SIP

Song - Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones

I know we are Sheltering In Place right now but Mr. B and I had a doggie to deliver to our son & his girlfriend who just returned home from St. Thomas.  We were very careful to not come in contact with anyone. We dropped Chewy's supplies off in the front yard and called from our car to let them know we were there. I dropped Chewy's leash and he dashed into his home without giving us a backward glance. I have to say it did me a world of good to get out of the house and watch the clouds, rain, newly planted crops, bright yellow mustard, many hawks and even a dusting of snow on some of the higher mountain tops. Nature gives me hope.....

It's Just Like Magic

....and we are in London!  Planes are an amazing contraption as they can bring you to an entirely different reality.  Everyone who knows me knows I hate, hate, hate to fly.  But it's so worth the fear & panic when you arrive safely at your destination!  

A whole new world opens up right before your very eyes.  

 

 

Leaving beautiful San Francisco behind on Monday night. 

 P

Circling the Thames & the London Eye!

 

From Heathrow we took the Heathrow Express train into London and arrived at Paddington Station.  From there we bumped around with our suitcases several blocks to our hotel nearby. 

 

After resting my tired toes and Mr. B's power nap, we decided to head over to Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens which really reinvigorated both of us.  Just people watching and being out in the fresh air and enjoying nature.  There were Cotton tail rabbits, Magpies, White Swans, Red Ringed Parrots, Doves, Ducks & loads of squirrels - some formal gardens and acres of open space for joggers, sun bathers & picnicking.  

 

 

The gardens in London are just lovely and are about on the same time schedule as mine at home. 

 

Here is a shot of a large sculpture framing Kensington Palace way, way in the background.  But what I really wanted to see was this lovely little statue of Peter Pan below.

 

The creator of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, commissioned Sir George Frampton to build the Peter Pan statue in 1902. It was erected in Kensington Gardens in 1912.

Tomorrow we take he train to Bath....see you then!

Garden Colors

Song - Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls (Kina Grannis Cover)

The first round of roses are blooming and the very first one was this beauty above.  I don't even know the name because it was one of the few plants that we kept when we bought our home 20 years ago. In honor of the woman who built and lived in this house for about 45 years, I have nicknamed it "Nancy's Rose". 

The main plants that are blooming right now are the bearded Iris.....

And the Wisteria.....oh my.....

If you walk anywhere near this Wisteria you will hear the hum of big ol' fat black bees and get knocked over by the aroma from the flowers.

The Dogwood trees are loaded with blossoms.....

....as are my three white Lilac bushes.

And if you look closer.....

The Lady apple trees are making me and the honey bees happy.

 The little Japanese Iris in the woodland garden loved all of our winter rain!

 

Even the Foxgloves are preparing to bloom.

Our side garden has once again become my meditation place after we brought back 

our lawn for our son and sweet daughter-in-law's wedding last Fall.

Mama Dove and Papa Dove are enjoying the new nesting box under our eves.

Last night Papa showed up one hour early to relieve Mama.  

True Love.

I find that my day is not complete without a morning & early evening walk around our garden to see what's blooming, growing, changing, hatching, in need of pruning, etc. each and every day!

"Nothing in nature blooms all year.  

Be patient with yourself." -- Unknown

 

Looking for a Home

Song - Oak Titmouse Spring Mating Call


Last year for my birthday I asked Mr. B for a birdhouse that we could place on a light post near our side lawn - which happened to be where our son & daughter-in-law got married.  He chose the one below.....

Now this is a cute little birdhouse in a rustic sort of way that felt a little too rustic for a wedding site.



And here is the one that I chose below.  I love it with it's gleaming white base and copper roof.  It also has holes on both sides and a partition in the middle so that two families can make homes there....kind of like a bird condo!

Well, I have never seen a bird near this house and just in the last few weeks a little Oak Titmouse has been trying to lure a mate into Mr. B's rustic house.

He/she sits on top of the birdhouse all morning and sings her/his little heart out. Then she comes back in the afternoon to do it again.  It's very dear.

And in the last few days she has decided to check out the inside to see if it's suitable for a home.

I am hoping it is!

I just love it when my husbands is right......mmmm...

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,

 for beauty is God's handwriting." 

 ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thirty and Six

Sound - King of the Harem - Bull Elk 

Wednesday, August 26th was Mr. B and my 36th Wedding Anniversary and we decided to take a little road trip to celebrate!  After a delicious brunch we decided to head to Point Reyes Seashore which is about and hour and a half from our home.

We stopped at Point Reyes Station where we did a little shopping and where The Cowgirl Creamery is located.

Mmmmm.....yum!

Then we headed to the coast to take a walk along the shore.

So tranquil and we had it almost all to ourselves!

A view of the beach we were just walking on from up high on a bluff near the Lighthouse.

Mr. B was brave enough to walk out on a cliff with only that measly little stick to break your fall! Being smarter, I waited in the car praying for his safe return while he snapped these two photos.

And for being so brave, he was rewarded with some lazy sea lions!!!

I told him that I would like some cute cow pictures next so we headed back inland and found these three cuties getting a drink of water and being rather curious about what we were doing.

I am happily snapping away when he says "Look over there".....

So I snap the cows on the hillside.

But look up.......what's that critter behind them?

Mr. B had spotted a whole herd of Tule Elk on the hillside!!!


If you played the sound at the top of this post you would hear what a bull elk sounds like - wink - hint!

As we drove around them and down near Drakes Beach we found another herd.  

This male was "bugling" for his harem to get together and follow him.

"Come on Alice, we are waiting for you!!!"

"Ah, hold your pants on Ralph.  I have to cross this very busy street!!!"

But then we noticed that there were two more bull elks following the herd and Ralph wanted to get his ladies under his watchful eye.

Heads were down and they took their charging stances.  We figured it must be rutting season.

And they got into it!  It was amazing how loud the noise coming from their clashing antlers! 

And if you listen to the sounds at the top of this blog you would hear the clacking of their antlers - wink, hint.......although ours were much louder!

Meanwhile the third male took off with the harem!
 

It was an exciting mini docudrama nature show kinda thing happening right before our eyes.

Heading back to Hwy. 1 I spotted this Eagle-Hawk on a huge nest on the power lines.

After all of the activity, we were ready for an early dinner, a glass of wine and some time to relax.

On Hwy. 1 between Marshall and Tomales is a great little restaurant, Nick's Cove.

They also have a dock with a boat house attached from where you can phone in your food order and pick it up when it's ready to dine inside the boat house or outside on the deck.

These are their cottages on the water.  They also have several on the hill across from the restaurant.

We chose to dine in the cozy restaurant where we were treated to a window seat.

We enjoyed a good bottle of wine from the Santa Cruz mountains and some GREAT French bread with butter & orange sea salt.

Mr. B ordered an assortment of oysters and salmon while I enjoyed a salad and some amazing chicken.

After dinner we brought our drinks out on the dock to enjoy in the warm summer evening.

On the way home we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

 Happy Anniversary Mr. B.....

Hard to believe it's been 36 years!

And my quote for today's post comes from a boat at Nick's Cove.