Restoration Work at Potrero Creek at Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park

For months, the National Park Service has coordinated, with the help of dozens of community volunteers and other organizations, native plant restoration at Potrero Creek at Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park.

The creek is home to a young native oak woodland, along with milkweed visited by monarch butterflies and various other native plants used by dozens of local birds, insects and other wildlife. Volunteers have planted hundreds of plants grown from locally collected seed and watered hundreds of oak trees along the creek. You can see their work in this video. It will be interesting to see how the landscape changes over the coming decades as a result of this work.

To participate in other restoration events, including current work being done at Paramount Ranch, visit the Santa Monica Mountains Fund event signup page at www.eventbrite.com/o/santa-monica-mountains-fund-15433390756.

OVER 60 LOCAL AREA HIKES AND TRAILS IN VENTURA COUNTY AND ADJACENT AREAS

The Conejo Valley Audubon Society Hosts Birding Activities Year-Round

Founded in 1968, the Conejo Valley Audubon Society (CVAS) is an active chapter of the National Audubon Society. CVAS's 500+ members are from southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County. The chapter's membership is primarily from the cities of Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Simi Valley, Fillmore, Moorpark, Somis and Camarillo.

CVAS hosts monthly programs at the Western Foundation for Vertebrate Zoology (aka Camarillo Bird Museum) and frequent birding field trips throughout the Conejo Valley and Ventura County. Recent trips include the Conejo Botanical Gardens, Santa Clara River Estuary, Hill Canyon, Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, Oakbrook Regional Park and others.

CVAS volunteers also consult with local residents interested in converting their yard into a native plant based oasis to help attract birds to your yard.

For more information about CVAS, visit www.conejovalleyaudubon.org.

When I Pass Away Will My Social Media Presence Be Here to Stay?

Social media is still in its infancy. Facebook became available to everyone 13 and older on September 26, 2006. Twitter was launched for public use on July 15, 2006. LinkedIn was launched on May 5, 2003. But as the years pass, we will all eventually be faced with the question of what to do with our social media presence after our time is up.

Final Farewell and Facebook

Do you want to stay on Facebook after you die? No? Well, perhaps the easiest solution is to give someone you trust your login information and have them permanently delete your account when you die. This can be done by clicking the account menu at the top of your Facebook page, pick Account Settings, click Security in the left-hand column, then click "Deactivate your account." Or perhaps more officially, make this request in your will.

The current Security Settings screen in Facebook as of December 2013

If you haven't planned for your afterlife Facebook page, your immediate family members or executor can still submit a special request to remove your account. Facebook will require a death certificate or other proof to do so.

Or you can also simply do nothing and continue having your presence be shown in Facebook. A good friend of mine passed in 2013 and his page is still up and running. In fact, many of his friends posted happy birthday messages on his page later in the year.

Lastly, your family, friends, even co-workers may make a Memorialization Request by submitting the deceased's email address and proof of death. The requestor reports the information under penalty of perjury. Facebook will not provide login information for the deceased's account.

When an account is memorialized, Facebook keeps the account information static. Friends can still post to the deceased's page (subject to the account's privacy settings). When a Facebook Timeline is memorialized, it does not show up in others' pages as a friend suggestion and birthday reminders do not appear for the account.

Facebook indicates that a new Timeline may not be created to memorialize a deceased person, though others can create a Page or a Group for that purpose.

Six Feet Under Instagram

Instagram is owned by Facebook and thus their policies regarding deceased users is similar. You can request that a deceased Instagrammer’s account be memorialized if they passed away. But if you are an immediate family member of the person, you can request that the account be removed. Instagram will require proof of death for the former, such as a link to an obituary or news article. You’ll need additional information such as a birth/death certificate to remove the account. Click here for info.

Terminal in Twitter

Twitter is a bit different than Facebook in that if you are inactive (i.e. no logins or Tweets) for 6 months, they may permanently remove your account due to prolonged inactivity. That pretty much will take care of your Twitter account.

That said, or Tweeted, as the case may be, a family member or executor of your estate may also request that your Twitter account be terminated. This is done by contacting Twitter. You may be asked to provide the deceased's user name, death certificate, the requestor's driver's license or other Government-issued ID and a signed statement.

And of course you could share, before your final breath, your login information with someone you trust, who in turn can go to your Settings/Account, then scroll to the bottom of the screen where it says "Deactivate my account" and be done with it.

LinkedIn Through the Out Door

Someone I'm connected with in LinkedIn passed away several years ago. I still see her profile in there, which to me is a bit depressing and sad. Recently LinkedIn reminded me of her "work anniversary" even. Unlike Twitter, LinkedIn does not remove an account with prolonged inactivity. And unlike Facebook, LinkedIn does not have a "memorialize" feature where you can post comments to the deceased's page.

What LinkedIn does have is a feature for members to complete a form to report a colleague, classmate, or loved one who has passed away so they can close that person's account and remove their profile. So unlike Facebook and Twitter, non-family members can make a request to remove your profile in LinkedIn. I completed the form for the acquaintance who passed away, including a link to an online obituary. Six hours later, I received an email from LinkedIn indicating their account has been removed.

If you're reading this article, I'll assume you are still alive. Thus, you might as well check out the CVG Twitter page at twitter.com/ConejoJoe and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyGuide.

Federal Tax Credits for Installing Qualified Solar Electric Systems

Photo credit: Pixabay

The federal Residential Energy Efficient Property credit allows for a tax credit on the installation of residential solar electric and solar water heating systems.

As of November 2021, the credit is 26% of the cost for systems put in place during 2021 and 2022 and 22% of the cost if installed in 2023. Currently, the credit expires after December 31, 2023, but that could be changed by legislation. Previously (2019) the credit was 30%.

The tax credit is claimed on federal Form 5695 “Residential Energy Credits.” If the amount of the credit exceeds your tax liability in the year your claim the credit, the excess of the credit gets carried forward to the following tax year. You can continue carrying forward the credit until you use it - there is no expiration.

The state of California does not have a corresponding solar energy credit.

Keep in mind that the tax credit is available only if you purchase the system. You cannot receive the credit if you lease your system. You can certainly finance the purchase of your system, however.

The cost of the system that you claim for tax credit can include the cost of a battery, as long as 100% of its power is derived from your solar system.

Can you include the cost of a new roof as part of your system? Generally no. The roof is not part of the system, unless you are installing solar roofing tiles or solar roofing shingles - those actually do qualify for the credit.

Learn more about Residential Energy Credits on Form 5695 at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i5695.pdf or on the Energy.gov website at www.energy.gov/eere/solar/homeowners-guide-federal-tax-credit-solar-photovoltaics.

Healing Garden at Conejo Creek Park North in Thousand Oaks

The Healing Garden is located at the Lakeside Pavilion at Conejo Creek Park North behind the Thousand Oaks Library at 1379 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. In response to the tragedy at the Borderline Bar and Grill on November 7, 2018, the City of Thousand Oaks and Conejo Recreation and Park District partnered to create this place in memory of the 12 lives lost in the Borderline Tragedy as a place where the community can reflect, grieve, remember and heal. The Healing Garden was dedicated on November 7, 2019.

Somis Nut House Has Been a Ventura County Tradition Since 1959

The Somis Nut House has served the cravings of Ventura County residents since 1959. Originally it was a walnut processing plant that processed locally grown walnuts in the area. Today it serves up a wide selection of nuts, interesting snacks, trail mixes, seeds, candies, dried fruits, other edibles and gift baskets.

What I really like about this place is that it is a throwback to another era. The inside of the Somis Nut House looks as if it has never changed. Although the original founder of the store passed away in 2009, his family continues to operate the Nut House.

Front of the store from the 118 (Los Angeles Ave) east of Bradley Road.

One might ask, why would I want to drive from, say, Thousand Oaks, to buy nuts at the Somis Nut House? We can go to Trader Joes, Sprouts, Lassens, Whole Foods, etc. Well, I'll tell you that none of those places have the same retro ambiance and great selection of the Somis Nut House! And the freshness of the items here is outstanding.

The Somis Nut House is located at 4475 E. Los Angeles Avenue in Somis. From Thousand Oaks, take the Santa Rosa Road exit off the 101 and turn right. Take a left on Adolfo to Lewis Road, where you'll turn right (north) until you reach Los Angeles Avenue. Turn left and your destination will in a mile on the right.

More information at www.somisnuthouse.com or call 805.386.1211.

Somis is an unincorporated community of about 3,000 residents in Ventura County that was established in 1892. The name Somis means “water of the scrub oak” in the Chumash language, indicating the presence of water.

Mugu Canyon Rest Area in Oxnard

The Mugu Canyon Rest Area is located at 5735 Pacific Coast Highway in Oxnard, at the corner where PCH veers due north near Naval Base Ventura County.

“Rest Stop for Weary Travelers”

There is a viewing platform at the rest area with a bronze dedication tablet affixed to a rock, as well as two interpretive panels.

The tablet reads “Dedicated One July, Nineteen 1975 to Professor Emeritus and Mrs. George E. MacGinity in recognition of their scientific efforts for over fifty years to preserve the vital estuaries of California and the United States as a whole, and for their leadership in the field of marine and estuarine biology. This husband and wife team exemplify the need for people from all walks of life to work together so that man may live and prosper in harmony with his environment.”

The first interpretative panel points out that the Mugu Lagoon is the largest remaining coastal wetland in Southern California, providing much-needed food, shelter and breeding habitat. Naval Base Ventura County preserves and protects this area for wildlife and bird lovers.

The second panel describes the Chumash “House of the Sea,” a tomol, or plank canoe. Chumash mariners would paddle on a tomol, built by splitting driftwood, sewing planks with cordage and caulking with tar, as far as the Channel Islands. They would fish the open waters, return to this lagoon and the nearby Chumash village of Muwu.