Going Low Water

It all started in Oaxaca – Water is scarce in Southern Mexico, and the plants that most people grow in gardens there are adapted to living under local ecological conditions.

Ethnobotanical garden - Oaxaca

When we returned home I thought, “Why am I trying to maintain a lawn, whose concept originated with the estates of England, and why am I trying to grow flowers that are naturally adapted for Europe and New England…? These plants need moist soil and constant attention under our California conditions.“ So I started looking at plants found in Northern California that are adapted in this environment.

Our back yard garden mid summer

My garden books identified my area as a Mediterranean climate (which is determined by temperature patterns, a wet winter, followed by a long dry summer) There are several places in the world with similar conditions – the Mediterranean coastal areas of Europe, Coastal areas of Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. Over long periods of time each of these areas has naturally evolved plant varieties that grow well with those conditions. Many bulb producing plants are adapted to long dry summers. I found a few books with information about Mediterranean plants. My favorite is “Mediterranean Gardening” – Heidi Gildermeister < http://www.amazon.com/Mediterranean-Gardening-Waterwise-Heidi-Gildemeister/dp/0520236475>.

Foot step pathway through our garden - May

Once I knew what I was looking for, the next question was finding the plants. My local nursery had very few; every time I visited other nurseries I looked for more…They were hard to find. I discovered in the SF Bay Area specialty nurseries with only native California plants but they were generally pricy. Then I discovered e mail order companies… One of my favorites is "Goodwin Creek Gardens" www.goodwincreekgardens.com. They offer good prices and plants arrive in excellent shape, although they are a bit smaller than most nursery plants.

Father and daughter shopping - San Francisco Botanical garden plant sale

My absolute favorite source are the monthly plant sales held at the Botanical gardens in San Francisco. http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/plant_sales/11GA_PlantSaleCard.pdf. These are plants that volunteers start from the garden collection, or brought from personal collections. Profits support the Botanical Garden.

In the last few years, low water plants have started catching on - and they are now more available in local nurseries.

Cactus garden in patio - it continues to evolve in composition and layout

Three warnings: (1) If a plant is identified as native – it undoubtedly is native to somewhere – but is it native (or adapted) to my location? There are water intensive natives that I steer away from. (2) I discovered some wonderful acclimated plants but very quickly they grow way too tall – out of proportion to what I want in my garden… or they spread quickly by runners and become invasive… So read about each plant before you buy it and add it to your garden. (3) Low water plants need a regular good water supply the first couple of years until their roots are established.

View toward the southwest

Two years ago we made the big commitment and took out the last piece of lawn ( the grass in front of our house). With the help of our son Peter, we rototilled the soil, shaped the ground into an agreeable contour, covered it with weed guard to prevent weed germination, and covered it with 1-2 “ native gravel and stones… making holes at natural intervals for the new plants…

After 2 years growth - Front yard - stone garden

As my sister-in-law Deb says, all new plants should come with wheels, so that you can move them when you get to know their characteristics better – I did a lot of fine tuning until every plant seemed happy with its sun and water location. My planting goal was to establish the same natural planting distances found in a semi arid natural location. I still grow a few favorite flowers and vegetables that need water – for convenience I try to keep them in one part of the garden so that I am not carrying hoses all around the garden.

Typical mediterranean growth patterns

A great advantage of many Mediterranean and California native plants is the ability to propagate desirable plants by breaking off a portion and planting it directly in the soil ( usually during the cool/naturally wet part of the year). Many varieties will root easily. If you buy a plant you like, within a few years you can establish off-shoot plants. If I see a plant that I like in someone's garden, and if it seems appropriate, I may ask for a cutting - I break off a piece from the back - low down near the ground so not to distort the mother plant.

View toward SouthEast

My additional reason for going with low water was to minimize garden maintenance work. There is one major pruning in late fall, another minor pruning in mid summer. There is very little summer watering, no lawn to mow… so overall I have reduced my garden work… it doesn’t look like a new England garden with daffodils and zinnias… but it has a natural "wild" beauty that we like very much – plus we attract a multitude of hummingbirds, butterflies, and friendly birds and insects.

Follow Up Note: After the blog 2 weeks ago about my mother in China two people wrote to recommend the book "City of Tranquil Light" by Bo Caldwell - The book was loaned to me - and I like it so much that I want to recommend it to you - Fascinating account of life in China in the pre war early party of the 20th century. Read more about it here: http://www.amazon.com/City-Tranquil-Light-Bo-Caldwell/dp/0805092285

Mid-January Musings

1. There is something primal in me that loves morning light. Today the pups and I hit the trail by 8AM. Dew was heavy on the grass, the sun was warm, geese were conferring noisily … it was a fine day. I choose a route between the lakes and off we went – the dogs sniffing every good smell and me- it just felt good to be there.

Willy and his shadow as we begin our walk

Nature is a good teacher. Since I go out regularly I notice what's different almost every day. Plants and animals respond to normal seasonal stimuli and for them change is a natural part of each season. It reminds me that I can change some things in this world and other things I can only stand back in wonder and amazement.

Early morning light

Change in my own life sometimes happens slowly and randomly - it can be so gradual that it is hard to detect or so fast its a shock to my sense of how things ought to be. Most of the time us humans like for things to stay the same - but they never do. Change is a sure thing in this natural world.

In the Sermon on the Mount there is a reminder that God takes care of even wild growing lilies. I think this means that God cares for the lily bulb, through natural processes, even during its dormant phase, and through its vegetative and seed production phase... as well as its brief beautiful flowering stage... This speaks to me about how to deal with change in all the stages of my life.

Railroad crews spend vast amounts of energy and material to overcome change

2. I enjoy hearing from ex- students! Messages show up in my mail that someone in my class 10 or 20 years ago just found me – When that happens I see the person in my mind as they were when they were 15 or 16 years old - I suspect both you and me have changed in 20 years!

He with my horse skull in physiology class

One of my failings in life is that I don’t have time to respond to the messages that I receive… for this I apologize. I may have a Facebook account but I seldom visit. I have good memories of my career…. and it was you students who made it so great… Like the old song goes… “Thanks for the memories!” So if I don’t answer your message directly I ask you to understanding… I really like to hear from you and learn where life has carried you.

An excellent ecology project involving microorganism succession

3. My computer was running slow this week and I took action – If you have a Macintosh computer this site might help you too. “How to Optimize your Mac computer”: http://www.campusbyte.com/tech/optimize-your-macs-performance/ Along with that I tried the mackeeper program: http://mackeeper.zeobit.com/ which eliminates all unnecessary programs from your files, unused language materials, and duplicates in your files. Between the two approaches (Campusbyte and mackeeper) I see a big difference in the speed and responsiveness of my computer.

Foggy morning - earlier this week

4. January is on the wane and already I can see signs of spring. The last few days have been a false spring – warm and balmy… We seldom get freezing in February – but it can still happen. I’m watching the skies for rain – we have only half what we need for the season – and January, usually our wettest month, has had no rain. But for now, in my garden, I am seeing daffodil plants, tulip sprouts, buds starting to swell. Everyday changes...

China life

On blustery frozen winter days when I was a young child, my Mother would at times gather my sister and I and take down the wonderful “China Box”. When opened, the mysterious smell of sandalwood and camphor told of far away places.

Edna Fuller, my mother, as a young missionary in China

After my mother completed her university studies at USC in Southern California, she went to China as an educational missionary with the Methodist church. She went with a strong faith in God and a sincere wish to help the people of China find a better life through education. She expected this to be her life's work. She was trained to establish local village schools in the Hingwa region of the Fukien province, across the strait from what today is Taiwan.

Planting rice - Fukien provence

She lived in a compound with other missionaries, and upon her arrival received on the job training in the local dialect of Chinese, and how to function in the Chinese culture. It was a bold thing for a young single woman to travel so far from home and take on such responsibilities. While there she developed a great love for the Chinese people and a desire to do what she could to improve education for the people. She often talked about visiting village projects and of the schools she helped develop and maintain. She also took every opportunity to learn about the life of the people, the temples, the workers, the way of life. She found much that was incredibly beautiful, and things that were shockingly cruel and ugly.

Child transport - Hingwah

In those days there were strong local leaders in the provences (essentially war lords) and a weak central government. Travel to the villages involved traveling in a sedan chair suspended by poles from two men who carried her along footpaths between the rice fields.

Sedan Chair Travel - Along foot paths between villages

Early on she travelled with a translator to help her assist the local teachers in the villages. She told tales of the heads of road bandits being hung in a basket at the crossroads as a warning to others. Male children were more prized than females – the baby girls were sometimes rescued by the missionaries from garbage heaps where they had been left to die (to be cared for in an orphanage). She told of visiting Buddhist temples thick with idols and incense, also staying with village families on her visits to outer schools. To my young ears stories of her life sounded exotic and exciting.

A transport to carry the bride to a wedding -

The basket covers the bride so she will not be seen before the ceremony

My favorite part of the magic China Box were the rough wood block pictures of the various gods who were thought to influence the lives of people in this region. There was the kitchen god who must be appeased with a clean and orderly kitchen, dragon figures that were protectors of the household, one person who became a god by one by one taking his body organs out of his body, washing them in the river to purify himself, and then putting them back.

Chief of all the gods

There was a very powerful looking god that was the chief of all the gods. There was the gentle goddess of mercy. These and many more… One by one, there on our farm in north eastern Kansas, she would tell us again about each figure. Is it any wonder that I grew up with a fascination for travel to distant lands?

The European/American community in Hingwah

I also loved the lacquer bowls that fit one inside another – down to a very small size… and the cloisonné bowl with intertwined dragons. The rich pieces of fabric with shiny figures and designs woven into the cloth, There was a wonderful wooden gong to be used in the temple and my first exposure to the concept of chopsticks… there were cut paper decorations and tiny shoes made for a woman with bound feet. There were brush painting of paper rolls that could be opened to show beautiful landscapes of mountains and water, of horses and beautiful women in flowing robes. We loved to hear the stories! At special times our mother might brew a pot of exotic tea that smelled of flower blossoms or once in a while light a stick of incense that produced a narrow stream of perfumed smoke that rose and twisted into the air.

Hauling water and washing

There was a tightly bound roll of small photos in the China Box – and she never talked about them to us – she would say – “Oh these are just little photos that she had collected…. just pictures of people…” (I suspect that photo paper was rare – so the prints were made were small) – Many of the photos are hauntingly not in clear focus– but clear enough to give some details of life. I include some of the photos in this entry.

Fertilizing the rice field with "night soil"

In the two decades before the second world war, the situation in Southern China became increasing unstable - and many missionaries were sent home. About the same time she became quite ill and after recovering was told that for her health she must return home to the US. I think this must have been a very wrenching experience for her … She loved her work and many of her coworkers in her community. From my own experience I often find the worst cultural shock when I return home after adjusting to a foreign way of life – I suspect this was especially true for my mother. She maintained contact with many friends among that Missionary community.

Servents in the missionary compound

She returned to the family farm in Kansas to regain her strength. And while there, redeveloped a relationship with my father that she had known years earlier. They were married, and she settled in to her new life as housewife and mother in a small Kansas farm community. She was a loving mother and good wife. As an adult I can now imagine how difficult it must have been for her to set aside the other life she had known and loved to live in a community where she was perceived as "different" because of her education and experiences, and where there were not opportunities for her to use her teaching and organizational skills.

After my father died, she returned to teaching in a California school. Even late in her life at times she would often recall an experience in China, a person who had touched her deeply, or a phrase in Chinese. All her life she carried a deep appreciation for the Chinese people she had known. Our experiences do change us.

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I have included a brief sample from a letter that she wrote home shortly after arriving...

Letter home: Hingwa, Fukien; 2/14/25

Street scene - Hingwah

Will I ever forget the thrill of departure when with the shriek of a whistle, our ship began to quiver, the pretty colored streamers that bound us to the homeland were gently broken and we had started. 20 wonderful days on shipboard followed, days filled with sports, reading, making new acquaintances, and luxuriate ease and restfulness. I enjoyed every minute of it; even the storm that raged one night, sending vases off of dressers with a crash and upsetting many an equilibrium. Shanghai was interesting and our six days there gave us ample time to see something of the city. A 2-day trip down the coast in an English vessel brought us to Foochow where we were transferred to a houseboat that took us some 6 hours up the Min River. The river was very smooth with scarcely a ripple and wound its way through a beautiful valley, marked off into little patches of vegetables and grain, and guarded by low mountains. Only the weird, melancholic chant of our oarsmen broke the silence as we glided along.

Child singing with "erhu" being playing (open, then click on one of the links for a free sample of Erhu music ) http://www.emusic.com/album/Lei-Qiang-Chinese-Traditional-Erhu-Music-1-MP3-Download/10804451.html

After a night on the houseboat, we started 6:30 the next morning on our first trip through the country. It was a novel experience to be packed into a sedan chair with a rug and pillows, hoisted into mid air and carried by coolies. It was a never to be forgotten day. We passed through beautiful valleys and low mountainous country; we saw a wedding procession and witnessed a funeral; there were shrines, graves. And ancestral tombs in abundance; and I had my first glimpse into the home and village life of a non-Christian civilization. The next day we arrived in Hingwa about noon to receive a hearty welcome.

Hingwa is a city of trees, surrounded on 3 sides by low distant mountains. I came to live in a good house with 4 other missionary people. It is fine to be relieved of all household cares, and it saves much time. There are between 20 and 30 American and English people in Hingwa and they are fine folks; we have had many good times through the holiday season.

The first 2 weeks here were full of preparations for and the festivities of Christmas. I wish you could have seen the dear little Chinese girls when they received their dolls and other gifts that came from America. It was a happy time for them and it certainly was a beautiful Christmas for me. I had had just 4 weeks of language study when here came the Chinese New Year vacation and study must stop for a time.

Chinese New Year is the one important festival of the Chinese year and it is ushered in with a loud booming of fireworks. Festivities last for weeks, depending on the financial condition of the family. I traveled through the country the day before Chinese New Year and the air of expectancy that I felt reminded me of the day before Christmas at home. Women were having their hair dressed, kitchen pots were being cleaned, and clothes that had recently been washed were hanging in all sorts of place drying; we stumbled over a butchering party in one narrow street and saw a woman cleaning a chicken on the floor step a little further along. Temples and ancestral tombs had been redecorated with red scrolls and lighted candles. Chinese New Year is also the time for weddings and feasts. It is the time when many of the gods must be taken on parades through the streets. Lantern parades are frequent and interesting. The lanterns are made into all sorts of fantastic shapes of bright colored paper, then lighted by candles and carried through the streets on long poles by men and children, accompanied by that weird, discordant music that is used for every occasion.

What people know and what they think they know...

Sometimes when I am riding in the back of a bus – particularly in another country - I observe the people around me – I wonder what knowledge each one has – what beliefs, what history, what stories to tell, what skills… Whether they have formal education or not each man or woman has spent a lifetime learning the ideas and ways necessary for living their life. Each one carries a wealth of information!

"Combi" ride in Swaziland

How do we come to believe what we do? We are not born with beliefs – but early on these beliefs become established. How did Martin Luther King come to develop his courage to lead a movement for change?

Martin Luther King

How did little Timmy McVeigh grow up to become so filled with hatred that he set in place his plan to dynamite the Federal building in Oklahoma? How does it happen than one brother becomes a liberal Democrat and another becomes a supporter of the Tea Party movement? I grew up in the Midwest within a community that took for granted the validity of Republican beliefs and yet my beliefs now are definitely left of center. How does this happen?

"The Thinker" Rodin ( Stanford U. )

We become convinced of the “rightness” of our beliefs – My beliefs have been affected by so many influences as I have lived my life... the communities where I grew up: my family, church, and family friends...The news sources I choose to listen to today ... My education (both formal and informal), My own reasoning...

For some people it is as if we are born into a belief community and just naturally grow to accept the ideas around us. I have seen high school age students experiment with establishing their own identity. For some it is the need to belong – it is lonely out there alone – and when we become part of a belief community we are no longer alone. For others it is like joining a group with which we want to identify. For others beliefs emerge out of long discussions with others.

My Mother's Fuller family gathering ~~1965

Once established our beliefs become a filter through which we interpret and “see” people and events of the world. Our beliefs become a barrier that prevent us from seeing more... prevent us from being open to other ideas...

Once I identify with a belief package I get lazy and instead of thinking I accept the interpretation of my news source, or my favorite “expert”, my preferred politicians. This kind of polarized thinking has become endemic in America today.

Campus - University of California - Berkeley

What does it take to change a belief? When we detect that our beliefs are no longer able to accurately deal with the world as we get to know it - then change becomes necessary and natural. I grew up in a homophobic community – and only after I have had an opportunity to known and become friends with gay and lesbian people have I changed my perception. Getting to know and value Black and Asian people in my family and friends has changed my childhood perceptions, which were based on no contact with individuals of either group.

Frank Oppenheim stated a concern in the 1960s that he perceived a growing gap between what can be learned through science – areas of atomic physics, bio chemical processes, neurology, climate change… etc… and the ability of the general public to understand what was being discovered. His solution was to start the Exploratorium Science museums.

Watson and Crick explaining how the DNA molecule can code for genetic information

Oppenheimer’s concern was that this understanding gap would have great implications as the public voted on public policy that involved technical issues. I feel the problem when I must vote on policy matters involving issues that are more complex than I understand. How do we decide how to vote on matters of health or the economy or environmental issues or food safety? The natural thing is that we rely on “experts”? But who is an expert? And who pays them to be an expert? What do we do when we discover that the experts are really paid for and represent interests that stand to gain from the policy? Are we fooling ourselves when we choose to get our news from a source that views everything though the filter of one interpretation?

Chinatown - San Francisco

The really scary thing is that there is an entire established industry in Washington DC – the lobbyists – paid for by special interests who are seeking to influence the votes of legislators . Not only do they push their opinions but also they have open moneybags for those members of congress that go along with their suggestions. Go here for more information: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/

What can I do?

I can be aware that my beliefs are only my best interpretation of what seems right to me. I have to be aware that other well intended people have come to different conclusions because their life experiences have been different from mine.

Accept that I tend to interpret new events in terms of my acquired ideological “filters”.

I can be aware that a "crystallized" belief is a block to an open mind. This isn't to become wishy washy - it is about listening well and to become more conscious of interpreting "the facts".

NOTES: 12/30/10

Last Ginko Leaves of the Season

1. Pruning

Blunt ended apple twigs form a filigree

Against the frozen sky

The last mummified fruits hold tight

My fingers lose their feeling

As I grasp the cutters

Each cut is a decision

Crossing branches must be cut away to limit

damage from winter wind

Long ungainly sprouts – careless growth

...they must go

Center twigs are snipped away to allow sun to enter

Twigs broken by too much fruit are trimmed back

Summer growth thinks anything is possible -

Winter is a time of making judicious choices

Each cut is calculated to stimulate new growth

( JZ 1988)

Cedar waxwings resting during their migration

2. When we first moved into our house 35 years ago the gravel quarry behind our house was fenced and patrolled – NO Trespassing!. In 1997 construction began to transform the quarry into part of the East Bay Regional Park system.The topography was reshaped, it became a classic case of ecological restoration with both native and specimen plants reintroduced. The gravel pits were flooded as part of a system to percolate ground water into the water table aquifers to push back salt water intruding from the bay. It became part of my daily ritual to hike one of several routes through the park with our dogs. We walk for an hour and a half – my most usual route is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km). I could do it in less time but I have to stop and talk to many "trail friends" as I make my rounds.

Wind Gusts coming across one of 5 ponds that make up the park

3. Adventures come in all sizes and flavors. Yesterday morning we started off with clear skies and a fierce cold wind… I was bundled up and the pups have good winter fur. I love being out there in all seasons, all weather conditions... it is amazing to see the slow regular progression of changes – as the plants and animals respond to seasonal changes in light, rainfall, and temperature. I learn when it is time to look for migrating birds...animals and birds are selective about their habitat and I learn where to find each species. The seasonal responses of plants are written into their DNA. When conditions are right they sprout and grow, When conditions are right - they flower... fruit... produce seeds. Only when its time will the life stage be expressed... and that is passed on within the inheritance.

My quickly arising dark clouds

4. Just at the furthest point in our walk – a cloud came out of “nowhere” and suddenly the wind hit us with icy needles of cold rain… The pups looked at me pleadingly … We took shelter for a time in the lee of a a thick pine tree and then pushed on… (The wind howling through that pine was fine music!) The shower was short lived – and we did see a supurb rainbow…

Birds gathering - mostly gulls and pelicans

5. I recently identified 23 different species of birds in one morning walk. Many are migratory birds making their passage – some are winter visitors, some are permanent residents. It is in fact the season with the highest species count – more than spring or summer. Yesterday I saw only the water birds… makes me wonder where do birds go to get out of the wind and rain? I’m quite sure they seek out thick cover - but they become invisible during a storm.

Great White Heron

6. I will remember 2010 as a good year – Judy and I have much to be thankful for … we have enjoyed many good times together this year, it has been a year with satisfying work, a fine year for travel, we have been healthy…

It has been a rollercoaster year in national politics. We support and agree with several major pieces of legislation this year – The much needed health care plan while not perfect is an important move forward. We support the end to “don’t ask don’t tell” in the military. It is right that unemployment compensation be continued, also the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. I am concerned that the tax cuts on the very rich have been continued. The wealth of the top 1 percent of the richest Americans is equal to the wealth of the bottom 90 percent. (UNICEF Socio Economic Report 2011). It seems obvious that those with the bulk of the money be expected to pay their share. I don't understand our national phobia on taxes - we have to pay for what we get –(Our founding fathers were opposed to paying taxes to England - but had no problem taxing themselves...) Taxes are necessary if we want quality services and infrastructure.

Capital Building - Washington DC

I am concerned for the gradual disappearance of the middle class in America.... the growing disparity between rich and poor. Judy and I have seen third world conditions abroad and we don’t have to look far to begin to see such conditions here. We are concerned that the Dream Act bill was blocked. We live in a multicultural world here in the Bay Area – and we see bright young people with much to offer America who have been deprived of an education. I hope for a revision of the filibuster rule ( which was not part of the original constitution- first used in the 1890's ) … this past year one political party adopted the policy of attempting to block all legislation introduced by the opposing party… it appeared they were doing so for political reasons rather than the good of the American people. This is not what our founding fathers had in mind. We live in a time of world wide economic restructuring - its not just the US economy that is "challenged"... I hope for new vision in job creation in the year ahead... I hope for new vision in Iraq and Afghanistan... that we can find new ways to deal with the root causes of the conflict.

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Christmas Season Notes

1. A drizzly San Francisco rain had starting to fall just as we entered the great cathedral. It was Dec. 21 the night of Winter Solstice and the upper reaches of the central hall had already grown dark.

Grace Cathedral in early nightfall

We found our seats and soon every seat was filled, even folding chairs set up around the outer margin of the cathedral. The lights dimmed, the hum of conversations stilled and the great swell of brass instruments and organ filled the space. Some music is so “large” that it requires a great space with high pillars, broad walls, and high vaulted ceilings to fill and reverberate.

Cathedral Organ Pipes - Grace Cathedral

All the details came together to make this a wonderful Christmas season moment... rainy nighttime – the lights and color inside the cathedral– the mixed people of San Francisco – the classic beauty of the cathedral, and especially the familiar and powerful music... all contributed to create a feeling of "time apart". The music was just the answer to the hectic scurrying of our recent days. I wanted to hold on to each moment. Of added interest to the program was a number that featured two Swiss Alpen Horns. They are about 12 ft. long and made of tapered hard wood, ending in a large open "horn" It was amazed to hear the range of tones that could be produced with no keys and no holes to cover!

2. Hearing old familiar Christmas carols returns me to when I first learned the melodies and words. In my mind I see images of my sister playing at the piano in our family home, and of my family and neighbors singing together in our little country church. It is amazing how memories can be triggered by a song! These carols are part of me. The language, symbols and images of the lyrics, come to us from times so long ago - well before my time. Never mind if my beliefs don't exactly match up with all of the ancient words - I still resonate with all that the songs do to connect me with who I am.

Mary and Baby Jesus - Russian Icon

3. Earlier in the evening we had taken the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) into the city. I am still like a little kid to be carried by esculator out of the ground and be suddenly deposited on Powell and Market in the midst of the Christmas season… colored lights – street musicians – cable car bells - shoppers looking like the proverbial Dagwood loaded with bags and boxes, office workers on their way home, panhandlers asking for money… it is a sea of motion, sound, and light.

Christmas Tree - Union Square

We walked up Powell past up-scale shops, past Union Square bright with decorations, past skillful street singers and musicians hoping for a donation, walking for 20 minutes up the hill (which got steeper and steeper with each block) until we reached California St. – then a few blocks more to Grace Cathedral.

4. It was been a good Christmas season – Once more this season, Judy has been up to her ears busy! She has been the sole buyer for a project to provide gifts to 28 people identified by the Human Services branch of the Fremont City Offices. The local Rotary club picks up all the bills – but Judy first had to interview all the families to see what they needed – then she has to buy what she can, attempting to stretch the money as best she can.

These are families that are desperately poor and truly in need. A big help has been the local “e mail group-send” in our community – Judy has put the word out – “Help I need a bed!” …Or "a winter coat for an 8 year old", …or "a rocking chair for an expectant mother"…! And the response has been terrific. All the purchases and donations have made our house look like a warehouse.

A pleased young mother

One of the children on seeing her gift...

But Judy has not missed a beat and has packaged up each persons gifts in time for the Rotary Santa/Pizza party last week… The delight in the eyes of the children and older family members on receiving just what they needed is wonderfully heart warming. The follow up with others will continue until Christmas day. ( Judy is also preparing "stockings" for the kids to discover Christmas morning. Like Santa, Judy will need to sit by the fire and have a nice glass or cold milk and cookies when this is all over!!

Judy and a good friend

5. Our rainy season is full upon us- La Nina years are unpredictable – they can be wet or dry – so far this one is giving us good rain and snow in the mountains. This morning as I walked the dogs I saw a “mating dance” between two grebes on the lake… it is beautiful to behold –after preliminary head bobbing, they swim side by side flapping their wings they rise up out of the water and “walk on the water” beside each other … then more head bobbing and they do it over again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdxxZgxWPt8

This front yard decoration wins the cake - but I'm not sure what category it wins

6. In case you have one last minute problem gift to buy - Here is the solution: http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/