Halloween 2006

Halloween 2006
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Here we are on our way to school.

Ruthie is a black cat with a fluffy tail and fluffy ears. Her costume was utterly adorable and she loved being a cat.
I am a pink construction worker -- don't ask me to do anything, it might mess up my manicure! Most of the teachers were construction workers -- in honor of the new building and on-going construction at the school.
Gage is a Ninja! And, he loved it.

Crazy Day! The school does a school-wide parade in the morning. There are parties in classrooms throughout the day. Teachers dressed up. Parents all over the place. Sugar-hyped kids running rampant! Wheeeee!

Then at 5pm, we all descend on downtown and go Trick Or Treating with the merchants in town. Because we live in a hilly, windy-road, no street lights kind of area, it's the only trick or treating some kids get to do. It's totally fun. Everyone does the main street counter-clockwise. It's a blast. We ordered a pizza when we got to town and then picked it up when we were done. We actually live in a neighborhood where kids can trick or treat and so we get some. Maybe 20 groups of kids tonight. It's fairly low-key.

I'm a totally strict mom about the sugar. They get 3 pieces of candy after dinner and then one piece a day until they have forgotten about it which usually takes about two weeks. Then we toss what's left! It works for us. They don't feel deprived but they DO get to sleep and can enjoy the next day.



During the parade at school, I looked up and saw around 16 ravens circling high overhead. I got this shot before being distracted by the chaos of the parade. They were so beautiful wheeling overhead and I felt sure I was the only person who noticed or appreciated them. Most people at the school think they are pests. I feel blessed by their closeness. They are noisy, big scavengers who retain an amazing dignity. I love them. We have a pair that has moved into our neighborhood and I'm THRILLED!

PS. Raptor Lovers (and you KNOW who you are) go check out this post from Jane (Expiration Dates). [click] She lives in Washinton state on a river in a house she built with her husband. And, they get to see things like that from their living room windows ALL THE TIME. Amazing!

Just the Facts, Ma'am!

Here is the story from our local paper about our Friday excitement . . .

[Click]

It differs significantly from what law enforcement told my neighbor but I don't know what the real facts are. Regardless, all the excitment has ended here and we're just locking up tight for now. We've always been really casual about locking our house up -- but we're probably going to be more vigilant now. At least for awhile.

It's a weird feeling. We lived in East Palo Alto for 13 years and regularly saw all sorts of action there. We had a very secure house (although a determined person could easily get in) with deadbolts on everydoor. We wouldn't have dreamt of leaving it unlocked. Part of why we moved to Boulder Creek was to return to a small town where we would have a higher sense of security. It worked beautifully. But it's been amazing to me how quickly the skills of protecting oneself come back when something like this is going on.

Still, I think I had no trouble this morning looking at the redwoods and listening to the chickadees and feeling grateful.

Off to work!

Redwoods on Golf Course

Redwoods on Golf Course
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

Peace reigns again at my house. They did not catch the bad guy yet but since he's a local and knows the area, they have decided that he is not hanging out here but is probably hiding with friends somewhere. They'll just wait for him to slip up now, I guess.

So, we're enjoying a restoration of peace here. Although, I have to say, we're all locking doors again. We'll probably do that for a few weeks until this blurs to a distant memory.

We live on a golf course in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains. We aren't golf course people (whatever that means) but this isn't your everyday average golf course, either. This is the kind of place where you'll see the old duffer in the plaid pants playing right along with an aging mountain man with a huge frizzy beard wearing overalls. It's an unusual place. But utterly beautiful. Aside from the golf balls that regularly threaten the health and safety of our automobiles, I find that I love living on a golf course.

Of course, this view from my front yard doesn't hurt. :)

Manhunt in my backyard

manhunt in my backyard
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

I know the pictures are terrible but here's the story . . .

My son and I are home alone and we hear voices across the creek. I go look and there's a man out there in the woods. I realize he's a sheriff and he has a gun drawn. Oh crap. I close the door and as I do I hear him say that he saw someone running through the woods. Great.

I figure I'd better let my neighbor know as her kids often play in the backyard and in the creek area. As Gage and I are walking over there, a sheriff drives by in an unmarked car and tells us that there is an armed man in the area and we need to go back to our houses.

So, we run back into the house. And, I see that there are now two sheriffs with rifles in just on the other side of my fence, on this side of the creek. Yikes. As I reach for my camera to capture the surreal moment, they start moving and I can't get the shot. One of them hops my fence and is on my deck that looks over my waterfall on the otherside of my big redwood grove. He walks back towards the house and gestures to me. I open the slider and he asks what our address is. He nods and I call Rosie into the house (well, I gestured and she could see me well enough to figure it out). He hopped the fence again and they moved up the creek. That's what this picture is --- super zoomed in (no tripod, of course). They had a dog with them as well. They moved up the creek and out of sight. So, CHP, Sheriffs, State Park Rangers, and even CDF firefighters were combing our neighborhood. Eventually, things quieted down and I took Gage to soccer practice. I have to point out that the entire time the golf course was open and golfers were doing their golfing thing. Quite the juxtaposition (SAT Word!!!) -- golfers on one side of my house; men in body armor with rifles on the other side of my house.

They are all still here. Greg came home early because he couldn't reach me (he didn't have his cell phone, mine isn't charged, everytime he or anyone else called, I was on the phone so it went to voicemail, etc., etc.). Just as he got home, the cops went door to door again. They searched our motorhome and 5th wheel this time with rifles drawn and german shepherd dogs. Rather intense. I'm really glad that Greg is home. He poured me the last of my Glenfiddich scotch and we watched TV after we made sure every window and door were still locked and talked about every minute detail.

He's probably holed up in the woods for the night and they won't see him tonight but they are staying here all night to keep him in the woods. There are more bad photos including a mug shot of the guy in question on my Flickr account. [click]

Big excitement.

Magical Night on a local farm

Went to a CD Release party at a nearby farm tonight. The band is Absinthe Glow [click] and I can't really recommend their music because we had to go when it started. Gage was tired and he gets really sensitive to loud noises when he's tired. Soooo, we left when the music started. But what a magical place -- I know these people because their daughter was in my class. They live on a beautiful old farm in the hills. They play their music in the old barn. It was lit up with candles and strings of lights. They had a theme of a 1930's carnivale. It was amazing. Two girls were telling fortunes. They had sangria and lemonade. Snacks and caramel apples (which Ruthie loved). It was simply magical. I wish we could have stayed.

We are having a bbq here tomorrow and Ruthie wants to dress as a fortune teller -- like the girls did at this party -- I tried telling her that our party won't be that kind of party. But, she's going to do the decorating. She's disappointed though. I guess we need to do a BIG deal party sometime where her creative spirit can be set loose!

From the 4th of July Parade

From our Local Monastery
Originally uploaded by The Twosome.

I did not get this picture myself but just love it anyway! This was my favorite moment (well, other than the CHP moment) in the parade! Only in Boulder Creek!

Small Town 4th of July

Our day started with a pancake breakfast at the fire station. YUM! Any time the fireman cook our breakfast is a GOOD day! We always park in the same place and walk a couple of blocks into town. Then we get in line for breakfast. Well, we left Greg in line and the kids and I walked over to Rainbow's End (one of the many coffee shops in town) and I got a large, triple, non-fat mocha with no whipped cream. Then we walked back to Greg and we waited about 1/2 hour but it's a small town so there are lots of people to say hello to and the time passes quickly. We got our plates with 3 big pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage. YUM! We ate inside as the sun was already getting warm. Inside means inside the bay where the firetrucks are normally parked. They set up long tables and everyone eats together. Delicious and fun!

When we were done, we still had time to kill. So, we walked down the main street looking in shop windows. We stopped in our local pet and feed store. Ruthie asked about hamsters and they still haven't got any due in -- I suspect we'll have to buy her hamster elsewhere. We walked back to the firestation and staked out a spot near the end of the parade route. The parade is a Boulder Creek tradition [CLICK!]. We have been every year since we moved here and we love it. It's so insanely small town. Every year it starts at one end of town and comes down to our one stop sign, turns left and ends. The highway is detoured so the parade can come down our main street.

We had added entertainment this year. There was a new Highway Patrolman who was told to set up the road closure at the end of the parade. Well, he misunderstood his directions and set up to close the road just before the stop sign. I'm sure he was thinking that the traffic from the highway needed to go that way but he effectively dead-ended the parade. People started calling to him that he was setting up his car and cones in the wrong place. He sort of looked puzzled and carried on. Meanwhile, the parade has begun at the other end of the street. A kind gentleman walked out to him and pointed out his mistake. This young CHP officer basically patted him on the back and assured him that he knew what he was doing. The man -- an older white-haired man in a hat -- came back grumbling about that "stupid idiot." So, the crowd pretty much decided that this would quite entertaining and we'd just see what happened when all the firetrucks arrived at the beginning of the parade. Well, the other CHP officer -- who lives here in town -- is married to the fire chief's daughter and she couldn't just let this poor man learn the hard way. She went out and told him what he needed to do. He didn't really believe her either but she told him he'd batter call her husband on the radio. The firetrucks are about two blocks away now and bearing down on us (as they approach in a zig-zag down the road manner, throwing candy out their windows for the kids). He looked down the road and started to realize it couldn't work. So, radioed for help. The other CHP officer came down quickly in his car, told the young guy to move the cones and he moved the car. The young guy was sheepish and went down to the other end of the parade route rather than face the vast amusement of the crowd at the end of the parade. We did applaud him though!

The rest of the parade was delightful. The firetrucks with their sirens blaring lead the parade. It ends with a lumberjack drill team throwing axes (cardboard ones) and marching in unison. In between you could see anything: the All-American hotdog vendor with a retinue of dachsunds dressed in patriotic colors, a Monk from the local Taibetan monestary walking his dachsund, kids on bikes who just like to be in the parade, the Historical Society float with a period classroom set up on a flatbed truck, a group of belly dancers followed by a troop of girl scouts, a guy on a dirtbike driving over the top of a car repeatedly, and so much more. A wonderful, small town parade!

Around 1pm, we head over to my in-laws for an afternoon by the pool. We eat all afternoon and evening and then drag ourselves up the hillside to sit and watch Scotts Valley's fireworks. They start at 9:15pm. We watch the bats and stars come out while the kids all shout "When will it start?????" The show is always a good one. We're pretty far away from it but it's lovely. We've been doing this since Ruthie was an infant and watched delightedly over my shoulder at the pretty lights. We've done it during the years where the sound terrified the kids and we had to be in the house watching a video to distract them. And, now, they love it and ohhh and ahhh with us as we all watch the show. I got to sit on a bench with Greg and enjoy the show. It was delightful.

After that, we put the kids to bed at my in-law's. Wednesday is "Camp Gramma" day so Greg would have brought them over first thing anyway. He and I came home, did some work, and went to bed. Quiet and peaceful but a little lonely.

Happy 4th of July!