A dream day in San Francisco!

The drive across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco was clear and bright! Alcatraz Island in the distance and the loveliest view of The City - Coit Tower, The Golden Gate Bridge, Ferry Market, and pretty sail boats. It's all so interesting and beautiful! We continued our drive through the crazy streets of SF to Golden Gate Park. A walk through the Japanese Tea Garden was exquisite! Next, just a short drive to Japan Town for lunch and a stroll through the Japanese hardware store and bookshop. We closed out our fine, fine day back in Oakland with an IKEA visit and then a thoroughly enjoyable dinner in the home of our former next door neighbors; an aperitif in their back yard, surrounded by the prolific, lush greenery of the East Bay and dinner in their charming, original Arts & Crafts dining room! A nostalgic and wonderful time with such nice people.

March....a Month of Motion

From a mid-month visit by Nate's crew (Here are Abby and Ben at the park near our home), into our spring garden, to Sausalito and Stinson Beach, to Green Gulch Zen Center, to San Francisco's Palace of the Arts for a concert. It's been a beautiful month.

Beginning to look a lot like...NEW ENGLAND!!

Happy last day of February! Snow fell softly through the night and we awoke to 8" of snow! The huge old cottonwood trees look magical out our kitchen window; their craggy grey bark decorated with fluffy white snow! I couldn't help but gaze at them awhile as I prepared morning coffee. Fred wanted to be outside for only a few perfunctory minutes and then dashed to the door. Burr! Snow still falls gently, just a little bit. So we will just sit back and relish it from inside for awhile, and venture out again shortly. An enchanted day!!

Beautiful Snow Day!

This snow will make everything so happy; Spring thaw in the high country to slow down the fire season, and green-green-green here in the valley! This is such a treat! Of course, there are plenty of locales where people are very tired of this stuff...and I can understand that. Poor things. But we, here, find it rare and exciting! (Even though I know it will mean MUD by this afternoon....ugh.) ENJOY!

I'm happy to announce....

...we have our very 1st Hellebore blossom ever! We purchased this little guy at Plant Delights Nursery while visiting Josh & Paige, not too long after they moved to North Carolina. Pre-Piper, even, if I'm not mistaken. And look how our darling Piper has bloomed in that 5 years!! But our poor little hellebore plant has struggled along in our alkaline soil...being moved from spot to spot, as we fed it, watered it, shaded it, sunned it and hoped. At last, it is in a location it seems to like! It has a hellebore neighbor, also from that North Carolina excursion, which does not seem to plan on blooming this year; it doesn't help that a bunny recently munched on it, provoking me to place a chicken wire cage around both of our hellebore plants! (We have four small ones started in another spot - maybe next year they will bloom????) Warm weather was here for a week or so - and now we have awakened to cold and a light dusting of snow. Most of our snow experience here this winter has been via the television news reports about other places! WOW! The winter in New England, Michigan, the midwest, and even the south! People will long remember the Winter of 2015!