drought no doubt.

first, what this year is so far inspired by: gotta love the library. PERMACULTURE. planning the glorious transformation of our front patch into an "edible ecosystem," maybe just enough room for a small fruit and nut tree guild with a few berry shrubs. LOCAL FOOD COOK BOOK. a placer county cook book, with recipes every week of the year based off of what was found at local farmer's markets. i feel so fortunate to be surrounded by so many fertile farms. (kiwis in january! every county needs a book like this!) FERMENTATION! and, adding a lot of smells in our kitchen, the mastering fermentation book. love at first sight. (i've got kimchi, kvass, and a sour dough starter going.... the trouble is my house isn't warm enough for anything to start fermenting! i've been carting my jars and bowls around to find sunny places and keep warmish in the car on afternoons...they're getting quite the royal treatment.)

today-

a hawk's cry rings through the neighborhood on this warm afternoon.

song birds trill and whistle.

on my skin it feels like the emergence of spring,

and it feels disconcerting,

since the rains have yet to come.

flowering trees that bloomed in april in my youth's memory are now starting to burst forth

small pink blossoms.

desert, aka: folsom lake, dammed reservoir filled with the waters of the sierra nevada snows, flowing from the american river. roseville's, and nearby communities' water source.

basically, we

are

so

out 

of

whack.

fragmented, on the moon.

we came to see wander the lake bed, as it holds the water we drink at home.

the fruit trees will begin blooming soon, confused by the warmth.

only to be frozen off by a wry storm come february.

that seems to be the emerging pattern for this area in northern california.

the turkey vulture sits quietly.

linky treasures the burdock seeds in the dry lake bed.

ty and link.

as the sun set in a psychedelic-neon we walked to the nearest playground, and bumped into the occasional-play-ground friend, michelle. 

michelle is a meteorologist for the national weather bureau/climate studies/ fancy shmancy,

and we chewed the fat.

el nino/la nina patterns.

melting ice.

drought.

i told her that as a life long resident of northern california i've taken note of the shifting seasons, dryer winters.

winters were wet and chilly as a child, with the family fruit trees blooming around april, near my birthday.

and they started blooming earlier, march, 

remembering the surprise as they bloomed in february.

for the last 5-7 years they've bloomed at the end of january, lured by unseasonably warm weather that's becoming more "seasonable."

only to be blown off by a week of freezing wind that often comes not too long after.

it's been a long time since we've had successful fruit crops,

this is our new normal.

it won't go back the way we remember seasons to be;

i look onward to adaptation,

and feel flabbergasted when the scarce waters of folsom lake trickle down sidewalks as my neighbors over-water their dang-blasted lawns.

source. how the lake "normally" looks.

even if it does rain, and according to michelle it will, because "statistically the atmosphere can't remain dry all of the time...," it is dryer. and hotter.

and we need a lot of rain.


praying.

merry little

a very scrappy christmas for our family.

christmas has come and gone
 the new year is upon us, with new adventures
and directions.

(and for the sake of documentation this blog gets posted en retrograde.)

cleaning house and soul on new years day.

the kindest presence in our stamp sized yard, feeling grateful she's happy in our little patch of wild. she's near the end of her days.

linky's baby rides in the trike.

and back to the holidays! a guardian from ty.

wild foothill succulents.

we had a special christmas sleepover at the casper's... grandpa kurt's barber shop.

...accompanied by christmas eve feasts and christmas morn feasts. :)

an intuitive present from my mother in law.

vintage paper, home made heating pads.

linky falls asleep in grandma's arms, holding the baby she gave him for christmas.

i show off the hooded scarf tami made me. <3

acorn toasts and pom jelly.

wintry.

my favorite little mushroom people.

sister merry emcees the smith festivities, a family talent show!

cousin hailey, her love ezra, sister amy, sister jenny, and her mate dana. at the cozmic in placerville.

ty and i hosted our very own holiday party. this is where ty could be found, with linky and our niece holly.

my lovely sisters in law.

bird's eye view of apples to apples.

another party at my parent's, with my sister visiting from oregon.

nieces and nephews crafting.

last sunset of the year.

partied with the boys and went to bed before midnight. :)

don't worry, i figured out how to remove the time-stamp from the camera settings.

i feel this year will move so swiftly, hopefully
to be full of collective music and kind rituals around local food, and permanent changes to our weather patterns.

also: you're looking at sierra college's newest student. :)
xo