It takes two inches of rain to awaken the annual grass seeds in the savanna, and we definitely got two inches of rain last week. It started slowly, with 0.6″ on the first day followed by 1.5″ on the second. I was overjoyed. The dryness of the drought chokes the land. We were all suffering…. Read more »
We Protect What We Love
I have worked before with Dyane Sherwood, the publisher of Fruits of Eden: Napa Valley 1991-2021 (which is currently being typeset. Dancing Raven Press, an imprint of Analytical Psychology Press). I know her propensity to mix visual imagery with the written word, a process quite different from the written word alone. “Take pictures of the… Read more »
Foreword to Fruits of Eden: Deborah O’Grady
Sometimes meaningful patterns of life’s events are revealed only in hindsight. What guides our lives? Is there a subterranean stream that carries us—if we let it? Such is the case in how I came to meet fine art photographer and videographer Deborah O’Grady. These many years later, I am delighted she has agreed to write… Read more »
The Beginning of the Writing of Fruits of Eden
Fruits of Eden: Napa Valley 1991-2021 has been copyedited for the final time and is on the way to the typesetter at Dancing Raven Press, an imprint of Analytical Psychology Press. I now have to summarize the book in 2-3 sentences (for the back of the book), a little longer in 4000 characters (for Amazon),… Read more »
Guardians
Mishewah Wappo descendent Alyx Howell said that his people call poison oak “guardian oak” and, as a result, have a better relationship with the plant. When you call it guardian oak, you are less likely to get an itchy rash. Alyx knows stories about the oaks that I have not heard from any other source. … Read more »
A Fantistical Opossum Story
The story starts with taking out the trash about 8:15 pm Wednesday, an unusual thing for me to do. In fact, when have I taken out the trash in the evening? It involves driving the 3/4 mile driveway to the trash cans at Dry Creek Road, and who in their right mind would do that… Read more »
Go-Bags and Exit Plans: Navigating the New Normal
The ranch is fresh green, the Mexican daisies and Spanish lavender in full bloom, and the birds courting. We’ve had a fraction of our average seasonal rainfall. I find it harder to enjoy the brilliance of April, one of the most verdant months here. The valley oak leaves are large and still that first green-gold…. Read more »
Arrival of the Beloved Dog, Bramble Berry
We picked up our labradoodle Bramble Berry three years ago this week, on April 16, 2018. He was just 8 weeks old. He arrived at a difficult time for us, with several challenges initiating me into overseeing everything my husband Donald used to do as his health declined. Donald and I drove to Fair Oaks,… Read more »
Returned from the Forest
Recently she reappeared, this figure the height of my grandson who stands solid and white on the western-most reach of our 100-foot defensible space about our home. She was given to us by Donald’s youngest daughter, Genevieve, a gifted ceramicist, when she moved from her Sonoma home to a smaller space. I have always liked… Read more »
Lineage of the Christmas Stocking
My cousin, about the age of my mother, knitted the stockings for my younger sister Judy and me when we were very young, and I have knitted the same pattern stocking for each of my children, their wives, and their children. When my daughter-in-law Melissa, Grace’s aunt, reminded me that it was time to start… Read more »
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