Toast the Coast

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to go with Greg to the Toast The Coast Charity Fund Raiser event for Save Our Shores. Save Our Shores is an ocean advocacy group with roots in Santa Cruz of which Gregs company is a sponser. Compared to surfrider they have the fundraising down. Soooo very different and corporate. the surfrider events look like a community center teen dance compared to this. In not sure if I should be wowed or disgusted (my anti establishment hackles rising) either way its disappointing to see how much more surfrider could be if they just grew up a little.


We have chicks! Picts to come later.

Oh and I wrote 10 pages of draft ... very rough draft... yesterday. I guess my body thought it was raining.

And you thought I was going to write every day..

Well.. I do. Just not always on here.

Anyway, Ive been getting my yearly dose of vitamin D.  Suns been shining and Ive been soaking it up, roving wide and giving love to my land.. Except the whacking has left me with a very stiff neck. As a result, I don't believe I will be doing much work today nor will I be practicing my golf... (That's right Bro. Im practicing every weekend (except when I don't) until we meet again!)

 I, however,  have not been doing just yard work. Yesterday was dedicated to it. Being away from the house all week it is amazing how much the work accumulates! I also spent a good chunk of time Friday at the school helping a teacher with some prep work. The school has an electronic log in system which records volunteers thier hours as well as other visitors and substitutes. It prints out name tags as well. Spiffy. And over the course of the last few days I have gotten to meet several characters. Charlie a short board surfer who doesn't use a leash and it quite capable with his board, PJ who is a Filipino Ocean Fisherman who told me about the economy of sea glass collection. He also told me he had not caught a fish in two weeks. I also met a woman from Germany. She was on a walking tour. I had never heard of a walking tour but apparently you start somewhere (in her case santa cruz) and you are given a map which you use to guide you as you walk to your next hotel. In all she was covering 40 miles in 5 days along the coast. All the luggage is shipped ahead so you are not packing it. How awesome is that? Really I think its awesome. Greg was not as excited as I at the prospect however and suggested I would be taking that trip by myself. Also got in a visit with the landlord. I do enjoy his company and the foggy nebulous of our writing project gathers some subtle shape and color. Soon  (probably with eventual change in seasons if I know anything my artistic rhythms) I will be raining words upon the page.

Anyway to sum up and get off of this computer (which is not helping my neck) things are good and life is progressing under the warmth of the sun.

The title says it all..

Never! How could a title capture all this beauty?

Seem sunsets from the house are best captured with a telescopic lens. In my viewfinder, a reflection of the sun was floating on the water and I wish I had have been able to capture it. However, the sunsets here are still outstanding... when we are not fogged in anyway. One final look to the horizon (I don't see any ships) before turning my attention in other directions.

This is Willows wonderful camera work. I like how she captured the shadow too.

 

 

 

And with that I am off to read "Mycophilia" A book that explores a ladies journey from food into all things Mushroom. It offers a look at production, forging, cooking, conferences and science and so much more. Accessible written enough for the lay reader and peppered with facts and figures to paint a portrait of the mushroom world and those that inhabit it. Its not technical.. that book sits in my bag awaiting my attention.. but it is educational.

 

 

And also on the table is Marten Eden by London. Its a love and life story. I am reading for the story, for the technical aspects of his style, to tune my ear to my landlords preferences and to get an idea of what our joint writing venture might shape up to look something like. My style having been equated more with Jack Kerouac then Jack London... but I think I can straddle that divide with ease. From the sound of what I am reading and what I am hearing.. It looks like I will indeed be trying my hand at the great American Novel, one that strings together multiple themes and paints the human spirit. Im chewing on it, have not begun drafting but I think I am up to the challenge. Some more brain storming with Eugene is needed as we pin down some of the nature we wish to capture. Perhaps this weekend while we walk the oak trees and determine pruning needs and wood harvesting to begin our mushroom endeavor. 

 

"You get what you get when you go for it"  sings Barry Manilow (what's up with the hair?) and reminds me its time to stop sitting here and to get up and make my fortune. Back to the game with me. TTFN. Love you Mom!

 

 



Daily vibe 8/21/13

Greg is sick and likely in bed. Kids are at school and I am curled up in a coffee shop fulfilling my commitment to self to stop and write...  Even if I don't have much to say.  Having said so much recently. Pink Floyd albums spin on the turntable. The sound of animals skipping along. Parents, tourists, students and buisness men filter through looking for their morning fix.  Coffee.. It crosses just about all cultural and economic divides ( much like booze) It's power is worth a ponder.

  On my plate today is more reading writing and research... Party planning.. And allergy shots after school.  A grey sky threatens to swallow my smile in its gloom but then I realize where I am and how can I not beam with the knowledge that I am here to live another day and strive towards dreams. Anyway.. Time to get back to it!

Rocking the tongue

This is just one of those funny stories I have to share..

When we were at moms she out of the blue asked how we might respond if willow brought home a suitor who on first meeting her parents was to take her hand and lick it in front of us.  :|  Greg reacted with indignation, I kept quiet.. not sure where she was going but knowing it was going somewhere.  It seems she never quite got over a similar little display of Gregs when they first met. Funny thing is I started it by licking him when her back was turned.  It was the metal thing to do back in the day. hahaha.  Seems I still have trouble keeping my tongue in my mouth! (This was in one of my oak trees.. its a way of showing love.. a weird way.. but a way) Love you Mom!

Let the memories it the floor

Sunset.. say goodnight to the locks

hmmmm

I like it!


Also The whole baking soda and vinegar have reeked havoc on my locks and so ... its back to the bottle. So be it... smells better anyway!

Sunrise

Sunrise

GOOSE x 7  - Enjoying the early morning in what will eventually be their pond.

 

 

Another with a bird

dew drops glisten in the early morning sun. rainbows form but not photographed

Lord Stanley out of the house and he WANTS Caroline!

I sit sipping my tea.. 5 am. I just spent an hour managing emails and other light household business while waking up and typically Id be working out.. and not just my fingers..  but I thought Id sit this morning instead and bend your ear or better and more correctly whitewash your eyeballs in a wall of words.  (You ready for words bro?! Lots of words?!).

I miss being at the keyboard. It seems a rare  pleasure when I can sit down these days and turn myself inward long enough to hear myself think with any depth. Ahhh... 

And why have I not been at the keyboard? Cause I am back in the saddle baby! And internet access has been cut short to data allotment limits (No streaming for the house anymore), slower speeds and other inconveniences of "country living." Not that it is an inconvienience. It is just different.

The last few weeks have been moving quite quickly with the trip to Carson, the settling into the routine of school, and the form of our immediate future taking some more shape and such.

Our trip to Carson was fabulous. How wonderful to be home..  to see my family.. all of them! My nieces astound me with the polarity of their personalities and offer a reflection of Billy and I when we were of the same age. Feel the Love!  It warms my heart!

We were up to celebrate the Grandparent's 65 Anniversary. What an accomplishment! Feel the Love! Warms my Heart! What an amazing accomplishment! I asked Grandma what advice she had to offer to "a young man or woman that's living this life." She said, "I was hoping no one would ask since I don't know what the hell happened." And we laughed. We laughed the whole time.  The entire weekend was full of fun and festivities. We all met up and caught the steam train that makes its way between CC and VC. We got in a old time family portrait .. from the looks of it we are a shameful lot.. then explored the city while waiting to depart. Afterwards there was dinner at El Charro (service sucked and I would have been bothered by it if we were not wrapped up in celebration)  and then we topped it off with some golf (next time i will be kicking my brothers butt!! just be prepared bro!) before heading home.  I have not sorted picts just yet and will be sending a link to my cache for those that were there to my cache soon but here are a quick few. Coming home was hard even Greg got a bit of the shakes and the sense that something important was missing. I could go on and on and linger in those memories...Written permanently on my heart but alas I would just be avoiding the work I have on my plate at the moment. Eeks!!






School!
The bell rings hearlding in a new day, a new routine and new friends. Willow was so excited the night before school that she went to bed and was asleep by 7:00. Connor on the other hand lay awake.. his nerves alight with anticipation. The first day was not as intimidating as either thought it would be. Willow, my quiet introvert with high expectations of individuals (to the point where she generally distains them) was not smiling on her way out the door in her uniform.( I love the uniforms. There is comfort in making the clothes routine..) But she came home excited to have made not 1 not 2 but 9 friends. She fits right in. And Connor, well, he is happy to explore any new social situation and he came home quite happy. He has made one really good friend who lives relatively close. SHe sounds very sweet too. His class keeps a blog and if you are interested in keeping up from afar send me an message and I will get you the link I know he is going to do really well there to. Long story short school is off to a great start. We have two hours of homework a night now and their introduction to fencing begin last night. Connor loved it and will likely continue. Willow was not as thrilled with the  conditioning part of the experience but in actuality she exhibited great form and focus. Whew .. and it is only just starting to ramp up.

And what I have been doing with the new found time alloteed to me? Writing and reading Researching, strategizing and bulking up on knowledge and reconnecting with my world. The lazy hazy days of summer are over. It seems like it has been summer since I started homeschooling. Long enough for me to thoroughly recharge my batteries. Ready to throw myself once again entirely at the world, It feels good to be back in the saddle. Homeschooling was good but it took me away from the broader experience of life. I feel good to be popping up again. I have been making some rounds, checking out beaches, meeting fisherman, and reconnecting with old friends before heading to spend the majority of my time at the library. Preparing the way to tell a story... Reading some Jack London for inspiration.. More as it develops.

Good things happen in the dark.. Like mushrooms! Willow thought I was going to say something else.. do do do do do do do.. (She understands the reference and Im sure she is glowering at me!) 

That period of homeschooling was somewhat oppressive. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you need to pull back.. go under ground.. Into the dark... until its time to Fruit. What's all this about Mushrooms?  I am spending the rest of my time at the library researching mushroom cultivation as we are going to establish a mushroom production business. It is fascinating and as I look closer at this huge domain of creatures I am astounded  to be reminded that all things are interconnected.. From the microcosm to the macro. The patterns and  ebb and flow of the universe revealing a glimpse of themselves. I am super excited to be connecting to and taking on this endeavor. We have a couple acres of oak grove to use to get established which will provide some of the material to inoculate. And we have perfect growing weather. I aim to specialize in some of the harder to grow varieties which are prized by the local Asian populations for medicinal and culinary uses.. but perhaps I will get my foot in the door with Shitaki as I learn the processes involved. This weekend we will determine what we are going to prune and use and then we will get started.  

Ok back to work with me! Muaw!

I feel as though I have a years worth of pics and stories to tell that have  accumulated over the last few week. It makes me feel a bit out of contact and not caught up. Like heaps of stuff piling on my plate. I don't care for it  so I plan to start posting a quick "daily vibe". Save myself the build up of anxiety :)



Back at the old homestead

An old and dear friend named Kitty passed away yesterday. She was 90 years old. She had been born and raised on some mean streets and (unlike the that 70's show character by the same name and with many commonalities) she avoided the bottle. She had seen its wild effects on her mother and rather than walk in the same feral footfalls, she nipped at life through other indulgences like music and literature. This doesn't mean that she didn't sport a little tamelessness. She was feisty and silver tongued. With her love of seafood coupled with her regular use of profanity one could truly say she had the mouth of a sailor. And from an early age she could be found on the back of a motorcycle. She was amazing and radiated warmth. There wasn't a soul who knew her that didn't love her and I personally treasure having had the opportunity to experience her presence in my life.  May she dwell forever with the ancestors. Long Live Kitty!

Well in other news.. a run away horse.. I don't intend to have THAT happen again. Up until now I have related to the horse as gentle and maybe even docile. That's not to say that I have not seen the horses galloping in the distance and not recognized their power and speed but I have gotten caught up in the sheer grace and beauty to not let the other reality weigh in as much as it should. Well fool me once but never again. I caught on pretty quick when one escaped. So it goes like this.. The tool shed needed a little repair on the wall which is located in the horse pasture. A board had come loose and needed a screw or two to reinforce it. The job went smooth and then I went to clean up. I dropped the ladder. about 5 feet from the gate to open it. In the meantime, the horses (there are five of them in the pasture) had slowly and quite quietly made their way near and were grazing contentedly. I thought nothing of it. So I opened the gate, picked up the ladder, walked back through the gate, put the ladder down just on the other side of the gate and when I turned to close it  one of the horses sauntered through.

 In a matter of mere seconds. Had the cattle guard been closed the situation would have been remedied much easier. As it was she went down the street. A neighbor whose business is horse helped us out and we quickly got her reigned in. The neighbor heavily reinforced (aka gently scolded me)  about the "Law of the West" which is about always closing your gates. Turns out a gate can be more about keeping things in than out and a closed gate isn't a sign of inhospitality and an open door.

I know I have been keeping posted on vacations and travel but much has been going on in and around the ranch. Our little Chicks are growing up and we finished up their pen (still needs a little work) just in time for the little roos to begin their first feeble attempts at crowing. The sound of those weak hesitant and croaky voices tell me we have reached bird adolescents.


After

Before

  Did I say roos? We don't want a lot of those... which means.. my research has begun on how to properly choke the chicken. Not as fun as it sounds however it is a fact of ranch life and we have to learn to cull. But not quite yet. I am just mentally preparing in advance. Anyway their new coup is up and fenced and they are thankful to have more leg room. Did you know that clipping a birds wings is not painful. That was another thing we have had to learn to do. It is quite easy by the idea was intimidating. Both Greg and I had originally thought it had to do with severing a tendon. Turns out you cut some feathers which do not have nerves.

We moved the Geese to the goat pen! Doing so has been a tremendous relief. Notice the exclamation point? The seven geese had been sharing the backyard with Lord Stanley and the Ladies since we moved in. Well as anyone who has ever been to a goose pond knows, geese are territorial and a little bit mean. I however get along with them quite well and have been allowed to waddle at the end of the line with them a time or two.  (One of Us) And if you watch and get a feel for their personalities.. they actually have a funny sense of humor. But still.. they tormented Splash and terrorized the chickens. We discovered that they were even guilty of eating the chickens eggs. (One of the hens is broody which means she wants to hatch and this was particularly traumatic to her.). Additionally, do you have any idea how much a goose poops? Its a lot. Tons. And it was all over the porch which resulted in a huge daily chore. Now no more! Additionally,  any movement in the house would set them to barking as they are very good watchdogs. The move has also been a pleasant and happy accepted one by the geese as they now have more direct contact with the horses. They get along and visit with each other daily. They seem quite content for now.

Ivan says What?!

The Oregon Mini's (one is part Sebastopol)

Check out this sunset!

We have gophers.. Lots of gophers.. Millions of them. I picked up some of these stakes which emit a vibration to chase them away from the apple tree and some other plants. They appear to be working but just because they are not right there doesn't mean they are gone. I will have to do some serious pest control soon, or find ways to gopher proof my garden such as raised beds with wire mesh bottoms. Its something that needs looking into.

Another recent adventure involved our plumbing. We had a partial clog which I was able to clear before the maintenance man arrived.  However, we checked out the system to be sure which included a trip under the house to locate the cleanouts. I feel like Im prepared to handle a larger problem now and enjoyed the adventure. It was a lot like spelunking.

Plumbs! The plumb tree has given us some delicious fruit and Wil had a good time harvesting them with me the other day.

Connor had his first cut at a real "Barber Shop" The place even had a pool table. Nice. Im thinking it might be time to get mine styled and am debating going short. hmmm..

If a tree falls in the woods.. while at Disneyland, I put aside all work and concern about what course to plot and which path to cut. But coming home, my thoughts once again turned towards what I want to take on. So many possibilities, raced through my mind as we walked the property that first night back. Then there was a loud crack and our attention was turned toward the Oak Grove. A giant branch fell. What timing that it would fall at that moment.  That we would be there to witness it. Hmmmmm..

Car talk.. You may recall that back in August of last year Greg traded his Hyabusa (sport motorcycle) for a sporty little Mitsubishi GT3000 (sports car) which promptly threw a rod through the engine and out the oil pan. It destroyed the engine. At the time we explored our options and chose to seek out another vehicle and bought a truck. Only it failed smog. Fortunately we were able to return it to the previous owner without much trouble. At that point we decided to just take care of the sport car and get her running again. It has been a drawn out and expensive process and Greg and I have been sharing the Subaru between us. But that is all over now. One big challenge off the list and just in time for the start of the school commute to begin. Very timely.

I can't believe that school is right around the corner. It starts next week. Preparations are well underway. Uniforms are in the mail, supplies are purchased. The school require parent volunteer hours. I intend to offer up my mornings after dropping the kids off which will get me to the library in time to see it open. I plan to use my days to read, write and research Speaking of writing.. I may have an actual project on the horizon. I look forward to seeing how that unfolds and will keep you posted.

Now it is time to be off and on our way to Celebrate our Grandparents 65th Anniversary. Quite an accomplishment. More on that later. First I have to go beat up my brother.... With Hugs!! ;)

Oh and one last thing.. I came across this article and video and found them to be worth mentioning..
http://www.knowledgeformen.com/10-reasons-why-no-one-knows-what-theyre-doing-in-their-20s/

On the Road Again...