Spring Yellow.

I'm on a little road trip in California and every thing is spring shiny yellow.

Bountiful blossoms in every shade of sunshine: 

Canary, Buttermilk, Buttercup, Cream, 

Lemon, Afternoon Sunlight, Dandelion, Chiffon Dream,

Custard, Banana, Chick and Duckling, Bee,

Corn, Pencil, Taxi Cab, Autumnal Tree.

I hope your day is filled with golden light, a blossom or two

and colors that make you think in pictures.

Road Trip, Day Twenty Eight: Home.

Twenty eight days of open road.

Here are some of the highlights and things learned.

The practical: You can never have too much music, you can however have too many shoes.

Bringing your favorite pillow saves you. Hot tea is even good the next day as iced tea

when you forget to drink it and it freezes. You need a lot less than you think you need.

The must have list: Headlamp, hiking boots, down jacket, sleeping bag, art supplies,

a good book, pillow, a few changes of clothes, camera, little bags to put seed pods,

bay leaves, sea glass, succulent starts, and rocks into, and a backpack.

The mental: Your mind can become very clean after a month on the road.

If you forget who you are, or have momentarily lost your way, I suggest travel.

It helps to see the world in all its vastness. There is SO MUCH out there.

And although it feels so good to be in my very own bed tonight,

I already have the itch to get back out there.

There are so many of us, doing such interesting things.

There are so many lives. So many ecosystems. So many creatures. So many plants.

There are so many colors, smells, textures, shapes. My great friend Lori talks

about the idea of "eyes on fire" when you find inspiration in the world.

I definitely feel inspired. I feel full and empty all at the same time, both in a good way.

The physical: We live in a crazy time. There is so much going wrong,

global warming, ice caps melting, war, shootings, extinction, oil spills, horrid things.

But there also is so much going right. There are so many kind moments of

folks helping others. Traveling alone you spend whole days not talking,

and when you come into a town just making eye contact with someone can

mean more than a whole conversation. It's interesting to see all the various

ways people are tending to life, giving to others, building community.

It was nice to step out of mine and into others, and to be welcomed.

Lastly tonight I would like to thank all my hosts.

There was so much generosity of place, time and spirit. 

Thank you friends.

Warm hugs go out to: Mary and George, Tony and Jona, the kind caretakers

of the many yurts and cabins (especially Jug Handle Creek), Steve and Janet,

Lisa and Barry, Kaye and Adam, my wonderful Mother, Sage and Jane, 

Marylee and Jack, Tessa and Julia, Aunt Pat, Uncle Ken, KD and JR.

My door in Portland is always open and the kettle is on.

Road Trip, Day Twenty Seven: Davis Continued...

I had to spend another day in Davis as the car was still in the shop.

I was flabbergasted to see all the unpicked fruit in almost every yard.

I wanted to shake these Californians and say:

"People! You have Meyer lemons growing in your front yard! Get busy squeezing!"

And then I found it hilarious to go to the co-op which was filled with 

basket after basket of fresh citrus. Perhaps we only value what we have to pay for?

It's something to ponder. 

I walked all day along the residential streets of Davis.

Enjoying the little cottages and creative touches.

The little white cottage with the turquoise screen door really captured my heart.

I think I was homesick.

Road Trip, Day Twenty Six: Davis, CA.

Sometimes things don't go as planned.

Today the plan was to drive to Ashland, stay in a little cottage,

be in the arms of Oregon. But here I am in Davis, CA.

The car is in the shop, I'm in a nowhere USA hotel,

and I get a chance to practice going with the flow.

And sometimes you get just what you need,

even if you don't know you need it.

Great sunny day walking around downtown Davis,

smelled the local bookshop, did some thrifting,

took myself to the movies, ate a makeshift salad in the bed of the hotel.

And the gift of it all is that mostly we get to be happy anywhere.

We get to choose joy. We get to choose adventure even in the face

of frustration or disappointment. The world is full, truly filled

with opportunities. Today I see that, and am so grateful.

And the world is also full of helpers.

Thanks to the kind guys at Jiffy Lube, the AAA tow truck driver, 

and the folks at AAMCO who were kind and calm when it seemed

like the car was going to explode. It's a fantastic window

with a view when you get to see the humanness of people

and you get to let them see it in you.

Road Trip, Day Twenty Three: Hike at Hidden Villa.

Great morning hike with my cousin. Fungi galore!

Hiked to the top of Elephant Mountain with great views

then down into the bay leaf tree lined valley with a creek

babbling through it. Perfect conditions for mushroom growth.

A long time ago I came to farm camp here at Hidden Villa

and won the award for least disposable lunch.

I brought the whole lunch wrapped in a bandana on a stick,

hobo style. Probably not very politically correct. 

At farm camp we learned about "velcro plants", printing ferns, lanolin.

The smells of Hidden Villa remain the same: 

Bay leaves, compost, and sheep...a delicious combination.

Road Trip, Day Twenty Two: Chinatown, San Francisco.

Chinatown has so many memories for me. As a child we would have

family walkabouts here, where all the cousins on my Dad's side

woud meet in the city for some exploring and time together.

We always bought flowers that sprouted from clam shells 

when dropped in glasses of water. I yearly got a new silk coat,

and black mary jane flats with flowers embroidered on the toes.

We would eat a gloriously large dinner and talk about the old days

when my parents and cousins would come here with their 

parents and cousins. And so, the cycle continues...

Road Trip, Day Twenty: Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco.

Mom and I spent the late morning wandering the humid greenhouses of the

Conservatory of Flowers. A delight for all the senses. Beauty for the eyes,

textures, shapes and colors. Beauty for the nose, orchids with their sweet 

and sensual perfume. Beauty for the skin and ears, as the mist hisses

and fills the air with moisture that reminds me of the rain forests of Costa Rica.

I suppose taste was left out, but we ate a delicious meal of smoked fish and salad

later in the day. They also had a photo booth set up in the middle of the Conservatory,

and we had too much fun and cried with laughter at the results. We also visited the 

the Japanese Garden. So calm and orderly after the wild vivacious abundance

at the Conservatory. Both places and styles bring happiness to parts of my brain

and heart. I love the wild abandon, but I also love the precise control.

It was a beautiful day in the City by the Bay, blue skies, warm, no jacket required.

Road Trip, Day Eighteen: Hiking in the Baylands.

Marshes, sweet smell of fennel, true blue skies, geese, ducks, egrets,

winding waterways, pillar art to balance on, and wings in flight.

Road Trip, Day Seventeen: Walkabout, Palo Alto, CA.

 I spent the morning on a long image hunt walk around my home town.

There were plant textures to capture, a sweet dead bird to wish well,

on old cabin to pretend to live in, my long time favorite curved roof house

to enjoy once again, and tulip magnolias and blue skies...

deep gratitude for a bit of spring.

Road Trip, Day Sixteen: Things I Love.

Not many photos today.

But I will share with you my recent, Things I Love, list.

It was definitely inspired by my thoughts of home,

what that means, when I will have it again, and how it feels.

bent wood chairs, oil lamps, wood stoves, wooden family tables, old patchwork quilts,

woven rugs, jars of flowers, nesting mixing bowls, old ticking pillowcases, down comforters,

wool shirts, mismatched china with floral patterns, woven baskets, heavy white mugs of tea,

hand thrown pottery, norwegian ski socks, granny square afghans, wool blankets,

baskets of firewoods, music with a fiddle, hay lofts, goats, watercolor sets that look messy,

old leather lace up boots, wool long johns, enamelware, a sharp knife, cloth napkins,

clothespin bags that hang on the clothesline, claw foot tubs, zinnias, cosmos, beeswax candles,

the smell of woodsmoke, smoked salt, wrap around porches, porch swings, the ocean,

singing around a campfire, mushrooms sautéed in ghee, collections of rocks, wooden benches,

lines of boots all in a row, curtains waving in a breeze, washing camp dishes, 

cabins in the woods, the smell of ears, tea with coconut milk, old paintbrushes, bird watching,

searching the water for whales, wild edible plants, huckleberries, the smell of dirty hats,

aprons, the scent of cedar, a fireplace, barn wood, pantries with glass jars full of stores,

rain on a metal roof, floor pillows, hiking, waterfalls, icicles, gardens fenced for deer,

the smell of rotting apples, bowls of abundant fruit, dried plums, pinecones, wildflowers,

fabric with eyelets, constellations, hand knit scarves, fingerless gloves, blooming clover,

neatly stacked wood piles, moss and lichen, rooflines with scallops, clogs, 

outhouses with moons cut in the door or fantastic views, snow on evergreen boughs,

sunlight filtering through leaves, printing ferns, cursive typewriters, wooden greenhouses,

red cabooses, cedar shingles, weathered wood, log cabins, rocking chairs, leather cording,

golden pastures with daisies, watercolors and gouache, acorns, fiddleheads, buckeyes,

river and lake swimming, old barns, wearing someone else's shirt, hand carved wooden spoons, 

blue mason jars, pepper grinders, cast iron, tree houses, down jackets, hammocks with quilts. 

Maroon Tricholoma   Habitat: on conifer logs and stumps.

Road Trip, Day Fifteen: Hiking the Stanford Hills.

Dramatic hike in the Stanford hills. Gnarled oaks set against bright skies.

Voluminous clouds, bright white, floating by. Rolling hills, rolling conversation,

 sunshine, short sleeves, cattle grazing, squirrels nibbling, fresh bay air...good day.

Road Trip, Day Fourteen: Santa Cruz, CA.

It was the first overcast and rainy day of my adventure.

Spent the drizzly day with friends in Santa Cruz, catching up,

eating salad with delicious avocados, and walking to the beach

to watch the many surfers ride the large stormy waves.