Monterey Coast

This last month we met friends in Monterey, CA to catch up with our lives since we last met and to explore Monterey's offerings.  We discovered wonderful food all weekend and on Saturday we went over to the Monterey Bay aquarium. (http://www.montereyaquarium.org/).  The aquarium revealed a stunning world of unusual and graceful sealife.  The jellyfish showcased their ancient dance through the ocean.  In watching the many unusual shapes of the seahorses and sea dragons in another exhibit, I was awestruck with nature's diverse artistry in design.  On our last morning we had a wonderful breakfast at a Pacific Grove Restaurant and then a drive along Ocean Avenue, which offered spectacular views of the ocean on one side of the road and the Asilomar State Beach and Conference grounds on the other side.(http://www.visitasilomar.com/)    The word "Asilomar" means "refuge by the sea" and it is certainly that.

May this month you find a breathtaking vista.  Maybe it will be a sunrise or sunset where you live.  I'll be thinking of you as I take in the rich colors of early morning and the golden light at dusk here in the beginning of the northern California foothills (while remembering the sites and sounds of the Monterey coastline this last month).  Take care.

Early Signs of Spring

February signals the early beginnings of Spring, even though we are still in the midst of winter.  The daffodils in our garden are just about ready to open their yellow blooms and the camellias are in full bloom in the garden.  These beginnings of Spring have me thinking about what to plant in the vegetable garden in April and May.  Vegetable gardens and fresh eggs are nothing new to Fair Oaks, a community located east of Sacramento, CA.  Fair Oaks community farming roots go back to the early 1900's.  Today there are chickens who have walking privleges in the streets of old towne Fair Oaks village area. 

Attached are two of these resident chickens that can be seen strutting their featheres in the Fair oaks village.  It is quite a feat (and a sight to watch) to sketch or try to take a digital image of these ever-moving feathered fowl.

Wishing you a little quiet time in February and a little sunshine.

A New Year

A new year.  A new beginning.  New beginnings are always great to discover and explore.  This last year we discovered a wonderful jam made by a friend of a friend (the best way to new discoveries) who picks organic peaches at Mas Masumoto's family farm to make her Elberta peach jam.  It tastes so wonderful.    Mas Masumoto is not only a farmer, he also is a writer.  His book, "Epitaph for a Peach," is a good read about his experiences through the seasons on his farm growing and harvesting his organic peaches.  He has a wonderful website that gives information on his orchard, his family, experiences farming, and his "literary" farm.  http://www.masumoto.com/

As we begin a new year, I wish you new wonders and blessings along the way.  I welcome to hear about your discoveries and new journeys throughout the year.

Thoughts of Warmer Days Ahead

February has been a good month on the rainy days to make plans for day trips this Spring and Summer to the mountains.  The sunny days this month (in between the rainstorms) have been a good time to walk out in the winter garden to make plans for the vegetable and flower garden this coming planting season.  Even with the rains that we have had this month, our Bird of Paradise bush has been blooming abundantly.  It has been great to look out the kitchen window and see all the orange and purple blooms.  A little tropical in the midst of winter. 

This month I have been working on an image (sketches from last fall) of  a warm-looking Sierra meadow which hearkens warmer days ahead.

Wishing you a little warmth in between the rainstorms.

New Beginnings

A new year has started with the beginnings of new intentions, new promises to be made as the year 2011 unfolds.  Because of this, I thought it would be  good to spend some time during this first month of the year to paint the January moon at dawn.  These images are from the first light discovered at the break of day along an early morning walk along the American River in northern California.  The first light of the day spotlights the tops of trees and ground with a glowing rosy shade as the darkness of the night gently and silently gives way to the new day.

As we begin a new season, I would welcome to  hear of your new discoveries and plans for the new year.  Wishing you new wonders and blessings along the way.

December Blessings

As I was painting an image of a coastal redwood that grows in our semi-urban/rural garden; I thought about the gifts that this tree offers.  This redwood filters light, is a shelter for birds and  neighbor animals.   A  pine that I discovered on a Sierra mountain trip this year  offers these same gifts of filtered light to those who dwell under the tree (plants, insects and an occasional animal who finds shelter underneath its limbs or boughs).

Cruz, who is our first rescue dog, entered our family's life this last April.  We found him at a local Golden Retriever rescue, Homeward Bound Goldens.   He was originally found near Palmdale, a southern California high desert area right after Christmas last year.  We do not know how long he had been homeless.  Through a series of rescue shelters and devoted caregivers, he found his new home with us here in northern California.  I often think that he may have found shelter under a tree like the trees described above. 

May you find warm shelter, light and friends to share your year's stories this December. 

Wishing you a little quiet and stillness amidst the winter storms and the packed holiday calendars.  Peace.

Season of November Autumn

As I am going about my weekly errands this month, I'm reminded in the greeting card displays and in the offerings at the grocery store that this is the week we will be celebrating Thanksgiving here in America, and here in California.  I am reminded during this annual November season how much there is to be thankful for.  We have had special blessings in the Sacramento Valley this year.  The weather has been a little warmer this November to allow the roses to bloom a little longer and to allow the trees to turn a more brilliant autumn color for a longer period of time this year.  As I worked on a couple of autumn watercolors this past month, I thought about the brilliant crimsons, orange vermillions, the mahogany maroons and the golden yellows I saw in the leaves as I travelled around town.

My husband and I were able to return to Hope Valley in the Sierras in mid October just before the rains came to the area.  We were able to witness the annual show of the Hope Valley golden aspen glowing so bright against the deep green of the pines in the background.  Attached to this blog are two paintings of the Hope Valley aspens.  I enjoyed studying the shadows on the aspen bark, enjoyed hearing the wrestling sound of the aspen leaves created by the wind and remembering the clear blue autumn sky and glorious passages of yellow and orange.

Wishing you a warm Thanksgiving.

"Autumn in California is a mild and anonymous season, hills and  alleys are colorless then, only the sooty green Eucalyptus, the conifers and oaks sink deep in the haze; the fields are plowed, bare, waiting; The steep pastures are tracked deep by the cattle; There are no flowers, the herbage is brittle.  All night along the coast and the mountain crest birds go by, murmurous, high in the warm air.  Only in the mountain meadows the aspens glitter like goldfish moving up swift water; Only in the desert villages the leaves of the cottonwoods descend in smoky air."  Kenneth Rexroth, Autumn in California, 1940