Merry Christmas

Pin It

However you celebrate the holidays, may your path be peaceful, loving and kind.

In our house we celebrate Christmas.  As my kids grew up, moved away and married into other families, our celebration here at home became quieter and more introspective.  Presents and all the accompanying hoopla the least important; the love of family and friends the most.

Over the years, living this rural life, I have become more attuned to the changing of the seasons, the cycle of life in the outside world, the marking of days by what grows in the garden when the days are the shortest and what springs from the earth with the tiniest shift of the planet's axis.

Aside from having my family around me, outside in nature is where I'm happiest. Achieving a spectacular macro shot of a tiny salamander renders me speechless and ecstatic - for days.  Simple joys.

Merry Christmas to you all.  May simple joys bring you happiness.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse/Winter Solstice

Pin It

A triumvirate of auspicious occurances begins Monday evening, December 20th at 10:33 (west coast time):  The last full moon of 2010 undergoing a total eclipse which will end around 2:30 AM on the Winter Solstice.
Will I be up all night watching?  You betcha'.  (Please, clouds and fog, go away.)
Will I be hoping for a brighter, more compassionate world in 2011?  That too.  Always.

Happy Winter Solstice!

The sun just came out as I'm typing this; I hope it's a good sign.

Click on the youtube link below for a beautiful video about this special cosmic event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BGWKyM5MKw

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Autumn to Winter in my Garden - Salamanders

Pin It

 Who dat?

Perched on my index finger, you can imagine how tiny this critter is.



It's pretty easy to find a salamander or two in my garden this time of year.  Turn over a piece of wood, an old flower pot, and chances are there will be one of these critters hanging out underneath.

The little guy on my finger had lost its tail, possibly due to a run-in with one of my chickens, and is in the process of growing a new one (I didn't know they did that).

I do try to keep them out of harm's way and will keep the chickens in their pen if I see salamanders in the yard.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Very Late Autumn (Winter Really) in my Garden - Fine Feathered Hens

Pin It

Lacy & Ahm, all decked out in their new feathers

My 11 silly hens stopped laying eggs and began to molt in early November just as the unseasonably cold weather set in. These two now have fine sets of new feathers to keep them warm while some of the others are still looking pretty bedraggled (they wouldn't pose for a photo - too embarrassed).

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Late Autumn in my Garden - Spider Web

Pin It

 Can you see it, way out there up there in the branches?

Here's a closeup, taken from the same spot as the photo above.

Playing with my zoom lens ...

Zoom ...   Zoom ...

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Sunset at Trinidad Beach

Pin It
The setting sun and resultant ocean and sky colors were so spectacular this evening that I wasn't the only one at the marine lab overlook taking photos.  I had to position myself just so to keep them out of my camera frame. Sure wish I could see how their photos came out.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.