . .

Each Spring, Home Depot sets up a garden center behind an abandoned Saturn auto dealership in Oceanside, CA. We’d never driven behind the dealership before and decided to check out the plants and pots. A lot which was once filled with shiny new cars and excitement was dismal indeed. Without the temporary nursery, it was just another derelict property.

On our way off the car lot, a message on the side of an old building captured my attention,  the trash and graffiti around it spoke volumes about our society.