The Sheep Are Here!

The Sea Ranch uses a rotating group of sheep to do prescribed grazing. The flock, which has about 350 head, rotates from common area to common area to do their work.

There are a dozen goats or so in the mix to take care of the really tough stuff that the sheep won't touch.

They stay in each spot for a day or two, and are they moved to the next by the shepherd and his dog. They are kept in place with a solar-powered electric fence. Finally, the flock has gotten close to our house. We went out twice yesterday to watch them. I had no idea what loud eaters they are, quite the noisy group. Here are a few photos from the outing.

The SF Chronicle actually did an extensive article on the whole operation in 2005. Here is the link if you want to read more.

Real time map of where the sheep are can be found here.

Road Trip: Humboldt

This past weekend we made a quick trip 36 hour trip to Humboldt. It's about 4.5 hour drive from here, all quite scenic. The purpose of our trip was the see Frank Warren of the PostSecret project speak at Humboldt State. It was such a great experience, it deserves its own blog post (coming soon!)

I love Arcata. Living there for four years while attending Humboldt State made a lasting impression. When I left Arcata in 1996 to move to San Diego, I literally cried for the first hour of driving. I've been back a few times since graduation, but this was Bob's first trip to Arcata. What is always strange to me is that I feel like I met Bob while I was at Humboldt, and when I tell college stories, I just assume he was a part of them. I didn't meet him until four years after I left Humboldt, but I guess after a while we just weave the love of your life into all the stories of your life ... whether they were there or not.

While in town, we dined at Folie Douce, picked up bagels from Los Bagels, a loaf of Brio Bread and a case of Larrupin's mustard. We took a quick side trip to Trinidad to walk on the beach. That was Tender's favorite part.

On the drive back home, we took the Avenue of the Giants route, which runs through Humbolt Redwoods State Park and parallel to Highway 101. Man, oh, man how I love big trees. There is a nice visitors center along the route where we watched an old-school video of the 1964 Eel River floods that roared through the area. It wiped out dozes of key bridges, rail lines and essentially shut off much of the north coast area for months. Some towns were completely destroyed and never rebuilt.

The final leg of the return was down Highway 1. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset and super calm ocean waters. Just perfect. Bottom line, there is no place like Northern California.

Doing What You Love

We've had a lot of discussion in our house the past couple of months about work and life and making sure that we enjoy every minute of it. I do feel like our time up here at The Sea Ranch has been a gift. So much uninterupted time for reflection, planning and really enjoying each day fully ... all while listening to the sound of crashing waves. I haven't felt this calm in years.

I really find inspiration from people who truly love what they do. I'm not just talking about work/career, it may be their hobby, their commitment to family, or they way they throw themselves fully and joyfully into volunteering or creating things. Enthusiasm is contagious.

I want to share with you this video about a man who makes pizza.  This video makes me smile each time I watch it. It's worth the 16+ minutes it takes to watch.


The Best Thing I Ever Done HQ from MargaretEmily MacKenzie on Vimeo.

#16 - See a Space Shuttle Launch (Getting Closer)

If you have checked out my life list, you will see that watching a space shuttle launch is one of the things on there. Number 16 to be exact. This is one of those items that can't wait much longer, as the space shuttle program is winding down. There are two scheduled launches pending. STS-133, which will be Discovery's last mission and then STS-134 for Endeavour.  My current motto is "STS-134 or bust".

Last week we booked our plane tickets to Orlando. Kennedy Space Center ... here we come. We are planning at least a week in Florida to give ourselves some cushion in case there are launch delays. We are putting our freebie Southwest tickets to use, so even if the launch is ditched before we leave California, we can reschedule fairly easily. (Incidentally, while getting the links to add to this blog post, I found out that STS-134 has already been pushed out to April 19. Looks like our first reschedule of tickets is going to happen straightaway!)

So, why is this on my list? As a kid, the space shuttle captivated me. The photos of the teams in their jump suits and space helmet, so proud and color coordinated! These people having the opportunity to see the earth from space ...  in my mind, it teetered on that fine line between  amazing and unbelievable.

I particularly remember the Challenger mission, when a teacher was scheduled to go up on a flight. All the excitement leading up to the launch, there was quite a buzz among us students. I remember thinking which of my teachers I would want to send to space (for either good or bad reasons), Ms. Von Uhlit? Mr. Demming? I still recall the details of how I learned about the Challenger disaster. It was 8th grade and I was in Mr. Christman's math class. Sometime during class, another student walked into the class room and handed him a small slip of paper. He read it to himself and then looked at us. He solemnly informed us that the Challenger had exploded shortly after take off and that we would all have a moment of silence. Until 9/11, I thought that was the "Kennedy Assassination" moment of my generation.

So, needles to say, I am pretty giddy about this. Even if we do not get a lottery seat at the Space Center, even if we are 10 miles away, across the water, with thousands of other people to witness this event, even if I have to stay up until 3AM ... I am all in and I can't wait!

What's on your list? What steps are you doing to make one of your "I want to do that someday" items completed?

Males on the Prowl

Every day I surprised in a new way by the lovely landscapes that surround me. Our side yard contains part of a hedgerow; two rows of closely-planted trees. Depending on the time of day, light falls through these big trees in the most dramatic ways. Other times it's more a subtle and dappled effect. Oh, how I  missed big trees while living in San Diego.

It was a marvelously clear day today on the north coast; big blue skies, strong sun and gentle ocean breezes. All that sunshine has woken up the boys of the various species around here. Driving home from the post office I saw a flock of wild turkeys. There is a flock that makes their way through the neighborhood on a regular basis, I see them every week or so. There were at least a dozen ladies and one male, following behind. His presence today appeared to be more of an annoyance than anything. His beautiful tail feathers open and fanned, strutting, trying to make a scene. The ladies really couldn’t be bothered, as they pecked along and stayed a good 10 feet out in front of him.

The young bucks are also testing the waters these days. Small groups of does with their growing spring babies roam the area. The lone males are starting to hang around these groups, testing the waters. The mamas seem annoyed, keeping themselves near their babies and out of reach.

Today on my lunchtime walk, I had my own little admirer. Not Bob, who was away for work in San Francisco. Rather, a curious scrub jay followed me along one or the riparian corridors. Hopping along the branches, playing hide and seek. He was a cute little fella.

Year-End Trip: San Jose del Cabo, Baja

Living in San Diego, I never fully understood the appeal of jetting off to a warm beach in the middle of winter. Well, that changed once we moved up here. The draw of family, sun and relaxation took us to Mexico for 10 days. Four years ago we made the full-on Baja drive in our 76 VW Westfalia. This time, we opted to fly from SFO.  On a side note, Virgin America just started non-stop service from SFO to SJD, so we gave them a try. This was my first time flying with them. I am a fan.

We spent the bulk of our time just outside of San Jose. The days blended together with  lots of pool time, beach lounging, book reading and naps.

Sunrise view from the condo.

Based upon a last minute recommendation from grad school friend Seth, we did a side trip to Cabo Pulmo to snorkel. It's an easy day trip from the Los Cabos area, with just the last 9 km of the road being unpaved. We took the dirt portions slow in our tiny rental car (aka: clown car).

Road to Cabo Pulmo. Totally manageable.

Cabo Pulmo is a tiny community, about 100 residents, on the East Cape. The draw is that this portion of the Sea of Cortez is a coral reef system with a large variety of fish and sea life. We rented some snorkel gear and hit the water. We saw several dozen fish ... lots of different colors and sizes. Quite lovely! Since we didn't have an underwater camera, you'll just have to trust me on that one. It was so relaxing to just slowly swim around, following fish, and bobbing up in the waves.  We broke up our snorkeling with some lounging. Not a bad way to spend the day.

Bob assessing the snorkel options.


And, on a nerdy geography note ... our day trip took us across the Tropic of Cancer, twice. This stretch of Mex. Highway 1 marks the point with a giant cement ball. On another nerdy geography note, we got up a 1:00 AM to see the lunar eclipse. Stunning deep red and right overhead, with the sounds of waves breaking in the background. Super cool.

At the Tropic of Cancer marker, Mexican Highway 1.

SFO to SJD

Mexico, here we come. Specifically, San Jose del Cabo. I always consider it a great year if it includes a trip out of the country. I've managed to do that every year since 1995, and I think it would be a find tradition to continue.

We will be spending 10 days in Mexico. I am looking forward to: catching up on a stack of books, some good cat naps, and reflecting on 2010/planning for 2011 by completing some of the Reverb10 prompts. Being 100% unplugged from work won't be so bad either. As I sit typing this, the rain is coming down it buckets and the temperatures are in the mid 50's. The 80 degree weather in Baja will be a bonus.

I wish all of you the best of the holiday season. Depending on internet access, I may do some blog updates. However, if not, I'll be back in full swing in a few weeks. Safe travels all!

Photo credit: monalisa