spring summer autumn winter:

our holiday update.

(...because we like to participate is the general reflective mood.)

what has happened this year?

and it's not so much about what we've done,

but rather who we've been.

which is us, i guess. 

(many thanks to my mother-in-law tami for emailing me this photo...) casper family 11/12

TYLER: (who is kind enough to let me post on his behalf... :) )

swinging at my folks' house; december is such a lovely time in the foothills.

 i think kindness is a quality that gets overlooked. tyler is as kind as he is funny....and let me tell you kindness goes a loong way. when he isn't working at sac international as an air traffic controller he dabbles in his numerous talents (which include, but are not limited to: beard growing, housekeeping, cooking, parenting,  internet hacking, carpentry, electronic fixing, crocheting  planning adventures, being cheerful, and auto mechanics.etc etc...he does it all...) this year he bought a golf tdi vw and tuned it up with the intent of turning our garage into a bio-diesel lab. this old soul became a father this year and it has been fortifying to watch him and lincoln become the friends that they are. he is a true natural and is the best parenting partner around.

tyler and his day old son!

don't we look deliberate? "...wanting to live deep and suck all the marrow out of life..."

graciously presenting a lovely growth of toyan berries.. he is a happy companion to many of my expeditions as well as the ones we plan together.

his little helpers.

the best evenings look a little like this... he really is the best dad. i don't know anyone else who scrubs out poopy diapers on a daily basis. 

tiny backyard harvests are the best kind..

DOLLY:

i went from carrying my baby on the front.....

these have been some busy seasons for me. i learned a lot about caring for two, mastered breastfeeding and cloth diapering, and i am slowly (but surely) learning the old art of creating a cozy, creative space for my family while growing as an individual. i have found a renewed interest in native plants, knitting, etc etc etc, you know, goin' old school.

to the back.... lots of exploring to do

a big highlight for me was staying in eugene OR with my two boys...

...made some cool friends

saw many beautiful sights...

learned a lot about fibers and spinning from my cousin jess, who is a future weaving master.

and i took my boys to my old stomping ground, that stagnant sapphire caldera of crater lake. the season was over and the place was deserted...it was wonderfully cold.

and here is another picture of my best mate. :)

 i learned a lot about what i require to feel accomplished and progressive, and the majority of it correlates with learning with my children, returning to the earth, and becoming self-sufficient all at the same time.

he loves his brother. in no time at all they became the goofiest little rough-housers.

TEDDY:  he turned five this year, and has developed some pretty awesome interests. 

he loves planting and digging 

he's the best little beach comber, always finding bits of urchin or driftwood

he lives for these kind of days...

is apt to sneak downstairs to finish decorating the tree while everyone is asleep...

mastered riding a two-wheeler, and insists we bike everywhere..

he hovers over lincoln, and is quick to inform me if anything is awry.  he really is a big helper, and loves any sort of responsibility i delegate to him. he has a really defined sense of justice, as he sees the two of us as equals. (read: stubborn...but you gotta love this kid.)

is a an odd collector of rocks, candles, and other curios. 

picked up sewing...this is his fabric rendition of the carpathia. he can even thread the needle. (did i mention he had a healthy obsession with the titanic this year?)

little dreamer.

coming to get you.

two days old... he looks humongous to me.

3 months old

 LINCOLN:

lincoln was born during the wet and windy month of march and is still quite new to planet earth... he's pretty much the star of the show around here. teddy, tyler, and i go cuckoo for this little goober everyday. 

 likes:
-door stoppers. (boing. BOOING...)
-animals
-peek a boo
-nursing
-daddy and teddy
-playing music/ musical instruments
-splashing
-putting things in his mouth
-climbing

dislikes:
-getting dressed/changed
-driving at night

 he fills our house to cuteness overload. he is a treat to have around, and we're always laughing because we can't help ourselves.
he crawls with lightning spider quickness, which can be as disconcerting as it is adorable.
he grins super cheesy whenever he sees a flash. he follows us around the house like a puppy. he is soooo much fun.

 he slobbers and flaps and grabs and swipes plates of the table. he got all 8 front teeth before he was 8 months old, so he's pretty toothy! he chews on everything and grabs our faces to nuzzle our heads, forehead to forehead.

 needless to say we have a bazillion pictures of this baby.

 we love rocking him to sleep, rubbing his fluffy head, kissing his rosy cheeks, hearing his sweet little voice, and squeezing his chubby little thighs.... everything is new to him; his chunky finger points up at the moon, his zipper, or anything that catches his eye. we love teaching him.

this makes me laugh...we took his diaper off a little prematurely. 

he pulled this kumquat off of our tree.

learns new tricks every day. he can: climb stairs, pull himself up and balance on his own, pull himself up to the piano and bang away...we think he'll be walking very soon. it's mind boggling to think how fast he's grown is these past 9 months!

we are healthy and well, and we love getting your christmas cards. i'd love to post something a little more organized and thoughtfully written but i've got a trouble maker to chase after! SENDING OUR LOVE-- life is so sweet and tender. SEASON'S GREETINGS to you and yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


xoxoxo

seasonally, hello cumulonimbus, fungi

we went to heber city utah to be with ty's family for thanksgiving. i love those people.

 the pictures of the drive through nevada are the only pics i have ! generally when i drive through nevada i feel dreamy and wild, like a vagabond....it's different keeping two small children in the backseat happy.

the rain has been so lovely....when the wind howls at the house and the rain drums down i sleep so soundly. my heathen lullaby. and tonight i can even hear that throaty froggy chorus ringing through the dark neighborhood and into our windows; better than jingle bells.

the rain means it's time for teddy and i to grab our audubon north american mushroom field guide...one of our favorites. :p

 when there is matter to be decomposed there you will find mushrooms: what grows need to be decomposed, i love these organisms. do you say: funji, funguy, or funghee? secret little fruiting flowers of the decaying underworld.

my favorite: bird's nest fungi

they like decaying sticks and grow in little rows... they are just about to "bloom."

i feel pretty geeky here. mostly i'm just dorky.

did you know that teddy rolls his eyes at me? but moments like these are nice:  finding him reading books in bed, and then he tells me and link to leave because we're "disturbing" him.

if spare time were plentiful i'd identify more specimens and post a blog a day...about mushrooms...but for now i'm happy just finding them. con: if one is truly looking for mushrooms there is a risk of getting a crick in your neck and missing out on other things, like rainbows. 

i love the illustrations: polypore? pitted? attached gills?

does it grow singularly or in clusters? 

does it grow in decaying leafy duff?

or in bark chips?

redbud...native to northern california. eat the pink blossoms in the spring for a treat.

purple pig skinned puff ball. poison.

clumpy mugwort bud.

these seem to be recycling the root systems of these old shrubby skeletons. 

little bruiser. right now he is laughing and screeching at this picture...and then crawling over to the door stopper: BOING! BOING! BOING! and then he crawls back over to me and i pick him up...and then i eventually get
back to this post....eventually.

he likes to ride just as much as he likes to be worn.  look at the layers of colors.

in the surewest employee park across the street from our neighborhood. 

they planted native species of trees like buckeyes and grey willows, and the bird song is heavenly. gold finches. red headed house finches.

spores! who can resist squashing these for the dust clouds?

clusters of pig skinned puffballs.

does this photo order seem out of whack? could my blogging use a dash of organization? yes, and yes. daddy lucky enough to get a drowsing pup.

LBM's, or little brown mushrooms, right in my own backyard. (a true master could identify all the different lbm's.)

xoxo we LOVE when he's sleepy enough to snuggle. a treat. a cheesy but true line: your laughter is like sunshine in our little house.

oh ho ho! hobbitses! me and d.

burrs: death to tights. i collect sticks.

my kind of scenery: dewey horizons and solitary oaken silhouettes. 

cool truck. diana is a nanny. i love it because "our kids" can play together. other than that none of my friends my age have children, so it can get sorta lonely.

cooler lichen. the earth is taking it back.

and today we walked to our meadow/ new swamp.

a little grumpy, but cozy.

this kid is innovative. we heard a radio story about the rate of melting ice and glaciers. later that night he told tyler he had a solution: get ice cube trays, fill them with water, and then dump all of the ice back into the ocean. i hope to someday soon visit the mcclure glacier in yosemite. it's calling me.

a non-googled photo of brother coyote.

"short cut."

my reeds and skies, having given all of their water, feel lighter.

shadow stretching up along with the soul...i am cloud particles. 

can't keep this kid dry!

they remind me of melted little permafrost pools up in the tundra

"at first i was having fun and now i'm all cold and wet and i am not having fun..." well put teddy, well put.

i've been having dreams about rattle snakes and eagles and strange houses. seems prognostic.
lessons of maturation and motherhood and understanding self and space....help me rhonda my life is exploding!
i sing the body electric          and a spiritual emergence.
sewing projects in the future,    loving these autumn days,
update on link soon!
my house is realllly messy.
tis' some season!
peace.