The Conejo Valley Guide "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, highlights of local things to do, compilations and other items. Focus is on information relevant to Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Barbara and Moorpark.
The Conejo Valley Guide® "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, local things to do, holiday event compilations, announcements and more.
As we know, the Conejo Valley is home to billions, if not zillions, of rabbits. So it was quite appropros seeing this little guy dining at Thousand Oaks City Hall. He looked quite healthy while mowing down the lawn. And he was not afraid of me as I told him I was Conejo Joe.
Conejo Chronicles
by
Sheli Ellsworth
Conejo is the Spanish word for rabbit. But when I relocated to the Conejo Valley I wasn’t worried. After all, what’s in a name? Los Angeles is not over run with angels. When I realized that a dozen rabbits lived on my street, I begin to get a clue, and finally, when my backyard began looking like a rabbit refugee camp, I understood how aptly named the area is. But I didn’t mind. I liked bunnies.
In college, I collected bunny-themed children’s books with the excuse they were for future offspring. Not long after that, the occasional stuffed rabbit would wander into my dorm room and take up residence. I claimed homesickness and a love of anything small and furry. I also used this rationalization as a young professional when I built a hutch to house a real rabbit that lived on my patio. Meanwhile the stuffed rabbits had multiplied faster than real ones. When I married, my husband agreed to have children in a desperate hope of relocating the 105 stuffed animals out of our bedroom.
So, when my T.O. neighbors pointed out that my dirt lawn was due to the bunny breakfast menu I served round the clock—grass over-easy, I felt betrayed by my furry friends.
In my first attempt to wean the rabbits off my grass, I planted Serbian bellflower in the beds for the bunnies’ dining pleasure. From the parsley family, bellflower grows in bunches and blooms a purple flower. The bunnies loved it.
Feeling inspired by my eco-friendly solution, I read Watership Down. For two weeks, I was complacent in the knowledge that the main rabbit characters: Hazel, Silver and Fiver were smart
Sure were some animated and ominous looking clouds in the sky in the Conejo Valley today...but they didn't bring any rain.
Clouds dwarfing Boney Mountain
This morning, in an emergency session, the Thousand Oaks City Council approved immediate construction of a new Chuck E. Cheese sign along the 101 Freeway to replace the aging Auto Mall sign.
Mock up of 35 foot tall Chuck E. Cheese sign to be erected in place of Thousand Oaks Auto Mall sign.
"Thousand Oaks is a family-friendly city," indicated Mayor Andy Fox "and we want everyone who drives through the 101 artery to be made well aware of that through the magic of Chuck E. Cheese."
Though the sign is considered large by local standards at 35 feet high by nearly 37 feet wide, and will flash bright neon lights from dusk until dawn, the sign is not expected to distract drivers. However, on weekdays between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. a drive-up ticket redemption stand will be operated under the sign to enable parents and children to redeem their Chuck E. Cheese tickets for prizes.
Chuck E. Cheese representative Ivgota Hedache remarked "We are excited to literally become part of the landscape of this beautiful city."
In other news, the Conejo Recreation and Park District has plans to construct a 197 foot long Slip n' Slide at Conejo Creek Park. Check back soon for details.
Guest writer was homeless and out and about around the Conejo Valley at the time he wrote this. He has since regained his footing and is doing great.
Today after wrestling with the cold all night inside my van, I woke up tired at the crack of light. I grow more and more impatient with my homelessness. My tears again are a simple reminder that I’m still alive. My schedule will first take me to McDonald’s, where I will enjoy a dollar coffee, free Wi-Fi and where I’ll wait until I have to go to work. I have little money, and less gasoline to keep my 4-wheel home moving. My on-going battle with a head-cold has left me congested, and my energy level has yet to return to normal.
Lately the cold, wet weather has interfered with what work I am blessed with, and as a result at times I sometimes feel miserable. In a number of stories that I’ve written recently, I’ve expressed a increasing level of unhappiness with my life, and my homelessness. I’m reminded of Viggo Mortensen from the movie “The Road”, a post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible. Like Viggo, I want a clear course but have no map that will lead me to any island of solace.
An older gentleman sitting a few tables away glances over, and kindly asks me
We are nearing that transition period between winter and summer, otherwise known as SPRING! Spring begins on March 20th and this latest work of Camarillo artist Chuck Trunks he calls "To My Surprise" captures some of the spirit of that transition. See his other work on Conejo Valley Guide by clicking here.
And with the coming of spring of course we have a lot of fun things to do around Ventura County. Here are some links for you to explore:
EASTER FUN
EARTH DAY (APRIL 22ND) EVENTS
FRESH PRODUCE AT 2 DOZEN LOCAL FARMERS' MARKETS
I'll admit. Out of convenience I've pretty much always pronounced February as Feb-ew-air-ee. Pretty much most people I know pronounce it that way. But technically it should be pronounced Feb-rew-air-ee.
This discrepancy between pronunciation and how the word is spelled has always bothered me, but since everyone else says Feb-ew-air-ee too like me (except for a few really anal retentive friends), I've ignored that nagging feeling.
But today is a new day. We are living and breathing February right now and I am committing to saying it correctly from this day forward, no matter how obnoxious I sound to others and how difficult it is to say.
One of the problems I think people have with pronouncing Feb-rew-air-ee is that they place a 3rd "r" in there, making it sound almost like the Scooby Doo "ruh roh" sound "Feb-ru-rare-ree" which of course is incorrect. It's actually not that hard to pronounce Feb-rew-air-ee if you make a mental note not to sound like Scooby Doo.
According to Charles Harrington Elster in his The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations. "The traditional and cultivated pronunciation, FEB-roo-ER-ee, is hard to say, and so most people say FEB-yoo-ER-ee because it is easier and because so many others do, not because it is right." and "As far as this book is concerned, however, the -yoo- variant may now be standard, but it is still beastly."
OUCH! I guess we better pronounce it right so as not be considered beastly! And the following should help us all in our quest for proper pronunciation of our favorite short month, FEBRUARY! (No, this is not me. I still screw it up.)
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide® covers thousands of events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County, California and surrounding areas.
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