how to:

-create wilderness in a wilderness desert.
-stay sane in suburbia.
-you get the gist of what i am doing here.

(in photos.)
well, i know that might sound all frou-frou and high-horsey, and i am certainly no expert on wilderness sanctuaries, but i am trying to make one. ;p

use the power of the sun. teach your children how to do this.

plant. early spring.

compost. this is how you create earth. invite insects, arachnids, worms, birds... RECYCLE.

work all of these simple things into your children's lives.

take pictures with grandma and grandpa :)

find any open space. gravitate around it, like the pheasants and hares.

walk. pick up trash,

water plants

play. (thanks to hailey for this sweet teepee.)

play with people of all ages.

don't mow, spray, or over-water. squashes will grow all by themselves.

kumquats. 

our back yard is full of bird song because we have water for them. and rice. :)

see how wonderfully the plants take over the bed? (see above for "before.") pumpkins (big ones) tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon.

spiders come (charlottes.) the yard is filled with great webs. i feel confident in saying we have the wildest yard in the 'hood. :) full of all sorts of life.

get artistic. ;) and draw your family

love.

abundantly. (five months old: cooing, squealing, flapping, grabbing.... it was amazing watching him find his hands,. awareness! the world becomes a little less blurry every day, he is masterful. he rolls as well. who knows how long our "bed" situation will remain the same.)

naps on the couch. so sweet. and dangerous.

finding the beauty of native roseville

and staying cool. i am unsure about this water. there are a lot of hobo's in roseville. i'm pretty sure dry creek is their main toilet. better than the mall, right? ;)

nightshade relative?

 wow. this was pretty incoherent. and jimmy crack corn.

one of these days i will write an insightful story of one's transition from a simple, woodsy existence to a consumptive, conforming society plus marriage plus extra baby...one of these days. (maybe that's what i'm doing already...)

LOVE.

july so fast and now we're full

placerville, the little swimming hole behind tyler's folk's house.

the heat has arrived, and it is peaceful, buzzing with cicadas and mother birds.                                                                                              

it's a short and steep trail and the pool is cool and secluded

baptism?

feels so good to cool down

and get plumb wore out

i don't know when or how the paraphernalia accumulates...but i'm pretty sure it correlates with children

mom and dad's house has been like a truck stop: lots of comin's and goin's.

dad and fallen leaf lake

the waters of lake tahoe are enchanting. it's a massive blue lake within a desolate mountain landscape, give or take a few mcdonald's.

glamping. (not.) with cousins. :)

lincoln and grandma

sleeping under the stars means waking under the sun

state fair mono rail

happy valley! (we learned that certain swimming holes and small children do not mix.)

jessica and zach, my very cool cousins, stopped off for a visist. jessica is now in eugene  for a weaving apprenticeship . xoxo

amy, my sister, and baby boy

you see folks, even with a rinky dink garden you can still make a pesto and tomato (and potato) pizza.

pumpkin hijacking the growing space. natural selection.

teddy lost his golden mop...kudos to tyler fixing my majorly sad hack job on the poor boy.

swimming with my bf diana, who is also a mermaid.

although she lives in texas, my sister glory is a true california girl.

folsom lake...ZZ turned 6!

little hombres, lincoln loves to swipe drooly hands at teddy.

tami, we made fudgy pops!

searching for wilderness in roseville, and i know that it's true self is a lovely, wild place, full of animals, lush tree-filled creek bottoms, and sloping meadows. indian grinding stones...learning from roseville's first peoples, the maidu.

bridalveil river hole.....the best water any where.

merry, my sister, and lincoln.

:) tyler and lincoln. gotta love them.

getting frisky with a person in a bear suit. shy teddy really wanted a photo with this thing.

why don't i ever remember to rotate photos? oh well. (after: bubble pops!)

it's been a dream of mine to be inside of a large bubble. this little stranger was kind enough to help out. (i saw a picture of this once in a book as a little girl.)

there was a raisin exhibit at the fair....so, yeah, we ate a lot of free raisins.

this baby is so pro at jumping. it is beyond adorable to see this baby bounce around in this contraption. 

every now and then i stumble upon perfection. xoxo

i love summer! despite my current stay in the doldrums of creativity this summer has been hot hot hot, and i can't believe august is here (my concept of calenders does not matter...i do love these shifty seasons though.)

more to come.
sat nam.