THE TRAVELING MARTINI'S

We enjoyed our evening dinner with our fellow safarist, a good night’s sleep and an early breakfast followed by loading up the Land Cruisers with our luggage to begin our day trek into the canyon crater. Ngorongoro crater is a wonder of the natural world – a wildlife haven to be viewed from the roads. The Land Cruisers now have to stick to the road in the crater and there are many more vehicles to notice. We were no longer alone.

Beautiful views across the caldera floor.

Little foxes on the right side cuddling to avoid the misty rain and a lion and his mate on the left side. What a mane on this big boy…however…

Incredible animal portraits on our way easing on down the road.

When we arrived at a dead end in a quarry, we met tons of other Land Cruisers. It was a different feeling being surrounded by other vehicles all jockeying to see these two lions. The lions were nonplussed. We were the last in and the last to leave which left us watching these lions begin to look for food for lunch.

For our lunch, we enjoyed a bloat of hippos in the water – they were on the left and the lone bull elephant and his white birds were enjoying the mud on the right.

What a mug and doesn’t that nap look like love? Thanks Larkin for the great photos!

Incredible families of wildebeests. Brand new babies with the placenta still hanging out of the mother and cute faced babies a few weeks or more old!

Warthog families going left and warthog families going right.

The grey-crowned crane is the national bird of Tanzania…quite stunning!

Birds birds and more birds. I was never a birder but loved seeing all these different birds. Gareth butchers, blacksmith lapwing, ostriches, flamingoes, yellow billed storks, white stork, egyptian goose, african spoonbill, kori bustard, spikes weaver, african sacred ibis and tawny eagles and more. Each designed uniquely to obtain food.

The animals and their birds…from cape buffalo to elephants to wildebeest or hippopotamus’ – it is easy to find big game with or near birds.

More zebras – moms and babies.

From the crater we had to climb back up to the rim and head down a muddy – on what seemed less than a two lane road but was quite a thoroughfare – toward the Plantation Lodge in Karatu. The cloudy, misty day continued on our drive.

What an amazing journey from our first camp at Dulana through the Serengeti plains and ancient rocks, past the shifting sands toward the Ngorongoro Crater. We stopped at Olduvai Gorge which is one of the most important paleoanthropological locations in the world. It became a World Heritage Site in 1979. It is called the “cradle of mankind”. Louis and Mary Leakey’s discoveries of early humans and stone tool artifacts found in the exposed geology of the area are explained as you walk through the museum. The Leakeys started visiting and excavating in the 1930’s . Richard Hay started working with the Leakey’s to understand the geology of the gorge. If you click on the title Human Origins at the top of the email you can get a better view of the blog.

Docents walked us through the history of man as we looked out on this beautiful gorge from a theater built into the hillside.

There are many books and websites available if you want to learn all about these early humans and this stunning location. From beautiful blue skies with puffy white clouds, the skies started looking ominous and followed us into the gorge and up to the volcanic crater at Ngorongoro.

Sometimes surprises pop their heads up over the delicious acacia to say hello!

Cheers to our first long hot shower since the beginning of the safari. It felt so wonderful and all of us came to dinner with fresh scrubbed skin and wet hair. It almost felt like a miracle!

The Ngorongoro crater was formed 2 million years ago when the volcano erupted on itself forming the caldera. It is statistically the largest unfilled volcanic caldera in the world. The floor of the caldera is 2,000′ beneath the rim and is approximately 100 square miles in area. It was named by the Maasai after the Ngoro-Ngoo-Nogor sounds which they thought the grazing animals in the area made. Before the formation of the crater the volcano was said to be the same size as Kilimanjaro. Some people call it Africa’s Garden of Eden. Wildebeests and zebra still migrate in and out of the crater and the cape buffalo’s migrate in during the rainy season.

Next up the crater and its creatures on a misty overcast day.

Our last morning sunrise, giraffe’s hiking by and luggage waiting to head to the Land Cruisers

On our way to running with the herds and all the other animals…we ran across male lions and elephants. The one lion decided “ugh” I don’t want to pose for these idiots so he trotted off to the bushes. The other one seemed to pose!

Riding with the herds across the plains and up to the most beautiful rock outcroppings was incredible. Taking photos as we jostled across wasn’t easy but soaking up the whole experience and ambiance was more important. Not another Land Cruisers in sight! When we wound down lunch on our rock, we did see one vehicle trail of dust in the far distance. FYI information – Japan helped build Tanzanian roads. Almost all the vehicles are Land Cruisers -makes sense and it wasn’t a bad long term forward thinking investment! We had to leave Matt from our Novato family behind at our Serengeti camp as he tested positive for Covid-19 – just like our trip to Ecuador – no one else in his family came down with it. What is it with Covid?

The vastness of this area of Tanzania is incredible. You glance around and see no development, no vehicles, maybe a bomba with cows and the Maasai now and then and you just want to cry at the beauty. Why do people want to come here? When you are here it is obvious! Larkin continues to soak in the beauty and enjoy all the geology!

On our way to Olduvai gorge we passed the shifting sands which are mounds of black volcanic ash that move due to winds. These sands are crescent-shaped with the sharp arms pointing the way the wind is going. It was beautifully symmetrical. We saw markers in the ground showing its movement. The dunes are called barkan which form when there is dust on the ground and a unidirectional wind that creates movement. The volcanic ash collects around a rock and continually forms what appears to be a small sand dune. This one moves approximately 10 meters a year. The local Maasai tribe believe that the dunes originated from Ol Doinyo Lengai (Mountain of God) which is the holiest place in their culture, a volcano to the north that is visible on the clearest day. From what I remember the men are able to hike to the top of the Mountain of God and leave offerings but the women are not allowed to do that but they are allowed to go the shifting sands and bring offerings. Supposedly you can pick up the sand and throw it in the air and the grains will pull together due to magnetism. We didn’t try that!

Onto the Ngorongoro crater past Olduvai Gorge!

Our next two days were filled with more exciting rides on the savannah. We saw what seemed like miles of moving wildebeests. Some herds had babies and we’re on the move – others looked heavy with baby and ready to pop while still moving along. We were told once the females start dropping their off springs they all start to drop. It keeps the predators guessing with so many more options. The babies have to bond with mama as they move or they just get lost in the herd and other mamas don’t want them.

They hyena’s and jackal can share a little of sustenance but it was fun to watch the interaction. Hyena’s will take a zebra after they are full to a water hole so they can eat more when they are hungry. However various carnivore birds work hard despite the water eating as much as they can. The giraffe most likely died of natural causes and the birds were feasting there also. Phil wanted to see at least one kill but all we saw were feasts happening already and one cheetah trying to bring down a small impala…he missed.

Doting the savannah are the granite “rocks” called Kopjes that stick out like islands in a sea of grass. These are ancient features that are over 500 millions years old and have been exposed after the softer volcanic ash from the area volcanoes were eroded away. They provide a contrast to the grasslands and acacia trees and provide the habitat for animals, plants, caves, water and the ultimate vantage point for the lions.

Wonderful opportunities for photos using any type camera!

Down cat and enjoying the afternoon!

Somedays the giraffes saunter through past our tent and out into the savannah in front of our camp. Delightful.

Hollywood has nothing on nature when it comes to big eyes or big eared creatures and how about spots and stripes and patterns!

Oh see warthog coming, see warthog running – woah maybe we ought to check it out! That was enough energy – just not worth it!

Getting ready for the sundowner! The rocks we have circled over two days to see lions have now become our sunset viewpoint. The only creatures we ran off were the to be able to return. Larkin explained the old history of the granite rocks.

Off to dinner and packing so we can head toward the Ngorngoro Crater in the morning. Thanks Gary for taking the photo! More to come…

Each morning on a safari, darkness is what you need to greet. I couldn’t sleep and woke up around 4 am the first few mornings. When you’re energized for the coming day, you just can’t sleep! This me time gave moments on my own to listen and think. The soul of Africa can be felt in the darkness. The quiet yet subtle sounds – then slowly the birds start signaling morning. Others could hear lions roar in a distance.

The Serengeti is at the equator. After being at 38 degrees North – the equal days were welcome. Between 6 and 7 the sun came up and between 6 and 7 the sun went down. Like clockwork year around.

Each evening around the dinner table we would each let Gary know what time we wanted warm drinks delivered to our tent. Our tent steward would bring us a pot of hot water for my tea and a pot of water for Michael to press. He told me the coffee was delicious. Larkin and Jess learned over time they wanted one pot of hot chocolate and two peppermint tea bags to make peppermint hot chocolate. I’ll need to try it someday!

Breakfast began after our “Dark Side of the Moon” escort walked us to the fire pit. The darkness slowly lifted as we had more hot drinks, fire prepped oats, fruit etc. The morning meal was never in the mess tent but outside because we’d all get our thoughts and bodies together quicker. After last minute toilet stops – we were off!

If you want to see the action, you have to be butt in a seat and moving into the pre-dawn light in the Land Cruisers. The quality of the light for photos of course is the best at dusk and dawn. The three Land cruisers would spread out and look for what the local wildlife was up to for the morning.

The cheetah on the left, the birds soar above, wildebeests in the background and the hills rising above the plains. Cloud cover – yet still endless and breathtaking. The waste paper flowers are the little white flowers that are out this time of year that look like trash from an airplane.

Zebras and Wildebeests are migrating in this area of the Serengeti during the early part of the year. Over a million wildebeests come and go wandering the plain as “No-malice” food for carnivores. It just is. We are in their home. We are in the Maasai homeland. We can not judge that the poor little wildebeest or baby zebra didn’t move fast enough and got eaten or an old giraffe that died of natural causes is now food. Again, it just is. We can not judge that our wonderful serving crew in the camps are all men. It wouldn’t work otherwise and they are all hard working. Maasai, Christian, Muslim, some other tribe or a combination – we are in their world. Appreciate what it is and respect it.

Zebras are ubiquitous – we saw them near the runway when we landed…on our drive into the trees of our camp. The cute little babies with their fuzzy brown stripes, warmed our hearts. We saw zebras with wildebeests, gazelles, giraffes you name it there were stripes abounding.

Larkin captured a hare and serval on camera. Mongoose at termite mounds were often seen but scattered as soon as they were aware of activity. I think our group captured a few rumps going down their holes.

By about nine each day it was time for a coffee – tea and check the tires break. Our guides made sure the feast was set out and there were no surprise animals to greet us. Men that side of the cruisers by the trees and women on the other side. Men are so lucky they have the point and shoot equipment. Women, squat, balance, hold a rock or a tree or a muddy tire. Each Land Cruisers had little paper bags for the toilet paper. No paper waste was to be left behind. It made for burning material in our nightly fires. Each safarist had the right to request to check the tires. It just couldn’t be around the animals of prey. But a quick jaunt away from the action could be found. Unfortunately one afternoon one land cruiser needed to check the tires and found a tree replete with nasty bees. Not a good combo.

Each day was 6-8 hours in the morning and early afternoon and then a lunch to regroup, take a nap and get ready for the late afternoon excursion. It was fun to glance at photos during this time but my eyes would never stay open long enough to go through them all.

Birds in trees everywhere we looked. A birds eye view makes more sense after spending three days in the Serengeti. I have never been a birder but I now understand the beauty of watching and photographing birds – and knowing their calls.

I think the leopard in a tree was one of our favorite sightings as it was unexpected but desired.

Lions and lioness’ were to be found in many locations – I think our favorite was on the rocks!

Spencer and Elizabeth made the trek with Marty and Diana on safari with Gary’s Wilderness Explorer group a few years back. If I remember the story right it was raining as they neared this beautiful umbrella tree in the middle of nowhere. Spencer is 6’7″ and one of the other participants mentioned this tree must be Spencer’s umbrella. Since that time its always been known as Spencer, the tree.

One afternoon we trekked the long way around Spencer and drove up to see a rug, pillows, wine, spirits, drinks and munchies. We enjoyed sunset drinks by Spencer the tree. As we wound down our drinks and appetizers, we watched herons fly from what seemed to be miles from nowhere and land in the tree. The sunset was subtle but lovely.

Amazing how thousands of photos take time to sift through and how Apple just messes them all in a jumble time wise on my phone. I try to find the best and post them even if they may not be in order. If the photos don’t show up well on a phone or a tablet, the blog will look better on a computer. The trip was magical and I’m trying to share the photos that speak to me. Enjoy the blog!

After getting our final 6 stranded safarist and a lunch at Olerai, we loaded up the Land Cruisers with the luggage for our group of 12 and Gary as owner and guide to head to the little local Arusha airport for our back country puddle jumper to the Serengeti. Mzee and Mac our other two guides had driven their Land Cruisers earlier in the day to be able to pick us up at the dirt strip airport.

Out pilot with his Apple phone map, Ralph our Marin pilot safarist enjoying the copilots seat, the wonderful geology of Tanzania and landing at the airport!

We headed out on the savannah as soon as Gary showed us the map and loaded us all up. Having three land cruisers is critical – why? First, three to four cruisers spread out and searching for animals, the chances of spotting animals is greater. Second, the interaction with each guests as well as getting to know all three guides. Each cruiser is a slightly different layout and although they are designed to hold five, only four seats are used. When we did finally see other vehicles – their crowded 6 seaters just didn’t look as comfortable even if they were alone with a guide.

Serengeti means Endless Plain. The first time I heard the meaning, I thought it was Endless place…it feels that way too. Our camp location toward the south was away from most of the other camps. The Serengeti is one of the few National Parks where you don’t have to stay on dirt roads. It made for a potential bumpier ride – avoiding termite mounds and serendipitously creature created monster holes.

The sunroofs were off when we left the airport and we could choose to sit up on the roof and hold on like crazy or stay in our seat and take photos out of our open sides. Larkin, Michael and I were together for the only time as a family as we figured if we split up we’d get different shots and get to know the entire group. We only had two cameras but 3 apple iphones. Larkin used the Canon and I used the Lumix. Mine was not minding very well and often just didn’t like to focus but we all still came up with some fun shots – especially for a blog! The above photos shows what we saw on our way to the camp from the airport – birds like the Guineafowl and Roller, the Dik-Dik, Jackal and the rain surprised us but didn’t keep the three cheetah’s from hunting in the rain.

This is what it looked like if we could include the Land Cruisers along with the animals.

The beautiful Umbrella acacia trees dotted our camp – Larkin and Jess were walking under a very large one to dinner. You can see what our tents looked like from the outside with their pseudo running water which was unexpected but delightful. A fire greeted us every evening and every morning at the mess tent. Some of the beetles look like art work! Sunsets were subtle as the weather was most often partly cloudy. We had some stunning thunderstorms and muddy paths over our incredible safari days. Shoes needed to be easy on and easy off as all tents were shoe free! Showers were fire warmed approximately 5 gallons of smoky water. Michael never got the water on, water off soap up, water on, rinse etc so he would find himself with no water but soaped up. I am the queen of rinse it all quick and the ponytail can wait until the lodge outside Ngorongoro crater!

Michael and I always chose the after dinner shower options as we wanted to be bug spray free for bed. Our tents were very well netted and few bugs. I did have a cute little mouse that was as surprised a I was to see him near the toilet section. We chatted but he liked scooting away as quick as my face was in his space. he was too shy to be photographed. He loved the stack of toilet paper near the toilet for his nest. There are about 8 tent cabins approximately three on one side looking out and 5 on our side. Even though we were 7 we were by far the furthest tent. After dark and before sunrise we were requested to call for an escort so we weren’t eaten in the dark. The more the merrier! Our call sign should have been “Tent 7 needs an escort,” however my choice was “Dark side of the moon requesting reentry. Tent 7 ready to join earth.” The mice were rare but if the furthest tents aren’t used often enough the rodents can find comfort. We heard of a hyena that kept finding a way into the furthest tent in one of the camps. The bed was his comfort and like a puppy – he destroyed it. The only way to discourage him was removal of the tent. Sorry bud!

There were incredible men who cooked, cleaned, escorted and protected us in each camp and Olerai. Many unseen for most of the trip. Angels behind the scenes! Our food was too much but absolutely delicious! It was served family style – salads, meats, veggies, deserts that I can’t imagine trying to cook in the middle of nowhere. Wine and spirits were an open bar but seldom over used as days were early and late and energy needed just to soak up the visions across the plains were more important!

The next day is our first full day in the Serengeti. At least 5 are awaiting luggage to arrive in Kilimanjaro to be driven to our Serengeti camp. More to come…

How do we even begin to express the joy of being on a safari? But beginnings have a beginning and ours started on the KLM flight to Amsterdam connecting to Kilimanjaro! Why would that be memorable? The weather, the captain of our flight and the life of Brian.

The lady in the seat in front of me who lives half the year in the San Francisco Bay Area and half in Amsterdam had her very large white Golden Retriever in the hold to head back to Amsterdam. The Captain told her it simply wouldn’t work as the landing in Amsterdam would be very difficult. Little did we know!

Our connection was only 50 minutes in Amsterdam but we knew the flight would wait if we were able to make it to the terminal. We were so happy that the Captain came back before we took off and said we had an honorary Service Dog who would be with all of us in the cabin. Brian moved to 6A and was right past a very useful toilet. He was a joy to pet after taking a trip to the toilet . The overnight flight flew by.

As we approached the airport for landing the winds buffeted the plane – right – left – up and down. Slowly we descended toward the runway and found ourselves rising once again in the air to go around. The Captain said, “Don’t worry the winds were too strong for this landing and we have enough fuel to try two more times. ” Oh great, two more shots. The bumpy ride continued but during the next pass the Captain did a great job of getting the big ol’ beast down.

Great – now to figure out our gate and “run” to our next flight. From leaving San Francisco to landing in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport the potential gate change numerous times. The current gate was the end of D at 57 – they couldn’t have gotten us any further from our next flight! We were flying out of F 9. Oh Joy. However as we awaited leaving the plane we realized the hurricane force winds were still buffeting our massive plane. Geez Louise! No wonder there were issues landing. A flight attendant made sure Larkin had a barf bag and told us “no worries your next flight will be delayed too!”

As a family we have started practicing the ultimate way to travel – carry on! The three of us each had a backpack and rollaboard. Thank goodness!

We hiked our gear back down D past E to the end of F. On the way we passed Brian and his mate so happy to be in the terminal and not locked in the plane’s hold. When we arrived at F9 a packed gate awaited us. The announcements when they did come included, “We’re sorry your plane will leave late without anyone’s luggage. No luggage can leave any plane that landed and obviously cannot be loaded on our plane. The weather and winds are just too strong but we can take off no problem. We will get you to Kilimanjaro and deliver your luggage to you as soon as we can get it to Tanzania.” Or thereabouts!

We met Maureen and saw Jill on the plane and realized they were part of our Safari group. The flight to Kilimanjaro was uneventful albeit late. When we arrived warmth, moist air and the requisite lateral flow covid test awaited us. We all tested negative, headed through customs and passport check and awaited Diana the gatherer of safari souls. It took a few moments but I realized the tall sister in law of Diana was a brunette and I recognized the Wildlife Explorer Hat on her backpack. Within minutes we were all tucked in together in Land Cruisers heading the hour and a half to Olerai in Arusha. Three with and three without luggage.

A family from Novato here in Marin County and Larkin’s to be roommate Jess from Oregon missed all the connections to Amsterdam in the US so our dinner was minus 5 safarists. We were blessed in many ways. Carry on luggage and flights that connected. Our wayward five travelers arrived 36 hours later some with and some without luggage. Go figure.

The rag tag luggage less group that did arrive on time spent part of day two finding clothes that might work as they awaited luggage. We also were driven in the Land Cruisers to Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, a lodge that used to be the wayside lodge before safaris instead of Olerai and Wildlife Safari in Arusha. At the Mountain Lodge we enjoyed a tour, black and white monkeys and a great lunch.

Shoes in a cart. Do they have your size? Art work, sculpture and Tanzanite for Larkin at the Cultural Center – we’d head back to pick up Larkin’s tanzanite ring she’s always wanted to buy for herself at the end of the safari when we’re back in Arusha!

Our Serengeti experience started the next afternoon. Our five lost souls KLM flight arrived about 7:30 am the second morning in Kilimanjaro, then they had the drive to Arusha so our private flight was moved to a 3 pm take off after another wonderful lunch. The animal adventure was to begin. Bug spray check. Sun screen check. Netting over beds check. More to Come!

Over a year and a half ago we found ourselves packing up to finally come home from enjoyably being stranded in Perth and Western Australia for over four months. We lost the friends we made on the truncated World Cruise as they flew home but we stayed behind – everyone of them to go to a life of quarantine and house fix its! We decided instead to began a four month journey enjoying one of the most remote areas in the world and one of the most diverse wine regions. 6285 – Margaret River!

Perth and its geology and creatures – think Quokka – was joyful for us as we started this section of our journey. We miss the people who were so friendly – from the car rental places to the phone company to stores selling the winter clothes we left at home as we were NOT suppose to spend fall and winter in the southern hemisphere.

Footy was a game I had never seen and loved watching – Australian Football rules with its different sized oval fields! When they aired past championships, I’d never seen them – think Superbowls where you don’t know the outcome! It was delightful. Like American sports, they watched from TV as the stadiums were still empty when we were there. It is truly football and not pass ball like American rules. I can now somewhat follow the Fremantle Dockers or the WA Eagles, think Raider and 49ers. I want to watch but I have to pay to watch and I have to know I will sit still since its like soccer…it doesn’t stop.

We miss petting all the dogs on our walks (especially since we lost Emma a year ago!)or those like Elsa who we saw grow up on our many trips to Firetail Winery which has many of our favorite sparkling, Semillon and cabernet wines. Elsa really wanted to take a ride with us and now we hear she is loving the chardonnay and cabernet harvest workers because she LOVES people!

Now that we walk Dillon Beach almost everyday with JJ we see our favorite pups and love it! From Claire the Great Dane who smells my pockets and wants my goodies but can’t have time to her pals Gucci and Stella who are happy to eat the treats she can’t have! Ollie gets treats every day and of course knows it. He and JJ get along just fine!

We miss the caves off Cave Road. One with the three of us and one with just Larkin and me which had lots of stairs! Hard to believe that under this entire geologic region runs a myriad of caves. We miss hiking the Karri Eucalyptus tree forest.

We miss the almost nightly sunsets. With a warmer temperature in the Indian Ocean, the area doesn’t develop fog like Bodega Bay and the west coast of the USA. We’ve had some wonderful sunsets since we’ve been home and quite a few green flashes but the outrageous sunsets of Margaret River still take my breath away, especially when I glance through the sunsets.

We miss going to restaurants that went from 20 people in late April 2020 at each venue to full capacity right before we left in July of 2020. Amazingly enough we ate at almost every major restaurant and all winery restaurants – those were my only covid pounds which I had to deal with when we arrived home! I do so wish Napa and Sonoma had more food with their winery tasting rooms. It makes sense to offer food with wine!

I miss my long hikes with Larkin up and down the coast! The 75 miles of the Cape to Cape trail was so easy to find and do portions thereof. Nothing like that at Dillon Beach or even coastal California. At least we have a wonderful 2 miles beach to walk every morning just down the hill.

We miss our little house in Prevelly Beach with its wonderful covered back deck. Barbequing in the rain was not an issue! We don’t miss the queen bed or the small shower! We enjoyed our neighbors, the restaurant up the street along with the local general store/winery/post office! It was a short drive or walk to the White Elephant up Gnarabup Beach and a little longer walk or short drive to the Bistro where we got pizza, mostly take out once a week.

I miss the huge fruit trees at our rental. We do have a few producing lemons that give at least one or two a year here at Dillon Beach! LOL!

I miss the incredibly beautiful birds. The Valentine Gulahs and the Twenty Eights and a few I didn’t find the name for. I love watching the red tail hawks, vultures and ravens here at Dillon Beach and we now have a resident Western bluebird family in our birdhouse. The most interesting was watching two red tailed hawks chasing an adolescent bald eagle away across to the hills while we sat in our hot tub. But none of “our” birds are colorful in a large size like Western Australia.

We don’t see the plethora of lost and found anywhere near Dillon Beach. Margaret River folks leave them where folks will notice. Dillon Beach – oh someone dropped something there and they leave it. We do see the sand castle building stuff, dog poop bags, one flip flop and during low tide the metal retrievers find coins!

I miss the used book store next to the sushi place in Margaret River. I kept going in and asking for good Australian writers and even a few on wines and wineries. The unique thing about covid and isolating somewhere other than “home” I could read without feeling guilty. I spent many an hour reading, Michael writing and Larkin watching Critical Role episodes. I wish I had more time for reading now!

I miss seeing kangaroos grazing like we see our deer out our backyard, or our front yard or just basically anywhere they can jump out and hit our car – which of course happens with Kangaroos too! The rental car agencies tell renters you can not drive after dark because you might hit a kangaroo. We miss the hippie surfers. The old surfers who no longer want to surf “surgeons table” but have to see the current group catch their huge waves. Our surfers at Dillon Beach are often retired and could be old hippies too!

I miss the cost and ease of buying Marg wines. My favorite part was the screw tops! We believe we tried the greatest majority of potential wines in Margaret River! I can’t say how many times we filled up this cabinet and drank through their wonderful wines!

I miss the three of us gathering together on the couch watching delightful local, national and world news followed by Bondi Beach and then NCIS reruns. A 4 month family tradition. I miss watching Larkin cozied into the daybed watching Critical Role – hours of segments that she caught up on. I miss the back deck where Michael could grill rain or shine. With all we miss, we are still glad to be home. Larkin has finished her masters and the sunsets we do have have delighted us! Larkin and I have both been happy stress bakers of sourdough bread. I’ve got it down now and enjoy it! I am delighted to have Amazon to deliver because they do not do so in the same way in Australia. But I miss the 15 minute drive into Margs for food, wine and anything else we need which really made up for the lack of Amazon!

If we weren’t home we would have missed the growing grandsons this summer. We look forward to seeing them in a week when we see Larkin graduation with her Humanitarian Engineering degree from Colorado School of Mines!

I am happy to see friends, catch up and have long walks on our beach. We all have two shots and a booster and hopefully be to travel later this month with Larkin to parts south of here! Larkin and I were able to visit PhD programs in October and see Shanna, Damon, Dominic and friends in the Raleigh area!

Yes we miss Margs 6285! We miss that they still have zero covid in the state of Western Australia. It would be like California’s borders being closed to everyone for a year and a half – which would never happen! I think we American’s would go crazy…but Western Australians put all their money back into the local economy so business is good – and no masks!

We love last minute dinner with friends and going out to dinner where you order at the counter because there isn’t enough staff! We are blessed with great neighbors and great friends. Now we pray for more rain. Drought is not fun!

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas. Let the blessings of life that we can count make us smile!

The lost watch. The lost dog. The lost homes.

Remember this looks best on the website and NOT in an email….

Larkin came to see us over fall break and help take our dear Miss Emma over the rainbow bridge. I picked her up on a Friday – took Emma to the Vet on Saturday morning – then drove over to see our Calistoga burned property with her best friend from Middle School whose home at our property was destroyed! It was a very difficult day. Like Michael and I on the previous Monday, we drove straight home and didn’t stop. We placed Missy Emma in the grave Michael dug that afternoon.

Larkin was ready for down time after burial so we cuddle up on our king sized bed and turned on Indiana Jones. We’ve had a malamute…Indiana was the dogs name. As we laughed, Larkin said, “mom, I found your watch.” I said, “no way!”

That entire blog beginning was on my blog since October. We celebrated mom’s 90th birthday when Larkin was with us and we all drove to Las Vegas to visit dear friends. Life after the fire has been well…difficult and still is. Insurance companies are difficult…lawyers are required but we are so grateful to have our retirement home, our family and our lives. The holidays were simple for everyone from what I gathered. Larkin stayed in Colorado for Thanksgiving and I planned on flying mid December to help her drive her car home for Christmas break. After the fact, it might have been easier for her to fly and NOT me, but my oh my the hours of driving and seeing the Grand Canyon again and friends in Santa Fe on my birthday (very distanced) was the highlight of my travel holidays.

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The trip back to Colorado was rushed but the hours spent chatting and enjoying our time together was worth every minute. I am blessed to have a great husband and a daughter with whom I can chat for hours and a mom who remains healthy enough to enjoy living by herself with her wonderful companion Shep, little Emma’s cousin so we still get our Pumi love! Larkin is entrenched in her final classes for her masters and focusing on her Humanitarian Engineering thesis.

The Martini travels have abated as the world still quarantines due to the horrid virus. Michael and I along with mom await our second Moderna vaccine shot in early March. The only joy for being over 65! We are planning on being able to travel to new parts of the world next year and we are hoping Larkin can join us for a few trips too! We look forward to the day we can visit with the grandkids and Shanna in North Carolina…we’d be happy to see them here on the west coast.

Sheltering in place with only trips to see mom for doctors appointments or to the grocery store has made me a STRESS BAKER. Larkin began taking up the baking gene over Christmas and we baked together finding formula’s that worked for us. After spending months doing low carb and keeping the weight off, its been a joy to enjoy sourdough bread AND keep the weight off. It is also a joy to be able to share the fruits of our baking with friends. Soudough digests better so maybe that is why I can eat those carbs now?!?

′′ I don’t recommend making bread, it can become a dangerous passion, like poetry. Bread is a rather melancholic vocation, which requires mainly free time for the soul. The poet and the baker are brothers, in the fundamental task of nurturing humanity ′′ – Isabel Allende, Aphrodite

The baking keeps me on my toes (and free time for my soul) and makes me move from my warm cozy spot on the couch. Books still grace my nightstand and new puzzle table sits by the couch while we watch Murdock or other mysteries on TV – or even the Great British Baking show! We have had a few friends drop by for a glass of wine and we have cherished every one of the moments with those brave folks.

We await the finish of our last windows to be installed between bouts of much needed rain this spring. We look out over the back yard and see the daffodils pushing up over Emma’s grave in the back yard and feel her spirit with us!

Sunsets still happen between bread baking. We await more magical sunlit clouds!

For now, I may turn to sourdough baking tips on my blog or recipes from new creative recipes found in cookbooks or sites online. My watch may have been found but both batteries have decided to call it quits so time has stopped once again.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Definition of poignant

1a(1): painfully affecting the feelings : PIERCING

(2): deeply affecting : TOUCHING

b: designed to make an impression : CUTTING

I thought the garbage cans didn’t melt…well two of them did, as you can see by their stance. I think I feel like the melted brown one.

The front portico is nothing but fallen beams . For those of you who spent the night at our front home – The Maples – or enjoyed the Band because they practiced there for years – you might remember the 150 year old fir that we had to take out in the last five years. I thought the stump would be there forever. However nature and a fire had another idea. Burn it into a big hole and let a green maple fall into it. Need a spatula or a water bottle?

What is left of the ghost winery is the ghost…

Surreal – devastating how do you describe this? Nothing but a chimney an outdoor table where the glass shattered but half the chairs are untouched. The bbq looks useable.

A bed stand looking toward the highway, a totally burned barrel with charred agapantha bulbs, a blue hummingbird feeder melted and fallen to the ground. If you want to know what a burned out washer and dryer looks like…there it is!

Need a lawn mower or an ancient water storage tank? The burned out stump leaves an interesting pattern. We had to be careful not to step in a smoldering hole as we went around the huge burning fir.

Past the burned fallen fir the rose garden was well scorched and there is no longer a fence but I think it can be saved. The roses should come back and by then the deer would certainly enjoy them. The first cottage, 4203 was flat but the leftover deck furniture on a little cement block patio was intact…why? How about the left behind barrel that opens to a bar? Good to go! The half wine barrel in front of the cottage is half burned…nice sculpture.

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The cottage on the right, 4205 is just rubble…its on the other side of the fallen little tree. The back patio, the hot water tank and stove looks back up to our standing main house in the smoke. The mail box lies in the ashes but then you can walk up the stairs to the old entry to the back side of the cottage. Stairs to nowhere now! Must be the new name of a song…Stairway to nowhere – does anyone want to write the song?

We had an old barn…lots of wood and things and well, I’ve never spent time up there – never even really walked into it. Can’t believe what is left is a tub…where did it come from?! The well house which had a metal roof had wood sides…it fell to the north…wonder if that’s where the fire came from? Down the hill? Down from the castle? The fence around the propane tank is long gone and we’re in need of a new propane tank. The full smoky shot just looks like a battleground.

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Isn’t it amazing what a huge hole a stump can leave? And the charcoal ember landed in a rock pathway and had nothing to light on fire. I imagine these kind of embers blew from Bell Canyon, across the valley and into our hills!

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The backside of the house by the kitchen–you can note a few burned looking areas and on the far right are fire extinguisher our neighbors contractor must have used. The photo on the right continues on the walk way to the pool. Obviously our seating area on the left is cone. The peppers past the laundry dryer are smokey but not burned and the tomatoes just look in need of water.

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The burned seating area to the left of the walk way and the surviving Palm tree I love! All of these are heading to the still standing pool house!

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The other side of the pool had the fire run through it but the hammock is saved with little bitty holes from embers in it. The pool cover survives and green abounds toward the house.

Truly the most poignant picture. Absolute devastation to the left burning right up to the walkways. The house standing on the right.

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The burned walkway. Looking up the little valley and looking back at the burn…and the green and right up to the house. Quite a blessing.

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Melted yellow jacket catchers. The bottom staircase and light burned beyond recognition but the teak table in front of it has no issues. The barrel next to the back deck is partially burned as you can see by the ivy. Maybe enough water and moisture so it wouldn’t keep burning.

Napa County took this shot. The colors are amazing. The deck post is burned a foot up from the hillside. Little paths of what might be fire lines are blackened. Thank goodness our neighbor’s contractor made sure this post quit smoldering. Above this are two windows in the master bedroom that have cracks from the heat as the fire passed this side of the house.

The cracked windows, the air conditioner and still green at the top of these oak trees! The smoke just makes it all eerier!

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Why does the little watering can have its nozzle melted off? Wanna play golf?

The houses behind are untouched. Since they are boarded up an unoccupied, I’m sure the owners wondered why they couldn’t have been destroyed!

A pan across the street with the homes on the left gone and all the green on the right.

From the top of our property line you can see the valley to the east then our neighbor’s home and rock wall which might have saved the house over to our side of the fence on the right. Things are burned and things are green.

Dark days are just as much a part of our life as are the days graced with sunshine. They show us a different perspective of our world, while helping us appreciate the moments of illumination that inevitably follow. A rainy day with clouds help to clear the air, washing away stagnation. We are still awaiting rain which might occur this weekend. With all the devastation it still is hard not to feel gloomy or think that 2020 has been ruined with all the smoke fires and covid hanging over us. If we can all remember that these shades of grey won’t last forever, and that hidden behind the clouds is the blue sky, maybe the beauty of our lives are playing a game of peek-a-boo with us all.