Hello

Hi everyone! It's been a while hasn't it?!

I hope you all had a great summer. Ours was pretty low key but we did go to Yosemite which was wonderful. I have a bunch of pictures from our trip and our summer but I'll most likely just move forward with the here and now and not get overwhelmed with feeling like I have to play catch up.

Last Sunday we visited my sister and it was a perfect Fall day with crisp air and breezes a blowin'. The kids fed the goats and we went on a nice walk while my Mom had alone time with my sister. It's so refreshing to be somewhere else even if it's just for the day.

I'm so happy summer is over...I find I'm much more creative and inspired in Fall and Winter. You may have noticed that I made a new header for my blog and I also had a few other projects I worked on recently. For the last year or so I haven't been able to pursue many of my hobbies because of my very active and destructive little Maggie. It's been hard but I feel like we may be starting to get over that phase. Maybe. It's actually been kind of good for me though because it forced me to find other things to fill my time.

I'm also excited for it to cool off so the kids and I can resume our weekend hikes. I just can't do it in the heat especially carrying Maggie on my back. Being outside is so important to me and it's the main thing that keeps me sane throughout the week.

Well, it's good to be back! I often think about how awesome this blog has been for me and all the friends I've met through it and how thankful I am to have some people reading along. Thank you for coming here!

♥ anne

Local Plants Part III // Laguna Canyon

We've now gone on three different hikes in Laguna Canyon and they all were really fun and beautiful. We met many new plant friends along the paths and I love how interested Shane and Marianne are about it all.


On our first hike of the year we came across this beauty above. The kids liked the curly vines and how they attached to anything nearby. When we got home I did some research and found out it was Wild Cucumber. Several weeks later when we were back in Laguna we got to see it fully developed.


Laural Sumac with a little birdie

Oak

Pixie-cup Lichen

Goldenweed

Dodder

Cactus and Deerweed

Black Sage

White Sage

Wild unidentified species ;)

California Buckwheat

Cholla

Fiesta Flower

Sandmat and Dodder




California Poppy

Storksbill

Sage and Elderberry boquet

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's outing! Not sure where we will go but it's sure to be a good time!

♥ anne

Local Plants

I'm on a mission to learn as much as possible about the plants, birds, wildflowers, weeds, animals and so forth in my area. I've been compiling some photos from my walks around my home so that I can sit down and finally identify some of these plants and flowers. I realize this might not be overly interesting to some but I find it fascinating and I think it's about time I know all about my surroundings.

So now I will introduce you to some of my new friends...

These first two pictures are of White Sweetclover.

Alkali Heliotrope

Sweet Fennel

Poison Hemlock

Alkali Mallow

Laurel Sumac

Black Willow / Godding's Willow

Thistle

Wild Radish

Ngaio tree / Lollypop tree

Hooker's Evening Primrose

Prickly Pear

Castor Bean- the source of castor oil and ricin, which is deadly.

I have several that I've yet to identify and many that I still need to photograph but I think I'm off to a good start. Since I'll be home most of the summer I think this will be a great way to pass the time and educate myself and the kids. I hope you enjoyed this because there will be more to come in the following weeks.

If I misidentified any of these feel free to correct me! You can read Part II here.

♥ anne

Women's Herbal Symposium and More

Last month I attended the Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium with Missa and Milla. It was such a wonderful experience and I've been at a loss for words since I got back which is why I haven't posted about it until now. I don't think I'll try to write too much and instead will keep most my thoughts and memories in my heart because whatever I write will not do it justice. I didn't take a lot of pictures, which I knew I'd kick myself for later but I wanted to be as present as possible and I also had Maggie to chase after which made picture taking hard. That being said, I did manage to capture a bit of layout and the magical-ness of it all.




Our first class was on basket weaving which was awesome! (Here is my finished product.)


I also took a class on making twine from natural fibers. We used dogbane for the class and since I got home I've been experimenting with yucca. It was fascinating!

The last class was on the moon phases and I'm still thinking about all that was said in this class. I wish I had taken notes!

After our weekend at the symposium we headed to Santa Rosa to Missa's. Heather and her girls and Amber met us there and we all spent the night. The next day we had a quick but sweet visit with Mary and then I had to head home.






I love all these ladies so much and am grateful to have them in my life. (I stole the picture below from Heather )


Check out their beautiful blogs and Instagram accounts-
Amber // Aquarian Dawn @aquarian_dawn
Heather // Moonshine Junkyard @moonshinejunkyard
Mary // The Splendor and Travail @the_splendor_and_travail
Milla // The Woman Who Married A Bear @thewomanwhomarriedabear
Missa // no longer blogs but Thrift Candy still offers much inspiration! @missamoments

♥ anne