Casts her magic spell on you.
Bringing the peace of the pines,
mirrored,
reflected,
doubled.
Mother Nature’s soothing balm,
for a troubled world.
Cheers to you from The Sierra’s enchanted forests~
(Note: Heading out of wifi range again tomorrow to see The Ancient Bristle Cone Pine Trees in the White Mountains).
Today we hiked the Crystal Lake Trail in The Eastern Sierra,
with a brave friend who led the way and cut in front on high altitude precipices!
We climbed 1,000 vertical feet starting at a base of 8900 ft,
passing many pristine alpine lakes,
and making a few nice friends en-route!
Tomorrow we go higher starting at a base of 9,900 ft and heading up into Tioga Pass, land of no wifi, so I will hopefully be back in touch the day after tomorrow.
Cheers to you from the high Sierras~
wild west,
coyotes rule,
above the rest.
Lords
of the night,
they reign
supreme.
But in the day,
they step aside,
when into Eden,
serpents slide.
This 12-year-old Southern Pacific Rattlesnake was about 20 feet from our door. She was well over 5 feet in length. My son said, “Aren’t you going to take her picture?”
I was so shocked by her too close presence that I forgot about taking pics which is a first for me, and I was a bit rattled when I finally took them! This is the wild west, and the rattlesnakes live here, and always have.
On another note, a genetic study was published a few days ago, which clarified there is only one true north american wolf, the grey wolf, others are coyote/wolf hybrids.
Cheers to you from Eden’s Holler~
Spain & Portugal have stunning stained glass windows,
some more modern,
like these in Madrid,
and others much older as is this beauty in Mallorca.
Some are secular such as this one in Aviero Portugal,
and others modern and religious like Gaudi’s stunners in La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
This hotel in Lisbon had a historic stained glass ceiling.
Cheers to you from the sacred stained glass artistry of Portugal & Spain~
I just went to visit my daughter Dre,
in Pacific Grove California.
The roads were downright Hollerific,
with scenery just like Hollerdom.
There were Hollerish folks,
like this army veteran who loves butterflies and Hillary Clinton. (You have to play, “Where’s Hillary? and look for her in the first butterfly house photo. Click to enlarge to see her clearly!)
The critters were different,
but it’s nice to know there are Hollers everywhere,
with creative folks, living in natural places, with wild animals,
that are protected.
Cheers to you from Dre’s Holler~
For more info on the PG Butterfly House check out: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20150316/NEWS/150319767
is an honor,
that is earned,
and easily broken.
The Holler Hummers have learned to trust,
and will feed readily from hand.
My husband and son volunteer occasionally for photos,
as you can see in this photo, but mostly I do it myself, which is really quite comically difficult.
I hold the camera with my right hand and the feeder with my left!
But the experience of concentrating, vibrating, hummingbirds feeding from your fingers, so close to your face and eyes, is so simply phenomonal, that’s it’s worth is above words.
It is amazing what we will do, and receive back, for unselfish love.
Cheers to you from The Holler Hummers~
I had an opportunity to get up close and personal with a juvenile red-tailed hawk.
They are magnificent creatures.
both up close and in the sky,
although I far prefer to see them flying free.
We have three juvenile hawks in Holler skies now.
They fly closer to us than the adults,
Red Tails don’t develop the characteristic red-tail until their first year molt,
and their feather colors can vary from quite dark to very light.
Cheers to you from the Red-Tail-Kids~
Squirrel Nutkin has his favorite chair, where birdseed falls on his head like manna, unasked for, from heaven.
It’s perfect place for pillow-hiding where no one can see him at all, if only it weren’t for his tell-tale-tail!
He can scale the walls like spiderman,
and perch on his chair like a king on his throne.
Baby-Bunting-Birdie is confused by all the action, but never hops by without leaving a gift, so thoughtful!
The Grosbeaks create the showers of seeds while stuffing their beaks past full.
The docile doves just watch the show.
Cheers to you from the setting sun and another critter-full Holler day~
(Thank you Ms. Potter for many happy childhood reads about Squirrel Nutkin and all his animal friends).
