"A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" Luke 12:15

Finally, after 3 months in the hospital, the doctors said Dad could go home. He would finally be discharged on the morning of April 17th! Our whole family had spent weeks at his bedside. With great relief and in anticipation of some carefree enjoyment, my daughter Alanna and I drove to the ranch for two days of rest and relaxation.

When we arrived at the ranch, it was dark, 1:10 AM on August 17th. We walked in to find our home had been ransacked. Burglars had entered through an unlocked window. They took family heirlooms, jewelry, china, my father's gun safe and the sense of safety and security that are part of my earliest memories. Fearful that someone might still be in the house or on the property, Alanna and I and the three dogs exited quickly. 10 minutes later, we were walking in to my cousins house down the road to spend the night.

I had just kneeled down on a comfortable mattress and placed my head on a pillow, all the while processing verbally what had just transpired at the house. My cell phone rang at 1:26 AM. God quickly put this loss into perspective. The voice on the other end of the phone said, "Christie, your father is having a stroke. We need to get authorization for treatment."

Dad suffered a "classic left temporal stroke" just hours before being discharged. We got into the truck and drove back to San Francisco. Processing the burglary was put on hold.

I can only explain what follows as miraculous. The beginning of the miracle is that the hospital had wanted to discharge him on Friday. Had they done so, my father's stroke would have happened at home. Because he was in a certified stroke center, he was able to get treatment with TPA at the beginning of his stroke. He even put himself on the gurney that took him to ICU. But he quickly deteriorated. It was not looking good. He was in agony, unable to communicate and physically agitated. We were all heartbroken, including our nurses, surgeons, therapists. Everyone had worked hard these past months, getting him recovered to the point of going home. Now it would start over from the beginning, if we were lucky.

Some thirty hours after his stroke, at about 5 in the morning, my brother called to say that Dad was talking. Really talking! At 7:15 am, the phone rang. It was Dad. He asked Alanna for Grandma's cell phone number. Overjoyed is not an adequate word. "He said sweetie!" Dad is more himself than he was the day they were going to discharge him, even giving us the familiar "hang loose" sign with his right hand. We haven't seen this since before surgery. How many people have a stroke that leaves them better off than before? Neurologists can't explain it. But I can. Our God is good. He hears our prayers. He carries us when we cannot walk. He holds us in the palm of his hand. Amen.

"It may be raining, but there's a rainbow above you" ~ The Eagles

This was the best weekend at the ranch in a very long time! Just look at that beautiful fence and gate. Thank you cousins, Gino, Becky, Tonya, Lee, and my godson, Xavier. The orchard is fertilized just in time for the rain that is due mid-week.

Life has been a bit hard lately. This fence and gate will bring back some security that took leave last week. It also reminds me that working together accomplishes much more than the task at hand. I'm thankful for the gift of time my family has given me and the sense of peace this gate returns.

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it." ~ Margaret Thatcher

"Don't trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you." ~ Grandma Klare

The cold, wet weather this year should be good for our walnuts. They got more than their required chilling hours and all this water percolating deep down into the soil is certainly welcome! The Black Walnut trees are already leafed out.
Catkins can be seen on the English walnut trees. (Look closely and you'll see them hanging down off the twigs.) We're lucky to have late blooming Franquette variety as it snowed this past week. (Didn't stick, but still darn cold.) Wildflowers are now beginning to bloom. So beautiful here in Fair Play this time of year.

It is supposed to rain this week. We sure hope the rain doesn't interfere with pollination. But like Grandma used to say, no sense worrying about things till you need to. I'll be watching closely for those tiny little green walnuts......

Springtime at the ranch (not quite)

The skies were blue today. The sun was shining and the wind blowing lightly. Our walnut trees just barely show signs of awakening. The orchard grass has begun to grow. Three deer stood, nibbling away, a mother and two youngsters. They didn't mind me watching for a long time, but bounded off into the scrub oak when I walked across the porch to get a better look. The daisy near the side door of the house looked very thirsty, the Grosso lavender didn't. I watered them all, just for insurance.

As the sun began setting, a cool mist enveloped me. I went inside, gathered my belongings and prepared to head back down to the Bay Area. I always hesitate as I drive away. This time, I slowed down, deciding to turn around and drive downhill to check on my home brew in the cold cupboards at the cabin. The road between the house and cabin has huge ruts, another thing to put on our to do list. A little daffodil under the cedar tree greeted me as I walked in the gate. The alyssum and viola are blooming in the wine barrel planter. Sage and Rosemary are in good shape, and as I pinch the leaves I am reminded of how fun it is to walk outside to gather herbs for dinner. Miner's Lettuce abounds. Inside, the cabin is as cold as a refrigerator. The Nocino and Vin de Noix are just fine. I haven't been down here since the big storm in December! But all is well.

Abi says it's supposed to snow at South Lake Tahoe tonight, but it's 67 degrees so she can't figure out how it's possible to get snow. Master Gardener training today was on vegetable growing in the foothills. They say no snow on the dogwoods yet, so it's too early to plant. I wonder how cold it will get at the ranch tonight?

Rain started falling hard by the time I reached the Sonoma County line.

Bottle, bottle, who's got the bottle?

When we were little, my "Grandmommie" (Ruth M. O'Kelly Clary) would play a game with all of us Clary grandkids. We would sit in her living room, lined up on the leather couches with our hands clasped as if in prayer. She held her hands in the same way, hiding a small button between the two. As she walked past, she slipped her hands between our two and a lucky cousin would find themselves the fortunate recipient of the button. It was kept secret and necessitated a good poker face. Another cousin would then be chosen to say, Button, Button, who's got the Button? A guess was made, and the game went on. What fun memories.

What should the Vin de Noix bottle look like? It needs a good shoulder so that the sediment doesn't end up into your glass. It needs to be flint or antique green because the deep brown red of the Vin de Noix may surprise some in the clear one. I have time right now to do some internet searching. I wonder which one we should use? These are some to consider... bellisimo, delgada... Bottle, bottle, who's got the Bottle?

Water, Wind, Wood, Work

The rain has been coming down in torrents. The wind has been gusting as much as 60 miles per hour! Last night the National Weather Service said 2-4 inches of snow would still be on the ground Thursday morning. I skeedaddled down to the Bay Area when I heard that. (I wasn't driving to work in awful weather this morning.) Another tree fell across Perry Creek in this storm. (PGE does no one a favor when they top those pine trees. They inevitably die.) Between the heavy snow in December, the rain this winter and these high winds, any weak trees still standing are coming down!

My oldest daughter, Alanna, and her boyfriend, Patrick, have been at the ranch the last few weekends. They worked hard to cut the downed trees and limbs, just the right size for a fireplace. Some were walnut trees that had to come out, others were oak trees that had to be removed to make way for the road and power to the new house. The orchard is looking downright cared for! Mom and Dad were up this past weekend, too. Dad sharpened chainsaws, Mom cooked great tasting meals. We even did some re-organizing in the barn!

It's so nice to have a warm and comfy house to retreat to after a days work. Still have lots to do.... but that's how it goes on a ranch. I'm looking forward to being together with family again this weekend. Never an empty to do list 'round here!

Back Tracking - March 2008

In the spring of 2008, the old home on the hill went on the market. There is a lingering sense of loss that remains physically painful. As a tree that has been uprooted must "feel". Walking out the door, abandoning pieces of myself, my family history, my dreams. My great grandparents had left their home back east to build a new life on this ranch. Did they leave by choice or by circumstance? I don't know.

I was afraid that if I left this ground for temporary housing elsewhere, we might never return. So my youngest two children, three dogs, and three cats moved into the cabin, which Dad had built in the southwestern corner of the ranch during the 1970s. We have wonderful memories of family gatherings at the ranch. There was never quite enough room for everyone at Grandma's house during harvest so we would sleep here, all cozy together in a scene reminiscent of "The Waltons", a television series set during the Depression.

"The house is enveloped in darkness, save for a light in an upstairs window. Through voice-overs, two or more characters have a very brief conversation, often humorous and related to the episode (our day), and then each family member would bid each other good night, one at a time." Good night, John Boy. Good night, Mary Ellen. Yes..... just like the Waltons.

Whether by choice or by circumstance, change comes. With God's help and perseverance, we've seen through tears to new possibilities. This (not so) little piece of ground will finally get the attention it has deserved and the pioneer spirit of our ancestors will live on.

Whether by choice or b