It’s raining today, but on Tuesday it was sunny.  We hitched a ride with Martina and hit Natural Bridges running.  When it’s 75 degrees on the beach in January it’s hard not to take advantage of the unexpected weather and play hard!  The jist of the day looked something like this.

The children came and went, but Teacher Laura held strong at the edge of the surf.  Every time children switched in and out of the chain the dynamic changed.  I was particularly fond of this moment because it showcases Seamus in his shining role, as mayor of the 3/4s class.  Seamus is a natural at facilitating social interaction.  His grandfather like charm combined with his bemusing stories make him a lovable leader.  Everyone is at home around Seamus.

Teacher Laura has a knack for getting right in there and playing with the kids.  This is helpful, because it gives me a chance to disengage and observe from a distance.  So often I am in the thick of it with Seth, asking questions, answering questions.  Instead I got to wander around with a camera and a clear head.  I guess I should have paid more attention to the incredibly sweet collaboration in front of me…

But instead I kept looking at this…

Lily.  Lily in her own world.  Occasionally she stopped to look at the action, but the frolic was not for her.  Lily is an artist at work.  She tries to engage, but often it seems that the very act of joining the other kids is too much for her artistic temperment and she cries out in dismay.  I get the feeling that Lily sees things I don’t see.  Maybe see’s a world I used to see when my life was ruled by imagination.

I want to join her in play.  I envy her contentedness there on her own.  Often times I find myself on the fringe of “real life” in my own artistic world.  Given a moment alone I revert to my inner Lily, and I too get grumpy when society demands that I disengage.  I try to tempt her with a bumble bee that I found in the wet sand.  I find that bugs are about the only thing that Lily will stop what she is doing to look at.

Not today.  I will have to be content outside her shell for now.  Perhaps someday she will let me in.  Maybe when she is older and makes artists books with enigmatic metal medallions.  Maybe later when she…I love to speculate about the future paths and careers of the kids.  It’s in my nature, my imagination is not all gone, just channeled.  I often catch an essence and can’t let it go.  I am compelled to spin the yarn, even if it is my own private projection.  You can take the Barbies out of my grasp, but you can’t take their stories out of my psyche.

Another “own world” one is Charlie.  Charlie is self propelling.  His own drum is so loud that he can’t really hear you, so don’t take it personally if he does not even register your existence.  I came across him burying his nose in sand.  He seemed to find it funny, although no one was there to watch.  It’s nice when children find humor all on their own.  Self entertainment is a good trait, and key to self preservation.

I love this shot.  I don’t care how cool you are Charlie will win you over with his completely unpremeditated antics and clear soul.  Charlie is what adult comedians strive to be, a straight shot to the funny bone, it’s in his marrow.

Well, back to the rain.

Love + Mommy Alis

This morning Seth received an email from Naia asking him if she could come by and visit today.  Um, of course!  Naia is Seth’s oldest friend and beloved rolemodel.  After a bit of play Anne, Katherine Mango and myself retired indoors.  In our absence Naia and Seth magically transformed the play house.  When I walked out to check on them I was astonshed.  They were both engrossed in the process of reviving the place.  Naia was giving orders and Seth was hopping to it.  It’s too bad Seth’s leg can’t reach the clutch, otherwise he would have been to Home Depot and back while we were inside catching up.

There is now a proper entry path complete with fairy stone pavers and rosmary plantings.  Can you see in the door…it’s furnished!

They even thought to plant rosemary in the window box.

All the trim is spruced up with new a new coat of paint, it all looks so spic and span I hardly recognized the place.

The cutest thing is watching them work together, you would think they had been collaborating for 30 years.

Naia and Seth I wish you a life time of rich friendship.

Love + Mommy Alis

Today we went to Ano Nuevo to see the Elephant Seals.  Mommy was not smart enough to make reservations for the proper observation area, so we opted to try our luck on the beach.  As soon as we got down the little stairway trail we almost ran smack into a sleeping Elephant seal.  As luck would have it this is the beach where all the reject males snooze.  I guess all the bulls that are not tough enough to wrangle their way to the breeding beach are relegated to nap here and nurse thier wounds.  The marine mammal action was pretty drowsy, sans the occasional sand flip.  Needless to say we kept our distance and Seth used extreme caution around these ton size monsters.

Every once in a while one of the bulls would roll over, or perform some interesting flipper acrobatics.  Once I got used to their size and the fact that they were not really moving, much less giving any humans the least notice I relaxed a little.  Beyond a few elephant seals was another seal.  This animal was much cuter and frankly more interesting, especially in the fur department.  Seth was thrilled to observe her because, “Orcas eat harbor seals.”

Frankly I can understand why everyone was asleep on the beach, it was hot!  We set about making ourselves at home, building sand castles, beach combing and taking in the scene.

…Until the fight broke out!  Two males were having it out down the beach.  It was a fierce, bloody splashing mess.  Of course all the humans on the beach had to go and watch.  At one point I could see fighting Elephant seals in the distance and frolicking naked 2year old in the foreground, a nice juxtaposition of species (Mia as it turned out her name was, graced us with her presence later on while we dissected kelp seeds with our pink pocket knife scissors).

The whole affair was rather upsetting.  The winner flounced about in the surf gloating.  The looser sort of washed up on the beach and lay there looking forlorn surrounded by curious humans.  It was all very undignified and I tried not to stare.

Seth was binocular man today.  He preferred to use the very old heavy binoculars that apparently belonged to his great grandfather Clifford (they said so on the side).  Even though the magnification was about 3 times weaker than the other pair, and weighed about 3 times as much as the other pair they seemed to lend an air of “serious business” that Seth was all about today.

In the end of the trip we doubled back to the interpretive deck at the freshwater pond.  The second time around I had a chance to admire the willows without the pressure of Elephant Seal pursuit bearing down on me.  I get so much joy out of willow stems in the winter time.  Although at 75degrees, one could hardly call this winter.  None the less, the willows pretended it was cool out and showed off their amazing palettes.

Dear Seth,

You are sitting next to me watching the scarry Noah’s Ark video narrated by James Earl Jones.  You just told me that the story is very sad, all the animals died, but you like it anyway.  You asked me to write you a letter that you could read later when you can read.  So I am sharing some of the details of Mountain School that perhpas your child eye has missed.  When you are there you are so busy.  Engrossed in the many obvious things that need to be done.  Rarely do you wander out to confer with the chickens.

This is usually what school is like, someone running, someone hammering, someone crying.  In this instance you were the last kid to come for cooking time.  You refused to leave your nail till it was pried out of the board.  I am proud of you for staying focused, even with the prospect of mouth watering fruit skewers inside.  You spend a fair amount of time here at the tool table.  It’s hot spot for concentration.  Your energy always spikes here, your synapses are almost audible (at least to those who are listening – me).  When you are not here I look at the wear patterns.  The unintended marks of children at work.  A little artistic blessing for me to pass along.

Love + Mommy

…for the excuse.

What better use of a rainy afternoon than to work on birthday thank you cards.  In keeping with the pink propaganda theme of the party we decided to use his dragon stamp for the thank yous.  First we began by cutting out squares of paper.  Although Seth was able to cut straight he claimed his scissors could only cut curves, so our cards got character.  Seth found the stamp difficult to use.  The stamp was smudging plus he was placing it on the paper multiple times.  This seemed to bother me more than him.  I decided to let it go and get myself a cup of tea which I desperately needed.  When I returned I found he had abandoned the stamp altogether and was using the pad to apply the pigment directly to the paper.  On top of the pigment he used a pencil to add rivers bridges and other designs.  He then proceeded to cut the corners off some of the cards, and cut some compositions in half completely.

This was not going according to plan, but I tried to roll with it.  I kept thinking that he was going to use up the pigment in the pad (who cares we can probably get a refill).  I kept fretting that he would not make enough cards for a matching set.  Instead of relaxing and enjoying the abstractions unfolding before me I worried.  Finally he turned to me and said, “Look mom.  This is acrobatic painting”.  he then proceeded to demonstrate how you could use the pencil and rub the pigment back over it to create a layered effect.  Here was awesome abstract art appearing before my eyes and I was still reeling from the breach of process.  Note to self: must become more flexible and receptive when child waxes genius.

Here is what I expected Seth would make (wow these are predictable):

Here is what Seth did make (energetic, engaging art):

Dear Seth,

Today seemed to be all about making marks on things.  All the fire engines were marked with numbers on the tops and sides so that they can be identified by other emergency vehicles.  The top of the roof had to be marked around the crooked shingle so that the leak would stop.

As soon as you saw me fingering some potatoes in a basket you announced that you were going to make mashed potatoes for dinner, and by golly you did.  You prepped, mashed and tasted.  I was really impressed with your follow through.

The most impressive marks of all were in this painting.  This depicts how Otis the goat was eaten by the mountian lion.  The legs of the mountain lion are shown at the bottom and somewhere Otis’ tail is sticking out.

Today we did what you wanted to do.  I had an agenda, but it fell by the way side.  When you know what you want to do there is no stopping you.  I admire your focus and tenacity.  After politely taking tea with me upon arrival you got straight to work and plowed through the afternoon making your mark on the day.

Love + Mommy

The winter solstice is a time of internal and external organizing. Between field trips, family and “must dos” I’ve been repotting everything. I tend to brood for many months at a time before I commit hand trowel to terra cotta. Pots and plants give me something to ponder on the surface while my subconscious crunches away on reorganization of a deeper variety.

The low winter sun always enhances the geometry and depth of the potted garden. Winter is good contemplation time. The plants are holding back, perhaps I can learn something from them.

Living at a lower altitude means that many of the more tender plants are surviving the winter. This is a pleasant surprise. My normally monastic winter landscape is a little more festive. I need this eye candy. Color and variegation like this sustain me through hard times.

My life has become more transient of late. However, I’ve managed to obey my rooting instincts by helping out in vegetable gardens and continuing on with my tradition of winter repotting. Engaging with dirt always restores my hope and life energy. Of course a visit to the Half Moon Bay nursery is consoling beyond belief. Especially when you are worried about pennies. They always have the 98 cent tables, and this time I lucked out. Look what I got for $1.48!