Get Yer Boogie On!
No birthday party would be complete without some glow toys! This is Kelsie, rocking the LED hoop AND the glow poi at the same time. Boy, we sure have some talented friends! We had a great time at Seneca's 29th birthday fiesta! :)
Raw Vegan Lemon Cashew Cheesecake
I made Seneca a raw vegan organic Lemon Cashew Cheesecake for his birthday fiesta. The recipe is from the
Cafe Gratitude cookbook. It turned out amazing, and we served it with Coconut Bliss ice cream. Mmm!
Mike Broke It!
Seneca's 29th birthday party was a Fiesta, so of course we had to get a piñata. It took several tries, but our friend Mike finally broke through and organic candy spilled out everywhere! Some things are just too fun to outgrow, and piñatas are one of them!
Groovin'
We had a house full of friends for Seneca's 29th birthday party. And of course, we all got together to play music! Here's the crew, drumming away in our living room.
Seneca, Dance & Niko
Seneca turned 29, and we threw a big birthday party at our house. Here's the birthday boy with our friends' baby, Dance, and Niko, who seems jealous that someone else is getting attention!
Doodles!
I participated in a doodle swap! Several designers/creative types got together online & organized it. We create 8 doodles on little trading cards, send them out, and receive 8 from different people. Fun!
These are all 8 doodles, ready to be shipped off to their new homes. In return, I'll get 8 doodles made by different artists.
Kitty Toy
Maya loves her new cat charmer toy! It came in my HOWie secret santa package this year - there was something for the whole family! I participate in a secret santa exchange every year, organized by an online design community. Thanks secret santa for letting Maya get some exercise on a rainy winter day! :)
Valley View
Mendocino County sure is beautiful! We have just started looking at property to get an idea of where we want to buy a little slice of heaven! This will be a long process of course, but now is a great time to start manifesting our dreams of owning some land, living off of it, and starting a market garden & orchard! This property was east of Comptche.
Noyo Come-Unity Garden
The Noyo Come-Unity Garden in January 2010. (That big spiky plant in the foreground is an artichoke - wow!) We said goodbye to the Noyo Come-Unity Garden after a couple years of greatness. Hopefully someone else can use our plot better than we can - we just have too much garden at home!
Time for Picking
The meyer lemon tree is finally ready for a harvest! I got this tree from friends for my birthday, and it's been in our garden & hoop house since. It just finally finished some ripe lemons in early January. Mmm... meyer lemons are amazing, especially right off the tree!
Stephen Kent & Ondřej Smejkal
First concert of 2010! We watched two didgeridoo masters share the stage: Stephen Kent & Ondřej Smejkal, at the Grange Hall in nearby Philo. They both had very different styles but are AMAZING musicians. It was an awesome show.
Blue Moon
New Year's Eve was a blue moon. These tree branches are lit by a big bonfire in a backyard in Oakland... taken just after midnight. We went to a party near our friends' warehouse to watch homemade flame-shooting robots battle. It was pretty crazy, but it got boring when they had technical difficulties with the robots.
Us in Costume
Here's Seneca and I at the warehouse party in Oakland, where we went to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends. Of course we had to wear crazy costumes - just because we can! It was a fun way to ring in 2010.
Party with the King
For New Year's Eve, we went to a party at our friends' warehouse in Oakland. Of course there were costumes! This is Eric, Shawna, Mike & Kelsie at the party.
Boys on the Beach
The pooches missed their favorite beach, Big River Beach, while we were away for the holidays! As soon as we got home we took them for a little romp in the sand.
Hahaha! Dad's Bikini
This is probably my favorite picture from the holidays! We have a white elephant gift exchange every Christmas with family. We exchange the most ridiculous thrift store or homemade items we can find, then fight over them. Dad opened up this very special bikini and even kinda tried it on! Someone put cups and bottle nipples in the bra, and duct taped up the bottoms to make a thong. Hilarious!
We're One Big Happy Family
Family on Christmas Eve at my parents' house in Boise. Mom, Susan, me, dad, Rachel, Aaron, Wes, and Emily pile on the staircase for the obligatory Christmas photo. Emily is sporting her new "what-the-fuggie," which is some sort of Amish version of a Snuggie. It was pretty hilarious.
Holidays = Cheer!
Christmas Eve in Boise put my family in good spirits. Or maybe it was the spirits! Rachel shows off the bottle of Crown Royal we found, I'm holding wine, and my aunt Susan is the only innocent bystander in this photo!
Mini Reunion
It was great catching up with so many good friends from high school while in Boise for the holidays! Here's Jen Jen, Katherine, Matt, Mitch and I at Kat's house for a mini-reunion.
Niko + Snow
We went up to Boise, Idaho for the holidays to visit family & friends. Of course Juneau and Niko came with us! We aren't sure if Niko has ever experienced snow before, but he seemed to like it. He tried to eat it, of course, but was very confused and cautious when we first let him meet the snow at the top of Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevadas. Apparently he only likes it if it's not so deep that he gets stuck in it!
Moscow Crew Reunion
We got to see some of our friends from Moscow while we were in Boise, Idaho for the holidays! Here's Ross, Seneca, Andy, Crystal, Cameron, and Tanya at Madhuban, where we had delicious Indian food and caught up with old friends. Yay for the holidays!
Holiday Card
This is the holiday card we sent out (via e-mail) for Christmas '09. The drawing is a doodle that I made for a doodle swap I'm participating in.
Pal is Funny
Our friend Pal sure is entertaining! We had a birthday party for our friend Kipper, and Pal brought "froggles" - frog goggles, and a frog instrument to add to our drum circle. His "hat" is actually a big gourd that Seneca uses to amplify his didgeridoo. Apparently it's a multi-purpose toy. :)
Treasures
The best way to end a clear December day is to watch the sunset and gather treasures on a beach. I found these pieces of abalone shell and sea glass at Van Damme Beach, just south of Mendocino.
Van Damme Beach
Niko loves the water! Here he is splashing in the ocean (in December, no less) at Van Damme Beach. We watched the sunset there with friends.
Glow
We watched the sunset from Van Damme beach one day in early December with friends. Clear days in the winter are hard to come by, so we take advantage of the nice weather by going to the beach! We have the best sunsets!
Makings of a Homegrown Meal
Celery, purple potatoes, sunchokes, fennel, and brussels sprouts - all from the garden - are ready to be prepared into a delicious meal. I made potato-fennel soup with steamed brussels sprouts on the side. I love that we can eat from the garden all year long!
Portland from Pittock Mansion
We toured the Pittock mansion over Thanksgiving weekend in Portland. There is a great view of the city from the property, an old mansion that has since become a museum and historical building.
Cousins Touring the Mansion
We went to the Pittock Mansion over Thanksgiving weekend with our mom, aunt & cousins. Here's Bridgette, Katie, Rachel, and I at the pretty decorated mansion. It's a historical museum now, and a really neat old place that gets all decked out for the holidays.
The Family that Keeps Getting Bigger!
Almost the entire Pru Crew fit in this photo, taken at Thanksgiving at my aunt & uncle's house in Portland, OR. Lots of new additions to the family keep arriving!
Crazy Cousins
Lots of cousins piled on the couch at Thanksgiving! Here are Esther, Austin, Sam, Emma (holding Aidan), and Karyn. There are a couple generations of cousins going on here!
Rachel Holding Mallory (with Larry sneaking up)
My sister Rachel holds my cousin Joan's baby, Mallory, while my uncle Larry sneaks up behind her. Mallory has the cutest pigtails ever! Thanksgiving in Portland was a time of fun with family, adorable kids, yummy food, and, well, Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Buffet
This was only part of our huge Thanksgiving buffet. I visited family in Portland, OR. We fit over 30 people in my aunt & uncle's new home for Thanksgiving dinner. It was the first time in quite a while that almost the whole Pru Crew was together in one place! I made a tofurky, of course, and served it with chanterelle mushroom gravy made from the chanterelles we picked. Mmm! Good times with good family + great food = happy me! :)
Newest Member of the Pru Crew - Aidan
I visited family in Portland, OR for Thanksgiving weekend. It was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting little Aidan, my cousin Lynn's baby boy. Isn't he cute? I'm sure the red hair means he's going to be trouble! :)
Delicious Dinner
After a day of mushroom picking with friends, we made a fabulous pre-Thanksgiving dinner! We made Celebration Roast, mashed potatoes & sunchokes, chanterelle mushroom gravy, garlic bread, cooked collards and salad from the garden for a dinner party. And we topped it all off with local red wine. Mmm!
Insane Chanterelle Harvest
This wasn't even all of our pickings! We went mushroom picking with some friends and came home with an insane chanterelle harvest! We made lots of chanterelle mushroom gravy with them, and even had plenty for Thanksgiving dinners! Mmm...
Sen, Paula & Rick with Our Harvest
We found bags of chanterelle mushrooms at a friend's family property! Here is Seneca, Paula, and Rick showing off some of the goods. Once the rain starts, the mushrooms start popping up. Luckily there aren't many things that look like chanterelles, they're easy to distinguish. And boy are they tasty!
Bright Colored Fungi
We went mushroom picking on a friend's family's property near Fort Bragg in late November. As soon as the rains come, the fungi soon follow! I'm not sure what kind this one is, but I'm pretty sure it's not edible. Fungi are an interesting lot, that's for sure. We ended up finding chanterelles, my favorite wild mushroom!
Looking Down at the Blowhole
Here's the scariest view of the blowhole - as seen from the forest floor above! It's really quite deep, and steep. The foam at the bottom is the edge of the waves coming through the tunnel. Sometimes the entire floor of the blowhole is covered in ocean waves when the tide is high.
Tunnels
Tunnels upon tunnels: a fallen tree at the base of the sinkhole creates a portal to view the tunnel going out to the light and the sea. Taken in late November at the spot near Little River that we call "the blowhole."
At the Blowhole
Here's a nice little cross-section of the "blowhole" in Little River. The tunnel goes out to sea and the sand is the bottom of a huge sinkhole. Trees fall down like the one on the left, and ferns grow up the sides of this deep sinkhole in the middle of the coastal forest.
Blowhole Tunnel
I never get tired of taking photos of this spot. "The Blowhole" as we call it, is a big sinkhole in nearby Little River with a tunnel going out to the sea. Water fills up the little "beach" that has formed at the bottom. The climb down is treacherous and steep, but thankfully there is climbing rope to help. Come visit us, and we'll take you to see it! :)
Radish Sprouts
Radishes sprouting in the hoop house in late November. Isn't winter gardening beautiful? Radishes are the closest thing a gardener gets to instant gratification - they grow really quickly, even in the winter cold. These lucky radishes live in our hoop house, where they get a little extra warmth and protection. Mmm!
Ferns & Pond Reflection
We went for a hike in Russian Gulch, just north of Mendocino, in mid November. We found ponds, mushrooms, and even some fish ladders (which we thought were a bit odd).
Glorious Redwoods
We went for a lovely winter hike in mid-November in Russian Gulch, just north of Mendocino. There were lots of mushrooms about in the damp forest, and lots of glorious redwoods towering above. Fall is beautiful in Mendoland! :)
Preparing a Bed in the Hoop House
Seneca prepares a bed in the hoop house for winter gardening. Things grow more slowly in the winter, but they do grow! Which means year-round gardening (and year-round work) for us. It's worth it, trust me.
Buddha Surrounded by Greenery
Buddha is getting a bit overgrown in the garden. Wet weather means lots of weeds and grass start taking over! We are blessed to be able to grow some food year-round in our climate, which means fennel, spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, and greens even in winter! This photo was taken in mid-November. Now, Buddha is even more difficult to see among the grass & plants!
Pooches on the Edge
Winter brings big waves to the coast. A great place to watch them is Pomo Bluffs in Fort Bragg, which is conveniently very close to a disc golf course that Seneca is always insisting we play at. The pooches get a little too close to the edge of those bluffs though!
Hall of 10,000 Buddhas
We ate at the vegetarian restaurant at the City of 10,000 Buddhas, a Buddhist monastery campus, near Ukiah, CA. The food was delicious and the campus was beautiful. This is the "Hall of 10,000 Buddhas," but we didn't go in and count to see if there were actually 10,000 Buddhas in there... we should do that sometime. :)
The Girls
Kelsie the lion, Paula the woodland fairy, and the devil (me) are having fun out on the town on Halloween! It was a gorgeous night to be out in a rather skimpy costume, yay!
Poi at the Block Party
There was also fire dancing at the Halloween Block Party in Mendocino! You can't have Halloween without a little fire! :)
Awesome!
We went to downtown Mendocino to the Halloween block party in front of Frankie's. Flynn Creek Circus performed some pretty amazing trapese stunts - this one is simply amazing (and boy, I bet she's dizzy).
Devilish Me & Dudely Sen
Me the Devil and Sen the Dude (from the Big Lebowski) went to our friends' house before going out on the town on Halloween. This picture was taken shortly after the Dude had spilled his drink on his thrift store v-neck shirt. How dude-like!
Sun Going Down
After a long day of disc golfing and eating thai food, we stopped for a walk to the bluffs to watch the sunset. We got to the ocean just in time to watch the sun light up the water and then dip over the edge. Damn I love our sunsets.
Loaded Basket
Fall brings bounty in the garden! We harvested beets, butternut and sweet meat squash, cherry tomatoes, brussels sprouts, onions, peppers, green beans, broccoli, and much more! All organic and homegrown, and about to be eaten. The rewards of gardening are many... and tasty!
Waves in the Tunnel
We took Josh & Cory to "the blowhole" near the Little River cemetery while they were visiting. There is a really cool tunnel going out to the ocean there and the tide was low enough to walk in and take some pictures of the glowing waves crashing in. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Juneau & Niko in Seaweed
We visited Portuguese Beach down below the bluffs of Mendocino Village while Josh & Cory were visiting. A lot of seaweed had washed up on the beach (some of which we collected for our compost pile). Juneau & Niko loved running through it!
Josh Likes Heights
Crazy freakin' monkey! Josh had to climb this huge old oak tree on Anderson Valley Brewing's disc golf course. Can't say I blame him, but I have no idea how he got up that high!
Cory & Josh Love the Summer Solstice
Cory & Josh came up from Santa Cruz to visit us one fine October weekend. It was beautiful weather, so we went to Boonville to go disc golfing. The best part about the disc golf course is that it's at Anderson Valley Brewery. They loved the Summer Solstice, which is my favorite brew, too. Mmm!
Spin Jam at the Flags
On Sunday we had a hoop & spin jam in the sacred circle of flags. It was beautiful! Jerry spun poi while Mindy, Kelsie and I hooped. This hooping spot is almost as good as our hoop group spot at home!
Mendotians at Barter Faire
I think this is my favorite picture of barter faire '09! Kelsie, Ottie, Sen & Pal love barter faire! The family was all together this year, yay!
Fire Performance
Bioluminescence performed a fire show Saturday night at the main stage at Tonasket barter faire. They had all kinds of fire props. My favorite was the jump rope of flame in the middle.
Mike Spinning Staff at Main Circle
Mike spun fire staff at the main circle Saturday night and rocked it! By the way, everyone is so bundled up in all these pictures because it was EPICALLY cold this year. I think it got down to 9 degrees. Brr! No wonder we all wanted to play with fire. :)
Hoop Mamas
Some of my favorite ladies from different places hooping together. The circle brings us together! Kelsie, Hillary, and Crystal hoop Saturday afternoon at the barter faire.
Basket Weaving
One of the many activities going on Saturday afternoon at the barter faire (besides pressing apple cider or dance classes) was weaving baskets! There are all kinds of things you can see and learn just walking around...
My Grrs!
My favorite part of barter faire this year was bringing all our friends together in one big family - from Idaho and Mendo. Our camp was a hub for so many people we love. It rocked! Here I am with some of my favorite ladies from Moscow, Tanya & Crystal!
Me Fire Hooping
I'm no longer a fire-hoop virgin! I tried Kelsie's fire hoop and lit up Friday night of the barter faire near our camp. It was a bit intimidating, but awesome!
Carrying the Yome
I didn't know what a yome was until our friends Pal & Ottie got one and brought it to Burning Man. The yome is now a festival icon (notice it's still covered in playa dust). I spotted them setting it up near the entrance but had to stop them because we'd saved them a spot in our camp. So we just picked it up and carried it through the barter faire to set it up closer to home. :)
Ripples
I always love photographing the sacred circle of flags near the entrance of the Okanogan Family Faire (aka Tonasket Barter Faire). They're up on a little hill near the main gate, welcoming everyone and always fluttering in the wind. They create a calming and powerful circle and we always have to visit it at least once during the weekend.
Swoop
We had the best fire dancers in our camp! This is Jerry spinning poi snakes. He definitely lit up our camp on Thursday night at the barter faire!
Kelsie Fire Hooping
Kelsie lit up her new fire hoop for the fist time at Tonasket Barter Faire '09! She rocked it right behind our camp on Thursday night. Yeah!
Chewy Making Potato Pancakes
We arrived at the Tonasket Barter Faire extra early this year so we could save a spot for our whole crew. It's so empty in this picture! Here's Crystal (aka Chewy) flipping a big tasty potato pancake for breakfast on Thursday morning just after we set up camp. Woohoo!
Under the Moon
I hooped with my LED hoop the entire time the man was burning at Burning Man. A nice guy named James Kirby took some pictures of me and was kind enough to share them with me. It was also a full moon on that night - magical!
Beautiful Temple
My favorite art project at
Burning Man was the temple. It's a huge interactive project made of wood, this year with intricate panels inspired by different cultures around the outside. Everyone writes tributes and stories about loved ones they've lost, and at the end of the week, the entire thing goes up in flames. Pretty powerful.
Sun Peeking Up
We watched several sunrises during
Burning Man because night time was much more bearable to be out and about than during the hot day! Here's one sun rise - the sun is peeking over the mountains on the edge of the playa.
The Man Burns!
Our most epic adventure of the year was at
Burning Man. Sadly, the playa is a very harsh place and it ate my camera! The screen broke and then it kept deleting pictures, so I only have a handful of pictures of the experience. Guess we'll have to go back next year, it was amazing!
This is "the man" burning on Friday night - they build a huge Man sculpture and burn it at the end in a giant bonfire. This year's theme was "evolution".
Huge Cinammon Roll
My cousin Emma & my mom show off the hugest cinnamon roll we've ever seen at The Huckleberry restaurant in McCall, Idaho during our "Pru Crew Campout." We only needed to order one of these bad boys for the whole family!
Happy Destiny
Katie & Bridgette's dog Destiny LOVES to swim in Payette Lake. She'll swim herself exhausted, so she has to wear a doggy life jacket to help keep her afloat! It's hilarious watching her, because she splashes and then tries to eat the splashes in front of her as she swims. And it's very very difficult to get her to come out of the water.
On the Lake
Here's my cousin Katie, sister Rachel, and Katie's wife Bridgette hanging out in front of Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho. Every year the family gets together for a "campout" (even though it's been forever since we've actually camped) and every other year it's at my parents' cabin in McCall. Good times!
Mojitos!
My mother had never tried mojitos, so at the "Pru Crew Campout" in McCall, Idaho, we had to make her some! Here's my mom, sister, cousin & I enjoying our favorite refreshing summer beverage! Mmm!
New LED Hoop!
We ordered a fun LED hoop from
Holistic Hooping just in time for Burning Man. It's awesome, as you can see from this picture taken the first night time test run with it! It has half slow color-changing and half fast color-changing LED lights inside the hoop tubing, and collapses into three pieces for easy travel. It's my new favorite toy!
Proof that Men can Hoop
We have a weekly hoop group up on the bluffs overlooking Mendocino Bay. Usually it's just me & some girlfriends, but sometimes their boyfriends join us. Mike even tried out a hoop - not bad! That's our cute little village and the bay behind him.
Green Beans
Our pole beans did very well this year - we had two tall trellises full of different varieties, plus some bush beans surrounding them. Fresh green beans are delicious steamed and we added them to many a dinner! Next year I want to plant even more!
Sweet Niko
Our new pup, Niko, is a sweetie. He is still learning to stay out of the garden beds though! He and Juneau "help" us in the garden. Here he is looking shy andhanging out next to the freshly mulched broccoli bed.
Potato Blend
We planted two kinds of potatoes this year: yukon golds and all blues. We harvested and are still enjoying both. The all blues are purple all the way to the center and very beautiful! They also seemed to produce more potatoes than the yukon golds, though many of them were pretty small. We had an amazing potato harvest, not bad for our first time growing them. Maybe we've still got some Idaho in us after all...
Beautiful Harvest
I love summer harvests! This harvest from our garden includes jade and yellow zucchini, broccoli, strawberries, snap peas, lemon cucumbers, and blueberries. These are the delicious, colorful fruits of our labors!
Burning Man Tickets!
Look what we got in the mail, finally - tickets to our first
Burning Man! It's an annual event held in the Nevada desert, and it's like nothing else on earth - a celebration of art, self-expression, and community. The tickets themselves are a work of art!
Beautiful Salad
You know it's summer when the salads are this colorful! This is a big salad our friend Kelsie made, all with veggies, greens, and flowers from her garden. The flowers are all edible and are nasturtiums (red ones), a big pansy (purple one), and calendula petals.
Nasturtiums & Beans Bed
We had so many beautiful colors of nasturtiums pop up all over our garden like weeds! In some areas, we just let them grow. Here they are sharing space with our pole beans (on the trellises). Nasturtiums are edible, and we use them on salads. They have a crisp, peppery flavor, and they grow insanely well around here, so we eat a lot of them!
NFF Earth Day Flyer
I designed a poster, flyer, ads, etc. for the Noyo Food Forest's annual Earth Day celebration. It was held on my birthday and the posters were all over town advertising the event. It was beautiful and there was a great turn out this year! For more on Noyo Food Forest, one of my favorite local organizations, check out
their web site.
Purple Podded Peas
We grew a lot of purple veggies in the garden this year, including brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and these purple-podded peas. They had the most beautiful purple flowers, and then turned into these pretty purple peas. Unfortunately, the purple is only skin-deep, the peas inside are green.
Bee in the Borage
Bees just loved our borage plants this summer! They'd always be buzzing around the flowers, giving me plenty of opportunities to take their pictures. Here's a big fuzzy bee. Thanks for pollinating our garden, little guy! We'll definitely be planting more borage next year - though it spreads and re-seeds a lot, so probably around the edges of the garden!
Solar Living Institute Gate
Seneca took bio-diesel courses at the
Solar Living Institute in nearby Hopland. Here's a picture he took of the front gate. They have really amazing grounds, complete with all kinds of green & sustainable demonstrations.
Ring Around Michelle
Michelle hoops on the beach for the last time before she moved down to Santa Cruz. Sunsets make a great hooping backdrop for these silhouette pictures!
Chasing the Ball
We played soccer on the beach during our friends' going away party in Cleone. Mendo misses you, Eric & Michelle! What a beautiful party and a great day for playing on the beach.
Zucchini Blossom
This is a huge flower on a little bitty yellow zucchini. We have several kinds of zucchini planted, this one was part of a "tri-color blend." I'm excited, zucchini is one of my favorite veggies! It seems to be very prolific around here. The flowers can also be eaten and stuffed, and there's definitely a lot of possibilities for using this delicious summer squash. I see lots of zucchini bread in our near future!
Poppy
We have the most unusual but beautiful poppies blooming along the fence in our garden. I love the ruffly edges. They don't stay open for very long, so we have to enjoy them while we can!
Swirls of Flame
We went to the beach for the 4th of July, where there were lots of people, bonfires, drums and other music, fireworks, and fire dancers like this guy. It was more crowded than any other nights we've spent on the beach, but very lively and fun. This fire dancer was really good at spinning poi. I wanna learn how to do this!
It's Warm in Here
In between load of laundry, Maya jumped into the warm dryer and enjoyed a cozy spot. She's so silly!
Lady Liberty Float
This was one of the more elaborate floats at the Mendocino 4th of July Parade - Lady Liberty in chains. "Obama" was pulling the chains, and he had signs saying things like "WTO" and "NAFTA" pinned to him. Pretty awesome political commentary. I loved the quote on the back of the float: "An Informed America is a FREE AMERICA." The flags are a combination of the US, Canadian, and Mexican flags, alluding to the North American Union that may just be right around the corner. Scary.
Peace on Parade
We had fun watching the silly and outspoken Mendocino 4th of July parade in town. We especially liked these peaceniks on the march, they were colorful, and obviously peaceful! The parade is apparently a big event. We have never seen our little village so crowded, it was insane!
That Was a Banana Slug for Peace
We got to experience our first Mendocino 4th of July Parade this year. It was quite amusing! This little town has so much character, and it really comes out at the parade. There were all kinds of floats and people in costumes, including gardeners handing out plants and walking with goats, this "banana slug for peace" and quite a few political-themed floats and many representing local businesses and organizations. Quite a way to start off the 4th!
Clearing & Harvesting Fava Beans
We planted fava beans in our community garden plot at the Noyo Come-Unity Garden last fall. I spent a day harvesting the fava beans and clearing most of them, leaving a few to finish because I filled my bag to the brim! Fava beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and they grow well here over the winter. Now that the bed is clear, we can start some more veggies for the fall! The fernlike plants in the middle of this picture are garbanzo beans!
California Wonder Pepper
We're growing heat-loving crops like this California Wonder Pepper in our hoop house. It's amazing that such small pepper plants can support these big peppers! I'm hoping to wait until it starts turning red to harvest. Also in our hoop house are tomatoes, melons, eggplant, and always another round or two of seedlings being started to plant out in the garden.
Enjoying the Meal & the Weather
Me & Sen are waiting for the next course at "Namaste Cafe" - a big raw vegan dinner at our friend Sara's house. She's an awesome raw food chef and served over 30 people at this meal. It was fabulous!
Friends at Dinner
Sylvia (feeding Dance), Monkey, Pal & Ottie awaiting the next course of raw vegan deliciousness. We had a blast at this raw food dinner in Comptche. It was great meeting new people and enjoying several delicious courses of organic raw food. We donated greens, radishes, and broccoli for the salad from our garden.
Sara Starts Dinner
We went to a friend's house in Comptche for "Namaste Cafe" - a big raw/vegan meal planned and prepared by Sarah (standing in the photo). It was amazing! There were over 30 people there and we all ate at a big table, sitting on the grass, outside. It was a beautiful experience and a delicious meal that came in several courses. So yummy and a wonderful way to spend a summer evening!
I Love My Tomatoes
This is officially my favorite self-portrait! I love sticking my face into the jungle of tomato plants. Yes, I know, I'm weird. But they smell so good! I held the camera inside the tomato plants as I stuck my head in. We have a tomato jungle going on in the hoop house, it's pretty crazy how fast they've been growing!
Purple Cauliflower
Purple cauliflower is just one of the many purple veggies we're growing. This one ended up being a bit greener (and much bigger) when we harvested it. It had purple tips and purple-tinged leaves, but was green inside the florets. Very interesting and beautiful (and delicious, of course).
Spiral of Brassicas
My favorite bed in the garden is a spiral shape where we planted various types of broccoli and cauliflower. It's been filling in nicely this summer. The blueberry bushes are in half-circle shaped rows behind the spiral. There are lots of rounded shapes in our garden, and the fence forms a large circular shape that lends itself to rounded and irregular shaped beds. Right angles are for squares!
Peas
The purple-podded peas are different and beautiful. Behind them you can see the rubine brussels sprouts, which have purple stems and will hopefully produce purple sprouts. We have lots of purple varieties of veggies in the garden, too: broccoli, cauliflower, tomatillos, and potatoes. It's nice to add some color to the garden (and our plates)!
Purple Potato Flowers
We're growing two kinds of potatoes in the same beds: yukon golds and true blues. The true blues seem to have flowered first, with these beautiful purple blooms. Potatoes grow insanely fast. We've never grown them before but we're looking forward to harvesting and eating them!
Growing Fast
here are two of the bean trellises I made in the garden. On the left are pole beans, climbing up quickly. On the right I planted soy beans, but they didn't sprout, so I let nasturtiums take their place in the trellis. Garbanzo beans with the little ferny leaves are planted around the nasturtiums. It's amazing how fast beans grow!
June Garden
The garden is really starting to fill in with color and texture! This picture was taken from the edge of the pea bed (the pyramid pea trellis is in the lower left corner). You can see cabbage, brussels sprouts, and flowering arugula in the foreground, plus kale, spinach, lettuce, and broccoli & potatoes in the back.
The Road Home
The road to Usal is a narrow one-lane dirt road (bottom left of the picture) but all the switchbacks, ruts, and bumps are well worth it once the road gets to the top of the ridge where the view opens up. This is looking south on our way home from our Lost Coast camping trip. Beautiful!
My Monkey Man
Seneca couldn't resist climbing in the crazy redwoods on the Lost Coast. He's definitely a monkey!
Happy Pooches
We visited Usal Beach during the day before heading home from our camping trip. The pooches loved running up & down the beach. We had gorgeous clear weather all weekend.
A Beautiful Place
We watched the sun go down at Usal Beach while camping on the Lost Coast. It was a beautiful, magical place.
Silly Pooches
We went to the beach and enjoyed the sunset while camping at Usal. Seneca played with Niko and Juneau, who loved running around on the beach. I couldn't believe how much energy they had to play after taking two hikes. This picture captures Juneau landing after leaping over Niko.
Looking Up
This is my favorite picture of the Octopus Tree, showing some of the gnarly twisted branches. Pretty much all the branches you can see (including the ones that go straight up in the background) all came off this one tree trunk! It was definitely the most unique redwood we've ever seen. Nature sure is awesome!
Us in the Tree
Me & Seneca couldn't resist climbing in the unusual Octopus Tree. This redwood was by far the coolest one we've ever seen, and it was tough but really neat to climb in. Pal took this picture, it looks like we're glowing with the light behind us!
Tree Spirits
We fell in love with this huge gnarly redwood on our hike while in Usal. It had a huge trunk that went up for about 12 or 15 feet, then split into numerous branches that curved straight up towards the sky, leaving a big open "nest" area on top of the trunk. It was such a cool tree, with branches going every direction, often twisted and gnarled. We named it the Octopus Tree.
Hike in the Redwoods
While in Usal on the Lost Coast, we took several hikes. My favorite was a hike up to a very unique grove of redwoods. Instead of growing one main trunk, many of these redwoods had tons of branches that came off the trunk, a bit like octopi! Some of the branches of the trees were wider than the trunks. They were definitely unlike any redwoods I'd ever seen, and the place was simply magical. I'm not sure why they grow that way, but we're glad we got to see them! This picture was taken on the hike up to the grove. You can see our favorite "octopus tree" near the back on the left.
Home Away from Home
Camping in the
volksvegan isn't exactly roughing it. We set up our little "home away from home," complete with a canopy that attaches to the side, at our campsite at Usal. It was a wonderful weekend getaway with our closest friends. And we didn't even have to sleep on the ground, thanks to the bus. It was Niko's first camping trip with us, too. He loved the bus, of course!
These Birds Have Quite the View
When we reached the top of the bluffs on our hike, we stopped for a rest and looked to our right. There we saw this Osprey nest out on a big dead tree hanging over the edge of the cliffs. Quite daring birds build a nest up there, and we watched as the mama bird fed the babies. They definitely picked a spot with a view for their nest!
On the Top
We took a rest once we got to the top of a bluff and enjoyed the view. Seneca, Ottie, Pal, Mike, Paula, and the pooches got some sun and watched the ocean below and an Osprey nest near us on the bluffs.
Quite the View
While camping on the Lost Coast for the solstice, we went on a long steep hike up to the top of a big bluff. From the top we could see Usal beach below and far down the coast. We did quite a few hikes over the weekend we spent camping, it was quite the workout but the views were well worth it!
Our Camp
We went on our first camping trip of the summer for the summer solstice weekend with 6 of our closest friends. We went to Usal beach on the Lost Coast, only a couple hours from home. It was a beautiful place and we had a blast hiking, playing drums by the fire, hula hooping, watching sunsets on the beach, and enjoying nature with some of our favorite people.
Green Tomatoes
Here's some of the first green tomatoes from our garden! I'm very excited because this year I was actually successful starting tomatoes from seed and having them live. The secret: a hoop house to protect them and provide a little more warmth. I planted four tomato plants (mostly various cherry varieties, but also have romas and celebrities) in each big pot, and they're HUGE! We have a tomato jungle going on, and I think I probably overcrowded them, but they sure don't seem to mind. Can't wait to eat all the sweet cherry tomatoes!
Good Boys
We're still working on teaching Niko and Juneau to stay on the paths in the garden and not to step in the beds. Niko is new to gardening, so he doesn't really get it. They've been pretty good though, but sometimes they get frisky and chase each other around, at which point I have to kick them out of the garden before they cause too much damage. Juneau likes peas and will munch them right off the vine (even if they're not ready yet) if we don't watch him. They also beg for raspberries when we're out picking them. And of course, their most important job is keeping rodents like gophers away.
Stargazer Lilies in Bloom
We weren't sure what kind of lilies these were until they opened and showed their gorgeous pink petals. They're called stargazer lilies, and they are bulbs that have been growing taller in the garden since spring. They're a short-lived but beautiful and fragrant bloom.
Purple Peas Reaching Skyward
We are growing a lot of purple varieties of veggies this year, one of which is purple-podded peas. The pea pods are purple, so naturally the beautiful flowers are as well. They're outgrowing their trellis pretty fast. They must be inspired by the redwoods around here (like the one in the background).
View From Lettuce Bed
In this picture you can see the lettuce bed in the foreground, with the strawberries (covered with bird netting, the cups keep the sticks from poking through the netting) and asparagus behind, the broccoli spiral and the blueberry bushes in the back where it's sunny. Lots of abundance and life in this little plot of land!
Beautiful Radish Harvest
These are "easter egg blend" radishes, fresh-picked from the garden. I love all the different colors and sizes. Some of our radishes have been absolutely huge!
Spiral Filling In Nicely
Here's our spiral bed of broccoli and cauliflower in mid-June. We're already harvesting broccoli and these plants are just huge! I think we need to make the bed a bit wider next year, the mulch has a hard time staying on the bed!
Garbanzo Bean Sprouts
Garbanzo beans have beautiful foliage and delicate little leaves. These are growing in our community garden bed, which thankfully has drip irrigation installed so it's fairly low-maintenance. In the background you can see fava bean plants, which were planted last fall. Beans are great soil improvers since they fix nitrogen in their roots, so we like to alternate between beans and other veggies.
Community Garden - Year 2
We may have a big garden at home, but we're still a part of the Noyo Come-Unity garden in Fort Bragg. It has been over a year since we started it, and now there are lots more beds (and gardeners), some fruit trees, and even a little greenhouse!
This picture was taken in early June. Our bed is in the middle on the right side close to the fence.
One Happy Gardener
Seneca tackles the weed invasion! He's weeding the blueberry bushes - gotta keep those blueberries happy so we get lots of big sweet berries. Blueberries are my favorite, but they haven't quite turned blue yet. I can't wait! You can also see a bit of the broccoli spiral in the front left of this picture.
I Love Berries!
We've been picking lots of strawberries and golden raspberries from our garden this summer. My favorite thing to do with the raspberries is eat them as soon as I pick them. They're very delicate and don't store well, but they're very sweet and yummy. We've got a lot of strawberry plants, many of which may need to be replaced before next year. Berries are nature's candy, I love 'em! :)
Beautiful Lettuces
Here's our big bed of lettuce in late May. We also planted chard, beets, carrots, and radishes between the lettuces. Companion planting is a big part of organic gardening, and variety also makes the beds look more beautiful. We have had so much salad, it's ridiculous! If only we could figure out how to ship it without it going bad, we could feed all our friends and family across the country!
Broccoli
Broccoli also grows well around here year-round (pretty much all brassicas do). This is a green sprouting calabrese broccoli plant in late May. The heads get a bit bigger, then we harvest those and allow the side shoots to produce smaller florets for a while longer. It's a nice way to have broccoli all the time!
This broccoli is in the spiral bed along with other broccoli, romanesco, and several kinds of cauliflower.
A Kale Forest Beginning
Kale grows really really well around here. All year round, too! We got a variety of kale starts from the farmer's market and they're already on their way to making a thick kale forest out of this bed. In the front is dino kale, behind that is russian kale with the ruffly leaves. There are rubine brussels sprouts (with purple stems) behind the kale. We also planted arugula and cabbage in this bed. This picture was taken around the end of May. Boy do plants grow fast!
Towers
Foxglove is blooming in our backyard! There are all kinds of wildflowers that have been appearing in our yard this spring. This foxglove reaches up towards the redwood tree in the background. Beauty definitely abounds in redwood country.
Butter Lettuce Masterpiece
Lettuce is beautiful! This is a butterhead lettuce close up taken in late May in our garden. We have a lot of varieties of lettuce growing and have had so much that we've been giving it away and begging friends to take some whenever they come over. We sure love our greens, and needless to say, we eat a lot of salad!
This Salad = Candy
We have been making a lot of salads this spring & summer thanks to our abundant garden. This is one of our favorite salads, based on a recipe from an awesome cookbook called La Dolce Vegan. We picked spinach and strawberries from the garden, chopped them & added pine nuts. The dressing is a strawberry vinaigrette. This is about as close to candy as salad can get! It's very sweet and delicious, and good for you, of course!
Flowers & Hoopers
Some friends & I have a weekly hoop group to practice hula hooping every week. We meet at a beautiful overlook of Mendocino Bay, with a great view of the village and the ocean. It's an inspiring place to get our hoop on!
Ottie and Kelsie are hooping while the lupines bloom in this picture.
Ladybug in Fennel
Ladybugs are a gardener's best friends! They eat aphids and other pesky pests. This lovely one was crawling in my fennel foliage, creating quite the beautiful contrast of colors. Please stay, ladybug, and invite all your friends!
Happy Boys
Juneau and Niko, the best of buddies, hang out in front of the garden gate to catch a little shade.
Dog Days of Summer
Juneau and Niko relax in the path of the garden while I'm busy working and weeding away. They're pretty good about staying out of the beds, though we've been having to teach Niko garden etiquette! These two are quite the pair of handsome pooches!
My Wacky Wonderful Friends
This is one of my favorite pictures! I am laying across some of my best friends at the Mendocino Beer, Wine, and Chocolate festival. My friends Josh & Cory were visiting on their honeymoon and got to come to the festival and meet some of my Mendo Crew. From left: Paula, Kelsie, Pal, Mike, me, Ottie, and Josh.
Mendocino Farmer's Market
I love going to the Mendocino Farmer's Market on Fridays and loading up on plant starts and produce while supporting local farmers. It's got to be one of the prettiest locations for a market - right near the ocean!
Tower of Flowers
More rhododendrons and redwoods in our driveway! May is simply gorgeous with these huge bushes in bloom! We're lucky to have these in our front yard.
Garden from the Gate
Here's the garden from the gate near the house. In the foreground you can see lilies and squash "mounds" on the left, with the broccoli spiral bed behind them. On the right side are peas, kale, cabbage, spinach, and more!
Garden from Fence
Here's a view of our garden in mid-May from the fence near the edge of the driveway. In the foreground are the potato beds, and you can see a bit of the broccoli spiral, the strawberries in the middle and the hoop house. It's amazing how fast the garden has been growing. It's been a lot of work weeding, mulching, planting, digging, and fertilizing, but well worth it.
Spring at the Headlands
Spring is a beautiful time on the Mendocino Headlands. I sat here and enjoyed a beer while Juneau played. There are lupine and ferns in the foreground, and a really cool arch in the ocean below.
Old Friends
I love this picture! Me, Alicia, Josh, and AJ celebrate at Josh's wedding in Santa Cruz, May 16th. It was great to see them and the wedding was beautiful!
The Newlyweds
I went to a wedding of some good friends in Santa Cruz. Cory & Josh were married May 16th. Josh was my good friend from high school, and he met Cory about 4 years ago. We even stayed with them during our Volksvegan Adventure! The wedding was beautiful, and I got to see a bunch of my good friends.
Meet Niko
Niko is the newest addition to our family. He's a 2-year-old Rottweiler that we're adopting. He gets along great with Juneau and is a big baby, such a sweetie. We're excited to have him as our new "fur-child".
Starting to Look Like a Garden!
Here's the garden in mid-May! I planted several kinds of peas around the trellis in the foreground, with kale, arugula, and cabbage behind that. There's spinach and cabbage, and you can see some of the asparagus and strawberry beds. Behind the hoop house is the lettuce & greens bed. Lots of work went in to this garden, and we'll be reaping the rewards one harvest at a time! :)
Ready to Plant
The hoop house really helped us get a jump start on our garden. We started seeds in the hoop house in February, and kept them there all spring, potting up as needed, until we were ready to plant them. There's a whole bunch of starts here: tobacco, peppers, various greens and lettuces, artichoke, chard, tomatoes, and some wheatgrass for juicing. As we clear out the starts, we'll be potting up some of the heat-loving plants and keeping them in the hoop house for the summer. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and melons will be staying in the hoop house.
Me, Bridgette & Katie
Yay for cousins! We had a party at Rachel's house to celebrate her graduation and got to see a lot of the Portland-area Pru Crew. This is me with my cousin Katie (on the right) and her wife Bridgette during the party.
Valedictorian Speech
That's my sister! Rachel was the valedictorian of her graduation class at University of Portland. She gave a very powerful speech about just how lucky the class of '09 has it, especially compared to some of the poverty-stricken people she saw digging through a garbage dump in Nicaragua on one of her many service trips. Rachel's heading to grad school to be a Physical Therapist. She's definitely a badass! :)
Family Photo @ Graduation
I went up to Portland for my sister's college graduation from University of Portland. Here's the whole family on graduation day on Rachel's back porch. We're so proud of her! :)
Huge Asparagus
This is one of many huge asparagus shoots that we harvested from our garden. We lucked out - the asparagus happened to be in its third year (which is when it starts producing) when we moved in. Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies, and boy do we get some big ones in our patch! Mmm!
Rhodies & Redwoods
We are quite blessed to have a yard full of redwoods and rhododendrons, which grow well together throughout the redwood forest. We have some pretty huge trees on the property we live on, and in the spring the rhododendrons are in full bloom. These pink ones are in front of our house along the driveway. Spring is certainly a beautiful time of year around here!
Jake Hoops to Juce
More fun at Noyo Food Forest's Earth Day event on April 26, 2009. Our friend Jake is hooping with my hoop to Juce, one of the several bands that played at the event. Other attractions at the event included lots of yummy food, sustainable demos and workshops, and a plant sale. It was held at NFF's Learning Garden at Fort Bragg High School.
Learning Garden @ Earth Day
The
Noyo Food Forest has an annual Earth Day event. This year it was on my birthday! The theme was "Cool Blue Planet" and I designed the posters for the event. We volunteered at the bike-powered smoothie booth, enjoyed some wood-fired pizza, and danced to the live music. It was quite the party!
The Entertainment
Seneca playing didgeridoo, Jake on guitar, and Kelsie hula hooping were the entertainment of the evening, in our living room at my green-themed 26th birthday party.
Blowing Out the Candles
For my 26th birthday party, we had a "Green Party" at our house. Everyone brought green gifts (including a meyer lemon tree, bamboo salad scoopers, and an aventurine necklace). We also made green drinks: mojitos and absinthe. We even had green food - a huge green salad from the garden, green-tinted waldhorf salad, and pasta primavera. Here I am blowing out the candles on the fabulous pineapple upside-down cake my friend Kelsie made me!
Spiral Bed
This is our spiral bed on April 24th. We decided to put some round and unusual shapes in our unusually-shaped garden. This bed is planted with broccoli and cauliflower of various kinds, including our favorite, romanesco (fractal-looking broccoli cauliflower hybrid).
Blueberries in Bloom
We have two big rows of blueberry bushes in our garden, and they're blooming and producing green berries already. There are several different varieties, so we should have plenty of delicious berries to try very soon!
Kitty Grass
Maya caught me taking pictures of her and paused from munching away on her "kitty grass" - a mixture of wheat & barley grass that we planted just for her to nibble on.
Happy in the Trees
I love Redwoods! Yay!
Redwood's Texture
I was so happy to see the redwoods again on my way home from Idaho that we decided to stop and see some of them up close at the Avenue of the Giants along Highway 101. This beautiful double tree posed for a photo.
The Girls
My last night in Moscow was "prom night" at John's Alley. So of course there were props set up so we could take prom pictures! The beautiful ladies are Crystal, Mary, Dawn, Clare, Kim, me, and Ronna. It was probably more fun than high school prom, considering we're well above drinking age now!
Booth Full of Friends!
My booth was a hot hang out spot and a good place to cool down in the shade at Moscow Hemp Fest this year. A good time was had by all, and we were blessed with gorgeous weather!
Love My Grrs!
I think this may be my favorite picture of me & my favorite girls in Moscow ever. Tanya, me & Crystal are just hanging out in my booth at Moscow Hemp fest. These girls seriously rock, I wish I got to see them more!
Yay for Sunshine!
Tanya and Chewy enjoy the music and sunshine at Moscow Hemp Fest by hula hooping! It was a beautiful warm day, which is unusual since the last few years have brought us rain, wind, cold, and even a bit of snow! It was definitely a day to celebrate and hoop.
Arlene Displays the Hempfest Shirts
Arlene, the hemp fest organizer & tye dye goddess, is very happy about the 2009 Moscow Hemp Fest t-shirts I designed, a tribute to Woostock since this year is the 40th anniversary. Groovy!
Switching Hoops
I visited friends in Moscow, Idaho, and went to Hemp fest. Luckily we had a couple sunny days while I was there, so we got to hoop! Here, Kim and Chewy are showing off their new trick, in which they switch hoops. Nice!
Raising the Hoop
I'm practicing raising the hoop over my head at our hoop group. Mendocino Village and Bay are in the background.
The Hoop Group Girls
The girls gather at "the million dollar view" overlooking the Mendocino Bay for a hoop group. It's the best possible setting for hula hooping and practicing our tricks. And of course once we've gotten a good workout and learned some new hooping tricks, we drink some vino and watch the sunset!
Asparagus - Yum!
We inherited a 3-year old patch of asparagus in our garden. YUM! Asparagus is my favorite veggie, and this was our very first harvest this spring. It's super yummy freshly picked and steamed.
The Future is Bright!
Baby starts fill our hoop house, waiting for warmer weather so we can plant them out in the garden. In the foreground are hopi tobacco (a good companion plant) and California Wonder peppers. BEhind them are some lettuce and cherry tomato starts.
Bee Close Up
There have been lots of big bees buzzing around the blueberries this spring. This one was kind enough to not only pollinate the blueberry blooms, but he posed for a picture as well. Bees are beautiful!
Frog Friend in the Hoophouse
We found a cute little frog friend in our garden, and thought he might like to eat some bugs in the hoop house. Here he is perched on a pot of peas. Isn't he adorable? He wasn't scared of us either!
Like Father, Like Sons
Seneca's Dad & brother came to visit us in March. Of course it rained as soon as they got here, but that didn't stop us from showing them around town and taking a walk at the Headlands and Portugese Beach.
Wild Broccoli
Wild brassicas grow all along the Mendocino Headlands. Here are some flowering wild broccoli plants overlooking Portugese Beach. The buildings on Main Street are in the background.
Lighters
Anthony B put on one hell of a show at the tiny Crown Hall in our little village of Mendocino. I like this shot with all the lighters glowing. It was packed, high energy, and very hot at the show. Anthony B was quite a showman, I have never been to a show where the singer changed shirts three times because he was so drenched with sweat! Thanks for coming to Mendo, Anthony!
Tunnel of Seaweed
Here is the tunnel at Portugese Beach. Lots of seaweed lives around it.
Portugese Beach from the Driftwood
We walked along the bluffs of the Mendocino Headlands and down to Portugese Beach, a cute hidden beach covered in driftwood. What a perfect way to enjoy a sunny spring day in paradise!
Happy Seedlings!
The gardening has begun! This was my first happy tray of seedlings, getting some sun on the back porch. We later potted them up and moved them to the hoop house, then started new seeds in the tray. With lots of room to garden, we've got to keep a steady supply of starts coming. Here we have spinach, various greens, and tomatoes in the back.
Friends Jammin'
Rick, Pal, and Seneca jam at Ottie's birthday party. Rick & Sen are on the didgeridoo and Pal rocks the tablas.
Future Visions Book - back and front covers
I designed a booklet called "Future Visions of a Sustainable Palouse" for a professor at the University of Idaho - he and his students wrote a look at the possible sustainable future of the Palouse area, and I made it look good. I did the photography and graphic design/layout for the book. It is printed on 100% recycled paper.
Juneau Scrambles Around
Juneau climbed up some rocks along the bluffs of Glass Beach with us. He gets a little scared of heights, but he's not one to be left out of anything, even scrambling up rocks.
Pocket of Treasures
Whenever friends come visit us from out of town, we have to take them to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. It used to be the dump site (ew) but all that remains of the trash are bits of glass smoothed and worn by the sea. It's a bit of a trip seeing a beach that's more glass than sand! This log on the beach had glass and pebbles filling up every crack and crevice.
Juneau Sniffs the Garden
Here's a "before" shot of our garden, which is overgrown with weeds and grass and doesn't appear to have been tended for a while! Juneau made sure to dig up some old carrots and even caught a mole. We started working on it as soon as we moved in, and the garden has already come a long way. It's a constant work in progress, but we hope to be growing a good portion of our own food (and hopefully have enough left over to feed friends and possibly sell) by this summer.
Redwoods
These two are quite possibly the largest redwoods on the property we live on. Perhaps because they're near the septic system? We're very happy to have them as our new neighbors. We can even see them through the skylights in the house! They appear to have been burned at some point, and are a bit hollowed out from fire on the back side. I wonder how old they are...
Pooch on the Lookout
Here's our pretty blue-eyed baby boy! Juneau loves romping around at the Headlands, though he is pretty fearless and gets close to the edge, scaring the crap out of us! He likes to get up on the tall rocks and cliffs and watch the ocean, much like his humans. Juneau seems to love it here in Mendo, although he misses the snow, it stays pretty cool here year round, so he doesn't overheat. And though he was afraid of the ocean at first, now his favorite place to run is on a big open beach.
I like the cliffs Juneau's standing on at the Headlands, they're eroded and full of holes, which makes for an interesting texture.
Violent Waves
Winter can make for some big storms and some very big waves even when it's not stormy. We had an unusually warm, dry winter until just a few weeks ago, so we were excited to have a bit of a break from the constant rain to visit the Mendocino Headlands and watch the big winter waves crash. This is one of our favorite spots at the Headlands, which is a park that goes around the edge of Mendocino (which sticks out into the ocean).
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