SUNDAY BIRTHDAY POST

Who needs the Super Bowl (rhetorical question, or something?- only kidding)  It's my birthday, and here's the tune, if not the singing.

I'm lucky to have some kids home visiting, and with one, the roomate's dog, big Raymond, a golden-lab cross who was raised from a puppy by the roomate to be a guide dog for the blind.  Raymond then went through all his guide dog training, and did very well, but at the end was rejected, as he had some issues (Ray's privacy protected). The standards for graduating to a fully fledged guide dog are extremely strict, and not every dog, however well trained, meets those standards. 

And no, this really has nothing to do with development on Donner Summit-  Brown-eyed Raymond kept putting his nose on my laptop, so how could I resist?  I just want to say that it's marvelous that people can work so hard, to raise (tolerate) puppies through all their furniture-eating cuteness, and then give them up, even though they've prepared for this from the time they accepted the puppy- it's the hardest thing to do with a dog, as dog-lovers know, And I have to say, "flunked" guide dogs, for whatever reason they don't pass, are quite possibly the most well mannered and best trained dogs you'll ever meet.  So say a big "Hi" to Raymond if you see him out at Serene Lakes, where he visits often (although he hates snow).

OK-  I just had to pull it back to development. After the lovely day, and the equally lovely chocolate cake, I do want to say I believe most of us want what is best for Donner Summit and Serene Lakes. I'm hoping that in the coming months we can start to see that it's possible to work together to reach results we're all happy with.  Residents, and developers alike, wouldn't it be terrific if we start looking at what will work, and what won't?  And developers- please look hard at what you really need to come out whole, and what will work for Donner Summit, in terms of preserving the wildlife, and the beauty. You bought property that is not zoned for what you want to build, and you want to "shoot the moon," in hopes Placer County will be bowled over by the prospects of enhanced tax base.  But you know what?  Tax base isn't the end of the day.  At the end of the day, you have to step back, and say, what am I leaving as my heritage, my mark up here at the Summit? How am I truly improving things, so that my children will be proud of what I have done?  I'll say this more bluntly, "Scale it way, way back."  And consider involving land trusts in your plans, to help you preserve important things. Maybe a lovely hotel to replace the fabled Wilderness Lodge would be lighter on the land than your current plans for the Royal Gorge Area might be worth exploring?

But back to my birthday- Guide dogs for the Blind.  Please visit them, and consider pitching in- like Donner Summit, and the Sierra Nevada, not covered with condos, these folks are something that does California proud!