Saturday, June 30, 2018

While the Kids are Away...oh Deer!

La familia went to the Kate Wolf festival yesterday, as they do every year. Yes, I would have liked to have gone, but it was sold out and lucky for them, I didn't know the whole line up until the last minute or they would have seen me sobbing in the driveway as they pulled away. If you click on the link, you'll see all I am missing. And a da..dagnabbit BABY gets to go??

She loves to be in the overcab Turtle bed,
where she pretends to be asleep and then AWAKE!
How can I hold a grudge with that face?
Ok, baby, I guess it's okay that you get to see Keb Mo and I don't.
Not really.
But I am a mature adult and turned my time into other diverting pursuits. Like rejoining Netflix and stumbling upon a strange British show called Happy Valley. Trust me, it is not a happy valley, but it quite addictive, as I noticed when it appeared to be getting lighter outside. I'm quick like that.

On waking, there were things to do before heading over to my daughter Sarah's place later today. A deep watering of the gardens - my just planted from last weekend tomato has blossoms! The peppers have buds! I'm way behind Alliena in her planting but the plants don't care and neither do I. Most likely I won't be around for the fruiting but there is just a serenity and quiet joy in playing in the dirt with plants that is one of the best drugs I know. Corn, radishes and lettuces, micro greens and chard and plants for dying clothes and more, every day is something new happening.

Once I got here it didn't take long to find Charlotte the plant lady and get a Sungold tomato plant from her again this year. These bright orange cherry sized tomatoes are the sweetest tasting tomato I've ever had. I tried last year not eating the red ones, which were amazing, and the Sungold's together because the Sungold's dull the taste of the rest. I know, I'm prejudiced! So when Alliena told me she hadn't planted one, I was on a mission. Hooray for Charlotte!

Obviously, my Sungold's are lagging behind the others
but very happy just the same.

A sweet pepper, a jalapeƱo and a Cubano. It will be interesting to see
how they get along together in the same large pot.
Will they cancel out each others' sweetness or fire?

The yellow roses are just today saying hello!


After the long watering session it was time for a coffee and reading. I was standing in the doorway of the Turtle and scanned the field  thinking, oh well, I'm way past morning deer thirty, when there on the high side, nibbling on the grasshead seeds, there they were. Lazy bones!

From the door way

I hear something but these seeds are so good!

Baby antlers

I definitely hear something!

So do I!

C'mon, let's go!


Okay! Wait up!

They didn't exactly run and didn't exactly stroll, but there was clear intention to get back to the woods. Sorry, deer, I didn't mean to interrupt your grazing. Well, only a little.

Have a serendipitous Saturday. Do something selfless (no Iko, I don't mean you pretty much).


Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Some Big Foot Touristing

On a road outside of Garberville is a pretty huge tourist spot called the Legend of Big Foot along the Avenue of the Giants (redwoods giants, not Bigfoots). We passed it and decided to stop on the way back. Hokey for sure but there were some fun things there among the weird gnomes and rocking metal and stone peacocks and roosters - which were actually pretty cool except there were so many that you had to really look at them to see how cool they actually were.

The Big Foot thing is everywhere around this area. When we were driving to the wedding we passed a building that had a huge mural painted on its street facing side. Gorillas doing all sorts of things, using machinery, eating, playing. I mentioned it to Dave, wondering what on earth that was about. It finally dawned on me that these weren't supposed to be gorillas, but rather, Big Foot. Local culture. They still all look like gorillas to me. If I mentioned all that before, oops.


You can buy this yard art and hang it on your tree.
On Culebra, it might start a whole 'new species sighted' rumor.
Hmmmmm.

Among a lot of carvings and totem poles was this very complex monkey carving.
I don't know what it has to do with anything but I liked it. 

A fake nest with a fake eagle, high up on a redwood.
Or maybe a fake redwood. 

Checking out the goldfish. They were real.

It's hard to tell but each peacock and rooster body is a big stone, banded in copper.
They swing in the wind and even though they are a bit goofy
there is some skill there, each rock different, each peacock individual.

A definitely cool playhouse

The girls wanted to stay.
I understood that completely.

When Iko saw this tribal guy she immediately went over and copied his position.
It is her default stance when she doesn't want to do something.
O quickly joined her.
I like him, he's got serious attitude.

Avenue of the Giants indeed.
It's easy to be a gawking tourist here.
Yesterday I walked to the Post Office, not a long walk but definitely not a Culebra walk, well, almost not. Switching back and forth on the blind corners to avoid the occasional faster than you should be going driver, I saw a big black dog wandering into a driveway. BIG. I went to the other side of the road and didn't make eye contact, it was fine. 

After the PO I went across the street to the lumberyard for some paint supplies and talked to the young woman I'd met last year, while trying to get back home after the storms. I told her about the dog and she said, oh! I'll call that guy, we have to call every couple of days, he's a bad dog. Oh goodie! I walked through the VERY large property of the lumberyard and avoided seeing him again. It sort of felt like home.

This young buck was in the lumberyard, looking for apples.
He found some.
This is also in the lumberyard. An abandoned little nursery.
Every time I walk by it I think I should go to the owner and
ask if I can bring it back to life. Then I keep walking.
My new wine glass that I put to use at California happy hour,
which happens to include magic light time.
These passion flowers grow in the corner of the parking lot at the market.
Glory!!
So go the days. 

Have a wondrous Wednesday. Do something worthwhile.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

A New Restaurant in the Cove!

About 15 or 20 minutes from where my son lives is Shelter Cove a taste of Venezuela awaited. Down and down and down a pretty decent road with plenty of switchbacks, there is one spot on the way that opens up to the ocean view. We'd gotten a call that it was clear (as opposed to totally fogged in) and warm (as opposed to shorts and t-shirt weather here and jacket and warm clothes weather there). Add in a new restaurant, we were on our way!

The building that holds Mi Mochima had been sitting empty for ages, slowly getting that seriously abandoned look. Its A frame design and amazing views seemed like a great spot to put in another restaurant but it just wasn't happening since I'd first seen it years ago. Now it's very happening! And why I didn't take a photo of it from the outside has only one good reason - it was so  unusually windy that little dust/sand storms were dancing all over the place, not good for my eyes or for the camera. Next time. 


First was a visit to the swimming/surfing/kayaking/fishing beach.
This was the end of the day and it was pretty emptied out, despite all the cars you see.
The tide comes in to the cliff(s) but people know to get out while the getting is good.
I'm pretty sure we ordered everything on the menu and it was all good to excellent.
I had the fresh caught rock fish, it was amazing. The crab appetizer was also local and fresh.
Part of the view from the restaurant
 After dinner, we headed back to the lighthouse to walk off that oh I can't believe I ate so much feeling. And because this is one of my favorite places at the Cove. And because there is a bar there, where a real drink could be had...too bad they don't let kids in. We took turns playing outside with the girls while the bigger people had a drink.



A few views from this spot. 


Yes, if you are a long time blog reader, you've seen this lighthouse before.
I never get tired of it.

I don't know if this bird had something in its beak or if it has a white beak.
Life mysteries.

Fishing boats

If there is a rock in the ocean, some bird will bless it.

Sometimes these rocks are covered with seals, but not this time.
Play time!

O got familiar with my camera fast! But the little photo bomber was faster.

The obvious joy

On the way back up we hoped, ok, I hoped, for a green flash.
No green flash but a whole lot of beautiful.
Have an super Sunday Funday! Do something splendid.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

River Ride

I grew up beachside in Florida and the only river I ever did a float on was the Wekiva in central Florida. I thought they were all like that, lazy floating on the currents, the occasional little whirlpool spinning you around, like that. What we did on my birthday was sort of like that but not really at all. First of all, my float (since I couldn't kayak with my arm wanting to sob just looking at the paddles) was for two people, not one, making it a little unwieldy. Second, the kayak people basically had to paddle the whole time. Like four hours of time. Against the wind. It was enough to induce guilt in the coldest of slave owners whose slave happens to have been my son. However...I persisted. 

photo credit: Alliena Shipley
Nothing to do but ride, lift my butt over the shallow parts,
ford the REALLY shallow parts and be the
birthday queen. Fun for awhile, then the urge to do SOMETHING
looms large. 
A small part of our flotilla

O checking out the water

And the rocks. There are some beauties.
 I woke up very early and my first thought was, it's freaking COLD here, the water is going to be wicked cold, what the hell was I thinking?? But Dave assured me that the Eel River is nothing close to as cold as the Mattoll and he was right! By the end of the afternoon with the air cooling, the water was still much warmer. It's amazing that two rivers so close to each other can have such different temperatures.

Dave at the start

Onward, son!!
Dave is towing the drinks and food cooler.
We found this crazy float thing in the market, made for this common size of cooler.
We NEED this at home!

Elijah and I talked about the first people here, how it must have felt.
And then the settlers came. But it's hard to change a river and
water for the most part is used wisely out here. 

Dave pulling ahead with the drinks cooler. We never let him out of our sight.

Allie towed O and held the baby in front of her, both in life vests, yes.

Break time!



Are you ready, Mama? 

Judy and Dave rafting up

I don't know what made this photo the way it is
but I wish I could make it happen on purpose!

And no one got hurt!

I have no idea what they were looking at, as in
"I don't remember, Officer, I was looking the other way."
It was a beautiful day with family and friends. I was too wired to sleep. We'll have to do it again but next time I want an inner tube. With a pocket. And a wine cooler. And a sushi chef at the end of the ride. We have to have dreams!

Thanks, family!!

Have a saturated Saturday. Do something sumptuous.