Kate’s family has been visiting for almost a week; this morning we drove south and walked around a slough. The rain had just stopped, so everything was wet and clean.
Much of the slough has dried up into big fissures during the summer, and now those areas are turning to mud. Raj poked and petted the California mud, saying again and again how he liked touching it. He and little Rigo both loved running back and forth over a bridge we came across.
I recognized a toyon tree along the path (above). But the most interesting plant I saw was a Lemonade Berry, so the Seek app told me – rhus integrifolia. The only reason I wonder about it is, this plant is said to be frost tender, and native not to Northern California, but southern. The bushes here were big and healthy looking, so they evidently have made it through a few winters without being killed.
The air was soft and mild; the sun shone really hot at times. The boys got in a lot of running around a two-mile loop, and are now down for naps. I’m in a dreamy sort of state, having these dear people around whom I hadn’t seen in a year (including the parents!), loving just having them in the house and looking right into their faces, not at a screen. It’s so normal.
Gladsome Lights 
“…having them in the house and looking right into their faces, not at a screen. It’s so normal.” Yes. We used to just say, “That’s normal,” but since so much of our worlds have transmuted into cyberspace, we need to emphasize how normal it is to have actual human contact.
Have fun with your family, Gretchen.
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Thank you, Chip!
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Those curls!
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Those curls haven’t been cut in 3.5 years, and his mom is wondering how best to reduce the volume of locks…
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Thinning shears — if they’re still around. My mom used them on my very thick hair decades and decades ago.
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Oh, I have some of those! I used them on my late husband, especially when he was young and thick-haired.
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What wonderful cloud pictures!! How lovely for you to have your daughter and her family visiting. Those little ones are adorable, Good idea having them run around a 2 mile loop to use up energy.
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So normal and … so wonderful!
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What a beautiful, peaceful place enhanced by lovely, lovely family! I love to walk in places where the sky is so big and you can see it coming right down to the earth.
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What a lovely time with those you love most. Boy, that land is dry — looking like ungrouted paving stones. But what fun territory in which to walk and discover. That lemonade berry is pretty!
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I really enjoy the pictures. Hi and lots of love to you and your family ❤️
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You have an eye for beautiful things + compositions. We moved 2 zones away, but because temperatures have been warmer than usual here, I read that each zone has shifted 1 level.
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What a lovely, happy post! Yes, meeting our dearest ones, especially after a long time, is one of the most comforting things in life.
Interesting views and plants. I remember that i know something about the genus Rhus, but can’t remember what. 🙂
We had a very thin surface of snow also today but it has melted by now.
Have a blessed Sunday!
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The photo of the little guy really does capture his enjoyment of running on the bridge – so cute!
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I know that dreamy feeling too, when you have those dear ones right in your home, right next to you. You want to hold the moment and not let it pass. That walk looked so wonderful, and those skies!!! Gorgeous. Your grandbaby’s curls are amazing too 🙂 I’m so glad you’ve had this nourishing visit. It really does feel like rain on parched ground.
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