We got in late from a week in Pepperwood, a week filled with work, relaxing, fun, frustration, and lots and lots of learning. I have much to process yet, so likely this week will show up in a couple of posts, but I'll start with the outline and see where it leads.
I had intended that we would leave for Pepperwood either Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning, but Jay, with his unique sense of time and date, made plans with two sets of very good friends for the day before Easter and Easter, so we delayed our leaving. We had a great weekend seeing folks, got up to Pepperwood Sunday night, and had the remainder of the week to get a few projects wrapped up.
The drive up was rainy and uneventful, although it snowed at the highest elevation through which we pass. We arrived somewhere around midnight, mostly because of nasty construction and minor flooding at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. We snuggled into bed, and slept pretty well. There's nothing like country darkness for deep sleep!
Monday morning brought more rain, and over coffee and breakfast Jay and I talked about what we wanted to do while we were up. Jay decided to rebuild the small greenhouse, which involved trimming the lower branches of a redwood that shades it, cleaning out the years of junk that had accumulated, partially rebuilding the frame, removing broken fiberglass panels, rebuilding the door, and stapling new plastic sheeting all around. Sounds simple, but with the condition of things being what they are, anything we undertake always involves clearing trash and getting rid of dubious materials.
I want to walk carefully here, because I love and respect my family tremendously, but I have to be honest and say that there are areas on the property are literally dumps. It's tough, because it is so beautiful, and I remember what it looked like in the peak of Grandma's life, but as my grandparents grew older and less agile they they weren't able to keep up with their Depression-era ideas of how to properly dispose of garbage. Add to that the fact that Grandma reused almost everything - plastic pill bottles and spent shotgun shells were tipped over on stakes to catch insects; glass and plastic bottles from any number of original uses were left out to collect rain so she had convenient water everywhere she needed it; plastic ties, old pantyhose, and empty, but not clean, lotion and shampoo bottles were hung in trees and bushes to deter deer - and from a modern, urban perspective the place looks like a trash heap; however, a trained eye, someone who knew Grandma, would see the mad genius of it all. What looks to us like a pile of empty bottles, glass, hubcaps and pantyhose everywhichwhere had a purpose, and represents the true, original reduce, reuse, recycle philosophy. BUT, it's not our aesthetic, and when we look at planning a sustainable, organic lifestyle on the same site, this becomes a huge headache.
Back to the story: We laid plans on Monday for the refurbishment of the greenhouse, went into Eureka to purchase supplies, got dinner at the always fabulous Eel River Brewery (ERB in later references), and settled in for a quiet night. Alma, as usual under changed conditions, didn't nap on Monday. She is a very pleasant kid to be around, even when tired, but I have the most difficult time knowing what to do to help her calm down, when I can see how much she needs to sleep. Cue the frustration and complete lack of confidence in myself as a mother, not mitigated in the least by the fact that hormones were just beginning the monthly rage.
