-death by landscape- pt I

dearest gentle readers-

we went on an adventure.

we sought the wilderness.

we craved exposure to the craggy jagged shoreline and her abundance of mysteries.

this post series is aptly titled after my favorite short story by m. atwood.

i foolishly tried to post everything on to one blog, wasted time sorting pictures, and then i quit. 

i'm starting over: keeping it short, small, and organized.

greens, blues, and greys.

butano state park, inland from pescadero. oaks buffering between scrubby sunny meadows and shadowed redwood forests.

home fort.

wandering.

treasures and trinkets.

ferns and moss and little boys; the redwoods have been the same since the dinosaurs.

fire watcher. i've got myself another flapper. i would sneak into the forest's shadows to gather  moldy, decayed branches, hopping over mossy logs; brushing my fingers over every tree i passed, breathing in our collective breath.

peachy peachy boy. :) see that sweet plum sweater? well, i had forgotten to pack a sweater. this is absolutely ludicrous considering we were spending a few weeks by the foggy coast, not to mention my highly prized collection (hoard) of ugly/awesome sweaters left untouched at home. luckily there was a salty little thrift shop in pescadero where i located this one suitable fleece, which i would wear daily.

meeting these friends.

filling my eyes on the drive.

what fine, fine friends i have. xoxo

oh my, five alive

teddy. he's five today.



happy birthday to a boy who loves to see things float, sink, roll, and fly.
happy birthday to a boy who said, "mom, titanic is my favorite movie. seriously."

happy birthday to a little guy who has stuck with me through some interesting times.


happy birthday to a kid that debates me on every single subject i bring up: tv, sugar consumption, sprawl, gasoline, you name it.

happy birthday to teddy, who asks more questions about subjects that usually don't interest me and i don't know the answers to, but can usually look them up on the internet. (car, rocket, spaceship, ship, tugboat, train, and light rail sizes/dimensions/speeds/etc..)

and things like: which is stronger? a hurricane or a tornado?

teddy, you put up with a lot.

and i think you've lived more in five years than most your age.

you were born on a day just like today: pleasant and bright just before the rains.

you are a special boy, handsome and smart.

plays all day

is home among dust and rocks

sends flowers down little streams

he's gigantic.....how did he used to be my baby?

asks to play hide and seek every day

shaping up to be a loving brother

upon the threshold

sunday country drives through wheatland,

lincoln, loomis,

penryn, up to auburn. flat to foothill in an instant.

look at that (lincoln's) face. adios mio.

i went to the dentist. this is what is waiting for me when i pull up.

 When it's over, I want to say: all my life
 I was a bride married to amazement.
 I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

 When it's over, I don't want to wonder
 if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
 I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
 or full of argument.

 I don't want to end up simply having visited this world

- Mary Oliver

i am amazed with lincoln tyler teddy -

the late sun glowing through the green leaves

and the song of the crickets carrying us- 

the baby bird in our front yard learning to fly

and the way august slipped into september

with our legs still tan and the trees still green

summer making a deal with fall

teddy hasn't yet learned camera etiquette

rough peasant fare: we prefer it. 

wanting to eat food so bad. i was hoping for a baby who'd  love nursing, but this kid is all business. he does not nurse for enjoyment...he eyes our plates during meal times and flaps and whines, just begging. green beans make excellent chew toys.

and boy does he chew...like a puppy. he already has two teeth!

gnawing on a carrot.

i grew up in these woods with twelve brothers and sisters. the impact of this in my person is massive, and wholly indiscernible. 

apples, of course. hitting up apple hill early is like putting up your orange ghost table cloth in september...which we did.

but who can resist a folksy harvest?

really, it's about donuts. (high hill...like a lot of placerville youth i worked at this tricked out  establishment a few years ago in the pie house. i was able to practice my spanish and eat a lot of pie. high hill is the least quaint of the seasonal  attractions but it is still a family operation, and the farm buys apples from nearby smaller farms when they run out. the smaller farms appreciate this.)

"are you going to be five soon, wendy?"

my mom, holly, and link.

merry's famous carved iguana log.

he's getting chubby!

teddy with camera in hand.

does this look the way september feels?

sky enchantment

i've been wearing this baby since birth. lately it irritates him...he's not snuggly (as much as i wish he would be.) there's far too many interesting things in the world to see, rather than cling to mommy. sad for me, but i guess this means all of his needs are being met. ;)

watermelon in cheesecloth.

 we visited aunt debbie and grandma norma casper in concord. their house looks out onto some of the loveliest buckskin-ed hills i've ever seen.

i just lose it. ecstatic. 

sunset blindingly vibrant

rainbow tornado touching down

norma is one of the sweetest ladies i know. look at all of her pictures: her family means so much to her.

lincoln and grandma hamming it up.

cotton candy, roseville

these are my homies. one, and a half, and half of that.

i'm sensing the essence of triplets here.

if this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen you're crazy.

---to everything there is a season---(turn, turn, turn...:)   ) the earth is turning.

xoxo