Reflections on 2024

Twenty twenty-four is coming to an end, and what a year! There seemed to be upheaval all over the globe, whether it be in politics, society, weather, ideological conflict, or the economy. Thankfully we still have the grounding elements of gardens, nature, family, and friends.

Our theme for Eden By The Bay this year has been Sabbatical, Seasons, and Seasons of Life. Sensing that life was changing, I decided to take a "sabbatical" in 2024 by slowing down and thoughtfully evaluating everything. I had the opportunity to retire in May, which opened up a whole realm of possibilities for a new season of life. I am grateful for the extra time that retirement provides, enabling me to live in Alaska for several months, and to experience a new way to live. 

Clockwise: Big changes in the garden
Family time in beautiful Alaska and the Bay Area
Reunited with Dakota the Husky
The joys of retirement!

After many years of research and planning, we hired Four Dimensions Landscape Cooperative to landscape our yard in January and February. We love our new wildlife-friendly, native garden; and have spent the year learning about the new plants, shrubs, and trees, and observing them in each season. I didn't make any "movies" this year, but I did manage to try more solar dyeing projects, including poinsettia bracts and chokecherries from our yard.

We also had fun experimenting with a monthly "Field Notes" format for reporting observations and projects throughout the month. We read an antique gardening book from the 1930s to see how things have changed and what has endured; learned about several plant hunters in the Americas; and watched some films (not necessarily starring plants). It's been a year of growth, beauty, pain, and joy, and I'm grateful to have you on the journey with me!

Christmas in the Bay Area: 2024

My first Christmas as a retired person (don't worry, I won't inform you of every first in my first year of retirement, or maybe I already have)! I'm appreciating the slower pace of life, with fewer events and obligations, and am thoroughly enjoying the activities and events that we have scheduled. Today our nuclear family is together, with some good cooking and feasting planned for later today. We're missing our far-flung family in Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Arizona, and more, but look forward to being together with them in the new year.

Enjoying the gifts of the season

While we celebrate the season, the garden seems to slumber. Foliage looks green and lush from the frequent rains, but otherwise everything appears to be dormant. But not so! As we learned in previous posts, the garden is very active. Buds are forming, mushrooms are poking up through the woodchips, compost and fallen leaves are breaking down and fertilizing the soil, and early seasonal bulbs are preparing to poke through the soil when the conditions are right. Gardeners here in the Bay Area can enjoy a brief reprieve from the usual tasks, and enjoy making merry with family and friends.

Merry Christmas to all!

Field Notes for December

Welcome back to Field Notes - this is the last installment for 2024. Where did the year go? I have really enjoyed experimenting with this format for reporting events and discoveries made during the month. I plan to continue experimenting with Field Notes in 2025!

December 1, 2024

We have stunning sunsets in the San Francisco Bay Area this time of year (in between rainstorms). The sunsets are brief and early so you have to make a point to see them. But they are well worth the effort for the dramatic layers of colors.

Winter sunsets in the Bay Area

December 3, 2024

My Aunt Char is home after her trip to Alaska. She spent a month with my mom, dad, and brother in Juneau, and they celebrated Thanksgiving together. The last week has been dicey weatherwise, with a major winter storm rolling in several days before travel day. Luckily she made all her flight connections with no issues! 

Winter storm warning in Juneau, Alaska

December 6, 2024

What a treat to attend the annual Business Women's Network cookie exchange with my former colleagues in San Ramon. It was thoughtful of them to include retirees, and so much fun to catch up with old friends during the festive, tasty event! BWN sponsors speakers, networking events, and workshops to enrich women's careers. Many men attend the events to learn how to be supportive allies, and how to inspire and equip their daughters. Everybody wins!

 

Spoils from a Christmas cookie exchange

December 9, 2024

Our kitchen is overflowing with good eats. We're pulling out more of our favorite fall recipes and filling the house with the wonderful fragrance of good, hearty food. There's also an uptick in home-made cookie production that has everyone in the family smiling and humming along with the Christmas playlist.

More roasted vegetables - this time for a delicious tomato-based soup

Turkey cottage pie, with a fancy woven crust

December 12, 2024

My Aunt Char and I attended a local production of A Charlie Brown Christmas this week at the Contra Costa Civic Theater. It was so fun to see the Charlie Brown Christmas movie brought to life with talented actors and innovative sets. The production ended with a group-sing of favorite Christmas carols (holiday music really makes the season). Afterwards, Aunt Char and I enjoyed bowls of ice cream at her home and caught up on all the news from her trip and the folks in Alaska!

Support your local theater!

December 15, 2024

While doing holiday errands, I made a quick stop at the Castro Valley Library to pick up a Mrs. Malory mystery that was on hold. Nearby is a portion of Castro Valley Creek that has been restored with plants native to the area (and has attracted lots of birds, squirrels, and insects). I enjoyed a quick respite from my errands in the lovely library and natural park.

Late morning sun in the Castro Valley Library

Castro Valley Creek restoration

December 18, 2024

The Christmas tree is now decorated and I'm enjoying the lights, sparkle, and ornaments collected over the years. We have lots of angels and instruments and glass balls in beautiful jewel colors. Other ornaments were handmade by our son in his youth, and still others were gifts or were collected during our  travels (like the dinosaur bone ornament from our trip to Dinosaur National Monument). My small greenhouse ornament collection never fails to delight. A batch of gingerbread cookies nourished us while we decorated the tree and strolled down memory lane!

Greenhouse ornament

Another greenhouse ornament

Dancing gingerbread lady

December 21, 2024  ☔

Today is the first day of winter, and the longest day of the year! The rainy season has definitely started here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Last I read, the Northern Sierra snowpack is at 170% and the reservoirs are at a strong level. That is good news (although many of us, who have lived through serious drought in the West, still retain a conservation mindset when using water). It is raining as I write, and more is forecast in the week to come. The short, dark, rainy days are perfect for cozy holiday activities inside, but great to know that the days will start getting longer after today! 

December 24, 2024

Happy Christmas Eve Day! It's been pouring rain all night and hasn't let up this morning. For gardeners in the West and the Bay Area, all this rain is a gift from above! We are hunkered down at our home with no plans to go out unless the rain lets up long enough for a quick constitutional up the hill. Otherwise, we have puzzles, beautiful music, companionship and phone calls, and lots of cooking to keep us occupied. 

A few memories of the season - decorating the tree,
attending a Chanticleer Christmas concert with Aunt Char, and
completing The Inn at Christmas puzzle

Sabbatical, Seasons, and Seasons of Life: Wrap Up

For this year's "Sabbatical, Seasons, and Seasons of Life" theme, we pushed the pause button on everyday life. Time to slow down, consider what is important, keep what works, and move on from what doesn't. In May, I entered a new season of life when I accepted early retirement from a career that I loved.

Family members in Juneau, Alaska were facing their own new seasons of life, so I spent most of May through September in Alaska. It was a time of some hard changes, and we faced them together. I missed my family, home and garden back in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, I was grateful to have the time that retirement provides to pitch in, to spend time with my family in Alaska, and to immerse myself in the beautiful place where I was born and raised. Incidentally, I found the transition to retirement easy and liberating (obviously it was time for a new season of life)! 

Retirement and new frontiers!

 Seasons and Seasons of Life

I launched into a new season of life as a retired person, and am loving it! More time to enjoy life and the beauty of the everyday.

Sabbatical, Seasons, and Seasons of Life

A New Season of Life

Counting Birds for the GBBC

Bringing Back the Natives

Bird Buddy

Shadow Play

🌷Spring Watch   🌞Summer Watch   🍂Fall Watch   ⛅Winter Watch

Outings in Alaska

I spent four months in Alaska with my parents, aunt, siblings, and a few childhood friends; and enjoyed the beautiful "Great Land" in the process.

Mendenhall Glacier and More

North Douglas, the Chilkats, and More

Summer in Alaska

Blue Ice

Summer Outing

Cruise Ship Spotting

Three Seasons of Sunsets in Juneau Alaska

Fall Outing

Remembering Three Seasons in Alaska

Landscaping

We completed a major landscaping project at our home in the Bay Area using a local company that specializes in native and sustainable gardens, and then delved into learning about the plants.

Site Visit (2022)

Site Survey (2023)

The Plan

Demolition

Progress (see Field Notes for March)

Finished

Six Month Report

Moonlight in the Garden

Some Favorite Plants

More Favorite Plants

Even More Favorite Plants

Field Notes

We experimented with a new format to report observations and experiences throughout the month.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Plants to Dye For: Wrap Up 2024

I managed to get in a couple of solar dyeing projects!

Dye Project: Poinsettia Bracts (solar)

Dye Project: Chokecherry (solar)

Plant Hunters

On a quest to learn more about plant hunters in the Americas.

Alexander von Humboldt

Dr. Elzada Clover

Dr. Lois Jotter Clover

Movies

We learned more about weaving (to enhance our understanding of dyeing with plants) and enjoyed some entertaining shows (that had nothing to do with plants or plant movie stars).

Wisdom of the Loom

Garage Sale Mysteries

Books

We read a few good books to learn more about historical gardening, and plant hunters.

The Complete Book of Garden Magic

Alexander von Humboldt and the Botanical Exploration of the Americas

Brave the Wild River

Winter Watch

Several atmospheric rivers have rolled through the San Francisco Bay Area in the last few weeks, often with accompanying flood watches in tow. It looks like we are officially in the rainy season. Unlike other climates, here in the West we receive the bulk of our rain and snow pack in late fall and winter. Our new landscape is loving the extra water, and foliage everywhere looks so fresh and clean with the summer and fall dust washed away.

Gray skies and pouring rain proclaim that winter is coming

We're on winter watch in anticipation of the winter solstice in several weeks. After the flurry of fall cleanup, I'm enjoying inside projects with heavy rain outside, punctuated with beautiful stretches of sunny, crisp fall weather.