It is a soft morning. Heavy fog has given way to watery sunlight that has turned the surrounding landscape into the purple, beige, and pale blue of a faded photo. A gentle breeze is coming in the window and the neighborhood is peaceful. Our calendar is blessedly empty so it’s a perfect time to do […]
Read MoreI have been thinking about the weather a lot lately. Not just here but around the globe. Lives are disrupted and some lost due to heat domes, floods, droughts and resulting wildfires. The weather has changed from being a conversation filler to the main topic. Most of us have been affected one way or another […]
Read MoreLooking out at the park today, the chapparal-covered mountains are dusty green between huge granite outcroppings. Below, the open spaces where wild grasses and wildflowers grow abundantly during spring, the land is golden with dark-green dots of brush here and there. Last vestiges of spring grow where chapparal and open space meet. Here, the last […]
Read MoreSometimes a day takes an unexpected turn. That happened to me recently, and it all started with a change in routine. Normally, Ted and I go for our walk in the late afternoon, but this day was hot, so we went after dinner—and that made all the difference. It all started when we were walking […]
Read MoreMay gray is here, and I’m loving it! This morning I awoke to birdsong muted by a thick gray marine layer. Looking out the window from our bed, the sky was gray—not my favorite color, but a hint that there would be a magical misty show later in the day. I rolled over, cuddled with […]
Read MoreAfter a very warm October and November, fall seems to have truly arrived in Southern California. Today there is a crisp wind, bright trees in autumn shades, and clear blue skies. Soon Thanksgiving will be here, and like everything else in 2020, it will be different. Looking out on our serene valley, it is easy […]
Read MoreBy the time you read this, the election will (hopefully) be settled and those of us who suffered from election traumatic stress disorder will be on the road to recovery. This moment of peace made me think long and hard about what is real and what is not … It’s 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, […]
Read MoreI woke up to heavy rain this morning, an unusual happening in SoCal in April. Wet weather was early and late this year, but something to surely be grateful for. Within seconds, the circumstances we are living in descended, and I had the sense that although the next two weeks will be difficult, we are […]
Read MoreEven though it is always curled in the back of our minds as a little knot of anxiety, I am not going to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Well, maybe just a little … If you are like me, you are up to your eyeballs in breaking information, including political dithering, self-isolation advice, closures and shortages, dire […]
Read More(Read part I of this story here.) After settling in at their cabin in the Tahoe forest for Thanksgiving, the Anthony family is sitting contentedly around a crackling fire. Into this peaceful moment, Joey dropped his announcement. “Marcy and I saw bear scat in the forest behind the house.” Pausing, he added ominously, “And it […]
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Kathleen Chamberlin 