Grace and the Trillium
This Spring’s beauty has never been greater. I know, for some of us elders, this is how it feels every spring—a green fuse filled with fire of blooming: California buttercup and shooting star and purple cups of Douglas Iris and now spires of lupin, tiny whispers of trillium, and blue-eyed grass. Such delicate, sturdy presences… Read more »
Wild Parrots cruising the Rhine at dusk. Photo: Shelly Lewis
While visiting Cologne, Germany, this month, I was surprised to see flocks of wild parrots skimming low over the waters of the Rhine before roosting in the large trees along the river’s edge. Parrots are not native to Germany but are probably descendants of pets that have escaped or been deliberately released, naturalizing in this… Read more »
My grandmother Florence and mother Lois
I am reprinting one of my favorite Mother’s Day posts. More and more I realize how much my mother’s and my grandmothers’ influences reach my own grandchildren today and perhaps, one day, their own. Mother’s Day Memories: Sweet, Bittersweet Every year Mother’s Day brings two big memories, both when I was a preteen, one sweet, one bittersweet…. Read more »
Sabien (front) and Wesley posing with the largest valley oak I have ever met at the entry of the Petrified Forest, Calistoga, CA. Does the crystal energy of the Petrified Forest have anything to do with this?
Last week, my grandsons Wesley, Sabien, and I visited the Petrified Forest near Calistoga, CA. We are in what Rudolf Steiner called the crystallization period, that fallow time between January 15 and February 15, when Earth is quiet and most receptive to the energies of the cosmos. Although I had not planned this timing, it… Read more »
Goats Gaining Sustenance. "Model T," Boris' twin brother, was there to impregnate Natalie
Early in Donald’s and my marriage, we got a couple of pygmy goats, Natalie and Boris. As animals do, they stitched Donald and me into the fabric of our land. Each day we followed these little black psychopomps (yes, they led the way!) along deer trails through the oak and bay forest and into the… Read more »
Charlie Toledo on the Lincoln Street bridge over the Napa River.
Have you ever washed dishes with Charlie Toledo? You learn what Water is Sacred means. She wipes the dish using as little water as possible with soap that will not contaminate the water and then carefully rinses. You do not wash: you witness. She does the work, making sure Water is properly treated. How would… Read more »
From Save Soda Road website.
Great news! In a time that feels like misinformation, ignorance, and greed rule, something outstanding has happened! On Tuesday, November 8, 2022, citizens of Napa County will witness the fruits of many years of well-informed protests, advocacy, and legal action. The Board of Supervisors (BOS) will vote to rescind the use permit for Mountain Peak Winery!… Read more »
Sophia Photo Art by Bill Fulton
Twelve years ago next month, I published a blog about the death of our goat Sophia entitled “Goats and Grief.” There is seldom a day that that blog is not read, and usually at least two or three times. I have been curious why this blog, among the hundreds of others I have written over… Read more »
Shortly after Donald and I learned that our ranch was at risk of being seriously impacted by a development next door, Donald was diagnosed with mild cognitive decline. Within two years, this diagnosis changed to Alzheimer’s Disease and vascular dementia. This was an unknown path neither of us had anticipated. Grief is a theme that… Read more »
Photo: Janna Waldinger, ArtClarity
My book Fruits of Eden: Field Notes Napa Valley 1991-2021 is about to be released, so I contracted with Janna Waldinger of Art & Clarity to take some photos. This is one of my favorites. Each day some of my dear animals walk with me. (Here, Petunia, the goat, and HIjo, the llama.) For almost 30… Read more »
© 2026 Patricia Damery.
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