Spending a couple of days at the coast always recharges my batteries! The rhythmic sound of the waves crashing onto the shore is calming. And calm is what I’ve been needing lately. It seems like there is never break from all the bad stuff happening […]
All posts filed under: Nature
Up Close & Personal … The Cooper’s Hawk returns
Imagine my surprise when I got another visit from the Cooper’s hawk Saturday afternoon! He came swooshing through the shrubs and landed right in front of me on the birdbath. There he sat still for a few moments, then hopped onto the ground behind the […]
Zunday Zen … Ensō
Open hearts and minds trump ignorance, hatred, fear. One’s character matters! When I discovered these incredible pieces of art on display in an office I’ve been to a number of times, it surprised even me that I had never noticed them before. I came […]
Hummingbird Magic
Summer is here and so are the hummingbirds! Hummers rarely sit still. This one however just sat and sipped nectar for a few moments. Crocosmia is a favorite hummingbird flower! “Lecker!” Delicious! Check out the tongue down below! I never get tired of watching hummingbirds! And […]
Up Close & Personal … The Western Tanager
While sitting outside one morning last week, the Zendog and I suddenly felt a swoosh of air moving past our heads. For a moment all I could see was a bright blur heading straight for the lilac bush. Once this brightly colored bird landed, I […]
Happy Friday from Christine’s Flower Garden!
Another one of my favorite things “to do” when I visit friends in Northern California is getting a tour of Christine’s flower garden by Christine herself. We’ve been friends for nearly three decades, and despite not getting to see her very often, our friendship has […]
California Road Trip 2019 … Hiking Howarth Park … Again!
Santa Rosa’s Howarth Park is popular with many of the locals. The hiking trails around Lake Ralphine connect to Spring Lake, another favorite local spot to enjoy the outdoors. When we lived here, we spent lots of time at both of these parks. Every […]
Zunday Zen … The Magical Redwood Forest
Sequoia sempervirens the world’s tallest, living trees. There’s not much one can say about these incredibly beautiful, long-lived, resilient, fire-resistant and evergreen sky scraping giants! Even on a warm day the air within the forest stays reasonably cool. There’s really nothing else quite like it! […]
Happy Friday from the Sara Hite Memorial Rose Garden!
While running a bunch of errands on Wednesday I decided to take a break and visit this rose garden nearby. The Sara Hite Rose Garden sits on about an acre of land. There are so many spectacular roses in bloom right now and most of them are delightfully fragrant! […]
Up Close & Personal … Introducing Dan (the) Quail
How do you spell potato? 😉 Late Sunday afternoon I I noticed a rather large creature rustling through the bushes around my wildflower corner. I looked up and couldn’t believe my eyes! Right there in front of me I saw this beautiful California quail. He […]
Zunday Zen … Monday … Monday!
tranquil Lake Ralphine’s sweet Monday morning magic to start the week right One of my favorite spots to visit in Sonoma County is Howarth Park. it’s located in the southeast part of Santa Rosa, right on Summerfield Road. One of its draws […]
Up Close & Personal … The American Dipper
For Sandi! That same afternoon where I listend to Daniel’s fabulous cello music in Lithia Park, I had another unexpected encounter along one of the walking paths. Strolling south along Ashland Creek, I crossed the creek on one of the wooden bridges. Just past the […]
Street Musicians around the World … Cellist Daniel at Lithia Park
Day One of this year’s California Road Trip took me all the way to Ashland, a small town near the California border. When I arrived, I parked my car, checked into the hotel and headed straight for my favorite place in this city: Lithia Park. It’s […]
Up Close & Personal … Song Sparrow’s Bath Time
There are several birdbaths in my garden, but this song sparrow took a dip in a puddle that formed on a black plastic tarp. Last spring I covered a large part of a flowerbed with it, in hope of taming some out of control alstroemeria. […]
Bienvenue à Quebec! La Deuxième Partie!
While we were visiting Quebec, we also took a bus out towards the St. Lawrence Estuary where we got on a boat for a whale watching excursion. There were lots of Beluga whales, and also a fair number of Mink whales. The boat was a […]
Friendly Friday Photo Challenge … Time flies …
… when you’re having fun! A little late, but here is my combined contribution to the last two Friendly Friday Photo Challenges. First came Amanda’s prompt, “Alleys”, and then this past Friday, Snow picked “Chairs” for the prompt. While sorting my digital photo library I […]
Meditation in Moment … Earth Day
Phoenix Rising from the Ashes, Sonoma County Fair 2018 Sunday night, October 8, 2017, I went to bed excited because the next morning I was going to leave for my annual road trip to California. I had packed my car and was ready. This trip […]
Friendly Friday Photo Challenge … Mood
Sideways Geese in the Sky Snow from the blog The Snow Melts Somewhere picked the theme Mood for this week’s Friendly Friday Photo Challenge. You can click right here to see her beautiful sunflower, which should make everyone smile and get into a sunny mood! You can […]
in cahoots with muddy boots 