Stair Master to the Sky ~ May 31, 2012

After breakfast we asked the park host for a suggestion on a good place to explore that's only a short drive, especially after yesterday's 200 mile jaunt. He told us to just turn right out of the park driveway and head for the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. It's about 25 miles north on a gravel road. Though we're camped in Idaho, somewhere along the way we cross into the Centennial Valley and Lakeview, Montana.  The drive is spectacular and we see only a couple of other cars on the road the entire journey ~ our kind of place!

Off to a promising start

Yellow Bellied Marmot  ~ Roadside Patrol

 Short pause for lunch

Just before we get to the Refuge we came upon what appears to be ghost town, like a movie set right out of an old Western. We find out it's the home base for the Center for Earth Concerns, headed by lifelong naturalists and philanthropists Melody and John Taft. The organization works around the world, dedicated to enhancing and expanding education for the protection of wildlife. You can find out more about their vision and work at http://www.earthconcerns.org/

The historical buildings, which date back to the early settlers, are being restored and recreated. Also in development is a museum to showcase the history of the Centennial Valley. The facility hosts environmental researchers, artists, students and volunteers to study and fulfill common goals. "The heart of the Center is held by the people who continually dream a vision into being - the founders, directors, staff and volunteers who welcome and care for all who are fortunate enough to visit this oasis for the soul".

Our next stop is the small Visitor's Center at the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge where we find more information on the area and local wildlife. We ask about the fire lookout tower on the property and find it's been retired for some time. We're delighted when the host hands us the keys and lets us to climb up and take a look. You want to talk Stairmaster ~ this was much more fun than the one at the gym and the view from the top was amazing!

Late afternoon we head back to camp to relax and fix some dinner. Starting to feel the thigh and calf muscles from our climb! Tomorrow we start the journey home and will hatch our game plan as we go.

Just a Thought Series ~ June 24, 1987

I'm following my creative muses into new territory ~ the paper arts of collage and altered books. Though I'm primarily self taught in all artistic pursuits, I've decided to take some classes, my first is next week. I've been collecting paper ephemera for years: calendars, cards, magazine and paper cutouts, small pieces of material, ribbon, etc. I was organizing some of the cards and looked on the back of this piece to find the following words.

"Happy Birthday Daddy, Wednesday is my day off and I will plant the climbing star jasmine in honor of your 77th birthday ~ plenty of southern exposure, spring water from Cazadero and Rod's magic compost. We're celebrating our 7th Fort Ross Volunteer Fire Department Picnic this weekend too ~ ever the newlyweds. Be well, be comfortable and stay curious. I love you to bits."

A Three State Day ~ May 30, 2012

After breakfast we pack up the Honda with foul weather gear, cameras and snacks and head up to Yellowstone. The weather is acting up some, but the sky's constant changes create an incredible palette for the photographer in me. We've decided to spend the day exploring both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; a recon mission for the next trip.

I couldn't figure out why I saw "entering and leaving Montana" signs and had to look at a map to figure it out. There is a little pie wedge of Montana that slips in between Idaho and Wyoming when you enter Yellowstone. I mean really, we need to get out more! Did you know that Yellowstone National Park was established by the Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in March 1872?

When you're touring these magnificent parks you can't be impatient or in a hurry. Car's frequently pull over or stop in the middle of the road to see what's up. You just have to go with the flow and relax. This trip there are bison grazing along the roadside.

Ralph and the Boys

We've traveled along the Icefields Parkway, an amazing journey that takes you from Banff to Jasper, Alberta (put it on your Bucket List). We saw moose, elk, coyotes, bears, and deer along the wide grass verges next to the road. I always had this vision of the animal families orchestrating their roadside attractions in shifts. "Alice, me and the boys'll take the morning shift, then you and girls bring the kids up from the river for the afternoon shift." I can't help but create the same scenario here.  

Fountain Paint Pot

There are many pull outs along the way and we stop frequently to walk about. It's an incredibly rich, diverse and colorful environment.

After lunch we head south into the Grand Tetons National Park to do a little exploring before the weather turns bad. The Rockies never disappoint regardless of season.  

By the time we get back to camp we realize we've driven 200 miles within the parks. A great adventure but a long day. A simple dinner and we're curled up with books before nightfall. The weather is improving by the hour and the Sandhill Cranes once again wish us a good night.

From Craters to Crags ~ May 29, 2012

About 3 hours east of Boise on Hwy 20 we discover Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Time for a break and a picnic. 

Between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago, the Craters of the Moon Lava fields formed during eight major eruptive periods and grew to almost 620 square miles. The region experiences basin and range faulting, which stretches or pulls apart the crust. The Lost River Range north of the town of Arco provides good evidence that these forces are still active. In 1983 there was a magnitude 6.9 earthquake, during which Mount Borah rose about 1 foot and the Lost River Valley in that vicinity dropped about 8 feet. And we think things rock and roll around the San Francisco Bay Area!

There are cinder cones and lava fields all round us; wild flowers, lichens and a few tenacious trees bring spring color to the immense sea of black in the high desert sagebrush. After a bite to eat, we check out the visitors center and some of the local history, but we have another 4 hours to reach our destination, so we're soon back on the road. Next time we're here we'll plan on some hiking. Had to have this postcard to frame. The creator is author Ilan Shamir.

We reach our destination in late afternoon. Just south of the west entrance to Yellowstone there's a 6 mile dirt road that takes you out to Henry's Lake and the Red Rock RV Park. We're within walking distance of the lake and out in the middle of nowhere. These are our favorite kind of spots, quiet but for bird song and the wind in the trees. Another delightful place to anchor for a few days. We set up and head down to the lake.

Back to camp for a dinner of sauteed vegetables, boca burgers and potatoes and few games of cribbage. With sundown comes a serenade from the resident Sandhill Cranes and the promise of some weather.

Tomorrow we're headed to Yellowstone and the Tetons for a day trip in the Honda. In spite of our expensive learning curve, we're glad we brought it along. We have much more flexibility to explore now.

Thoughts of my Father ~ June 17, 2012

It didn't matter if we were

Paddling after ducks in Lake Shasta or 

Engineering runoff into fanciful creeks

~ 

Setting up camp with Mom every summer or

Building wooden boats for the pool

~

Digging in the garden or

Turning my VW bus into a camper

when I was in college 

  

I always was Daddy's Girl

November 1945

He was my hero

And at times my counterpoint

A quiet man

With a big heart

~ 

Happy Father's Day Daddy

Thanks for watching over me

Then and now

Boise Food Stars ~ May 27-28, 2012

5/27 ~ A reminder we're staying in a guest cottage at friends. We toddle into the house for coffee this morning and Linda has created yet another, blow your socks off breakfast: sauteed pears baked into a puff pastry ~ the recipe has been requested and will be posted.

Today's a lazy day by choice. We drove over to Betty and Ken's for a visit and then took a tour of Boise: historical buildings, homes and neighborhoods, old town, parks, the river and of course the blue turf of the Boise State Stadium. Love the color of this Clematis on their patio in late afternoon sun.

All 8 of us gather at Trisha and Leland's for dinner. It's our first chance to cross paths with them this trip and see Annie the Wonder Dog. Leland fixed us his renowned paella. We spent most of the prep time in the kitchen at rapt attention watching the master at work. Linda brought watermelon salad, and Betty baked strawberry/rhubarb and lemon meringue pies. Lots of wine, conversation and laughter between courses. This trip to Boise has been food lovers dream tour.

A cautionary tale about tax dollars at work. Their home borders the sage brush sea at the outskirts of Boise. Leland tells us that in early June a wrangler will be bringing in 700 goats for a few days to "mow" the steep hillsides to rid them of noxious weeds and reduce fire danger.

 Before

After

A great concept in theory from the city of Boise and the Fire Department. It will reduce fire danger, but the hillsides were pretty much denuded which brings up erosion concerns. Leland is philosophical about it at the moment and will wait and see what grows back in the next couple of months. Best laid plans 101!

5/28 ~ Our turn to provide sustenance. The crew has heard of Rod's designer pancakes. He was the chef at the Sonoma State Children's School for eight years and every Friday he'd fix pancakes by request for the kids. Their job was to stump him, but they never did. We all met a Ken and Betty's for breakfast. Left to right: Betty's tulip, Pancake Boy and Trisha's Phoenix

After breakfast we headed back to Steve and Linda's to start putting the rig back together, do a little laundry and get Little Towed (Honda) leashed up. We've got a bug in our bonnet to head for Yellowstone so in the morning we'll head East once again on Hwy 20.

The last supper in Boise: another four star meal with our hosts and Ken and Betty. There has been rain on and off during our stay, but the weather turns perfect again so we're able to eat on the back patio and enjoy the evening breeze: BBQ salmon, corn on cob, Steve's potato salad, Linda's apple/spice bundt cake and leftover Betty pies for desert. It has been an amazing four days: we discover a new town, get to know new friends better, share stories, and a common love of food, the arts and the outdoors.

Your next assignment: Get off you duff and go see some of the world, even if it's just the next county over. Life is short and unplugging from reality is good medicine!

Eastward Ho ~ May 25th-26th, 2012

May 25th ~ Hwy 20 is a blue highway, a road less traveled with spectacular and sweeping views of the high deserts of Oregon and Idaho. Farms and ranches are patchworks of color in a sagebrush sea. Eastern Oregon is onion country so there are acres of a subtle blue green hue along the road.

Just west of the Idaho border is the small town of Vale, OR. It's time to gas up and get some lunch. We park the rig near a machine shop and ask the owner for a recommendation. He points us across the street to the Starlite Cafe. We place our order and the waitress delivers our sodas and then brings over the standard squeeze bottles of mustard, mayo and ketchup. As she goes to place them on the table she appears to fumble the bottles and "accidentally" squeezes the ketchup bottle at Rod. A stream of red heads right for his chest. After a moment of stunned silence we realize it's not ketchup, but a string of red yarn. We just dissolve in laughter along with our waitress and the locals sitting near us. The food is great, the staff delightful and the pies to die for. The Starlite is a triple threat if you're ever in Vale.

We get to Boise late in the afternoon. Our intent had been to stay in an nearby RV park over Memorial Day Weekend but our hosts Linda and Steve insist we park the rig in the driveway and use their guest quarters. They call it the Casita but read Honeymoon Suite, a delightful and comfortable spot to call home for a few days!

First night in Linda makes an incredible dish with cod, shrimp, salmon, prawns, and veggies (like paella without the rice). I need to preface this with the fact I've never been a seafood person, but this first meal in Idaho is the beginning of a new chapter in my gustatory digest. We were joined by friends Ken and Betty. In spite of the fact we hadn't seen each other since the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in February we call it an early night. We'll have four days to catch up and Saturday is going to start at o'dark thirty. We're headed to the Camas Prairie for a day of exploration, photography and birding. It's named for the Blue Flowering Camas ~ an important food source for all Native Americans in the interior Northwest. The Camas Prairie is also a traditional Nez Perce gathering place.

May 26th ~ Linda starts us off with smoothies for breakfast. No ordinary shakes these: almonds, walnuts, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, Greek yogurt, and orange and pomegranate juice ~ a total meal. We're going to introduce them into our breakfast menus at home. At 6:30am we're off (Linda, Rod and I) to meet up with Ken, Betty and their friend, artist Geoffrey Krueger (http://dailydoseofpainting.wordpress.com/). He has a fascination with cloud laden landscapes and old farm buildings, and today would turn out to be a gold mine for all of us.

Yellow Headed Blackbird

Camas Prairie

Barn Diva and Truck

Soldier Mountains

Old School House

After the rain fog at an old corral

Ken was a great guide: we saw a kaleidoscope of wildlife, birds and waterfowl, wildflowers and mountains, farms and woodlands, old buildings and corrals. I might add that these back country gravel roads are in better shape than most of Sonoma County's paved roads! We're home by early evening, leftovers for dinner and straight to bed, exhausted and happy.

Anecdote: We stopped on an old farm road to watch two young pronghorn antelope watching a tuxedo kitty in hunting mode. She kept leaping into the air clapping her paws together. Our guess was maybe grasshoppers. Anyway we were as enthralled as the antelope and so no one got a picture. All I could think of to write down so I didn't forget was "Two antelope and a cat go into a bar."

Great Basin Spring ~ May 23-24, 2012

We head east over the Santiam Pass (a must see in the fall) on Hwy 20 to Burns then turn south onto Hwy 205, another of Oregon's Scenic Byways.

Our destination is the Narrows at Malheur and Harney Lakes in the northwestern corner of the Great Basin. Malheur Lake is freshwater, while Harney Lake is saline-alkaline. Both cycle between open water in wetter years and marshes in drier years. It is a wetlands oasis providing a habitat for many migratory bird species each year.

We stayed at The Narrows RV Park for two nights, the perfect base camp for exploring Harney County and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. In the morning we went out to Visitors Center to get the scoop on the best places for birding. We got so much good information from staff and visiting birders we have to save some areas of exploration for our next trip. 

We took along a "sightings checklist" and head down Pilot Road (gravel)towards the town of French Glen with binoculars and camera at the ready. Spring in the high desert (about 4,100') does not disappoint: the colors, shadows and wildlife provide surprises at every turn. The road is virtually empty so we frequently just pull over, get out and walk. The weather is perfect, warm and partly cloudy.

American Avocets

Pheasant

White Faced Ibis

Buena Vista Overlook

After a full day of exploring we have an excellent dinner at the little cafe at the park. A storm rolls through after midnight and I wake up to the sound of dripping water. I just got up and threw a towel under it for the night. It turns out that one of the small ventilation skylights was cracked and the wind was forcing the rain in. No worries, Mr. Duct Tape to the rescue at sunrise.  

We just add it to the NWTF list with a smile. My mom and dad were on the road in their motorhome for a decade. They loved every minute of it, but Daddy did warn me "Honey, they are money pits". I now get that. We look at it as all part of the journey and we become a little more self sufficient and savvy as we go. After breakfast at the Cafe we head north to Burns, fill up and are on our way to Boise for a few days.

Dinner on the Hill ~ May 21, 2012

Before we took off for Eastern Oregon we headed up to Hillsboro to spend a night with our old friends Art and Deb. We only get to see each other about once a year so we make the best of it. We are all avid (could read that rabid) cribbage players, their guest room is a little slice of heaven and Deb is a world class cook. We'd be fools not to check in while in the neighborhood!

Dinner was roast lamb with carrots, potatoes, caramelized onions and yummy side dishes. After dinner cribbage, a short break for a dessert of vanilla ice cream, fresh pineapple and dark chocolates, then round two of the annual smack down. Cribbage girls ruled this trip, Deb and I were the tag team from Hell! A little confusion with counts and scoring late in the last game set us all off into the giggles. It was either time for some anti-aging meds or a good night's sleep, we chose later. From a wise but unknown author:

Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves

For we shall never cease to be amused

We awoke to the birds singing and the smell of hot coffee and toddled downstairs to find fresh carrot/orange juice, homemade blueberry muffins, pan seared snapper, and broccoli. They're lucky we didn't stay a week! A few more games of cribbage after breakfast it was time to hit the proverbial road. Next time they're down here in our neck of the woods, we'll pick up where we left off.

Omne Trium Perfectum IV ~ May 19-20, 2012

We're off and by the end of the first 36 hours we have a new understanding of the concept of adventure. We have the rig set up now to tow the Honda CRV. It will give us more flexibility to anchor somewhere and explore. Rod has hauled a trailer with the rig on his annual trek to Las Vegas for the NASCAR races, but towing a vehicle has a whole new set of ground rules.

It has something called a proportional brake that senses when the motorhome brakes are engaged and applies the Road Master brakes to Honda. Just outside of Laytonville a car in front of us decides to make an unannounced left turn ~ you know the kind: stop, start turn, signal, tail in your lane. Rod applied the brakes; the message to the Honda was slow down, but instead of that the brakes locked making it a momentary 4,500 pound anchor. We must have left a 100' of rubber on Highway 101 and a cloud of blue smoke that swallowed the car behind us. The parameters and settings were supposedly checked before we left Johnny Franklin's in Santa Rosa. Me thinks they muffed it. We pulled over at the next rest stop and re-adjusted the unit which sits on the floor of the driver side in the Honda with an arm attached to brake pedal. From there on no problems.

We pulled into our campsite at Emerald Forest north of McKinleyville and unhitched the Honda to drive down to our friends house for the evening. The minute we got on the Freeway it was "Houston we have a problem". Major vibration, sounded like a freight train. Being NASCAR fans we understand the concept of "flat spotted tires" when a car skids it scrapes off the rubber. Oh boy!

Fortunately Tom and Linda are good friends with Pat, the manager of the Les Schwab Store in McKinleyville. Linda called his house (this is Friday night) and left a message with this wife explaining the situation. On his day off he met us at the shop at 8am and had his guys to get us in first. Four new Honda tires $1,000 ~ friends and customer service ~ priceless.

On the road again by nine, destination Sublimity, near Salem, OR for Rod's Pop's 94th birthday party. We had expected to get in by mid afternoon, but that was not in the cards! We're just south of Cottage Grove, OR on Interstate 5 when we hear a loud rattle-clank, thwappa, thwappa. We pulled as far off the road as possible on the paved verge, which left about 2 feet to the slow lane. Scary! Big Rig drivers are the best, if they had room they moved over to the fast lane to pass us.

Problem: the inside dually tire had lost its tread, which was wrapped up in the wheel assembly and ripped the mud flap loose from it's outside mooring. Fortunately the core remained inflated. We called Good Sam, and it took about an hour before they could get a tow truck to us to change the tire. Nice kid did a great job and we were back on the road in a couple of hours. We pull into Sublimity about 11pm, set up and call it a day.

I went to get something out of the closet and everything spilled out onto the floor like a waterfall. The clothes rod brackets had given up the ghost somewhere along the way. Omne Trium Perfectum. At this point there was nothing to do but laugh and get a good night's sleep!

There's a Les Schwab Store just down the road from Pop's. They got us in first thing Monday morning and replaced two tires, rotated fronts to back and replaced the spare. $400 for 2 new rig tires ~ again customer service priceless.

Next stop the Narrows for a couple of days at Malheur and Harlan Lakes south of Burns, OR. We are enjoying being unplugged and using each day to the fullest. That said you may need to wait for the rest of the story, but I'm taking good notes and lots of photos. Stay tuned.

Hell of a Start ~ May 18-22, 2012

We've been on the road for 5 days now, most of the last three visiting with Rod's pop in Sublimity and friends in Hillsboro. No access to wi-fi except the local library, so once we get to our destination in Idaho I'll have tales to share that range from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Oregon is in full bloom: iris, rhodies, wildflowers and seed farms with acres of white and yellow. We've stuck to back roads and blue highways, well worth the extra time it takes to get to a destination. Stormy with intermittent sunshine.

Stay tuned.

Gone and Little Towed ~ May 17, 2012

Tomorrow morning we take off on our first major road trip of 2012. We have three weeks with only a few promises to keep. We're off to visit friends and family in Oregon and then to Boise, Idaho for Memorial Day weekend.

Idaho Golden Eagle

http://www.etsy.com/people/christophernewell 

The majority of the trip, however, will fall under our favorite category of "Shall we turn right or left this morning?" Bill Bryson said it quite well.

Road Trip Freedom

 

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel

is to be able to experience everyday things

as if for the first time,

to be in a position

in which almost nothing

is so familiar it is taken for granted.” 

Over the last 5 years we've taken our little motorhome, Gone, all around the Northwest, BC and Alberta. We've seen some amazing places, but the drawback was that without a car we couldn't explore. We want the freedom to anchor somewhere for a few days or a week and be able to check out the neighborhood. 

Enter Little Towed, our Honda CRV. We got her set up this week so that we can take her with us. It's going to be a learning curve, especially since we go from 25' to almost 40', from back in sites to pull through sites, from simply taking off to new checklists for hitching up and unhitching. We have a long run up Hwy 101 to our friends in McKinleyville and another long one from there to Pop's place in Sublimity, OR so we should be SOHUA (somewhat old hands upon arrival) by the time we get there. Life should be an adventure and who would know better than Mark Twain? 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed

 by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Super Saturday ~ May 5, 2012

Today is of course Cinqo de Mayo. In Sonoma County there are a myriad of celebrations as well as the Human Race and the Wine Country Century bicycle tour. It's one of those weekends to stay off the roads and out of civilization. Delighted with the prospect of no promises to keep we split the day between working in the garden and reading on the front porch. Tonight will be grand for viewing the Super Moon. We'll get out the lawn chairs and maybe the spotting scope for a close up. 

This, however, is about a moon of a different kind. Earlier this week I made several batches of Cilantro Pesto and we were lucky enough to score some of our friend Nancy's outstanding sour dough pizza dough. Chef Boy outdid himself, this little puppy's just about ready for the oven. The combo includes cilantro pesto, red bell peppers, portobello mushrooms, green onions and shredded sharp provolone cheese. Oh Baby!

Tomorrow the top of the hill gang gather's here for a late afternoon BBQ to meet our new neighbors. We always do it pot luck and the list of goodies is impressive. We may need the Garden Way carts to get everyone home. Enjoy your weekend and be safe out there.

Twilight on Tamalpais ~ March 14, 1921

Once again I'm back to work on family genealogy. The thrill of the hunt, an archaeological dig and jigsaw puzzle all rolled into one. You never know what you'll find around the next corner. Sitting cross-legged on my studio floor I was looking through a small file cabinet for a specific photo. I got sidetracked by a manila folder filled with some ancient newspaper clippings. Among them was the following poem.

Twilight on Tamalpais

High upon a mountain, whose fingers touch the sky,

Whose pillared sides and giant trees saw men and nations die;

There, standing in the twilight, in Nature's fiery tone

I breathe the air of freedom and joy to be alone.

Below, there ride the straining ships ~ the greyhounds of the deep

Upon whose decks the silent crews their silent watches keep;

And in the middle distance, as greylike as a tomb,

As befits a dreary prison, is Alcatraz in the gloom.

Behold the distant ocean, the soundless, tossing sea

As silent as an ocean in any dream could be;

The stretches of the City, flung far across the Bay,

Whose myriad houses glow with light ~ the light that ends the day.

Alone to feel the silence, alone and all in peace,

The calm, still peace of even, as daily labors cease;

The passing breath of sunset, in lovely shades of red,

The peace and joy of living 'mid the splendors of the dead!

All I know is that it was written by Frank Livingstone, San Francisco, March 14, 1921. It was no doubt cut from the local newspaper by my grandmother or great grand mother.

Undated, photo/postcard of Mt. Tamalpais in same file

Anyone who has been up on the mountain will recognize the views and thoughts he describes. I could only smile at the similarity of my own journal entry written 91 years later (March 2012 blog: Just a Thought Series ~ December 10, 1970). It appears Mt. Tam holds magic for all who spend time in her embrace.

The Great Bear Hunt ~ 2012

Rod and I were sitting on the front porch last Thursday enjoying the late afternoon ambiance when we heard bicycle tires on the gravel. We see two of our hilltop kidlets peddling like they were in lead of the Tour de California.

Now it's a given, as a kid, you are going to crash and burn at least once on a bicycle ~ the dreaded learning curve bites hard, especially on a gravel road. We watch helplessly as Maya goes down, hands outstretched to stop her fall. The tears and screams are swift and within 10 seconds three moms, a dad, Rod and I and four playmates are sprinting towards the commotion. Nothing serious, a little gravel burn, hurt pride and probably a few bruises. She recovers quickly and is off to home for a bandaid.

The four boys (Nolan, Evan, Alexander and Atticus) decide it's time to go on a bear hunt. Rod cuts walking sticks (for protection of course) to size for each of the team and off they go down into the pasture and the great unknown. A teenage neighbor has built a tree house near the property line and left the ladders there. One of the boys wants to climb but they discuss the fact it's not their tree house and they shouldn't climb the ladder. A black cat dashes out of nowhere into the brush and someone shouts "Panther". One of the boys was a little scared and said he'd feel better if Maya was along (she's the oldest). Maya, now recovered, sprints down to the outpost and joins the hunt.

I'm sitting on the retaining wall with two residents moms and a dad and the mom of two of Nolan's playmates, watching the adventure unfold and listening to them talk about Rod's connection to kids and the lessons they always learn. This time it's leadership, being brave, and making good decisions. It's all too cute and the mom's are sighing with delight that they have a few unbridled minutes of not having to be on point. Rent a Grandpa!

The group returns from the hunt and Nolan shouts "magic cart ride" and the boys head for the Garden Way cart and the compost pile. Rod stands it on end and they all hop in, stacked like cord wood, for the short ride to the "fort" at the base of our redwoods. Trouble on wheels!

Pesto Mi Amour ~ April 28, 2012

During the summer I do a fair amount of canning: apple sauce, blackberry jam, pears and pesto to name a few. Rod is the Pie Man, so the top of the hill gang benefits greatly from his expertise with crusts, blackberries and Gravenstein apples. 

For a month or so last fall the small micro greens company Rod occasionally drives for gave us the organic growing medium from the flats returned by their clients. We dug it into our raised beds to add a bit of new soil and compost, never considering it might sprout in the spring with the first taste of sunshine. The past several weeks we've been harvesting fresh greens daily of all shapes, sizes and flavors: peas, shiso, mitsuba, fennel, baby onions and cilantro to name a few. These additions to our crop of baby lettuce and spinach give new meaning to the word salad, you hardly need dressing. Here's a suggestion for creating your own salad chaos.

Seed Bombs

http://www.etsy.com/shop/visualingual 

We have a bumper crop of cilantro, which will bolt as soon as it gets hot so I wanted to do something. Would it work for pesto? I've always made my pesto with basil and pine nuts, but have been looking for an alternative, especially since pine nuts are $30/lb and I don't like walnuts. Doing some "digging" on line, I found a basic recipe and tweaked it as I went (that's a given).
 
Ingredient quantities are all approximate ~ mandatory taste as you go. Each batch makes a little over 3 half pints and it freezes well.

• 4 cups fresh picked, rinsed and packed cilantro (stems and all)
• 6-9 garlic cloves (if you want it spicy lean towards the 9)
• 1/2 cup or more of a sunflower seed & peppered cashew mix. You can find all kinds of nuts in bulk aisle in most organic groceries. This is my mix but go wild and create your own. 
• 1/2 cup (+) virgin olive oil (I also float a little on top before closing jar)
• 1/2-3/4 cup Cotija cheese ~ crumbled
• 2-5 tbls fresh lime juice

Place cilantro and nuts in food processor and pulse until finally chopped, add garlic and pulse to combine. Add oil and run processor until contents are smooth. Add cheese and lime juice and pulse until creamy. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula now and then.

We added more peppered cashews to one batch, additional lime juice to another and created some really different flavors. I took a partial jar over to my neighbor Andrea to taste. She wouldn't let me bring the remainder home. She's going to try it on BBQ chicken this weekend. Our food conversation was off and running, next experiment ~ brushetta with garden fresh tomatoes this summer. Oh Baby!

Wordless Wednesday ~ April 25,2012



Tales of the City ~ April 22, 2012

We went down to San Francisco this weekend to meet up with some out of town friends and do some exploring. It was 90 at home in Sonoma County and a pleasant 75 around the bay, one of those magical, windless spring days you don't often see.

We checked into our hotel on Lombard about 4pm and walked down to the Marina to meet with our friends for dinner at Pompei's Grotto on Jefferson St. The food was fabulous. I was looking at some vintage photos on the hallway wall and was thrilled to see one of California Street after the 1906 earthquake that had been taken by my great grand uncle, RJ Waters. Some places like this delightful little restaurant never change, but the world around it does.

The flip side was that there were about 10 low riders (fabulously creative beasts from the 50's and 60's in pristine shape) parked on the street out front. At least four of them had the bass on their space age stereo systems cranked up to 11 (ala Spinal Tap) and the windows were rattling. Several herds of Harley's came through in full dress with dragster volume pipes. All fun to watch, but a bit of a damper on ambiance and conversation for some. We just took it in as part of the free entertainment.

After dinner we walked back on a path that takes you around to the back of the small park at Ft. Mason and saw some stunning views of the Golden Gate and Marin Headlands at dusk.

Sepia tones of a great view of the Golden Gate

However, the next thing that came into view was the aftermath of Earth Day in the park at Ft. Mason. The place had been wall to wall people in the late afternoon when we first walked by. By dusk all that was left was the garbage, tons of it everywhere. San Francisco is at the top of the green cities list, but apparently some of the citizens haven't gotten the message. A sad commentary.

Earth Day Aftermath at Ft. Mason

After a fair night's sleep (we live on a dead end lane in the country so it is a stark and loud contrast being on main street USA) we walked down to Chestnut Street to meet up for breakfast at the Squat and Gobble, a spur of the moment choice that turned out to be an excellent decision. Walking back on Chestnut we noticed a fire truck parked in the middle of Pierce St. A cadre of firemen abandon ship and walk in our direction. We laughed and Carol facetiously said they must be on their way to Starbucks for coffee. Imagine our surprise when that's exactly where they were headed.

Next stop the Exploratorium ~ a place that makes you realize you're always a kid ~ all touch, visual, sound, mind, play, science and make it. I grew up in Mill Valley, just across the Golden Gate Bridge, I'm 67 years old and this was my first trip. Holy Hands On Fun Bat Girl! Put it on your bucket list. They will be closing down next January and moving to their new location on Pier 15 and re-open in April. I don't think it will be as convenient (free parking now at Crissy Field) and the amazing Palace of Fine Arts no longer be next door. So I'd go before the new year.

Favorite I: Icy Bodies ~ thin shavings of dry ice are injected onto the surface of a shallow pool of water where they careen around like comets. 

Tiny jets of gas shoot out from the individual ice fragments causing them to spin and tumble as they drift about. Side-lighting brings out the detailed structure of the out-gassing jets, much like our solar system.

Favorite II: The Living Bacteria Exhibit ~ colors to delight the artisan in all of us.

This was an amazing adventure to say the least ~ we took a stroll through the Palace of Fine Arts and then called it a day and headed back to the north country. Cereal and bananas for dinner and early to bed, brain dead from all the sensory input. Next adventure will be to the Legion of Honor for the Cult of Beauty: the Victorian Avant Garde 1860-1900 (through June 17th) and the San Francisco Zoo. 

Martha, Carol, Rod and Me