Retirement Sabbatical Year of Discernment

  Granddaughter Avienda and daughter Ruth came for a visit. Here is Avi in the "Go inside" Tree. And here is Ruth going in. On Wednesday, February 17, we headed to Stinson Beach for a long walk next to the ocean. Looking south we could see Sutro Tower in San Francisco. Here are two seagulls on the beach - a mature one on the left and a juvenile on the right. We saw quite a few whole crabs like this one washed up on the beach. And quite a few holy rocks like this one. Godwits on the beach Godwits flying     I find it increasingly interesting that spring doesn't officially begin until the spring equinox on or about March 21 when there are so many evidences of spring bursting all around us. It almost feels like the solstices and equinoxes should mark the middle of the seasons rather than the beginning, especially spring. Every day we see more flowers blooming, leaf buds opening and lots of new growth. These daffodils and lavender are a gift from a park aid who picked them in...

  The first Trillium I have seen in 2021 - February 11, 2021     I first fell in love with the beautiful Trillium flowers in 2013, a few months after arriving in Eureka. Paula, the church office manager at the time, told me about seeing trilliums on a hike she'd been on and I asked her what they were and then went in search of them. There are apparently some 50 varieties of trilliums that vary in color, but most are white like this one I spotted amongst the Redwood Sorrel not far from our campsite on a trail that connects to the Pioneer Tree Trail. I have located 7 blooming trilliums so far, and will keep looking for them as spring approaches.     I can't fully explain my love of these flowers, but this is the ninth year I have looked for them in the redwood forests - for 8 years in Humboldt County and now here at Samuel P Taylor State Park. As I've learned more about them besides where they live and how pretty they are, I like them even more. Recently I saw a h...