This week I’ve been back in San Rafael looking after Rosco, enjoying our wanders through the neighborhood. Even though it’s been only a couple of weeks since I was last here, everything is blooming like crazy because the weather is warming up.
One morning I went for a walk that took me up into the hills and gave me a beautiful view of the seminary in San Anselmo. On my way back down, I could hear sheep baaing which was very strange sound in suburbia. I looked down and saw a collection of four very woolly sheep in someone’s backyard. I’m going to see if I can figure out where that place is and see the sheep closer up.
One of the books I’m currently reading, Conversations With Trees, has some absolutely exquisite pencil drawings. It’s interesting how I seem to be running into beautiful pencil drawings lately. I find I’m really noticing and paying attention to the trees when I go for walks. I know the names of some of them and I want to learn the rest. I’ve always loved tree shapes, the twistier and wilder the better, but I’m even more intrigued now.
When I’ve been taking breaks from work I’ve been playing with the rocks in the backyard, having fun stacking them and making different patterns. I also got into making arrangements with lavender, poppies, sticks and a pine cone.
One day I walked to downtown San Anselmo, did some sketching and writing, then wandered a bit. I found the Friends of San Anselmo bookstore, which had a ton of books I wanted to read, most hardbacks and $6 or less! I resisted buying anything mainly because I have a stack of books at home to read, but I noted it for the future. Then I discovered a weaving school, a warm, welcoming place with many different types of weaving projects on everything from large floor looms to tabletop looms to micro looms. I’ve been wanting to get back into weaving, I took a class probably 20 years ago and remember how absorbing it was.
Another day after spending the morning working, I got out for a walk in the hills nearby. Except for the intrusive sounds of a chainsaw below, it was a beautiful shady hike. I found a hidden bench with a little container full of positive messages and notecards where you could leave your own message. I love when people do stuff like this.
