I came to Paradise in the winter. What was it that made me stay here? Why did I not follow my first instincts and run back to where I came from? Why did I fall in love after a horrendous drive to get here that made me scared, furious and so tired I felt like I wanted to sleep for days when we arrived? What kept me from jumping out of the vehicle?
It was the vista that dazzled my eyes and touched something inside me that had no yet been reached. I had no idea there was anything left inside of me to be discovered. It was not the last thing I found.
Our home is wide and deep and full of air and sunshine with ocean views to our east and rough, pointy mountains to our west. In between are ranches that reminded me of small town middle America family farms owned by the 4th or 5th generation men and women and children, land that is passed down.
I spent a week unpacking, exploring, meeting my neighbors and trying to find a reason to leave and go back to my family, grown children and friends to my lovely home on the lake.
I am glad I was not successful.
Things I have held in my hands or arms or touched since I have arrived here:
Alive:
Pelicans
Walking Stick (insect)
Sierra (fish)
Jack Crevelle (fish)
Hermit Crab
Baby Chicken
Baby Rabbit
Baby Cow
Horse
Flowers
Cholla (Jumping Cactus)
Sea
Not Alive (but not necessarily dead)
Scorpion
Centipede
Crab Lobster
Seal
Dolphin
Shark
Shells
Eel
Pelicans
Cow Bones
Horse Bones
Pig (while being butchered)
Sand
Rocks
Tarantula
I love the way the beach changes everyday. I love to search the shoreline for different forms of sea life that have lost their battle with the ocean and are tossed up on the sand. The weird pieces of other peoples property that end up here like tiles, bottles, nets and even pieces of cars! Garbage to most, interesting to ponder for some.
I love seeing the mother whales and their babies breaching. I love to track the sea lions and dolphins with my telescope. I am especially thrilled with the 'fish boils' which are huge schools of sardines that form a giant ball to protect themselves fro predator fish that hunt them tirelessly from below while pelicans dive bomb them from above. All the while the sea that surrounds them boils and foams and travels up and down the shore until the sardines are just a small group and the predators and the pelicans are sated and spent.
I love the long winding dirt road behind our property the I walk down to the tremendous arroyo lined with rock walls ten stories high. There are cactus and agave and trees and plants of all kinds clinging to the sides of those walls and all manner of lizards, birds, rodents and insects make their homes in them. As I walk the arroyo floor, I come upon little oasis's where boulders have tumbled down crevices made by rushing water to become small waterfalls and pools filled with even more plants and wildlife. Flowers attract thousands of butterflies that come here to escape the harsh snows of their homeland just like we do.
I have seen and touched and experienced so many things that I knew existed but never thought I would have a chance at trying. I wake up everyday thinking,"What do I want to do today?" I go to sleep each night thinking,"How lucky am I to have this happen to me when I am still able physically and mentally to try it all.
The orange, yellow and purple dawns inspire me and the pink and sapphire blue evenings calm me. All the while the sea is the continuous background music that ranges from Heavy Metal to Bach to Sinatra playing twenty four hours a day.
I have made friends with the local ranch families and enjoy buying fresh eggs from them that carry the remnants of the mother's body still on the shells and sometimes the remnants of the father's in the yolks. I also buy the cheese from their milk cows that is rich, creamy and tastes of desert sage, sea salt, the earth and the cow. The families are close and often the grandparents are still on the property living with them. Children, there are always children. A combination of cousins and friends. The families are strong and the love runs deep and the loyalty is forever. They have family fights and sometimes do not speak but in the end, the ties that bind are made of metal and silk and will never be broken forever.
I have a feeling of peace here that is absent in my homeland. I am not fearful here as I was there. Here we pick up families or women with children and their luggage looking for a ride or old men from their broken down cars or young men get pulled out of the ditch all of which we find on the roads into town. They open the doors to our vehicles and we find new experiences through our discussions in broken English and Espanola as we take them along and drop them off on the way.
Our remote location makes neighbors stop by to let you know the propane truck is in the area or that their generator is broke down and they need help. We share trips into town for supplies or to the airport. We watch out for each other.
It is a life I remember from my childhood seldom felt as I became an adult.
I am dreaming while I am awake, imagining while I am walking and feeling my senses expand as I go about my business of living life to the fullest in a place that allows and encourages it.
It was the vista that dazzled my eyes and touched something inside me that had no yet been reached. I had no idea there was anything left inside of me to be discovered. It was not the last thing I found.
Our home is wide and deep and full of air and sunshine with ocean views to our east and rough, pointy mountains to our west. In between are ranches that reminded me of small town middle America family farms owned by the 4th or 5th generation men and women and children, land that is passed down.
I spent a week unpacking, exploring, meeting my neighbors and trying to find a reason to leave and go back to my family, grown children and friends to my lovely home on the lake.
I am glad I was not successful.
Things I have held in my hands or arms or touched since I have arrived here:
Alive:
Pelicans
Walking Stick (insect)
Sierra (fish)
Jack Crevelle (fish)
Hermit Crab
Baby Chicken
Baby Rabbit
Baby Cow
Horse
Flowers
Cholla (Jumping Cactus)
Sea
Not Alive (but not necessarily dead)
Scorpion
Centipede
Crab Lobster
Seal
Dolphin
Shark
Shells
Eel
Pelicans
Cow Bones
Horse Bones
Pig (while being butchered)
Sand
Rocks
Tarantula
I love the way the beach changes everyday. I love to search the shoreline for different forms of sea life that have lost their battle with the ocean and are tossed up on the sand. The weird pieces of other peoples property that end up here like tiles, bottles, nets and even pieces of cars! Garbage to most, interesting to ponder for some.
I love seeing the mother whales and their babies breaching. I love to track the sea lions and dolphins with my telescope. I am especially thrilled with the 'fish boils' which are huge schools of sardines that form a giant ball to protect themselves fro predator fish that hunt them tirelessly from below while pelicans dive bomb them from above. All the while the sea that surrounds them boils and foams and travels up and down the shore until the sardines are just a small group and the predators and the pelicans are sated and spent.
I love the long winding dirt road behind our property the I walk down to the tremendous arroyo lined with rock walls ten stories high. There are cactus and agave and trees and plants of all kinds clinging to the sides of those walls and all manner of lizards, birds, rodents and insects make their homes in them. As I walk the arroyo floor, I come upon little oasis's where boulders have tumbled down crevices made by rushing water to become small waterfalls and pools filled with even more plants and wildlife. Flowers attract thousands of butterflies that come here to escape the harsh snows of their homeland just like we do.
I have seen and touched and experienced so many things that I knew existed but never thought I would have a chance at trying. I wake up everyday thinking,"What do I want to do today?" I go to sleep each night thinking,"How lucky am I to have this happen to me when I am still able physically and mentally to try it all.
The orange, yellow and purple dawns inspire me and the pink and sapphire blue evenings calm me. All the while the sea is the continuous background music that ranges from Heavy Metal to Bach to Sinatra playing twenty four hours a day.
I have made friends with the local ranch families and enjoy buying fresh eggs from them that carry the remnants of the mother's body still on the shells and sometimes the remnants of the father's in the yolks. I also buy the cheese from their milk cows that is rich, creamy and tastes of desert sage, sea salt, the earth and the cow. The families are close and often the grandparents are still on the property living with them. Children, there are always children. A combination of cousins and friends. The families are strong and the love runs deep and the loyalty is forever. They have family fights and sometimes do not speak but in the end, the ties that bind are made of metal and silk and will never be broken forever.
I have a feeling of peace here that is absent in my homeland. I am not fearful here as I was there. Here we pick up families or women with children and their luggage looking for a ride or old men from their broken down cars or young men get pulled out of the ditch all of which we find on the roads into town. They open the doors to our vehicles and we find new experiences through our discussions in broken English and Espanola as we take them along and drop them off on the way.
Our remote location makes neighbors stop by to let you know the propane truck is in the area or that their generator is broke down and they need help. We share trips into town for supplies or to the airport. We watch out for each other.
It is a life I remember from my childhood seldom felt as I became an adult.
I am dreaming while I am awake, imagining while I am walking and feeling my senses expand as I go about my business of living life to the fullest in a place that allows and encourages it.
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