The Balance of Mother Earth

Song - Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple 

 

 After a long and crazy year, 

Mr. B and I were ready 

for a relaxing vacation in Tahoe.....

.....or so we thought!

The first day in the Sierra the skies were fairly blue. I could see a little haze down low.

By the next day the smoke was getting a little thick. I could just barely make out Mt. Tallac in the background from Baldwin Beach.

 

 

By the third day things were looking pretty bad so we hung out at the cabin with my new best friend - an air purifier and played some Canasta. Mr. B had to head home for a few days so I had some time on my own to paint, go to the beach, read and work on some needlework.

 

 

By the time Mr. B returned a new fire (Caldor) had begun to burn and it was blowing smoke our way.

We went to the beach to retrieve our emails and phone messages (no WiFi at the cabin). 

There was no one around and it all felt rather eerie. 

It was snowing ash....

We packed our essentials and headed home for a few days while things cleared up.

I hope the earth can find her balance again.

 

 

And now for a little excitement....

 

One afternoon while sitting on the cabin deck enjoying a glass of wine with Mr. B, I noticed a large brown dog playing at the cabin next door.

It was a baby bear playing with his mama above.

Mr. B grabbed the air horn as I grabbed my camera just as they were coming our way!

They were walking behind our cabin.

 

Junior doing a tough guy pose

 

 

 They walked all the way around the cabin and when Mr. B fired the air gun, Junior scrambled up a tree and Mama went to see if he was OK.  All was well so they continued their walk.

 

They crossed the street in front of the cabin and Mama decided something smelled mighty good in the "bear proof' garbage box.

Meanwhile Junior decided that he wanted to check out the "greens only" dumpster.  Well, it really is brown in color but it is for depositing branches, sticks, pine cones, yard waste, etc.  He found a nice pine cone to play with until Mama went in to retrieve him.  

 

 

I kept imagining if someone came by at this point to drop off some material into the dumpster - what a surprise they would find - two bears inside!

 

 

 Mama finally wrestled Junior into following her down to the creek 

to hopefully find a sip of cool water!

Ahhh....life in the mountains!!!

 

 

 

"Love, like fire, goes out without fuel."

--Mikhail Lermontov

 

TBT - Camp Rich

Song - Summertime by Norah Jones


Nope.....

Camp Rich is not like Glamping......

Nor is it a camp for rich people.

It is short for Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe.

The little shop above was were I loved to go as a young girl in the late 50's & early 60's.  I would save up my allowance to buy an Indian doll, bank or necklace here.  Later as a teen, I would purchase my Kodak film here as well.

Across the street is where our family would go shopping. My mom & her sisters would buy groceries while my brothers, cousins and I would buy a little cardboard container that had holes poked in the lid - yes, we were getting big fat worms for fishing.  And if it was an extra special day we could sit on those outdoor stools behind the man in the photo above and order ice cream cones! Twirl and lick!!

This building has since burnt down but the building behind it is the Historic Camp Richardson Resort.

Sometimes my Aunt Marie would encourage all of us cousins to hike to the store from our cabin (she was a school teacher and loved "projects") and we would put on our tennis shoes & shorts, loop our yellow plastic water mugs to our belts and head off on some fun adventure. Anything for an ice cream cone!

There was also a dining room across the street from the "Souvenir Shop" but I don't ever remember eating there.  I think it was because my mom & her sisters & my grandmother liked home cooked meals.  But more likely the thought of taking all twelve of us kids out to dinner was somewhat daunting.

This is a photo of Camp Richardson in the mid 60's with the lodge, the store & the dining hall. Gas was across the street and so were the air pumps we would use to blow up our huge truck inner-tubes.

 A similar view from 2014 except it includes the old gas station on the right that is now a bike rental company.

The present day coffee shop used to be the Post Office which is how us "older people" stayed in touch with each other. We didn't have a phone at the cabin then.  It was a very important building for me as a teenager, as this is were I received all of my crucial correspondence from my other teen aged friends over those long two weeks at the lake! Every one's mail just came by General Delivery.....no need for addresses back then....sigh.....such simple times....and not that long ago!!!

The old souvenir shop is now a very popular ice cream shop with huge scoops of ice cream! BEWARE - order the "kiddie" scoop or at most one scoop and you will still have a tummy ache.

The old dining hall is the present day store & cafe, although it is mostly filled with T-shirts and trinkets and a few supplies for the nearby campers.

The hotel is still in business and there are several cabins nearby for rent near the lake. They have also added a restaurant right on the lake at the marina called The Beacon.

The main reason that I was thinking about Camp Richardson today was because last month we Mr. B and I were up there for the weekend.....and......there was a traffic signal.  Made me shed a few tears over how this quaint little spot in my life has changed and will continue to evolve for the next generation.

It will forever look like this in my heart.

"Summer is like childhood.  

It's full of warm memories but gone too soon." 

 -- Kellie Elmore

Peace

Song - Going To The Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups

I have to tell you first and most importantly - we just had a wedding!!! 

Do you remember the children's rhyme about the old lady who swallowed a fly? That keeps going through my mind lately as I have been unusually busy for the last few months. So like the old lady who continues to swallow larger & larger animals to catch the fly, I have been embracing one event after another, after another!

In July we had a family trip to Montana....where I proceeded to get a bronchial/sinus infection for several months! Never went to the doctors as I have this little stubborn side of me that Mr. B knows ahhh so well....

 I also had a solo art show at Chow restaurant in Danville.

And a large solo show in Benicia during the month of August that took me months to prepare for. I then needed to plan for a reception and the show needed to come down after Labor Day and be stored somewhere.

"My Little Helper"

Also during the month of August we cleaned out our garage and remodeled/redecorated our downstairs bedroom & family room! 

 This meant picking out paint, molding, carpeting, light fixtures & furniture. And we also  helped to move our middle son from LA to Monterey!

 

Concrete color choices that don't match - let's see - do I really want a PINK patio....NO?

Garland making on the new patio

We had a new patio poured around our pool and a lot of yard work was done all in preparation for our eldest sons wedding in our backyard! (Insert a big smile here!) 

Lighting was strung up all over the yard.....above is the father of the bride working with two of our sons on the hanging of lights.

...and it turned our yard into lovely magic in the evenings.

I took endless trips to the nursery to purchase more and more plants - just because I did know what else to do with all of my excitement!

Boutonnieres were done with backyard flowers & succulents.

Two of the brides best friends came over the day before the wedding and we all worked on making the flowers for the wedding.  I just loved, loved, loved having women in my house!!!  (Just to remind you - I came from a family of 2 brothers and had 3 sons - that's a lot a guy energy!) 

The wedding took place on the evening of September 17th and it was simply beautiful. The lighting, food, ceremony, dancing, friends & family were all wonderful.....as were the bride & groom!

  

Several days after the wedding, Mr. B and I headed up to Tahoe for a much needed time to relax.

However..... 

We have had bears, Yellow-jackets and loggers around our cabin.

Not as peaceful as we were hoping for....but we are grateful for it all.

Peace

Tis not in seeking 

Tis not in endless searching

They quest is found

Be still and listen

Be still and drink the quiet all around

--Engraved on the back of Edward Rowland Sill's chair at The Greek Theater in Berkeley

December 2015

Song - Auld Lang Syne by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards


 My December.....

Discovered an illegal squatters shelter  10' from our property line and overlooking our backyard.  Ugg...... Worse yet my neighbor told them they could build it there because they told her it was really a Mountain Lion Lookout.  Mmmmm......

Mr. B and my brother Tim trying to move my dad's workshop

A friend went to Tahoe and sent me this photo 

because she knows I just love snow on trees! 

Pure beauty!

Mr. B and I went to The Dickens Fair to see our friend Sandey Grinn transform himself into Fagin! So amazing!

Mr. B played Santa this Christmas Eve and said it was the best E-V-E-R! 

Dawn on Christmas Day

 My dear dad spent a week in the hospital and came home on Christmas Day.  This car was parked next to mine as I was leaving the hospital on that day. Brought a smile to my face!

We all received great gifts again this year but the two that really stand out were Mr. B's reflective gear for his early morning walks and.......

....and Tyler's Bumper Dumper that is a camo toilet seat that fits into his trailer hitch to be used when he is out in the wilderness - not in my driveway!

Dad is happy to be at home with mom 

and Mika is happy to have someone to snuggle with all day long!

The best way to take care of the future 

is to take care of the present moment.

- Thich Nhat Hanh