Kind of odd this morning that I happened to be driving down Valley View when I spotted hundreds of goats on the hill next to the road. Well it *looked* like hundreds but was probably less than a hundred all munching peacefully on the dried grass. I guesstimate that there must have been at least 75. In any case made me long for a longer lens to really give you the full impact of the phenomenon.

Another passerby, also snapping photos, told me in a hushed voice that they had been brought in by Goats R Us, a local company that specializes in the removal of unwanted plants by goats.

The variety of goats was astonishing. I’ve grown a new respect for the beauty of these animals that I had never really noticed before. Ain’t nature grand?

Summer’s not complete for me unless it includes berry picking – that’s how much of a summer ritual it’s become. I was overjoyed when my friends, Paul and Marie, agreed to accompany me to the coast south of San Francisco for some olallieberry picking at Phipps Farm and Country Store.

I got enough berries for two pies, I think, and I’ll probably return later this summer for boysenberries.

The overcast light made for some wonderful photographic opportunities.

In addition to the country store, there are also birds, including a peacock and some ugly looking turkeys. I can’t really describe it. You’ll just have to drive down there and see for yourself.

My old friends from San Jose, Pat and Peter, met us at Phipps. It was great to see them. After berry picking, we drove a couple of miles north to San Gregorio for coffee.

The San Gregorio General Store had live music – on a Saturday afternoon no less. How wonderful! It’s a terific venue and they have a great selection of hats too.

All in all, it was another spectacular day on the California coast.

There’s been no lag time between socks these days and progress on my most recent pair has been swift. A friend recently reminded me about Knitty.com and it was there that I found a sock pattern worthy of the super soft, yummy yellow Malabrigo sock I purchased at K2Tog a few months ago.

BTW: K2Tog is moving and opening in their new digs on June 1. The new location is near their old location on Solano, just a few blocks up the street, so be sure and check them out if you’re in the neighborhood.

Because this sock pattern was designed by Marlowe Crawford and it’s a tribute to Northern California, it seems fitting that I would continue my exploration of the Northern California coast this holiday weekend by visiting Bodega Head just north of Bodega Bay. See for yourself.

It was an utterly spectacular day on the California coast. Simply magnificent.

And the rock formations are certainly quite pyroclastic, aren’t they?

I’m taking off for the friendly skies tonight, at midnight, and I’ll be gone for a week. I will try to post from the road, can’t promise, but you can be sure I’ll be knitting where ever I am.

I had an enjoyable hike with friends last Sunday at the Cataract Trail in Marin County on the Mt. Tam Watershed. Pictured above is my new friend, Aminta, still smiling during the tortuously steep section near the beginning.

It’s surprising how remote this area felt being so close to San Francisco.

This trail is known for the waterfalls, which are abundant, although I wasn’t sure which one specifically was Cataract Falls. They were all gorgeous.

Paul tried but never did manage to get a WiFi connection.

We spotted some wild orchids on the trail.

Where the trail came out of the woods it offered the most stupendous view of San Francisco, the East Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Again, you can see Sutro Tower in the distance. As you might guess, I really enjoy spending time in this part of California.

Here are friends Caroline and Royal taking a break.

And here’s my friend Paul.

Hiker whose name escapes me looks out over Marin and the East Bay Hills.

On the return, I spotted the most amazingly knarled tree. I love it!

I’m glad I had the opportunity to hike as this week has been wet and rainy and more is on the way for tomorrow. You know what they say about April showers – it’s true!

The hills near my home are so beautiful and green right now. I love driving and biking the country roads.

But why do people do this?

I spent an amazing 48 hours in Ashland and Southern Oregon last weekend and I’m only now getting around to blogging about it. I was felled by a stomach bug the day before last and I’m still not sure if it was the flu or food poisoning but that’s no excuse! Here, now, I’ll tell you what Alice and I did.

First we drove out to Crater Lake which was spectacular but very, very cold. You can’t really tell from the photo above, but it was only 25 degrees and we were not prepared. But the sky was so clear and blue, that I couldn’t resist a drive out to the lake that I’ve only ever visited once before.

Next we did a little touring of the town of Ashland which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places.

Found the local yarn shop, of course!

Here’s a shot of yours truly incognito, trying on masks at the Shakespeare gift shop.

We capped off our Saturday by attending a play and I couldn’t resist snapping a shot of the stage. I thought the staging of this play was extremely clever and unique. You can barely see the bed lit with a yellow light through the curtain which was used to great effect. Anyway I wasn’t supposed to take any photos so I dare not mention the play. You’ll just have to guess.

Continuing my recent tradition of quickie blog posts, I want to wish you all a Happy Holidays. Have fun whatever you celebrate.

When I finally overcame my block about the edge for the log cabin blanket, it actually went very fast. I’m very pleased. Instead of working in the round, I knit each edge separately and sewed them at the corners. Easy peasy! Why did I think it would be so difficult?

I threw it around Max on a recent excursion to Stinson Beach.

Now it keeps me warm on these chilly November nights.

Everyone’s flown home and flown the nest and once again I find it’s just the three of us…me, myself and I. *sigh* Ah well I can’t complain. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast at Karen and Jeff’s house as you can see. The crowd seems to grow bigger every year.

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving too!

Working two jobs with the possibility of a credential program on the horizon, leaves precious little time for knitting.  This blog post will hopefully reassure you that I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. Not yet anyway.

I knit the “Noro” scarf above using Mochi Plus instead of Noro and it was such an enjoyable knit, it only took me a few days. Highly addictive and that’s all I can say about it right now. I also started the turn a square hat by Jared Flood which will also employ Mochi in combination with Cascade 220. That’s all I can say about that right now too.

Other than knitting I did make it out into nature recently. Isabella and I drove out to Point Pinole last week and it was just lovely. I haven’t been to PP in more than 20 years and it was even more beautiful than I remembered. Check it out.

Ok. Off to work again. Check back with me soon!