A Week in the Redwoods

I am just home from a wonderful week in the Redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains. On my way, I went down memory lane and revisited a home we lived in when I was in grammar school. 54 Ellenwood Ave. was a house that my parents bought over the phone when they planned a move back to California from the East Coast. The lot next door had a huge acacia tree into which I would climb with a good book. I would read for hours and be transported to another place.

54 Ellenwood Avenue, a childhood home

Our silent retreat was in the mountains and it had a nature trail that went down into the canyon. I found this sign to be hysterical. Who would want to hike on this trail with all these warnings? I took a deep breath and went any way. I never did cross paths with any of these dangerous beasts of the wild but I did manage to avoid the poison oak.

Nature Trail Sign....Scary Indeed!

Looking up through the trees at the base of the canyon was a very spiritual experience. Some one had brought a chair down there and had left it by the creek. I spent a lot of time just sitting and looking.

Redwoods seen from the canyon floor.

This was a week of quiet contemplation and I had plenty of time to really "see" nature. I had never noticed how beautiful the pod in the center of a magnolia bloom is after it sheds its petals. The intricacy of the base with the pattern of red vine like lines was so amazing. I tried to capture the thread like pattern in my journal.

Magnolia Pod and Journal

We stayed in a funky old cabin built in the 30's, it had a lot of character, there was not a level floor in any room and the doors needed to be propped open or held closed.
I loved the old kitchen sink and tile... very reminiscent of my childhood years.

My Cottage at the Retreat Center

The trees around this place were amazing ... one had lower limbs that defied gravity, its large limbs were woven and twisted into wonderful patterns. Here is my journal page with the base of the tree.

Old Tree

I also collected wild flowers on one of my hikes and made a lovely potpourri bouquet of them.... it reminds me of one of my images.

A Wildflower Bouquet

I collected "treasures" from each of my hikes and put them all together on my dresser top so I could see them from my bed. The little yellow bird was one I made from materials in the art room to capture the feeling of a little playful yellow bird that hopped around in one of my images. Here she is on top of my treasure pile.

Treasures from My Week

You may notice that I misspelled receive... this happens to me a lot when I get into my right brain artist mode.... my literal left brain gets shut off and thus the misspelling. I did not correct it because it reminds me of my little kid who did not know how to spell very well... and my little kid was out having a fun time creating this little bird.