Harvest

Yummy! It is harvest season up here and I finally got my first sungold tomato (not shown, but it was sweet) and my first yellow crook neck squash! It may look small, but it's mature and tasty... the plant itself is miniature due to the lack of space. (There is also a large squash plant that will be done soon as well). I pulled out the first target beet, rings of red and white flesh and on the back of the beet there was a small red beet. Both were delicious. The late cilantro has really taken off. And our new artichoke plant started producing. This is the first of four or more; we'll see if we get to them before the aphids. We have already harvest four or five artichokes from our year old plant; but it has gone to flower since we lost our battle with the aphids.

For dinner I steamed the beets the squash and some purple potatoes from the Ed Farm CSA down the street. I chopped cilantro and basil and mixed all together with a cider vinegar dressing..... Surprisingly good! We also had steamed artichoke with tartar sauce (out of goddess dressing- our favorite dipper for the chokes) and tri-tip from the tri-tip guy. YUMMY!!!

I can't wait until the next bounty!

The Fourth on Strawberry Rock

As long as I have lived in Humboldt I have heard of hikes to Strawberry Rock. A few years ago some one pointed out where Strawberry Rock sticks out of the hill on the way to Trinidad. Today is the first time I hiked it. It was a beautiful stroll through amazing trees, a rock quarry, and fog. The wind kept the fog rolling, giving us false hope that it would clear leaving us with blue skies when we reached the top. The fog bank is thick today, and we didn't have such luck. It was a beautiful walk (hike: 2ish miles up up up and down) And I can't wait to do it again, when the sky is clear so we can see the amazing view.

a walk in my garden

Actually it's not big enough to walk through, but you can walk along side it! What a sight to see when I got home. The broccoli and cauliflower that we planted in December had finally produced. The broccoli was different than usual. Each leaf had produced a small head of broccoli, instead of one big head off the center stem. I harvested the good ones (and they were good!) and then left some of the plants to produce more (the didn't) or flower to make seeds? I've never saved broccoli seeds before I 'll let you know if it works out.


The Cauliflower--- that is my pride and joy... just harvested the one with the most full sun of the 4 we planted. Look at this beauty, just like in the stores! This is a cheddar cauliflower, hence the lovely yellow color. It was delicious! Nice spicy kick to it. I love to eat cauliflower the way Malia's mom makes it: Slather it with mayo and mustard after it's lightly steamed. Then cover with cheese (I like cheddar and pepper jack cheese) and broil until the cheese get's slightly crisp. It is amazing every time, but with home grown veggies it is out of this world!!!!

first week in paradise

and I am LOVING it!!!!

We have been busy seeing the beauty of the Island of Kauai. And soaking up the sun.
When we first got here the weather was unbelievable for like 4 days straight. The ocean was sooo calm. Like glass. We went snorkeling at Tunnels Reef (shown in the self portrait) with the famous Rhino Rock that begins the Na Pali Coast and is the literal End of the Road. Underwater there is a faint clicking noise from the shrimp that mine canyons in the coral to grow and harvest algae in.

Hanalei Bay was as smooth as drew had ever seen.
This is the pier on our first trip to the bay.







We hiked past the rhino rock and walked Kalau trail to Hanakapia Beach. On the trail we passed a group of locals that had swam from the end of the road to the beach and were running the 2 miles back barefoot. When we where almost to the beach we saw the warning sign.... 78 drownings or so. I only went in the ocean to my knees when we made it back to the beach from the 4 mile (round trip) walk to the falls! We also made friends with a couple from Tennessee and walked with them from the beach up to the magnificent waterfall. The water fall trail was lush forrest with huge mango trees, bamboo, guava trees, and many flowering plants that I don't know their names. Hawaiians inhabited this valley until recently and we saw evidence of their presence along the way... most noticable was a large stone fire place left in a bamboo grove.
Back to the waterfall: An epic 100 pluse foot drop over a sheer cliff into a deep pool which drained into a rock stream and down into the ocean. The cliff side surrounding the waterfall had tiny ferns growing from the wet rocks.

More adventures to share..... but next time or this will never get published

wwwWilburrrr HOT SPRINGS!

Nestled on an 1800 acre preserve. Beautiful spring hills of green grass and happy animals. The hotel and springs were in use for 100+ years. It was so hot! We opted to soak instead of hike, but here is what we saw as we drove through the hills: beauty of life:

The Enchanting Forest

The Manila Dunes are a magical place where the forest meets the beach. It is our closest ocean beach to Arcata, but you have to hike if you want to see the ocean. The sand has swooped in to bury the beautiful trees, but the forest lives on. The dunes have made lush canyons overgrown with mosses and other vegetation. It has a mysterious vibe.The hike we went on begins next to the gun club entrance, but that's Humboldt for ya. We wind our way through trees over small hills, through swampy marsh ponds, and emerge here:The view is epic. The Dunes stretch out for miles and the ocean fills the rest of the horizon. Here we play Frisbee with the dogs. That fluffy white tale belongs to Liberty, the new addition to our family. Eeka has become quite the Frisbee catching champion.


Today we also had a new encounter; a snake at the beach! Who would have thought?! Certainly not me, but Eeka discovered a rustling in the underbrush. It's a small snake, but it still freaked me out a bit, so Drew did the honors and captured it on my camera to share with ya'll.

There's a whale there's a whale, there's a whale fish he cried

Whoa! My first real whale to be viewed in the wild.

Unfortunately for the whale,
it was a dead beached whale which I viewed.

Still cool.

I touched it with my sandal and it was very squishy.

The whale guts were to be found a various locations on the beach; probably from the rising tide.


According to the surf rider blog, tis a juvenile gray whale.

Several cubes of skin were missing that were about 3 inches deep, as well as a large section of top layers of blubber. Probably taken to biopsy and determine why it had died. The whale brought a great white shark to the surf line to check it out.

I wish I could have seen it alive.

I will check up on it next week to see if it is still there. If you go, I recommend a smell guard of some sort, as it definitely smells like dead whale in the beach.

Life's a beach.

YESterday was a beautiful day! Eeka and I went walking and rock collecting out by Samoa dunes. We visited my favorite stump, stuck in the sand right past the surf line.
While combing the beach for rocks and throwing the Frisbee for the dawg, we encountered an interesting man. Frank.
On the way back towards where we had come from, we stopped to chat. The "chat" lasted hours. So many stories, amazing tales of sailing solo to Hawaii, hiking in So Cal gated communities, and he had found a few amazing pebbles to share with me. Then he told me to get out of here! Travel, walk from North France to Southern France, and while I'm there stop by and see him in is country house, just ask the local cops to take me there.
I will probably remember that conversation for ever. I love those kind of encounters. And I can't wait to see his property.

Today, we visited Moonstone, a bit north of us. I love this beach because it is always changing based on the tides and the Little River's flow into the ocean. Today the beach was open and flat. Eeka and I played frisbee and checked out the beach. We encountered a couple with a large happy golden lab on a leash! Who takes their dog to the beach on a leash? Let them play. They were afraid of their dog's power and apparently unaware of how important socializing is.

So we went caving instead. I love the pocket caves at the rock side of the beach. Lovely waterfalls cascade down the cliffs infront of the entery ways. And when your inside the cave the sound of the water dripping inside echos loudly in the damp air.

February's Fun in the Sun (sometimes)

I am bummed that I haven't shared this past week (+) of walks. It has been a wonderful adventure. We finally explored the road that brought me down Jacoby Creek Road in the first place. I am excited to report that it is as great as I heard. It is a wide logging road, level for a while and then quickly climbs for about 3/4 mile (i don't really know if that's accurate) to level off again. That's where we stopped. Can't wait to explore it more later this week.

This week we were joined by Poncho, a lovely pooch in need of a care taker while his family travels abroad.

The weather allowed for lovely days at the beach. We discovered interesting sights.
You would not believe the things that wash up on the beach. A whole Truck!
Pick up your trash!


I finally got to photograph my favorite stump that grows from sand!
This is the weirdest winter I recall enduring in Humboldt County. It is a mix of icy cold fronts and an unusual amount of warm fronts. It's better than summer this February. I am not complaining. Even the rainy days don't cut too badly to you bones. But still it's chilly and I am grateful to have shelter to return to everyday.

Oh and by the way....

My Camera is a inexpensive ($40ish) Fuji-film FinePix 6.3 mega pixel. I got it 2-3 years ago an have been pretty satisfied with it. (some times i wish there was a faster shutter, but i am just discovering the differenet setting options.

careful what you ask for

I recall saying how we need more rain up here during this unusually dry Humboldt winter. BUT I didn't mean this much!! (at least not all at once)

This is the third day of bone chilling rain. Not that bad, except we have another week straight of rain. The first day was a bit spotty, with blue sky managing to shine through small breaks in the clouds, but now it is like a thick carpet of gray rainclouds. And the dog still needs her exercise. (and so do we!)

Hoping the big redwood trees would help shield us from the pouring rain, we decided to try the Arcata Forest. They did, but the forest floor was still squishy with mud and even a few small streams. It was a quiet day in the forest, the only others we saw were dog walkers and an HSU science class that looked to be measuring the fallen trees.

Walking in the rain is great! (with proper rain attire, of course) It always reminds me of being a little girl. Walking around the block with my brother just to splash in puddles, then coming home to hot chocolate. mmmm.... I know what I'll be doing later, after I clean up the wet dog prints and muddy jeans.

water, sewage, clouds and gratitude

It is always exciting when we hear of a new trail to explore, especially one so close! This morning we found ourselves walking the southern part of the Arcata Marsh. The marsh is Arcata's water reclamation "plant". Today we discovered the ponds that obviously contain the beginning of the process. We've only the really walked the rest of the marsh; a series of trails, wetlands, vegetation and ponds.
We followed a trail running along a chain link fence enclosing the city's collection of big tools and trucks. The fence turned to shrubs which opened up to two large ponds(football field size) full of all different ducks and birds. I must admit that I find it hard to believe that wildlife enjoys swimming, eating and bathing in our sewage (at least it's "treated sewage"). The birds, however seemed to be having a wonderful time cruising the glassy surface.
The clouds were amazing and the wind was fierce, which usually means a shift in weather is soon to happen. Sure enough, while we were eating our soup at Japhy's we saw the first raindrops fall. I'm grateful we were able to get outside when we did.
The rain is definitely a welcomed sight in this unusually dry Humboldt winter. We need quite a bit more rain before we're back to h20 normalcy.

taking over

moss reclamation at work

Walk with confidence

Eeka is what we like to call a Bull Kelp. Kelpies are a hyper, workaholic breed. If you know Eeka, it is obvious that she inherited this part of the breed characteristics. Like a Staffordshire Terrier she is stubborn and not the best at obedience. And of course intelligent which makes it that much harder to undo her behavioral habits. She is a puller on leashed walks, so we let her run in the forest instead of wrestling with her constantly. She was losing respect for us as the leaders of the pack and was slowly beginning to get more testy. We were loosing it.

But we have turned a page in dog training this week, literally. At our ends wits, we purchased Cesar's Way, The Natural, Everyday guide to understanding and correcting common dog problems. I have only read the preface and part of chapter one, and already understand more about relating to my dog than I got out of obeidence class or cable tv ever.

Today Eeka and I had the best walk ever!!! We started our walk to the trail with the best product EVER!!! The No- Pull Trainer, by Four Paws. Eeka has now had three walks with this device and the difference in walking her is night and day. It truley does give you a no-pull walk with your dog. She heels now, which I thought may take months to achieve. Walking this way has totally changed our relationship with eachother. Even when she is taken of the lead she continues to be more responsive. Today, while playing fetch with a fellow K-9's ball, she listened when it was time to go, droped the ball on cue and continued walking with me in the opposite direction. Two words: blown away!! I was so proud of her responsiveness, I have never felt like such a capable dog owner. So with a new attitude and a new tool we are on the road to super responsible dog owning and a more confident dog.

hooray for sun!

Yesterday we were blessed with another lovely January day, sunny and almost warm! After our leisurely breakfast of crepes we headed off for a walk. I have been interested in finding more local trails to explore, so I was excited to learn of some logging roads off of Jacoby Creek that we could roam without any problems.
First we went down to the creek along the road and found a secret garden of lushness.
Beautiful moss fans, ferns growing out of a fallen tree, and a tarp.....
is it too much to ask that people clean up their camps?

After the trail became too overgrown, we headed across the street for an uphill climb. It was a steep incline, boarded by the ferns that look like hands, that I had only really seen in fern canyon. We could hear the creek along the side of the road, but did not see it until we reached a long stretch of level road at least a 1/2 mile up. It was so lush with moss covered archways and that pesky grass with razor sharp edges.
All and all another beautiful January day in Humboldt County. Hopefully the weather will stay with us. As I look out the window now, all I see is a moist gray, oh well there is always tomorrow.

Meet Moss

Where does a week go... ?!
Eeka and I enjoyed leisurely stroll in the forest after a difficult start. We decided to do the usual loop from a different starting point in the forest and I think it threw the eeka brain off a little.

I brought my camera to take photos. I recently purchased the super "Ultimate Lithium Energizer" battery in hopes that it would extend the life of my camera, as the packaging suggested. They don't live up to it or I must have taken more pictures than I realized, because the batteries died before I could really get a look at any of them to publish here; until now.

I am obsessed with moss at the moment. And who could blame me, right? Look at this stuff,
so velvety, so soft, and looks so inviting. I just want a couch made out of it, is that too much to ask for? It's such a graceful organism. Content to grow where ever it ends up, only trying to be the best moss it can be.

Maybe we should all be a bit more moss like, cha know?