Almost Home!

Just one more week until me, all the cats & kittens, and all our stuff is back in the trusty truck and headed home!
It's been great fun seeing all the family here for Christmas, going on all my favorite hikes, and helping out at my old work. But I need to get back to the farm to let my neighbors off the hook for taking care of all the hens, orchids, and the insane amount of snow clearing! 
My returning 'to do' list is long but at the very top (next to clearing more snow) is to seed the first batch of Microgreens. You can look for those the first weekend in February at the Farm to Market Store.
Right now all my brain can think about is how I'll fit everything I came down with and everything I'm taking back up into the truck with all the kittens (I even had to buy a bigger carrier because you wouldn't believe how much they grew while down here!), but deep in the back of the old noggin I'm cooking up some great things to come this growing season. I can't wait to share them with you all once they are all planned out!

The clean laundry pile is the perfect place to snuggle up inside a cozy sweater

My neighbors have been so great to take all the extra work of our colossal amount of snow in stride! The hens have stayed warm and snuggly in their snow insulated and heat lamp-heated huts!

A light frost isn't too unusual here in the California Bay Area in winter but it still makes me feel more welcomed among the hordes of people and reminds me of all the snow I'm missing at home

I call this area Turtle Rock as it looks just like a turtle popping it's head above the water don't you think? The 5 reservoirs here hold all the drinking water for the entire county and are full for the first time in years

These are the hills I first learned about plants, rocks, trees, and animals in. They taught me about forests and trails, isolated weather patterns, and that sometimes the shortest distance is not a straight line. They aren't jagged or snow-capped but don't underestimate the thickness of chaparral scrub, the steep grass-covered slopes, and the ever constant up and down of rolling hills. Here they are green in winter and brown in summer, growing in their Mediterranean climate that blesses them with a rain season and a fire season.

As my own way of celebrating the New Year, I picked a 12 mile loop hike that wound its way past 2 reservoirs, a bazillion waterfalls, over old bridges, up stairs in waterfall canyons, and through ancient Redwood groves.

Want to know a sneaky secret to avoid the required reservation, and $15 per person fee to get into Muir Woods? Hike in from above! There are a few trails that start from the road above and it's just 2.5 miles down into the valley

​Even before you get to the valley, you'll see Redwood trees as big as any (that's another secret, the big redwoods aren't only in the monument) and lots of beautiful woodland plants with a fraction of the people around. Those are my hiking buddies for the day, my parents.

​As you get closer to the valley bottom, keep your eyes out for the swarms of lady bugs that are found here! They don't harm the plants but swarm at night to stay warm

A park sign mounted at the height of children. They could also use one at adult height too. □ A last hike this weekend through the Redwoods and Mosses before coming home to Montana and cracking out the snowshoes and getting stuck back into farm-life, this city living makes me feel too soft!!!

Where to find it all?

The Microgreens will be back at Farm to Market Store in February!