Hello fellow DGers!
For those of you who require directions to our ranch, please see below. For all of you who think you might like to come but don't have any plants to trade, or feel too new or too whatever, you'll be missing something very fun. No need to have plants to trade as this roundup is about socializing as much as anything else and we've got a several of our honored guests coming great distances to sit, smell a few flowers, eat, drink, and just chat about gardens and gardening in a serene and private setting. If you think you'll be too hot out here, fear not, we've got that under control as well with mist, mist and more mist...lol, lots of shade and cool lawns to park yourselves on.
For those of you bringing plants to trade, there will be plenty of hoses and shade provided for plants just like last year. We will also be constructing trade tables like last year so all will have a spot to set there plants without needing to do much bending as that will be certainly taken care of when you get your trades home and have to plant them...lol.
Your hosts (us) are Pamela and Donald (Pamtannia and drdon here at DG). We welcome all who wish to come and join us for some fun with other people as passionate as you are about gardens and gardening.
Directions to our Ranch:
From the 15fwy in Temecula, which is a little north of San Diego County and south of Lake Elsinore.
Take the Rancho California exit and go east (that is right for those of you coming in from the south and a left for those of you coming in from the north). Follow Rancho California road for approximately 6mi. or until you see Anza Road.
Make a right on Anza road.
Follow Anza road for about a mile or until you get to a dirt road called Los Nogales Road. There will be bright, flourescent green signs at the corner of Los Nogales and Anza stating SoCal DGRU!
Turn left onto Los Nogales Road and follow it all the way to the end. You'll see our horses at the end of the road. Parking will be in the vacant lot across from the ranch. For those of you who feel more comfortable with a phone number, please send me a dmail and I'll give you my mobil number.
Park....our ranch hands will be shuttling guests onto the ranch property and carrying your trade plants, coolers, chairs, or if you're bringing me that new pickup I've been wanting just honk...lol. Our ranch hands will all be wearing shirts that say Sunsprite Ranch Company or Sunsprite Warmbloods, Inc. on them and will be tan in color. Carlos, Honorato, Juan, and Alfonso will be available to help anyone get things to and from their autos all day. For those of you who have difficulty with stairs, Carlos will bring you in through the upper gates and you'll not have to deal with the stairs up to the gardens or the house. Just ask Carlos for "The Upper Gate" and he'll bring you right in.
Facilities: Clean bathrooms are provided by us and one will be handicap friendly. This property is a working horse ranch so there will be trainers working horses all day. If you would like to approach a particular animal please ask Michelle, Amy, Caroline, Pam, or I to escort you to an animal or bring it to you. We ask that no one go into any paddock/corral or stall without an escort that knows the animals and if our cattledoggie Kuki thinks you are doing something dangerous to yourself she'll let you know....lol, she fancies herself as quite the safety enforcer...lol. Our horse trainers are all very skilled with the animals and can tell you all about them, their breed registries, and some basic stuff about their bloodlines. If you are really interested in learning something about any of our horses, find Pam, she loves to talk about her critters and can tell you anything you'd ever want to know (and some things you probably don't...lol), about all of the animals she breeds. We have two yearling colts on the ranch so far this year and one very, very expectant mare who could (although the chance is slim) actually give birth on the day of the roundup. This year we have tents with dining tables and chairs all set up for conversation and eating. Each tent will also have circulating fans with fine, cooling mist to keep guests from overheating. We have three other doggies; Scamp, a Jack Russell Terrier, Dahlia, a PVGB (stands for Petite Basset Grifon Vendeen) who looks a little like Benji and a Bassethound got together for some fun...lol. And Toby, is our big doggie....he is 120lbs of pure love and will try to sneak a kiss whenever he can so please just say "No thank you Toby", and let him know his kissing talents are not required at the moment...lol. Children are very welcome to our ranch, we only ask that they abide by the same rules as adults are asked to observe when it comes to the horses, and their faces are at just the right height for Toby's relentless affections, so please warn them about gallons of doggie saliva...lol.
This is our second year as hosts of this roundup and both Pam and I look forward to many more opportunities to meet so many wonderful fellow gardening enthusiasts. At our home there are several gardens, all of which are open for cruising through. There is the backyard garden, the cactus garden, the rose garden, the fruit and veggie gardens, the greenhouse, and a bunch of stuff spread all over the property for you to see at your liesure. Sun hats are a good idea and sunscreen is a must, wear light colored clothing to avoid overheating and we'll have ice buckets with bottled water placed around so hydration won't be an issue. Please use the recycling and rubbish cans as we will be providing them all over and recycling cans will be clearly marked.
For those of you interested in composting and vermiculture, come see me and I'll take you on a tour of our composting operation. For anyone wishing to go home with some compost, bring a trash bag or two and I'll give you some of our compost or bring a gallon jug and I'll give you some of our alfalfa and compost tea that we also make here to feed our plants.
Once again, if you'd like a telephone number to call just in case, please dmail me and I'll give you my mobil number which I will be carrying until it seems as though everyone has arrived. We'll be ready at 10am to receive guests and there is no time limit as to how long this roundup goes. You will be among friends here who look forward to seeing you again or meeting you in person for the first time.
Wooohooo!!! We're so excited, now I have to get back to work, but here's a pic of Pam and I so that you'll kind of know what we look like.
the very best to all of you,
don
