Wonder

I remember before we were married taking my husband to Disneyland.  "That was fun," he said, "it'll be more fun when we take our kids." Same thing at the apple orchards. We both looked forward to seeing all these places through the eyes of little children.

Every day my baby is a little more alert. Every day his field of vision seems to expand, and he expresses more. Today we were walking through The Lab ( used to be called the anti-mall), in Costa Mesa, when we parked his stroller underneath trees that had been yarn bombed. It was sunny, there was a lot of light playing in the branches, and he was delighted.

We were lucky to get photos of some of his experience. Everything is brand new for him. And I'm so lucky, as I watch what he's watching, that it is all brand new to me all over again, too.

#200happydays day 5

Delightful summer day

Right now I couldn't be happier. I have a burbling little 6-week-old-tomorrow baby asleep next to me, a husband playing a computer game behind me, a brand new computer-set-up, and I just spent a few hours in the park with husband and friend watching them play with a new toy (drone for go pro camera, very cool) - while I walked and walked with the stroller.

I also just bought a Lodge enamel covered cast iron dutch oven online, and I can't wait for it to get here.

I am not the world's best housekeeper, but I like the idea of it. I really love to cook, when I love it. I realized at some point that the secret is to surround myself with things I like -- hate washing dishes? Buy dishes you love. Dislike cooking? Use utensils and ingredients that speak to you. I love feeding people, and there is something about making food beautiful that matters. I have the ingredients for a baked ziti dish that I am waiting to use until my Caribbean blue dutch oven gets here, because I can't wait to stir the beautiful red sauce in that color pot. Its the little things, you know?

I have a lot of hand-me-down dishes, broken things, and mass-produced stuff in my kitchen. My goal is to replace them all with higher-quality beautiful items that I love, one piece at a time. 

the details

I've been really enjoying writing this blog - the bits about being an unschooler, my childhood memories, and the fun things about living in this park. I went for a long walk yesterday through the neighborhood, and realized that when I am keeping this blog in mind I notice so many more little details than I might not have noticed before. Or maybe I would have noticed, but not stopped and taken the time to have a moment, or experience, or appreciation.

When I was little my Grandma got me a book called "Being a Naturalist." It had a dark green canvas-y cover, and I remember feeling reverent every time I touched it. It had big, beautiful photos of poppies and deer and forests, and suggestions on how to fully appreciate nature yourself. It talked about getting sketchbooks and colored pencils, about sitting still in one place... I know that for a little while after she gave me that book, I drew pictures of a lot of plants.

Not too long after that, I read Harriet the Spy for the first time. I was smitten. That was it. Although I had kept a journal since I was about 5 years old, this was the real beginning of Roya The Journalist. I carried a notebook around and wrote down the *specifics* of things that I saw - minute details, concrete and observable specifics.

When I was about 16 I read Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones for the first time. I slept with it underneath my pillow for a long time after that. I'd read bits and pieces throughout the day as inspiration. She talked about writing specifics, too - writing for ten minutes without stopping, and using that exercise to really notice. Not "the coffee cup" but "the 5" mug with the large flat handle that fits my hands, has cerulean glaze with a raw bottom, that I bought at the Los Feliz farmer's market on Vermont St. on a Saturday that broke the record for heat that year, and I also bought raspberries..."

It's always a balance between the little details and the big picture. I've been thinking about that a lot as I write these blog posts - the big pictures are my unschooling principles, my relationship ideals, my vision of what I want my family and home to look like, who I am as an unschooler, crafter, wife, explorer, writer. The little details are - that day I first walked into Cypress College, what's currently on my knitting needles, the taste of the loquat I found on my walk yesterday. These pictures of the bark on tree trunks - that caught my eye as I was walking up Fern Dell.

backyard guardian

Every once in a while my husband brings me home a present...

Deer skull found in the park - now guards our backyard. I had hoped it would help prevent my plants from being eaten by ground squirrels, but alas, my tomato plant got chomped on yesterday anyways.

Ah well. I have this guy looking out for me anyway.

unicorns playing accordions.

So I am sitting inside, knitting, listening to The Office on in the background, when I look up and see this happening...

It's sorta hard to see, but they are all either in pajamas or straight jackets.

Then they broke out the accordions.

And they started singing.

And swaying. Accordions, singing, and swaying. While someone records them.

And then, without any warning - they break out the full costumes.

I don't know what the blue thing is, but the other one is clearly a unicorn.

Just another day in my little house in the big park.

lizards and firemen and ground squirrels, oh my!

A few weeks ago I went with my book club to a coffeeshop in Claremont village to discuss the novel we'd just read. It just so happened to be the weekend of Earth Day, and Claremont was having a street fair! We walked through, enjoying the demos and all the people dressed in their finest hippie-wear, and one booth was giving away free tomato plants!

I may have forgotten to mention that the garden I so delightfully planted a few months ago...got eaten. Super de duper destroyed. Ground squirrels came in and ate everything, down to the stems (except the basil. Note: ground squirrels are anti-basil.) And they did it really fast. Suspiciously fast... ahem. What is having a giant German Shepherd good for unless they are scaring the squirrels out of your garden? (the dog is snoring right now. I feel bad talking about him this way when he is asleep and can't defend himself). 

Anyways - so I was glad to be gifted this tomato plant, but felt a little guilty, fairly certain I was taking it home to be the amuse bouche for a tree rodent's meal.

My solution: put it in a movable container, and move it around, a lot. I figure the squirrels won't catch on, and I might get to eat a tomato by the end of the summer. It has actually been working! No squirrel teeth marks, and the plant is growing! Maybe one tomato plant (oh and the basil plant, can't forget about that one) is all this newbie gardener can handle for the time being. Caprese salad garden it is!

This dude lives on our front porch, with a couple others. There's a really big one, with the stump of a tail that I see a couple times a day in the backyard. Lizards are awesome. 

I spent the sunniest portion of the day in my backyard doing this. I'm crocheting little granny squares to make earrings for a few upcoming craft fairs. There is something so insanely satisfying about granny squares. Oh, see those plastic water bottles? I've got 3 loquat seeds in those, cross your fingers that in 8-10 years I'll be reaping the rewards......

So here I am. Netflix is on, my shoulders feel nice and warm and toasty from being out in the sun, I feel all good and virtuous cuz I did chores too, I had a visit from a bunch of firemen who thought our house was a nature center (it happens), I mentioned the dog snoring loudly on the floor, and it is time to switch to a project suitable for a warm spring evening in my little house in the big park.

Caught in the headlights

Husband just called me outside, there was a deer in the back. He shined a flashlight and the deer came down the hill towards us. I didn't want to move to get my phone and take a picture, and pretty soon it ran away.

the oaks

Yesterday a few residents came and asked for a Smokey Bear comic that the interpretive rangers pass out to kids -- so I got husband to bring me some, and I took a hike up through The Oaks to deliver them. I got the chance to explore a side of the neighborhood I haven't spent any time in --  and I was stunned. It's so beautiful up here. Amazing, huge, expensive houses - a neighborhood I would never be able to afford to live in, if it weren't for our caretaker status. The best thing about rich and fancy houses is that they don't skimp on the landscaping. Also - this neighborhood is all hilly, so lots of the houses have had very creative layouts to accommodate that. My eyes aren't big enough to drink in all of this. I love hiking through the park, but I might like hiking through the neighborhood even more...

flowers at the trail cafe

Went up to the Trails today for a sandwich... the whole patio is full of flowers and herbs. On the weekends the line goes out to the street, so it's my "yay I live here and can go on weekdays" treat. Today was one of those hard-to-get-up-and-out days, and having this nearby place to go get a sandwich and take a minute to look at these flowers was really good for me.

california history

Today I discovered a new trail, and I love it. Well - it's the trail that husband and I went up the night we did the crazy Mt. hollywood hike - but I discovered it in the daylight. It's this great trail that's tucked into this canyon, and is kind of meander-y, and there's enough distance between it and any roads or buildings, that I can kind of pretend that I'm really out in the wilderness all alone, but it's close enough to civilization that if I got hurt or something, I could still get help. Husband says that it'll get just FULL of mustard -- which is my favorite flower. I'm torn about my love for mustard.. since it's technically a non-native. But it's been around for so long, that it feels like part of California. For any of you non-natives, the deal is that when the Spanish missionaries came to California and built their missions, they scattered mustard seed between, to mark the way. Each of the CA missions are about a day's horse-back ride apart, and the mustard is part of CA history.  So I love it, both for it's look and for the lore.

I also noticed lower down on the hike, that all the conifers have new and bright green needles! I remember when I was in Alaska I would take the new spruce needles, steep them, and make tea. It's nice to see spring in the trees.

Los Feliz farmers market

Another farmer's market! My mom, sister and I just happened upon it, tucked in on Vermont in Los Feliz. We bought ALL THE GREENS. So many bags FULL of chard, spinach, kale, celery, cucumbers... soooo much goodness. We then took ourselves and our crazy purchases to El Greco, had a really yummy Greek lunch. Wonderful day exploring my new home.

owl

My aunt and uncle came up for a visit, and brought this new addition to our house. I love this little dude. He sits in the freesia plants on the front porch. 

up on the ridge

Sister-in-Law came up for a visit! We went on a drive through the park so she could see everything -- stopped and walked up to the Old Zoo. We are sad. We are stuck in cages. 

Afterwards we went on a real hike -- parked up near the observatory, and hiked down a ridge down to where the batcave is in Bronson canyon, then back up and over to the car. It was not an easy experience for me -- I felt paralyzed going downhill on these little, rocky footpaths with cliffs falling on either side of me. There were multiple times that I fell or slid down on my butt. My husband and SIL are like mountain goats and did the whole thing easily. It was discouraging for me. I cried. 

But I haven't been able to stop thinking about it -- there was one point up on the ridge where we saw three coyotes. The land was beautiful. And after I got over feeling angry and embarrassed and ashamed for falling apart, I was able to think about how neat it was that I accomplished it, even if it was hard. I'd like to go back. 

My SIL took these photos - and I love them. The hike was hard. It tapped into something deep, this fear of being weak -- and I wasn't proud of how I handled it. But I love these photos and the whole thing was evidence of how much impact outdoor recreation can have.

mt. hollywood at night

Husband and I did a super intense hike up to the top of Mt. Hollywood -- we took the West Trail up to where it meets the road above the observatory  then up to the top of Mt. Hollywood. We then RAN down the entire thing, to our front door. It was about 1 hour, 40 minutes. I have never worked so hard in my life. I got home and my legs were doing that weird twitchy thing. I am going to be so sore.

I really loved running downhill, I have to say. It was a little terrifying -- not being able to see everything...and the ground is really packed, with a little sand on the top so some spots are slippery. But there were some points where I was running, and breathing in the deep dark chaparral smell - and I felt like I could do it forever.

There were other parts where it just hurt and I wanted to die. But you know. I'll try to remember the do-it-forever part.

menagerie

Went to the LA Zoo with husband and friend. We saw EVERY ANIMAL and had shave ice and walked really fast to keep up with my husband...  It was a warm day. Lots of little kids. Glad to explore another piece of the park. Next on my list is Travel Town.

Walking the dog in the Dell

We live right next to a part of the park called "Fern Dell." It's a beautiful little oasis, very different from the rest of the park. It's full of exotic ferns and plants, with bridges and little islands in the middle of natural running water coming from underground springs.. lots of stone retainer walls. There is a lot of history, I'll dig some up later. One thing I know is that people used to come from far and wide to the Dell to drink the water from these underground springs -- they used to say that it was water from the fountain of youth. 

backyard yoga

Doing yoga in the backyard.

Peaceful, warm, sun-shiny day. I can hear cars drive up to the Trails Cafe and to the Observatory, people walking their dogs past our house. There are so many squirrels messing around on the trees behind our yard. 

I have never been huge into yoga, but spreading the yoga mat in the backyard and doing some deep out-side breathing seemed very right for today.

celestial jewelry

Awesome day with soon-to-be cousin-in-law. Hiked up to the observatory -- this bottom part of this picture is from a personal collection at the observatory. It's "celestial jewelry" that a woman collected over 50 years. It's one of my favorite things to look at there. We also watched the current movie, it's all about the reconstruction that they did a few years past -- it's crazy. They lifted the whole observatory up, to build underneath. Worth watching for sure.

After, we went to the Gene Autry farmer's market and had a picnic on the grass. Excellent day. 

fern dell

Sunny day in Fern Dell! I heard that the Friends of Griffith Park are working on getting it restored to it's former glory. They got a grant, and bought a bunch of new plants which are being grown at a nearby college. There have been some cleanup crews on weekends clearing the water of the plants that choke up the flow.

plantlife!

Another nature hike -- there is SO MUCH TO SEE in every step. I think what we have here is... sugar bush, lilac, wild sumac, and wild cucumber.