Almost spring again! Renewal

We lost our beloved Rebecca to lymphoma in October of 2010. She was still with us at Pumpkin Festival time, but by Hallowe'en she was a spirit. We miss her so very much, but in our hearts she'll always be galloping up the beach toward us...

... or lying in the sun by a Sierra lake...

Sweet sweet thing, was Rebecca the Duchess of Mountain and Sea. Almost to the last she was prancing beside us along forest trails and by the sea, and we're thankful for that.

And we were so glad that she was here to move with us in August to our new little snug harbor south of Half Moon Bay. We can see and smell and hear the ocean, and we can walk to the beach in five minutes--a walk Rebecca loved immediately.  

The house name we've carried around for almost 25 years is at home on our garden gate: Strega del Mare... Sea Witch. 

Sea Witch

Years ago I carved the name into a piece of driftwood and hung it on our cottage in Miramar, and we've carted that sign around with us ever since. Strega del Mare, at home by the sea. 

Sun setting into the sea, looking past the bottlebrush tree

The world turns and turns, and around Thanksgiving Rebecca's spirit nudged a new love toward us... Kayak, a white german shepherd who needed rescuing. His family in the Sierra had fallen on hard times and he needed to find his "forever home" (as the rescue sob-sisters call it... sappy, but apropos).

There he was, there we were, it was love at first sight, and he joined us at Strega del Mare for his first sight of the ocean.

Kayak gazes toward Hilo



A fine young pup, and angelic... most of the time.