Photo Sunday, 12/8/19
Category: Home
Happy Thanksgiving, 2019
“Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road.”
– John Henry Jowett (1864-1923)
I may not have time to blog for the next few days, and in case that turns out to be true, I wanted to take this moment in time to wish all of you a blessed Thanksgiving Day. May it be filled with love, joy, friends and family. Take a few moments each day to fill your soul with the gratitude you truly feel. Blessed be.
Ode to Lana & Meet Lady, the new addition
Before getting into today’s post, I would like to share some words I posted on Face Book about Lana Weeks passing. She was and will continue to be, an amazing lady and a big part of this coast.
“There are few people in Big Sur who have not been touched by this lady’s grace, compassion, and love the past few years. I am but one of the many she touched. I admired her so much and gained such wisdom just from knowing her. Selfless in her giving and support of Big Sur Fire. We will all miss her guiding influence, but she will live on in all of us whom she touched in so many ways. God Speed, Lana, and I will meet up with you when the time comes, and we can share stories again.”
This is a reminder to us elders…we need to honor not only those of us who remain, but those who will take our place. We need to make sure that this legacy — our legacy — continues. Let us make sure that the caring and compassion we envision lingers long after our bodies depart.
I know, heavy, right? But the love and beauty Lana represents continues in the babies — human and four-legged. This is the story of another being of light who came into my life as Lana was leaving it — another being was joining our Big Sur family — a fur baby.
Thursday, our dear Chica, Elsa Rivera, posted a photo of the cutest puppy on Face Book. She had been abandoned and needed a home. I have a thing for abandoned dogs. This is the photo that capture my heart and several others.
The story I have been told is that apparently, a couple had picked her up at the Rez, and on the way home decided they really couldn’t take her to their home, so they stopped at Loma Vista Shell and left her with Katy (?). From there she eventually ended up at Blaze and then with me, by about 8 pm. First nights with puppies are typically rough ones, particularly ones with no litter mates or mamas to assist. Thursday night was no different. Brendon introduced us, then went home, leaving his dog, Bella, also. First night…I have 3 and I am supposed to let them all “work it out.” Right…I also wanted to be able to sleep.
No, she did not. After trying to get some sleep with Missy on my bed, and Lady trying her best to climb into the bed, I gave up and took the puppy into the office (where I have a spare twin) and that is how we all got some sleep that night.
And this, is one from Friday as she gets used to her new home, bed, and pals. I just happened to have this new, never-used bed. I suspect she will outgrow it.
It was a busy day for all of us as the pack order was established. Missy has always acknowledged me as the pack leader, and she has never let anyone challenge that. She is my second in command, and she worked all day making sure that pack order was established. Lady lives, Bella is happy, I am in charge and all the girls are in their places. It was a good first day for all of us.
Do you know these dogs?
This notice was found by a reader on FB. There has been a lot of talk about missing or found Great Pyranees. Looks like the original post may have been 11/10 or Sunday?
Slice of Life on the South Coast: The challenges of simple errands and illegal campfires
My latest article for Voices of Monterey Bay is out. Here is the introduction:
I had an appointment on a Wednesday late last month with the Veterans Administration optometrist. It had been a while — six years, it turned out. I needed new glasses. It takes me two and one-half to three hours one way from Big Sur due to road construction and traffic. It is hard to do a round trip in a single day anymore.
The next day was the annual luncheon for the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau. This is when they lay out the annual report for the current year, and the business plan for the next year. I find it valuable to understand the goals of this organization, how it’s intended to achieve them, and how MCCVB money is obtained and spent. Friday was the Democratic Women of Monterey County’s brunch with Adam Schiff. That afternoon, I had a second appointment with the VA optometrist.
Rather than fight traffic for three days, I stayed in town for those three nights so that I could accomplish all that I wanted to. which meant I only had to fight the traffic home on a single day; unfortunately it was the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Sigh. I vowed to relax and enjoy it — but I couldn’t relax. People would suddenly pull over with no warning, no signaling, making everyone behind them slam on their brakes. At least there was no road construction. And blissfully, Bixby was fogged in, so the traffic jam there was only a minor irritation.
But once I got to the dirt road to my home, the challenges increased. Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Lots of traffic on a one-lane dirt road made for an interesting drive.
For the rest of this article, including my encounter with a nude man trying to get my attention, see: https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2019/09/11/slice-of-life-on-the-south-coast/
Kirk-Hare Fire, 1999
Photo Sunday — Trees
These are not my photos, but ones that popped up in my feeds somewhere. They give you a glimpse into where my thoughts and energies are right now.
The Spirit of Wild Places
My latest article for Voices of Monterey Bay http://VOMB.org is out. Here are the first two paragraphs.
I’ve been enchanted with the spirit of wild places most of my life. I went backpacking to the top of Mount San Jacinto when I was 9, long before the tram was built. My family and I took a weeklong mule trip to the high country camps of Yosemite when I was 10. We camped every summer when I was growing up. I grew up as a Girl Scout and wild places were very much part of my life. We were taught to pack it in, pack it out, just because … well, what else would one do? Long before there was a “leave no trace movement,” it was what we were taught and what we did.
This upbringing probably contributed to my love affair with Big Sur. It was a natural extension of my wildness education in many of the most beautiful places in California and the West. I learned to water ski on Big Bear Lake and hike in the Sierras. We traveled to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and other wild places of the West. I wish others had the opportunities that I did. Sadly, most of these places are overcrowded and overrun now. The experience is not quite what it was. The wildness is becoming harder and harder to find.
One can find the rest of the article here: https://voicesofmontereybay.org/2019/08/22/the-spirit-of-wild-places/
Enjoy.
FOUND! Lost Dogs – Vicente Flats trail, Big Sur
Happy 4th of July
Remember, NO Fireworks, No Campfires, and NO Wildfires, please.
