Oh Christmas tree... oh Christmas trees

We finished hanging the outside lights today. I helped the Prospector curve a PVC pipe over the iron gate that is the entrance to our front yard. Then we wrapped the pipe with garlands of green and added some Christmas lights, from the house, over the gate to the end of the fence. It is so pretty tonight, looking out there and seeing the lights outlining the fence. So very Christmas.
I've spent a couple of days decorating the house. There are three trees this year. All small but different.

The first one is near the piano. It was going to have a cowboy theme but I haven't found too much to fill it yet. So far I've hung our son's old handmade ornaments from their school days on it.

They are old and have been repaired many times.

I love these ornaments. They are filled with memories.
This tree is also were the animals live. The little dogs and cats with wings ( in honor of pets that are no longer with us), the glass pine cones and cowboy bells and anything that makes us think of country living...
The assorted deer and antelope...

I set the four foot tree on the folding metal chair that I painted chartreuse last year and covered the seat with an old tablecloth that was my Mom's. The boxes are empty. I store the ornaments in them the rest of the year.
"Carl? You are not to touch any of the Christmas things. I know that you will chew any sock if it's left laying around, but all of this is off limits. Do you hear me?"

 "CARL??"

His ears were listening but his body was not moving.
Then he slowly turned around.
He looked at me.
I repeated, "Did you hear me, Carl?"

"YES! I hear you. I just can't make any promises."

He gave me his best "How could you blame me for all those socks." look and then walked away. 

The second tree is a 3 footer. It's on the chest in front of the porch window.

This tree holds a few gourd ornaments that I've made and small collector ornaments that I have collected over the years. The paper mache deer was a thrift store find that had an ugly, faded crape paper flower on it. I took it off and make a rosette for it. The deer was $.50 and my labor was free.
The P. Schifferl ornaments that I've collected over the years are in and under the little tree.

 I love these little carved ornaments. Most are very small and hang on the tree... but this one, with Santa riding an owl, sits below the tree waiting for Christmas Eve. He's ready for his big flight.
 It's one of my favorites. I like the idea of a huge bird flying Santa around the world with his bag of toys.

The third "tree" was inspired by my sister. She cuts manzanita branches when she's here, takes them home, sprays them with different colors and hangs them over her kitchen window. Black for Halloween, white for Christmas and sometimes just natural with leaves that she makes with old pages of a book or sheet music.
So while she found some pieces to take home, I cut some branches and made a "tree" for the buffet.

This was so much fun. I used my mom's old brass bowl and filled it with foil and paper to hold the branches in place.You can also use rocks to hold the branches steady as well.

I'm not finished with this yet but when I am, it will hold all the felted and paper ornaments that I've made or have been given to me. 
I made this one out of vellum paper, an old thrift store, wood ornament, plastic sparkle pieces from the Dollar store and some lichen from the oak trees.  There are also some sea shells attached that I found at the ocean. Added some glitter and old ribbon too.  These small ornaments make great additions to the top of a gift box.

And any wonderful things that I find on my hikes, like this nest, below, that I haven't had time to find a name for. It was kept in a bottle for a few days when I first brought it inside, just in case there was still something hibernating in it. There wasn't. I would have died if thousands of baby spiders had crawled out of it in the warmth of the house.

There are memories of my trip to Germany, last year, hanging here and some photos of the snow, in Montana, that my friend sent me for my birthday. She doesn't have "glitter" where she lives. She has lots and lots of snow. It's beautiful.
The little heart ornament from Munich reminds me of all the snow we saw there and how lovely the city looked from my hotel window on my birthday last year. I was sick. I came home sick. But Munich was beautiful in the snow.

I will show you more as I add things to the decorations. It's fun to change the living room into Christmas. I honor the tradition and love the whole, wonderful season.

Wordless Wednesday; Frozen Beauty

One small inch of pure joy

WE GOT SOME SNOW.

It's been really cold (for us) in the lower foothills for a week and the news was saying that a storm would come in on Friday about midnight, dumping some snow down to the 1500 ft. level. We are about 1200 ft. but it was so cold that we hoped, prayed and did little snow dances all week.
Cutter didn't seem too concerned because my sister was here for a few days and he's always happy to find out that every time his favorite aunty shows up, his favorite sofa magically expands into a bed with lots of room for him to nap on. 

They love when Sis is here. They get all happy and relaxed. I mean, upside down, fluffy butt snuggled in... relaxed and happy...

And she lets them enjoy themselves as much as they want. She spoils them more than we do.

The storm started a little early. By dinnertime it was raining really cold, soggy, icy rain. We had plans to drive over to Sutter Creek and go to the annual open house Christmas celebration. We ate dinner, dressed like we were dressed in Germany (one year ago this week) and left for the party. The Prospector stayed home and kept the dogs company.
By the time we crossed town and headed for Sutter Creek, it was snowing. WE WERE DRIVING...IN THE SNOW... AT NIGHT...IN THE CAR... AND IT WAS SNOWING.
This is the only proof that I have. It's the windshield of my sister's car where we parked in Sutter Creek.

It was very wet snow... BUT IT WAS SNOW!!!!!!
We walked up one side of Main St. and down the other.
We looked at all the shops.

It was like the small town Christmas I always wanted to be a part of. Father Christmas had just arrived and was walking around talking to everyone. There were carolers singing... and there were other crazy people, like us, out enjoying themselves and having a good time. There was a craft fair in the auditoruim and all the stores were open... each had goodies  for everyone. Someone was selling  hot cider on the street.
Even a couple of Santa's raindeer were there...

It was all just beautiful. We came home tired and happy,  with snow on our hats and another good memory of being together.

During the night I heard the rain and my heart kind of sunk. I thought that the weather must have warmed up and that the snow would be gone.
Then, early in the morning while it was still dark, I didn't hear the rain anymore. Not even the downspouts that always drip water. I'm sure that you, who live in the snow, know how quiet it can be... that moment when it's so quiet that you know something is muffling all the sound outside the windows and when you look out into the dark, somehow it's glowing... without a moon.
The storm did come in the night.

Not the heavy, damaging storms of the high mountains. Not the kind of snow storm that covers everything and swallows a foot or two of your house and surroundings.
We had one inch of snow on the ground. (Please don't laugh. I can hear some of you laughing.) This doesn't happen very often around here. 
This snow was like glitter that I add to my collages and paper ornaments.
This is that wonderful kind of snow that looks beautiful, makes everything sparkle...

Catches in the trunks of trees. ..

 makes the world look like a Winter Wonderland...

And is gone by noon.
But, miracles of miracles, this continued.

 Later it started snowing tiny hailstones.

 And then, it snowed heavily for a while.

 The surrounding hills were hardly visible,

even though the hills on the other side of the river had sun coming in between the clouds.

It was just the most beautiful day you can imagine for a "winter" person.
This is what I wait for all year long.

I'm going to give myself this day as a birthday present.
Saturday was a present to me, from me... and mother nature.
Happy, happy, happy.

The need to hear a joyful noise.

This has been a long week of amazing beauty.. and aching worry.
I had nothing of any merit to write about. Sometimes circumstances of life make for lousy "sharing" and so it's best to be quiet about it.
The amazing beauty was seeing the thousands of Sandhill Cranes in the Delta.

They are here to winter over and breed. They are massive birds that come by the thousands to the California Delta this time of the year. It was a gift that I want to experience again, soon. I was there, by myself, on  Saturday and followed some other folks down Woodbridge Rd in Lodi to see and HEAR these amazing birds. There is nothing like the sound of thousands of cranes calling to each other. It's a cacophony of beautiful noise.
I needed this noise... this beauty.
Sometimes we have to try very hard to keep the balance of joy and sadness in our lives. I have a friend who struggles with a mental illness and she is in the lowest point imaginable right now. Please take a moment to think about those who suffer from diseases that are socially unacceptable... diseases that  show no visible scars. No "Gee, I'm so sorry. When was your surgery?" No survival kudos. It's a place that brings Hell to earth and leaves you with no hope.
I cannot make this go away. I cannot help. I can only be her friend and right now that doesn't seem like enough.

So, you find me in my lovely comfort called home. A respite from the worry... a reprieve from the sadness that is always at the edges.
 And on this day... this place is truly a sanctuary. The weather is bright and cold. It is one of those perfect early winter days when staying indoors seems like an insult to God.
It is also my 69th birthday.

A very serious guest post from a dear friend.

When  a good friend wrote to me and asked if I would please do a post on an organization called RAINN,  I said "Yes." because not only is this an important issue in our society  (and the world) but making people more aware of the horrific assaults against woman is just the right thing to do. 
This is what my friend sent me and will show you some scary statistics.
This is personal for her. She wrote...

"I just saw a little bleep about today being the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women."

If you have the time and energy, I'd love for you to write something on your blog."
and then...
"I would really like to see the day come when women don't accept blame, or even partial blame, for being raped; whether it's by a stranger, friend or relative.  No one has the right.  Ever.  For any reason.  I want women to start talking about it OUT LOUD."

So here it is, my dear friend: For all the men, woman and children who face or have faced terrible assaults in their lives. This is the day that will, hopefully, bring awareness to this problem and maybe, someday, this horrible behavior will cease to be.

************************************* 
 WHITE RIBBON DAY

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/11/25/2989101/facts-white-ribbon-day/

THANKS!!  I've been there.

   HERE ARE A FEW ASTONISHING FACTS PRESENTED BY "RAINN".  JUST AMERICAN STATISTICS, NOT INTERNATIONAL.
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime PERSONALLY, I THINK IT'S MORE THAN THAT. (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.

• 29% are age 12-17.
• 44% are under age 18.³
• 80% are under age 30.³
• 12-34 are the highest risk years.
• Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.

7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

• 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.⁵

• Of these, 75% were girls.
• Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.

• 34.2% of attackers were family members.
• 58.7% were acquaintances.
• Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.   

  Effects of Rape

  Victims of sexual assault are:

  3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

********************************
The 25th of November is also the INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN and you can find more statistics about the world wide issues here.https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/

I usually write about dogs, chickens, nature and photography... and I have had the good fortune to have safety and kindness in my life...but today is for all the victims of violence and abuse that are suffering at someone else's hands. This must stop. There are no excuses. 
 

A glass of Whine.

Sometimes I think that with one huge storm (or earthquake), here in California, the whole state will break off and (like some think) fall into the ocean.  We are like the spoiled children of the USA. We are such wimps when it comes to "real weather" that we just fall apart when the wind starts to blow. I'm not talking about 150 mile an hour tornadoes or level 5 hurricanes... I'm talking about a small wind storm that lasted for one night... with some rain. That's it! No blizzards, no volcano eruptions... just a windy day and all of a sudden the valley news has a "BREAKING NEWS ALERT"... folks are sliding off the roads and  big rigs are jackknifing all over the place.
Well, we here in the foothills usually take these "news alerts" with a grain of salt because they usually amount to taking in the outdoor furniture pads and closing the chicken house door for the night.It's so rare to have really bad weather that we kind of don't pay attention.
So, on Wednesday, I was expecting my friends to arrive for our SCAT meeting. I was hosting the group this month and I was going to show everyone how to make these folded paper Rosettes.

You cut strips of card stock and fold them, glue them together and make these wonderful ornaments of any size you wish. Then you use doilies, cutouts, and embellishments of any kind. Very easy to do.

Add some glitter and sparkle them up a bit and you have gifts, ornaments and package tops to give any time of the year.

This one is not finished yet. I still have to do something with the dragonfly... not sure what. We had a great time even though it was raining and the wind was blowing.
Do you see the oil lamp in the first photo? At one point, just as we gathered around the table to start the project, the lights went off.  I got the oil lamp down, washed the glass chimney (It was very dusty. We don't use them much) and lit it... when, all of a sudden, the lights came back on. This was a two or three minute event.
Well, that was a relief. I'm not sure what we would have done without the glue guns or the hair dryer. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and the soiree was a success. Everyone went home with a beautiful medallion for the holidays and we had a great time. I cleaned up and then went to my computer to check my email and start a blog post about the meeting.
Now, before I start, I want you to know that although I act like I know what I'm doing with all this blogging, Facebook, emailing, storing and using photos ... I really know nothing. If it wasn't for the local computer store, my oldest son and a couple of friends that are more computer accomplished than me... I WOULD NOT BE DOING ANY OF THIS. This is my "mission statement", or better yet, my mantra when things go terribly wrong.

I found my computer in a state of suspended animation. We had even use it to look at Pinterest, when everyone was here and that was after the outage. I wanted to show them what else they could do with these little rosettes. Pinterest and Google have endless ideas on the subject. But, now, an hour after everyone left, the computer was Tabula rasa... a blank slate... void of information and access. 
I said my usual, "I can fix this." It's called the power of positive thinking and sometimes it works.  I went to the start button and checked to see if I was "connected". I wasn't.
 So, I waited for a while and then restarted the computer. That was the extent of my knowledge. My first and last hurrah. Well, the computer did come back on, but it only went to the home page and no further. I couldn't go anywhere else and my Nexus7 tablet was stuck too. When I read the "error" window, it said that either my connection was bad, the network was down (temporarily), I should clear my cookies, or the wireless router needed to be reset. The thing was that the "wireless router" had wires coming out of it... so I, with all my vast knowledge of routers, thought that maybe we needed to CALL SOMEONE. 
I called the local computer store and got this really nice, young man who went though a whole bunch of "do this and do that" until he announced that everything seemed to be OK and, yes, I was connected to the Internet. He didn't understand why I wasn't able to move to different windows. Then he said that the router might have gotten "FRIED" when the outage happen. They could come out, bring a router, switch the old one and see if that was the problem. He couldn't come until the following Monday and it would be $95. just for the service call. Oh boy!!
I made an appointment for Monday. 
Then I got up and went for a walk. The Prospector said I was being "cranky" and ".. it wasn't the end of the world." So I left. 
I went to find solace in the wind and wilderness.
I found it. It was windy and cold, and the sun finally showed its face within an hour of going down.
I let go of the "tude. 
I settled down.

I watched the last of the sun reflecting on the oak trees.

I watched the beautiful oak leaves falling in the sunlight and tried to photograph them as they fell. I need practice. I couldn't remember how to capture these leaves. Which settings on my camera would stop the action and catch these beauties in mid air? I can't tell you how many shots I took of them...

Before I got this one.

 My only "floating" leaf... ever. I actually had the camera on AUTO, so I didn't have to manually set the exposure time, ISO or the aperture. The "auto" setting was 1/500 of a second, not the 1/1000 of a second which I needed to freeze the leaf in mid air. It's not sharp enough, but I'm slowly learning what I need to get the image I want. With this camera I don't mind the learning curve, but I have to be brave and leave it on the manual settings.

Being out there and doing what I love to do...I forgot about the computer... routers... connections.

I saw the oak leaves changing color.

I heard the wind coming from across the canyon. I followed the sound as it moved through the trees and grasses, moving everything with unseen hands.
I saw the old Manzanita branch near Maggie's grave and wondered why it still looked so beautiful even in its dry and bent position on the ground.

I looked at the broken pieces of Manzanita, drying all summer in the searing heat...now lying on the moist ground surrounded by the leaves and earth. Does it know that it will become a part of the whole... that it will blend into the earth where it came from? Did I see resignation or acceptance in its dry branches?

I noticed the barbed wire on the fence and thought about the Prospector's comment. Kind of reminded me of ME... cranky, barbed and a little rusty, but fulfilling a purpose. Being what it is suppose to be. Just being barbed wire.
I was letting go of the anger at the computer and my inability to find out what was wrong.
It just felt good to be out there in the wind. 
I turned and walked back down the road to our house.
Nature is a great leveler. It's the one place I can go for reassurance that everything will be and is... OK. 

The next day the Prospector unhooked the Wifi router and I changed one thing in my Blogger settings and guess what? This morning the computer was working. I still don't know what specifically happen, but with a little ingenuity and that $95. still in our bank account, I'm online again and posting on my blog. 
The Nexis7 isn't working. We will have to wait until our son comes up and maybe he can hook up the Wifi again. Maybe I have too many toys.
Is it just me or does everything seem more and more difficult. We have four remotes for the TV. We have a water system that requires an engineering degree to understand. Our septic system is a complicated Minnesota Mound. We can't pull our car behind the RV without a special trailer. Even the new coffee maker is a learning curve. I'm always telling the Prospector that he can't die before me. I will be up the creek without a paddle. You will see me move to an apartment or just let everything go and live in one of the mine shafts on this property.
Do we do this to ourselves or is this a conspiracy?
I'm I getting old? Is everything getting more difficult and more complicated? It seems like nothing that we do gets any easier.

Sometimes I feel like this Manzanita branch... bent, twisted and going in the wrong direction.

And sometimes I feel like the Tombstone rock that I see, here on the mountain...  very old and being guided by geographic forces that I don't understand. 
I use to dream that I lived in a cave. The dream was a continuous one, that I remember dreaming many nights in a row. It was a huge cave with many rooms. It was dry and cozy. I was happy there. 
We didn't have much of anything. There were other people living there with us... relatives, I think.  I mention this because life seemed so simple... so fundamental. 
I mention all of this because I needed to whine. I don't like to whine and I don't like to hear others whine, but sometimes the whine just starts flowing and goes right to my head.
Sorry.

The Maiden Voyage: A different point of view. (Mine, not the dogs.)

I see that Carl got a post finished yesterday. Corgis are smart dogs and very entertaining. I'm sure that he elicited sympathy and showed you good examples of  OCD ( Obsessive, compulsive dog) behavior. I hope he behaved himself and wrote a good "point of view" story for you.
Last Monday, I woke up to this view out of the bedroom window.

I had just watched a wonderful video about photography and life by a man named Dewitt Jones. He was a photographer for National Geographic Magazine and he speaks on the subject of celebrating what's right with the world. He's really good and if you have 20 minutes out of your day to watch this video, I promise that you will find something here that will be worth your time.
The link is @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw-0hhoJLUo
It's called Possibility. It's so good. Please take a look.
So, I heard Mr. Jones again ask, "Where is the photo that is waiting for you?"
So I waited... and the sun came up... and ten minutes later I shot this image.

 And I waited another ten minutes.... then the light hit the window and came into the room.

 Yes! Change does hold possibility. The difference was only 20 minutes.
Please watch the video.

*******************
So, with this new found knowledge I traveled, with the Prospector and the Corgi Boys to the "edge"... the Pacific Ocean... to Bodega Bay.
Mr. Jones says, "And it’s not just the external edges that we have to test; it’s the internal ones as well."
You all know that I'm afraid of the ocean.  It's about the vastness, the depth, the endless water, the amount, the fish, the noise and the smell. I just feel it's going to rush in and sweep me away. I don't like being in the surf and feeling the movement of the water as it goes out. Even as a child, I was afraid. I'm sure that this goes much deeper than I completely understand.
As my years go by, I find that I'm less afraid of this vast body of water that I've lived near all my life. And where I live now there is no possibility of it reaching me anyway. I'm 1100 ft. above it all and even the rivers would not allow the ocean waters to come in and up this far. Like my fear of spiders, the older I get, the less these fears affect me. The ocean... spiders... they are all a part of this world I live in. Acceptance is key.
Also, I take the ocean in small doses... unlike spiders which just pop up in unexpected places, the ocean stays where it is. I go to Pacifica with my sister for a weekend. I drove down the Oregon Coast with my friend "D" this summer for a few days. And now, I venture forth with husband and dogs, to brave the multitude of water again.
We had to lift the dogs into the new RV. We had practiced for weeks to get them use to being inside the Bus. We knew it made them nervous but they were, we thought, OK with being inside. We brought their beds and blankets, their special pillows for the sofa... biscuits, dry food and their harnesses and leashes. They were pampered pouches. We made sure that their needs were met.
Cutter was not a happy camper. He spent the whole trip sitting next to the Prospector, and sometimes me, with his head on our laps. Sometimes he would lay down on the rug and rest, but the minute the bus slowed down or turned. he would be right back by our sides.
Carl, on the other hand, was trying very hard to be in charge of the situation. He would bark at anything he could see out of the windows and stayed on the sofa almost the whole trip. He would look at me, now and then, as if to be reassured that everything would be all right.
We drove over to highway 50 and down through Sacramento, over the river, past the Tower bridge and Raley's Field.

We drove through Davis.

Continued west and drove past a sign that brought back memories of travel with my own family when I was a little girl.  The Milk Farm Restaurant, in Dixon, was a popular stop for dining on highway I 80 since it was built in 1928.I remember it from the 50's.

The restaurant stayed open for many decades until closing in 1986 after a large hole was blown in the roof during a violent windstorm. Even after closing, the Milk Farm's tall animated-cow road sign stayed illuminated for years due to its popularity.
We passed the Nut Tree in Vacaville. At its peak, it contained a restaurant, a bakery, a gift shop, a toy shop and the Nut Tree Railroad  that gave rides from the toy shop to the airport. I really remember this  airport. It was 1960. I flew up there with a couple of UC Davis boys that just got their pilot licenses. The runway was really short and it was really windy. We almost ended up in the trees at the end of the runway.  But... we didn't. We returned the plane to Buchanan Field in Concord, where I worked and laughed about it for years but, we never landed their again. Ah, the memories.
Back in the RV....
We drove down to Vallejo and turned west onto highway 37, stopping for lunch and a quick rest near the Mare Island turn off.

Lots of tidal marsh land here at the north end of the San Francisco Bay. Interesting birding place but we didn't stay long enough to look for any.
Then we drove over Sears Point Rd (I call it Black Point cutoff.) and connected to highway 101. We drove North to Santa Rosa and then west again to the little town of  Bodega Bay.

  Remember Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS? Some of it was filmed here. This is the town were the birds went crazy.  Great movie!
We drove past town a bit and drove into the Bodega Bay RV park, a few miles north of town.
Now, let me tell you something I learned about RVing. Always bring a small car with you when you are driving a class A motorhome, because once you set up, you're kind of stuck. RV parks are rarely in town and this one was no exception.
The park was nice but the town was a long way down the road and so we WALKED everywhere.
We need to address this issue soon. Our little, old Toyota RAV4 is an 'all wheel drive' vehicle, so you need to tow it with a trailer. A trailer means more money. You can't just lift two wheels off the ground and drag it behind the RV. The car has to ride on a trailer.  I could have driven the car over there myself, but then I wouldn't have been WITH THE FAMILY for our trip.
Not having a car became a problem during the four day trip. We basically didn't go anywhere that we couldn't walk to. We set up our rig, talked to the neighbors and walked the dogs.The park was kind of empty. Not a lot of people... but the folks that were there said it was crabbing season and that by the weekend the place would be filled up. So, we stayed where we were.
 The dogs must have eaten something that they shouldn't have because that night Carl threw up four times and then Cutter threw up once... and again the next morning. Fun, fun, fun. Thank goodness the park had a laundry. It was like having kids again. Remember nights with the flu? Remember wondering how they could keep throwing up when they couldn't possibly have anything left inside them?
 Some lady, next to us, said that it might have been the water... that we should always carry our own water with us. We did... for our coffee and drinking.... and the dogs. So I'm thinking that they just found something irresistible out on the trail the first evening. That's dogs for you. Love that yucky stuff. The next day they were fine.
The second day we hiked down to the marina . From the park to the fishing marina was probably a mile and a half and by the time we made this hike... with the dogs... we were wiped out. Carl almost had to be carried back. Poor dog. He doesn't have a tail... but his tail would have been dragging if he'd had one. The dogs and I took a long nap when we got back to the RV.
The caretakers gave us a map with directions on how to hike down to the bay. We followed the trail through two campgrounds, and a service road to arrive here...

This was the RV park we should have stayed at. There were lots of people, and a marina.

The fishing boats were coming in...

and going out.

There was constant activity around the boat dock.

Interesting people.

Lots of crab catching equipment.

Folks digging for clams. Cute boots!

And on lookers waiting for someone to drop something.

Maybe this seagull was going to try and trade that feather for a fish... or maybe he ate another seagull. Yes, they ARE that nasty with each other. They fight all the time, but I think it's more bark (like Carl) than bite.
This one looked old though, so maybe he was just loosing his hair like all old people do.

The walk back to the RV park was a long one, but pretty. From here to the ocean, which we hadn't seen yet, there were sand dunes and it was beautiful to see succulents turning red.
This was looking north along a service road.We weren't sure how far the ocean was but there were "no dogs allowed" signs on the beach trails so we never went down there... but I could hear it roaring. It always roars.

These were two very tired dogs waiting for the door to open so they could go inside and take a nap.

In the evening I took a short walk by myself.
The sun was setting and everything was gold. I saw a dandelion with the last rays of the sun shining on it. I remembered what Dewitt Jones said about finding the possibilities.
He said, "Nature was showing me incredible beauty standing just beyond the rat race saying “Hello, Hello…”

I got down on the ground and shot this image. It's not perfect but it was more about the evening, the light and finding that light behind this "puffball".
"Because, by celebrating the best -- that allows us to fall in love with it, that connects us with our passion, that emancipates the energy. By celebrating what’s right, we find the energy to fix what’s wrong."
I walked back to my husband and the dogs in the twilight and realized that life really is good and that this was an adventure that would become a memory... that would become my life.
This puffball is for you, Mr. Jones.