Yippee!

Blue Beginning...Gone...

All three baby robins have made it through nest time and are now learning their new surroundings. Their chests are not red yet and the mama is still feeding them. They have found a few places they seem to stay, under the kitchen window and by the grape vine. It has been a privilege to watch the transformation from egg to bird. Thank you.


Photos from Mimi

Rogue Bear

Rogue is growing so fast! Here a few photos of the big boy...

7/07/07...

Hey You!

"Pretty Mama"

I didn't really notice the extent of her haircut until I saw the scissors and clumps of hair on her bedroom floor. "It's pretty mama" she said. If you notice in the pictures, her hair is cut from the side by her ear, into half her bangs. The back had the most cutting done and the top lost a few too. I have to say, she didn't really do too bad! Mimi says you would pay big bucks for a creative hair-doo like that. I like the side cut over her eye "look". So far it has worked better than clips!

Blue Beginning Revisited...

These pictures were taken within a span of five days. It is amazing to see how quickly the baby robins grow. Notice their feathers.

Photos from Mimi

Productive Energy

"Deep in your heart, you have always known the truths about living Wabi Sabi," Obaa-san said as she calmly poured another cup of tea. "I'm simply here to remind you of those quiet truths, to counterbalance the years of other voices that have drowned them out. From one direction or another, you have learned to hide, ignore or resist the imperfections in your life and your surroundings, and you've probably done it well. Most everyone has. Now the time has come to channel that energy into more productive, enjoyable endeavors, to start valuing the whole of your life. Rather than defeat the imperfections in life, living Wabi Sabi will help you to redefine the negatives, to understand their hidden, positive lessons and become a more joyful person along the way." -Obaa-san (Living Wabi Sabi, The True Beauty of Your life, by Taro Gold)

Vastu Shastra

How many of you have heard of Vastu Shastra? Feng Shui is akin to Vastu Shastra, it too is practised to ensure living in harmony with one's environment...Vastu Shasta says, "Clutter can block the smooth energy, or prana, in a home, causing the energies to stagnate. It is far better to get rid of unwanted things". So, on that note, I am off to keep the energy flowing smoothly though my home. In other words, time to do some intensive house cleaning...I feel I am always doing that, but- "Keeping the energy flowing smoothly" sounds much more romantic than "Ugh! I have to clean again!" -Girl's...better get that room clean before I silence the clutter!

If you are interested, a great book on Vastu Shastra is: Vastu in 10 Simple Lessons, by Bilkis Whelan

Zen Garden Revisited...

I found it! The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is the type of Japanese garden known as a wet walking garden, although it is a Zen garden, or dry garden area as well. The Japanese Tea Garden was first developed as the Japanese Village at the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition, or World's Fair, which was held in the area that is now the Music Concourse. Golden Gate Park's Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States.

(info found on inetours.com)

Freedom...

Photo from Bre

Camp Bennett...

We set up camp in the backyard. Had fun doing this, although I have to admit -once everyone fell asleep, I slipped into my bedroom and slept like a baby between my line-dried sheets. Lance called me a "cheater"...We had a campfire at night which, of course, would not be complete without scary stories. Lance is a great story teller and scared the girls silly, with the help of a Halloween mask. Ausha freaked out, then embraced the mask with scary, campfire story goodness.

Zen Garden...

When I was looking through old photos, I came across this one. It is one of my favorites and am so glad I found it. When Ausha was about a year old, (almost ten years ago!) we went on a month long road trip. We lived in our VW van and traveled the south-western states. We had a marvelous time. I loved New Mexico the best, we called it "Cactus Land" and swore we would be back -something still on our to-do list... This picture was taken while we were touring the Japanese Gardens in San Francisco. I am searching for the actual title of this beyond beautiful garden...anyone know?

Recycled Rock...

About 8 years ago, or so, my wonderful husband built me a pond. At the time of construction my husband worked for a landscaping company. He would bring home any leftover rock and such. From this collection of recycled goods, our pond was born. Nothing but a few plants were bought. A frog was purchased as a tadpole, we had fish and lilies.
We have many fun memories of our pond. One that always sticks out in my mind is the evening ritual of feeding the frog, Johnny Como -named by our then 3 year old. He would jump up from his rock, snag the worm and slurp it down. The kids always found this fun and never tired of searching for worms to tie onto the frog pole (an old fishing pole). Lance and I enjoyed sitting and watching the kids and drinking our after work cold beer, or margarita...depending on the mood.
When we moved into our "first" home, almost 4 1/2 years ago, we left our pond. My parents own this rental property and now want to turn the pond area into parking and soon sell. Seeing how our pond was to be replaced with parking, we decided that we should rescue the recycled rock.
What better way to spend one of our vacation days than to dismantle an overgrown, jungle of a pond that once held our fancy! Kinda depressing to see our pond in such a state, more so to see my lovely lavender never pruned. No need to worry- I cut what was left and made some great smelling bundles.
So...these are a few pictures of our pond right after being built. I am looking for some pictures with the plants established and the pond busy with life. This sounds easy, but seeing how this is before I hit the digital wave, it is not. In the dismantling pictures, you can see how much of a jungle our pond turned into. I also found a great picture of Kaziah , about 2 or 3 years old, next to the lavender...my favorite plant at the pond.
Life happens, even when you aren't looking...

Jellies...

We are a strand in the web of life. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are connected. - Chief Seattle
May we all remember Chief Seattle's simple yet powerful words.

Photo from Sam