Sweet Remi

                                                                                          

More Dog Love!

This cute fellar named Fonzie (and his beloved red ball) kept me company during a very slow day at work! There were short intermissions in his play time but no serious napping! I am whupped but happy to have spent the day together.

Dog Smooches!

I got so many today I lost count!
How can I not fall in love when a dog licks my face with tail wagging, eyes sparkling and heart wide open?

                                 Close to a first kiss!

Dear...

As I continue the process of letting go of this place that I've lived for the last 19 years, I am beginning to write thank you letters to all the individuals who had such a big impact on my heart and soul; the magnificent oak tree that lives only 15 or so feet outside my front door - a presence and guiding force unmatched by any neighbor i've ever had~~~the enormous rock that has been not only a place for grounding, stillness, watercolor painting, reading, crying, sunset watching, but also the host for birthday parties, conversations with friends and lovers and astronomy nights among other things~~~then there is the creek - I have a vivid memory of my dog friend, Daisy, standing oh so happily elbow deep in one of its cold pools looking for fish!, the burma shave hikes set up along its banks, the dappled light, the turkey tails growing on fallen, dead wood or the fawn I unexpectedly found dying while walking nearby~~~the foxes who I got to watch for months as they made their trek every evening at dusk back to their pups~~~the bobcat, who for years has made itself visible and always takes my breath away~~~the coyotes-so many coyote memories - one of the strongest is the morning i woke up to find a single, gorgeous coyote fast asleep not more than 20 feet outside my house - although I worried about my cats and thought maybe I oughta shoo it away, I just couldn't~~~oh, the bluebirds who have nested here for I don't know how many years whose babies I've watched grow up season after season and leave the nest.
So, so many amazing and wonder-full gifts as a result of these relations...I have been very lucky, indeed.

Poh-emmmmm

Where is the door to God?

In the sound of a barking dog

In the ring of a hammer

In a drop of rain

In the face of
Everyone
I see

~ Hafiz 

Deliciouso!

As many Wednesday mornings as possible I volunteer in the gardens at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. (www.oaec.org, i think) Their gardens are beyond the beyond beauty-full. That's a whole story unto itself. But, another very important part of the day is being fed lunch at the center. The chefs/cooks are in the midst of creating a recipe book so some days we get to be guinea pigs and test the recipes for them! It's not easy but somehow we manage to persevere!

This was yesterday's menu:

smashed fingerling potatoes w/coriander crust and garden herbal pesto (cleavers, dandelion greens amaranth, magenta lambs quarters and rose petals...just the color alone of the pesto was nutritious)

white bean primavera

carrot and chamomile soup (topped with fresh chamomile flowers)

salad from OAEC gardens (which can include just about anything!) with a rhubarb dressing

cardamom, licorice and peppermint lemonade

YUM!

Bliss In The Bed!

I extra love this time of year in my bed because the morning light is at the perfect angle to shine on my just waking up self and the scent of the jasmine blooming outside my bedroom window wafts in. The combination is just dreamy...