Monday, May 10, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!


Yesterday, my mom, sister and I went for a hike at Wilder Ranch. The trails wind around the cliffs overlooking the sea, offering gorgeous vistas that make your heart swell with excitement and the thrill of the open sea. Enjoy the sights yourself!

The ranch was a dairy in the 1800s

A beautiful sir

A gorgeous barn cat taking an afternoon nap

The Southern Pacific

The trail


Where Oholone people once gathered food

I thought the clouds resembled pyroclastic ash


The vast horizon



Wildflowers


Avast, matey! Thar be a pirate cove!


I was surprised by the clarity of the water





Someone ponders their existence


An ocean of another sort stretches out behind




Descending to the pirate cove

Gorgeous


It is said that the foam of the sea is dead mermaids




While my mom sets off to explore one cave, you can see a baby in the distance toddling out of another. The place is so beautifully wild. I felt like I was in the world of Sing Moonlight, and I wasn't alone. My mom kept saying "I feel like I'm in your book." :)

Moss growing on the side of the cave



Water dripping inside the cave

Alex looks out at adventure

Be this rope the vestige of a reckless lubber, or the last survivor of a squall?

The waterline was dotted with the bodies of sand crabs

All that's left are their shells

The appendage of a real crab. I'm afraid of them.


Water sculpture

A beautiful day

Below are pictures of the flowers growing in the garden by one of the ranch houses.












When we returned home, it was to discover that our father had cooked up a storm. Not only had he made French toast that morning, but he took it upon himself to make several delicious meals. Halibut with lemon and wine sauce, lobster tail for his mother, fettuccine alfredo, and artichokes, along with chicken nuggets for those in the family who aren't fond of fish. And for dessert, he made a flour-less chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce, and a pan of ranger bar cookies. Talk about the next Emeril Lagasse! And everything was absolutely delicious.

Not only is my dad a great cook, but it runs in the family. His grandpa was FDR's chef back when he was governor of New York!

Halibut

Cake

Soon-to be bar cookies

It was a lovely Mother's Day.

I'm glad to have something fun to post about after the sorrow of my last entry. And to those who don't know... remember the MFA exam I had to take in the midst of trying to spend every second that I could in the barn with Mickey? I had already decided that if I didn't pass, I would say "screw it, I don't need an MFA to write" and continue on my merry way. But then I found out that my professors were so impressed that they passed me with the highest marks they could give. I was in shock since I felt like my essays were barely adequate. I also received the good news that my thesis was approved. I'm heading in tomorrow to pick it up and look at the changes Graduate Studies & Research have requested, and hopefully pass my foreign language exam in Spanish. Hopefully.

Thank you so much to all who have offered their kind words and support during this difficult time, both here and on Facebook. It means a lot to all of us.

2 comments:

Tracie said...

Thanks for the animal photo's. You know how much I love animal Pic's.
That kitty is SO cute!

I was in the US Navy for 20 years so the pictures of the ocean make me very nostalgic. Here in Utah the closest I can get to the ocean feel are the cries of the Seagulls. It's the state bird here and I really like them. Very nice pictures of the ocean....

Why are you scared of the crabs?

Mackenzies Momma said...

Gorgeous pictures. I wish it had been that nice out here on Mother's day. Instead it was overcast with the threat of rain so no outings for me. Though I'm making a Vancouver run Friday so that should make up for it.

Congrats on passing your MFA and good luck on the editing of the thesis.