I spread my wings to catch the updraft. Soaring higher at this vantage point I spy fish who seem to be waiting for me to pluck them from their watery world. I swoop lower now and with one smooth pass that tasty prize is mine. Throwing my head back I swallow. 

This happy day brings a bounty of surprises. 

What is it like to be me? 

I feel the wind on my face as I float to my next stop. You probably feel a little jealous, don’t you? You wish you could fly; fly with the help of your wings and go up as high as the mountain on the horizon. 

Like I do.

Never give up. It can all be yours if you practice the right moves. Open up. Feel the power of the cool breeze as it lifts you. The aerodynamics might seem tricky at first, but if I can do it, so can you.

I’m never lonely flying above the earth looking down at all the commotion that I cannot hear. It’s a little chilly up here sometimes, but that’s what feathers are for. I have a nice down coat to keep me warm as I fly higher, gliding on the ethers going above the clouds.  Free. Alone. Thinking only of my heartbeat and the sound of my breath, I make my way to wherever I want to go. 

Once more I spread my wings to catch the draft of air that helps me reach the highest tree on the mountain top. 

From my perch the view is long and wide. In the life of my design there are no limits. 

I feel your skepticism because you believe in limits. You are proud to be a realist. For you, things are the way they are.

Not for me though. For you see I am a modern day Don Quixote. 

I am a dreamer. 

And nothing gets in the way of a dreamer. Because for a dreamer there are no limits. Ever. 

Fifty years ago (I was 23 and living in Ocean Beach, CA) was the first Earth Day. Such a great gift to Earth. We finally started thinking about doing things in an earth friendly way, working to clean up and stop polluting. I am reminded that it was Nixon who created the EPA and signed a (bipartisan) Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

With the way things have gone with the current president (I refuse to use that a**hole’s name), we have gone backward. He says climate change is a hoax.

According to the news, on the eve of this year’s anniversary, POTUS directed his administration to work on a financial aid plan for the oil and gas industry, which has been hit hard by global shutdowns to address the pandemic.

WHAT? The oil and gas industry? Are you kidding me?

However, on the bright side, it looks like the pandemic is helping our Mother Earth. Have you seen all the glorious photos all around the globe showing less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff? It’s amazing; at least for the moment.

We have our proof, folks.

Maybe when we can get back to a more normal way of living we will keep things in proper perspective. Let’s try. Let Earth win.

Every morning we take our dog, isabela, on a walk. Usually we go across the street to the beach, but lately we have been venturing into the hills. It’s peaceful in the morning, and as we walk, pumping our legs up the hills, getting our heart rates up, and listening to the sounds of the birds and the ocean in the background, there is a peace that comes over us.

The pandemic has changed everyone’s lives, and some of it is teaching us about ourselves and putting things into perspective. But some of it is just difficult. Taking a walk and being in the moment is healthy for us.

We have it so easy compared to most people. Our lives are not that different except that we are finding ourselves even more engaged with our community’s response to the pandemic. Mask making, donating more money to the food bank and to people who are providing cleaning supplies to those in need. And believe me, there are many in need here.

Today we focused on enjoying the morning with our dog. It seemed enough.

Cardon Bloom

The ocean has such an allure.

When the waves crash onto the rocks and send the spray up, it thrills me. I may be easy to please.

We previously have not gone to this little beach, but tried it out yesterday and today. Such fun.

Walking home and seeing the house from the back side is so different now that the studio and the wall are there.

And if the walk wasn’t enough, we get home to these beauties.

Success for “Viva La Tortuga!”

Jayna, the teacher for the Bridge to English Class, placed the books on the tables and as the students began filtering in, they gravitated to the books. They were obviously engaged and excited. The energy in the room was palpable.

It was gratifying to see the books I had purchased for them being enjoyed. Their facial expressions and excited voices were like a paycheck for me. As a former middle and high school English teacher and elementary teacher, my heart was bursting with happiness watching them consume the books.

Soon it was time to get their attention and start the lesson. Jayna did a terrific job of imparting the main ideas and using the information I’d gathered for this purpose. Her enthusiasm was part of the reason I was over the moon with happiness about the lesson. She had a great lesson plan and delivered it with ease. The students were so excited and engaged. What teacher wouldn’t have been pleased?

Teach the kids to love the ocean and its animals, especially my favorite sea creature, the tortuga, and you will have a group of adults who protect the ocean environment and pass along their knowledge and love for it to their own children someday.

The medusa (jellyfish) is a favorite food of the sea turtle. They mistake plastic bags in the ocean for the jellyfish and consume them to their demise. Upon their death, there are no sea creatures examined that don’t have a lot of plastic in their stomachs. Micro plastics are some of the worst. Let’s do something about this. Together we can clean up the oceans.

The little girl in green above (Mayra) got up and came to me with a big hug. She said, “Thank you, Susan.” Oh my! My heart melted. How sweet.

The coloring books are a great opportunity to get the students involved. I put them together as bilingual, as these children are learning English poco a poco (little by little), thanks to The Palapa Learning Center in Todos Santos.

I made a set of different educational books for the older kids and they will be using them in their classes soon. I can’t wait. Jayna and I talked about having the older kids work with the younger ones too. If you can teach about a subject, it means you understand and learned it yourself. What better way to practice your skills and share your knowledge?

I brought the olive ridley sea turtle carapace that I had found on the beach about a year ago. Each child took turns touching and examining it. They were excited to have it placed on their own backs and pretend they were a sea turtle. Their little necks fit the spot where the turtle head would have been.

While it was sad that someone had slaughtered the turtle and left the shell (carapace) on the beach, I was able to use it for a good cause. When the students were labeling the parts of the turtle in English and Spanish from the coloring book, I walked around and let them see close up the scutes on the carapace, making it more meaningful and most likely memorable for them.

At the end of the fun-packed lesson, each student was allowed to take their book home. An added bonus: the colored pencils too. Their eyes got so big with delight when they learned they got to take those things home. “Share them with your family,” Jayna told them. I hope they do.

When I was a fish

I saw things clearly

like baby crabs and shrimp

living in the blue world

with me and the other fish

When I was a fish 

I swam all day

around the coral reef

In and out of the eel grass

without a care in the ocean

Now I am a dinner

I am disappearing fast

Two bites, three bites, four

It was more fun being a fish

swimming in my blue world

Linda is a neighbor who generously and graciously hosts watercolor classes once a week during the “high season” here in my neighborhood in Pescadero. This talented woman is an excellent teacher too; with enthusiasm she guides her students and informs us about the particulars of the medium. You can see here work here: http://lcorbetgallery.com

Learning to paint is a long and difficult process, but it has been so rewarding and fun! I want to stress that fun part. Even though in the last few days I have done 3 paintings and thrown them away because they were awful, I enjoyed every moment of the experience. I’m learning. I’m pushing myself. It is fun!

I probably ought to have taken photos of my failures to show, but I threw them out before I could get out the camera. Oh well.

But of course I took photos of the ones I think turned out worthy of a photo. And I can share those. Maybe my ego stops me from putting out my awful paintings. Of course. It is something to think about though, and next time I might snap a shot, and if I have enough courage, I can show them.

Learning from one’s mistakes and failures is important. Those are the lessons that help one improve. The work is still fun, even when they don’t turn out well. All positive reasons to keep at it.

Here are the ones that didn’t get tossed in the waste basket:

A lot of what I attempt comes from my photos. The Baja is a beautiful place, and here where the desert meets the Pacific Ocean, the natural scenes fill my heart with gratitude and joy.

As I age, which seems to be happening at an alarming rate these days, I appreciate everything in my environment more than ever. Even though there are some not-so-wonderful things like pests–cockroaches live in my palm trees, and these tiny flying insects that are known locally as bo bos surround your face and sometimes you inhale them. They impede any kind of gardening work you might want to do. Mosquitos are buzzing that high pitch sound in your ears, sometimes while you are sleeping. But these last two insects are seasonal, not here all the time. Thank goodness. Dealing with them is a small price to pay to live in this magical place.

I’ll leave you with a few more photos of my attempts to paint the goodness that is Baja.

When I paint skulls, I use acrylic paints. I don’t usually have much of a plan, I just start and let the skull tell me what to do.

My wish for you is that your life be as full of fun as mine.

When we moved here 9 years ago, I didn’t know much about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). I have come to learn what a special way it is to remember loved ones who have died. My mother passed at 103 on March 20, 2019, so this is my first altar for her. I can’t visit the Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery as it is in San Diego, but I can see it in my mind; so beautiful, overlooking the harbor.

Mom ate cottage cheese, yogurt, and fruit every day. Yes! EVERY DAY! And she made the best chocolate cookies, and she drank tea, so I put these things on her altar for her. Each item I placed on the altar has special meaning, and of course all the photos are necessary to honor and remember her. Many of the photos show her with family, and they were happy times.

She loved Perry Como, and all the music of her youth, but she came to appreciate a lot of what the family introduced her to: IZ (Hawaiian singer), Eddie Vedder playing the ukulele, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and more. Music playing here today will make her smile.

Check out this link if you want to know more about Dia de los Muertos. http://dayofthedeadnyc.org/meaning-of-the-day-of-the-dead/