And So It Turns

We took a little break from our day to day lives and went down to San Jose to visit the grandparents. It was a relief to get away. I asked friends and family to water what remained of our gardens. We visited New Brighton Beach near Santa Cruz and ate an obscene amount of delicious Chinese food. We also played the surreal game of miniature golf at Golfland in Sunnyvale. We let our daughter stay up very late and she was giddy.

On the way to Santa Cruz, I got to see what the land looked like around that area before it was covered with freeways, tract housing and asphalt. Amazing amount of diversity. They have sequoias, oaks, willows, manzanitas, california bay laurel, cedars, and a bunch of shrubs I couldn't id. I also saw many eucalyptus of course which were planted throughout california long ago. But I also say another Australian transplant - acacias. They seem to be naturalizing along highway 17. It was like seeing an old friend. One of the main things I miss about our old house in Corning were the two acacias I had to leave behind because they did too well there. I am trying to raise more now from seed. They are not as tough when seedlings I can tell you!

The weather was divine. Hence the tremendous density of people. It's not like Bangladesh which has roughly half the population of the USA packed in a country the size of Wisconsin! (Had to share this staggering stat). But it seemed to me that people were everywhere, cars everywhere, traffic, lights. It just settles in on you. Like a background noise that is really irritating but you try to ignore it. Only now that we have returned to the country do I realize I just missed the quiet. And something has shifted in the air while we were away.

There is a hint of coolness. The grasshoppers are receding. Acutally, I only saw five while watering. Five! instead of thousands. I am sure they are still out there but I can tell the tide is turning. My comfrey has rebounded. So has the lovage. There is a lone pumpkin in the squash patch. And we got a new addition to our farm family - Mr. Bullfrog. Initially he scared me witless when I stumbled on him burrowing in the compost pile, but now I kind of like his bug-eyed countenance and sprightly green trousers. I have started to think of winter crops, fall plantings. Am I mad? Maybe. But it feels like something is definitely turning.

I just finished reading Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende. Sshhh! don't tell but I am secretly a Neo- Luddite. Yes, a Luddite on the computer blogging. I know these are crazy times we live in! Still reading Cultivating Delight. I like to read lots of books at once. Finished the other books I mentioned in the last post as well. And I just received the DVD Harvesting Water the Permaculture Way by Geoff Lawton from the Permaculture Institute of Australia. Looking forward to watching that. So things are looking up!