It is the emissary of spring when the wild fruit trees first bloom.
I witnessed the first tiny leaves of the Black Oak, nearly a month early, emerging next to a leaf from last Autumn that was too reluctant to fall.
On the first day of February, I heard what I thought was a deafening sound of cicadas, but learned it is the Pacific Chorus Frogs, and they haven’t stopped since, as if something ominous began that day and continues.
Out walking in the wild, on a trail near my house, I am reminded that in the absence of distractions, I begin to feel peaceful renewal . . . because in the dispassion of winter, I discovered within me an Invincible Spring.
Up to the peak with Juno today, with the oaks just past their full golden splendor, and I remembered my camera, so I got some clear shots of my favorite views southerly toward Diablo and Tamalpais, with the fog over the bay. I am feeling a pulse of inspiration these days. Fresh influences are coming into being, bringing a general good mood in my favorite time of year, and so I go often into my cherished landscape to marvel at its graceful determination.
Walking out in Autumn with Juno this morning, up to the precipice, overlooking a beautiful fog in the valley below, and cool enough at 8:30 in the morning. Again, I used my phone, which I keep in a little hip pack whenever I go hiking now, but so disappointed the phone’s photos portray everything hazy and colorless (next time I absolutely must bring my camera!) but I did get some photos of the top of the mountain, and on the way back down. I’m making a good effort with Juno to be out as much as possible in my favorite time of year, cherishing the landscape, although heat still hovering in waves, dusty, dry, and thirsty, hoping for the rains to start soon, and give it a good drink!
Today is the 1st of Step-tember, and a daily walking routine, so Juno and I walked to the top of the mountain, she running in circles around me. Phone photos don’t do justice to the scenery (so lazy these days, I didn’t bring my camera) but they document the event, so it’s all good. Steptember and Walktober are the months about walking-into-autumn, making up for the lazy days of summer I spent indoors out of the heat. Now, counting down the days to the Autumnal Equinox, three weeks from today!
Walking out in Spring on the fresh mown wild grass with Juno, I took photos with my phone, which look less than great as I’m a lousy phone photographer, but what the heck, it was hard to resist a glimpse of spring on the mountain that is recovering from wildfire for years to come. I have been tremendously busy, for months, out in the landscape working on the fire defensible space project that is all-consuming. On the creative front, I’ve been weaving ultra fine cotton in a series of rigid heddle loom experiments, and on what seems to be an eternal warp, and baking bread a lot, as well as other delicious things, like making chocolate!
Its difficult to believe that I have been weaving — and not knitting — for almost a whole year now, and I think although I don’t ever see slowing down with the weaving, I finally miss knitting. I miss spinning, and dying wools, and blending artful batts on my drum carder, and my Tweed Chronicles experiments too, but where do I find the time to do it all? I am feeling a time crunch and the panic of wildfire season just ahead, thinking to just get past the hard work, only a couple more months. Even though I can feel more at ease this year as the cool temperatures and rain has lasted wonderfully long, lingering and staving off the dry heat, the work presses on . . . and I am older, sore, and tired a lot. Scotty, beam me to late summer when the grass has stopped growing and the bonfires of the next rain season are still off the calendar, when the scorching dry weeks of August through September chase me indoors, desperately needing distraction from it . . . and then, surely there’ll be more time to relax into all of the creative projects!
