8 Weeks...It Has Flown By!!

My Lakeside Retreat

Here I am, eight weeks since my adventure in Lower Lake began.  Phew, I'm just now beginning to look beyond the frenzy and busy of this massive transition.   This weekend I moved Ber and Gio to M-Square Farms, where they have larger pastures and a quieter atmosphere but lots to look at ("horsey TV").  They were really not settling at the ranch where I originally moved them, for a number of reasons. It was pretty stressful, now that I have some distance and can look at it. But they are settling in to M-Square very quickly.  It feels like "home" to them, and to me.  The people who run the place remind me a lot of my 8th Avenue friends (the Mankas).

Gio, first evening at M-Square. Mt. Konocti in the distance.

My job at Lower Lake is what I was looking for, and I couldn't be happier. It is a challenge, and I am called upon to be my best, every day.  The school is over 700 students, K-8.  That's about 3 teachers per grade level!!  Everything I learned as a teacher in McKinleyville and Burnt Ranch, running Blue Heron, and as a professional development provider for the writing project....my MA degree and studies, and my Ed.D. degree and studies...  it all feeds into this job.  As you know, I love a challenge.  Whee!

Ber, looking regal. First day at M-Square, Mt. Konocti behind him.

The house I found on the lake suits me well.   I have a dream of a view.  "My" piece of the lake is right on a marshy area, so I have many families of birds who come in and out. There is a great blue heron who calls the area home, flying in every evening. The other night I watched him/her hunt for fish until it was so dark I could no longer see the bird.  I even have a pair of humming birds. They are so unfazed by my presence, they hover right in front of my face, so close my eyebrows move in the wind from their wings!   They are ruby-throat hummers.      I am still pretty much living out of boxes, though I set up my kitchen fairly well, and I just got my desk set up.  One thing at at time. My horses needed a lot of my attention, to the tune of 2 or 3 hours every day after work.  But now that they are in a happier place for them, I think I can direct some of my energies towards other projects.  Like unpacking. And exploring the natural beauty of this captivating county.

A Pistachio Tree!  There are three of them right in front of Ber and Gio's pastures.  Yum!

Since I moved at the peak of harvest season, somehow I managed to get a bit of canning done. This is pear country, so I've been in heaven!  I made pear chutney, pear butter, dried pears, pear marmalade, dilly beans, and dried tomatoes. Right now I'm making rasins from the abundance of grapes at Ber and Gio's new house.   

What else?   Oh! The Book!  The manuscript for the book I've been working on for the past year with Bob Barr has been accepted by Solution Tree Press, with an expected publishing date of May, 2013.  Way cool. (Okay, now that I think about it, how on earth did I get through the last 8 weeks?  The move, new job, the huge push to get the book manuscript done, and finishing the online CLAD class I had...  Yeah, it's time for some decent down time!!!)    At any rate, this book is a dream come true. The tentative title, developed by the publishers, is "Building a Culture of Hope: Enriching Schools with Opportunity and Optimism."  I couldn't be prouder of this piece of work, and the opportunity to work with Bob has been an experience that has impacted my whole life. 

Ber and Gio's new pastures.  They are the black shapes at the far end.

As I head into the last half of October, I am grateful for so much in my life. I am doing what I wanted to do, and I feel like I am making a valuable contribution.  I deeply miss my friends in Humboldt County, though. I will be back up there in November to take care of things at my rental, so I hope to check in with folks who are around!  It's funny how I don't think about how much I miss Humboldt, the area, the way I did when I was in Idaho.  Lake County feels like a second home. I feel good here.   I know when I go up to Humboldt it will hit me, hard, what I left behind.  But every day, I am surrounded by beauty and a similar earthly energy or presence as in Humboldt.     I am very fortunate.

 

If you look close, you can see Stuart, my brother, exploring the Soda Spring.

My Patio.  The plants are from Trinidad. They ALL made it and all are doing well.

I hope you are well. Please catch me up on your news when you can.