How the time flies

How the times flies, really the warm sunny days of July are sometimes only something l know listening to the weather channel on the news report.    Where l live, on the coast of California, more times the reality is that l begin my morning greeting the fog.  However, having written that and sounding a bit like a whiny feeling a bit sorry for myself, the misty spiritual covering of the fog layer is in its own familiar way comforting.  Today l am up early and the sun is all ready out, no fog here this morning.  Matches my mood...........My friend arrives today  by train and will begin a visit to this area.  l am looking forward to time with her since the last time a few years ago when l visited her my then life was so different. 

l recently traveled to the Sierras, the area known as the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.  l was in a very warm, cozy cabin with a deck and view of the lake.  The lake was about a hundred feet from the deck.  The very top of the mountains are still snow covered, the blues, purple, green, colors of the mountains, the ripples and riot of summer shades reflected in  color of the lake were what l have re discovered and felt blessed each moring l sat with nature.  l am so appreciating the light, reflection, shadows, and yes...............beautiful colors............Reminds me constantly of the trip my dear amigo and l took last year visiting Monet's garden and home in Giverney.

l painted while in Tahoe for several days, brought home what l had painted and realized sadly that my attempts at capturing what l was seeing may take the rest of my life to develop. When l  write of how the time flies, gypsy woman that l am, adventure for me is always just one step ahead. This summer has all ready re-nourished and filled me with joy.  l have to stop writing because it is time for me to leave to drive and meet the train my friend arrives on.

Gorgeous day in the neighborhood

What is it about nature that brings rest to your soul?  A few weeks ago l was shocked  by the cycle of the worms eating the oak leaves, leaving them bare and gray.......Today those oak leaf eatin worms have completed their cycle and are beauriful white moths floating through the air.  As for the trees, they to have recoverd and are once again green, lush and beautiful.......ah.......California oaks.........

Other  Creatures in nature that speak to my soul are the snake. l love the  cycle of knowing they can shed their skin.  Reminds me of how many times l have tried or needed to recreate myself.  Other lessons l have learned and respect for who they are is the sea horse.  Such little creatures surviving in the big ocean of water and reminding me of the depth we all must face internally .

The birds are everywhere, but l must wait till early evening before the red tail hawks fly over or perch in the top of the trees that l can  watch from the deck.  ln the meantime the many, many different sounds l am listening to as l write  are the different musical sounds of the birds that are now in the trees.  All this is such a gift and all l have had to do is open my windows to see, enjoy, listen, hear nature very finely tuned...........

Readjusment

Tonight as l sit here thinking about living in two countries l am realizing it takes just a bit of adjusting when you are in one or the other.  Where does one begin?  Maybe it is with the food,  or the money, or  the language,  or the  clothes which brings me to the weather.  l seem to be very attached to warmer weather.  l feel healthier, lighter, maybe even a bit happier.

The other adjustment is leaving friends and  renewing relationships  with the friends in either country you left  a half year or more.  Everybody changes, ages, and either country you are in, life goes on whether you are there or not.

The bottom line is at this particular time l would not miss the adventure of living in either country.  Way to many adventures and readjusting  in either country is just one small bump in the life of a gypsy.

Mystery of the Oak Worms

My travels have brought me from one coast to another and l now find myself in  Central California. Driving the road  that hugs the Big Sur Coast from Carmel to Gorda is always a challenge.  The wild profusions of natures colors blend and contrast the sea,  mountains,  clouds,  sky on rare sunny days.
l found myself driving with another amiga on the coast recently soaking this beauty into my bones and being so grateful for  the sun showing me more richly the beauty of the Coast.

Whenever l return to this area l am flooded with years of memories of past parties, old friends, poets, drummers, singers, artists. As people have changed, moved on, died, the coast is still the coast and it is still as breathtaking as ever.

East  of the Big Sur Coast  mountain range is  an area known as Carmel Valley.  From Big Sur people hike into the upper Carmel Valley.  Along the way are small natural hot springs. Driving from the mountains of the upper valley  into the area known as the Carmel Valley village is another area known as Robles Del Rio.  This is where they mystery truly begins.

Crossing the Carmel River bridge, past Rosies Cracker Barrel, l was struck by the bare oak trees all over the mountainside...........Worms, worms, and more worms,   ate all the leaves off the stately old oak trees, leaving them bare. My first reaction was shock.  All the  stately old oaks bare......  Now, l join with others waiting as the worms after making their cocoons, the weather warms up hatch and become moths.  l will have to wait for another year to pass before the leaves will return, but so will the worms as they have for years...................

Moving on

Back  on the Coast of  Southern California.  lt took several days of deciding what to leave behind, what to bring on this next leg of  moving between two countries.  l finally managed to pack two huge suitcases with what l think is necessary to just survive.  Southern California can be so lovely if the sun is out, otherwise, the foggy, windy weather chills to the nice suntan l came home with. lt is wonderful to have a car to drive around in again.........lt is onto the 805, off the 54, back onto 5 and move with Lady Gaga  C D music blasting away.  California freeways that move you quickly around the city and valleys are another form of dancing as l weave myself to my destination.  Soon l leave and move north to another part of the coast........only now l take the two huge suitcases, boxes of dishes, linen, more clothes and reunion with other amigos l have not seen for awhile.  l promise myself everytime l move with all these "things", l am going to simplify my life from all these "things" but somehow still have not managed to do that.  Ah well, l am after all moving on........

Green flash and Special Events

What makes an event special?  Recently l experienced several special events.  Living and splitting my time between the coast of California and the coast of Mexico has this traveling gypsy always open for adventure.
l saw the green flash once at sunset years ago and have chased it over the years in hopes of experiencing it again.  Recently watching the sunset in a small coastal village in Mexico with an amigo oohing and aahing over the changing colors of the sky as the sun slid down closer to the horizon for an instant we both saw the green flash. l was speechless and thrilled at the same time.  The following evening watching the sunset again with the same ol amigo we saw the green flash again. l greedily anticipated seeing the green flash at sunset the following nights but it did not happen.  Surely magic like this had to have some significance and so l anticipated the next adventure.

Several nights later l attended an event at the nearby seaside resort that l fell in love with years ago, but  the story about the seaside resort is another story for another time.  Local restaurants competed in serving an array of specialties for the cast of at least a thousand.  Attending this event were some of the nicest hoochie mommas, divas, queens, kings with a generous heart and special spirit supporting all the non-profits up and down the coast.  The entertainment was truly entertaining and a joy to be experiencing.  The bonus to the event was the warmth of the evening temperature, the backdrop of the full moon and the finale of a firework display off the bay.  All this contributed to why my adventures just never, ever fail to amaze me.

Old Friends, New Friends

Having watched the sunsets now for a number of years l am constantly reminded of change.  l can say with absolute certainty that no two sunsets are the same.  Last night while watching the sunset with two very dear friends, we all commented on how the reflected light almost appeared to be another sunsrise, at the same time we were given the pleasure of seeing magenta, pink, orange, red, purple and the bluest, blue and white of the sky........As the light faded toward darkness another amigo joined us and commented that for a moment he thought he was experiencing the sunrise while watching the sunset...........we all laughed because it was the same subject l and my dear amigos had just discussed a few minutes before he joined us.

Good friends are darn hard to find and hard to keep........l have been so blessed and lucky to have a number of amigos in several countries........and thanks to the internet, we manage to all stay in contact. Today said good bye to another amiga as she heads north and hello to a new aquaintance, and later tonight will meet yet another amiga.  l have to say this gypsy life style brings such pleasure in my life and as long as l am here l will be enjoying the variety of sunsets as well as old and new amigos.