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  It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Spring It is March. The early morning wind pushes the cumulus clouds up and over the hills that encircle Morongo Valley. Small drops of rain begin to fall and splatter onto their glasses, bluring the view. She tugs at the neck of her coat and tucks one hand inside her pocket, while the other hand grasps the leash of her sniffing curious terrier. He walks slightly ahead being pulled and tugged along by the younger terrier. As they walk along, they talk, watch for their favorite coyote and look for birds and newly blooming flowers. HE SAID: With this rain, we should have a spectacular display of desert wildflowers this year. SHE SAID: I can hardly wait. Actually, this makes me realize that I need to get out into the hardware store garden and begin weeding and planting before it gets too hot and the weeds get too big. HE SAID: Didn’t you plant enough new plants last year? The bills from the wholesale nurseries were substantial and it was a chore making sure that the plants were watered every day. SHE SAID: I only want to add a few more. For instance, I want to plant some of the Cistus family, which have roselike flowers that are white, pink or rosy purple. They are very hardy and really love the sun and heat. The common name is Rock Rose, or Sun Rose, and I want to have some extra stock to sell. They are a spectacular native of the Mediterranean region. HE SAID: Why do I feel that a decision has already been made? |  | SHE SAID: You will love it, dear. And don’t worry, I will only add a few of those delightful Canyon Penstemons and Firecracker Penstemons. Those do so well in our desert. They love well-drained soil and they bloom during the Spring and summer. The Hummingbirds just love them! HE SAID: Well, we wouldn’t want unhappy Hummingbirds, now, would we? SHE SAID: Don’t grind your teeth, dear. I promise that you will love these plants and so will our friends and neighbors. They will also love the Desert Marigolds, the Desert Wildflower seeds, the Globe Mallows which attract butterflies, the White Sage, the Blue Sage and the Black Dalea. HE SAID: (With his head pounding) I think the dogs want to go home now and I need to get to the hardware store. We have a large order of the #1 Best Hummingbird feeders, that you ordered and they need to be unpacked and placed on shelves . Thank you, these walks really get me energized and feeling relaxed and ready to start my day. SHE SAID: Isn’t it wonderful that we are able to work together? CALLING ALL BICYCLISTS We have bike chains, kickstands, headlights, tire tubes, brake cables, mirrors, bells, and much more. Get ready to ride! |
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Laurie Geeson A toaster oven and floor lamp were purchased by a women’s group and presented to the firefighters in January. We hope the guys will not be burning their toast or T.V. dinners anymore. The lamp allows them to turn those bright fluorescent lights off so their “home away from home” feels more like home than a gym. The FFA is hiring a repairman to fix the frig, the oven door, dishwasher, washer and dryer. Gosh, it sounds like nothing but the firemen are working. In January, we also purchased helmet shields and a carrying case for the defibrillator that had worn out. I recently learned that the defibrillator is just one of the many items this Firefighters Auxiliary has purchased for the fire department. Over the years, they have bought all the appliances, the beds, conference table and chairs, firefighter radios, scanner, weight bench, ice machine, computer and partnered with the CSD to buy many other items. The FFA members did all of this to the tune of about $27,000 in only 8 years! Way to go ladies! (Oh yes, we welcome men now too.) If you would like to help with this worthwhile endeavor please call Laurie Congratulations and Welcome Benjamin Zane Scott | |  Did you notice that Ed Pencall’s lizard was missing from the roof of the CACTUS MART? On Sunday, February 22, Brian Pencall ( Ed’s son ) noticed that the large copper coiled lizard sculpture was no longer on the roof. Ed theorized that who ever stole it, stole it for the recycling value. The whole incident was very upsetting since Ed’s Cactus Mart, and the lizard, are important landmarks in Morongo Valley.
The HI-DESERT STAR newspaper gave the stolen lizard story and Ed’s offer of a $250 reward a prominent place in its publication in the Wednesday March 3 edition. I had also written a story for the MORONGO HARDWARE NEWSLETTER, but on Thursday, March 4 Ed called me with some very welcome exciting news. The rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say, is that Ed called me to tell me that his lizard was found. He said that the Sheriff’s Department called to say that the owner of the recycling center, in Yucca Valley, had the 125 pound lizard. The thieves had taken the lizard to the recycling center where the owner got their vehicle’s license number and called the sheriff. Ed happily paid the reward money, of $250, to the recycling center owner and is waiting to find out when he can place his basking lizard back on the roof. How about a little Morongo Valley celebration when the famous landmark lizard comes home? Business Card $25 Quarter Page $50 Half Page $75 Full Page $100 |
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Linda Bailey Yucca Valley has one and so does Joshua Tree...a CLEAN TEAM, a group of committed community members who want a cleaner town. Their efforts have been very successful. Morongo Valley will have one soon also. All of you are invited to be a part of this organized effort to spruce up our community, beginning with the highway that runs through town. Watch for fliers around town with an announcement of our first meeting. If you are interested in being a part of our Clean Team, please leave your name and phone number with Linda Bailey, 363-6004. Laurie Geeson While walking in the Preserve the three L’s have seen Cedar Waxwings, Flickers, Mountain Chicadees, but no bobcats, deer or bear. They have seen a whole lot of birdwatchers on Wednesday mornings. Figure that this is the most popular get together in town. Congratulations, Dee! 
| | All news items and advertisements must be delivered to the Hardware Store by the 25th day of the month. If you have questions, please call Leslie Rotstein 363-7829.  It’s Wednesday, February 25 and I’m watching the rain clouds roll into Morongo Valley. This is the late winter rain that will produce a spectacular flower bloom. I look forward to March when the nights warm up and the flowers burst open each morning. I taught Biology at Palm Springs High School up until 1997. Spring mornings, I would cut wildflowers in my yard, along Hess Blvd. and at the bottom of the grade along Highway 62. Biology students spent the next week examining flower parts under a microscope. With the wildflowers come a lot of non-native grasses and weeds. These unwelcome plants are easy to control if you start now with a Hula Hoe or a Weed Eater. Wait awhile and those fast growing species get big, dry out and become tough and woody. Morongo Hardware has your Hula Hoe waiting on our front porch. Weed Eaters and supplies are in our garden- patio area, along with all our other garden tools and supplies. |
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