One Wild and Precious Life

Just read this in the {we are} Storytellers newsletter (sign up for it here):

Mary Oliver, an American poet, once said, ""Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Wow! ". . . one wild and precious life." Yeah, that's all we get! Make the most of it is the message.

The same newsletter mentioned a mother of several children who, with summer coming upon them, sat with the kids and made up a list of "100 Things To Do This Summer." Included were things like a cupcake picnic, jump in rain puddles, and have a campout in the backyard. With a list like that the summer had no chance of just slipping away without numerous adventures, and it could all but do away with the "there's nothing to do...." whine Moms are so familiar with.

We all need lists like that. I do have one of those "100 Things to do in My Life" lists, but this "summer" list is more immediate and has simpler things on it, things that any one of which could be done on the spur of the moment on any given summer day.

Ever had plans cancelled at the last minute and suddenly found yourself with a free day? Were you able to take advantage of it and head off on a spur-of-the-moment adventure? Or did you do what I've often done . . . wander around the house, wondering what to do with the day?

What a waste of a day. Perhaps a seasonal list would work best. Four lists: winter, spring, summer, and fall, of course, with the understanding that anything on any of the four lists is allowed. A picnic in the winter would just be a different kind of a picnic (on the family room floor, perhaps?) but just as fun of an adventure as the more usual kind.

Don't forget to take photos, write in your journal, or keep a memento of every adventure.

We can't control the length of our lives, but we can control the width and the depth.

Pinnacles National Monument - Nine Mile Hike

We spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the Pinnacles National Monument near Hollister, California. This is one of our favorite places to hike and camp. We always try to go in the spring and/or fall because in the summer it is just wayyyy too hot, and in the winter it can be unbearably cold, especially at night.

Well, this visit turned out to be unseasonably warm, or should I say, HOT! It was like July or August instead of April. On the other hand, because of the recent rains the wildflowers were out in full force, and looked absolutely incredible. We saw flowers we'd never seen before, and in such quantities that they blanketed the ground in many places. And the green grass and leaves! It was really beautiful. I just wish I were a better photographer so that I could do proper justice to the gorgeous scenery.

Mike's photos are much better than mine but since he hasn't given me copies yet, and he's gone to bed, you'll have to make do with my poorer efforts!

Usually it's the Pinnacles themselves (caused by a long-ago volcanic eruption) that are the attraction . . .

. . . but this time the flora stole the show. Here are just a few of the photos I took of the wildflowers, grass, and trees:

...the easy part of our hike....LOL!

. . . hummingbirds love these. . .they are Common Monkeyflower . . .

. . . we'd never seen these before, they are called Virgin's Bower. . .

. . . not sure which member of the Pea family these purples beauties are . . .

. . . of course, California poppies were everywhere . . .
. . . amazing, even growing out of cracks in the rocks. . .

. . .switchbacks took us ever higher . . . just look at all that green. . .

. . . and what a view from up there . . .

. . . oh, and we can't forget the young, healthy poison oak EVERYWHERE. . .
my favorite plant . . . NOT!

. . we also saw this cool dude sunning himself on a rock . . .

. . . and explored Balconies Caves with teensy flashlights.

Must admit, though, that this next photo was my absolute fave of the day:

Mike, who looks so cute, and my CAR waiting patiently for us at the end of a long, hot & dry, nine-mile hike. Ahh, the pleasure of moving from one place to another while sitting still!

Amazingly, we neither of us had blisters, but I had aching hips and knees, and my feet were so tired they burned. We didn't take quite enough water but at least I did have sunblock for skin AND lips, and we wore good hats.

And you can bet the pool at the campground felt AWESOME.

Not Enough Time, Never Enough Time

My "happy" little bundle of quilting fabrics. The book contains the pattern I'll be following, called "A Piece of Summer."

This is what I want to work on this weekend.

But I have client layouts to finish up. And some things to do around the house and yard. And family to keep company with. And meals to cook. And books to read with a cat in my lap. And some sleeping (including napping). And I'm doing everything way more slowly than usual due to the current heat wave and no A/C in our little house.

Don't get me wrong. I love doing all the above. But it's still hard to be patient and let this quilt-to-be wait its turn. Honestly, I don't know HOW I ever squeezed in a full-time job!

What's awaiting your attention?

My Camera went to Lake Tahoe for Labor Day Weekend . . .

. . . and I got to stay home and do this:

Well, it's almost done now anyway! We have to spread one more load of sand to fill in the cracks between the bricks. Right after we'd dumped the first load onto the bricks our little cousins Bryce and Bradley came over for the evening while their parents went to a dinner. We couldn't have had a better playtoy than that sandpile!

As you can see the boys played out there until it was nearly dark, even after we'd gotten them fed and into their pajamas!

So fun to have a patio again! Mike barbecued out there on Monday evening. It was soooo nice. Food always tastes better when it's cooked outside. And today we had our lunch out there. I'm already thinking of looking for a pair of comfortable lounging chairs so we can lay back and read on these warm summer evenings.

At least, for as long as they last!

A Gorgeous Summer Day

It's a shimmery summer day here in Benicia, with just enough of a lovely warm breeze to set the leaves in our birch tree sighing. I'm sitting outside in the "cat garden" with my laptop and a nicer setting you couldn't find anywhere I think! It's too bad the lighting is really not too good for viewing a computer monitor! But I'll persevere at least as long as my laptop's battery holds out which is about another hour. It's just too nice of a day to be indoors (plus this is a good opportunity for me to do some deep watering of our trees and tomato plants).

The bird in this photo visited one of our hummingbird feeders a few days ago. He's definitely NOT a hummingbird, and I'm pretty sure he (or she?) visited us last year about this time as well. Naturally, I can't remember what kind of bird he is, and I'm thinking we never were really sure if he was a northern tangier or an oriole, even though we checked our bird guides. He's got an orange head and body and tail, with brown/black/grey on his wings and belly. If anyone knows what kind of bird this is, please let me know!

We've got lots of hummers right now, too, and mockingbirds. The mockingbirds usually nest somewhere nearby and sometimes dive-bomb our cats when they are in the garden. As if the cats could get anywhere NEAR the nests! They are well-confined to their garden, but I guess the mockers don't know that and, after all, a few years ago our male Burmese cat, Tony, did find a mockingbird nest (they nest in evergreen trees only about 3 feet from the ground, how foolish is that?) and killed all three of the babies just before they fledged. It was tragic.

Mike is at work today and, can you believe it, he had to work on the Fourth! I was NOT happy about that, nor am I pleased he is working today. It's a shame he has to miss this gorgeous weather. No one should be inside on a day like this. And I just noticed that a pure white gladiolus has sprung up and bloomed! We planted bulbs years and years ago and didn't do a good job cultivating them so over the years we've had fewer and fewer. Last year I'm not sure we had any at all and now, out of the blue, popped this one tall stalk with a dozen buds, the lowest three already blooming. I often think things like that are "signs."

I wonder what it means?