Nota bene: No animals were harmed in the making of this post. The goldfish, once photographed for the purpose of this blog, was swiftly returned to its regular living quarters, alongside his fishy friends, which provides slightly more space than the little 19th century fish (or would that be leech?) bowl.
It has been an absolute age since I last updated Chronica Domus, but I return today, after a most leisured and pleasured month of rest and relaxation. Recharging one's batteries was in order and that meant unplugging from the electronic world and enjoying the pleasures that come along with the slower pace of summer living. As I reflect on the month that was, it really turned out to be not as slow as I had imagined. It was, nonetheless, supremely and deliciously enjoyable.
I busied myself in the garden, attending to the vegetables and flowers that went a little mad basking in July's warmer temperatures. Posts on my harvests will be forthcoming so please do come back soon to read about my gardening endeavors.
I received plenty of help taming the rampant lettuces and arugula from this little fellow that came to stay with us for the month.
"Hello, my name is Torty. I enjoy nothing better than a fresh patch of peppery arugula to munch upon"
Photo: Chronica Domus
Torty was perfectly content to take her meals al fresco in the vegetable garden, dining on fresh arugula, lettuces, nasturtium leaves, and flowers. She also developed quite a fancy for the first of the early apples that have already fallen from the branches of the Frankentrees. Tortoises are at once peculiar and fascinating creatures to observe. They eat with a high degree of precision, chomping through plant matter with alacrity, aided by their powerful beak-like mouths. They also wander around at a faster pace than might be expected, covering much ground with their stumpy little legs.
"I knew that bolted lettuce would taste delish!"
Photo: Chronica Domus
It has been quite the zoo around here as Torty was accompanied to her summer vacation home by her six room mates, the goldfish.
Photo: Chronica Domus
In addition to providing the care required of our new summer menagerie, we have been busy attending to a stream of house guests, the last of which departed yesterday. We ate wonderful home cooked meals together, visited restaurants new and old, enjoyed much laughter along with copious amounts of seemingly non-stop and dizzying banter. If it wasn't all so exciting and fun, it would be exhausting.
We also traveled across the Bay Area enjoying natural sights such as this...
This is the view looking directly overhead into a canopy of lofty and majestic Sequoia Redwood trees in Muir Woods - it is enough to make one's head spin
Photo: Chronica Domus
... and dramatic coastline views like these...
The rugged coastline by Sutro Baths in San Francisco
Photo: Chronica Domus
Late afternoon shadows along Monterey Bay
Photo: Chronica Domus
There have been lots of other not so natural but uproariously fun things too, such as the old-fashioned seaside attractions in Santa Cruz.
Photo: Chronica Domus
Photo: Chronica Domus
I also spent time in the auction room, causing damage to my bank account in the process and, far less bruising, at the monthly Alameda Point Antiques Faire. Again, I plan on writing posts on these in the very near future.
I had every intention of taking these home, until I attended the auction preview and realized how positively cartoonish this pair of marble Roman feet in sandals looked in real life - their footprint spanned fifteen inches in length, far too large for the area I had planned on placing them, to say nothing of their cumbersome weight
Photo: Chronica Domus
All in all, it has been a very busy and enjoyable month to be sure, but all good things must come pleasantly to an end especially when the rhythm of regular life beckons.
Tell me, how have you been spending your time this summer?
Lovely. Forty covets in one post, and all so real. How I'd love to see that coast and those trees some day.
ReplyDeleteAnd your Torty-Girl!! Our Grand-Tort Sheldon lived with us for a year and a half, eating his meals mostly on a flat plate on the slate kitchen floor (all fruit and vegetables minced fine in his own two-cup Cuisinart), and toured the yard beneath a big blue laundry basket, nipping at grass and clover and violets alike, as I watched his bobbing blue progress around the fence-line.
I thought at first yours was a Spur-Thighed Tort, for she has some formidable thorns on her front legs, but she's smooth and dainty on the rear ones---no match for Sheldon's enormous array of spurs all down his back legs---we always said that a closeup of him walking away would have saved the Lord of the Rings movies a bundle on CG and Creature Creation of monstrous war machines. If I didn't love him so much, he'd have scared me.
I'd have found the marble feet irresistible---"two vast and legless feet of stone," as Shelley whirled in his grave at the impudence.
Glad to see you back---I've missed your wit and words.
rachel
Hello rachel,
DeleteThank you, it is nice to have been missed.
Since my first visit to California, I've been awestruck by Muir Woods. We always endeavor to take our out of town visitors to this majestic wonder as there really is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. We can build the tallest buildings imaginable in record time, (and let's face it, most of the high-rises around the world look the same), but the tallest trees take centuries to reach their full potential and the towering Sequoia Redwoods are unique to our area. Please, do plan a visit one day soon.
Sheldon (wonderful name for a tortoise, by the way), sounds to be quite a character. I've fallen in love with our visiting tortoise and I'm sad to be sending her back this weekend to her long-term home. The thought of getting one for myself has crossed my mind, but I worry for any tortoise's long-term care due to their longevity. I hope Sheldon has made it into his carer's will.
John Muir of Muir Woods is certainly a name known to me, both because of his Scottish roots, but also his extraordinarily beneficial legacy on the vast wilderness of the United States.
DeleteMy brother is a devoted gardener, and there's a bit of the devotion in us too, and certainly a love of the great trees, which is always one of the huge draws of our visits to Scotland, which is in the offing.
Hello columnist,
DeleteI had entirely forgotten Mr. Muir was a Scot and yes, what a legacy (and a visionary) he has to have left us with such vast amounts of protected wilderness. So glad you and your family value trees as much as we do. Did you know that in 1945 the United Nations convened in Muir Woods to honor President Roosevelt? Today, there is a marker beneath the trees where they met.
Enjoy your visit to Scotland and make sure to take a walk or two in the woodlands while you are there.
Yes, Sheldon is well-provided for---the three children in the family are already bidding for his company in their own adult-hoods, and they're also friends with a well-known breeder who takes him home for a visit now and then.
DeleteI do not inflict my blog posts on others lightly, but Sheldon is so SWEET.
http://lawntea.blogspot.com/2009/05/grandtortoise.html
Hello racheld,
DeleteThat was a beautifully written post, and I'm glad you included the link in your comment so that I could read it. Sheldon is indeed a fortunate fellow to have you and your family provide the proper care needed for this curious little creature to thrive.
CD,
ReplyDeleteAs you already know, I've been busy as a North Woods beaver prepping for my book launch. Lovely pics and what a cherished invitation being your house guest must be.
You wouldn't be nearly as impressed with Torty if you saw GSL chomping down on some cheeseburger matter.
Hello GSL,
DeleteHah, thanks for the very colorful vision of you scoffing away at a cheeseburger. You might have just beaten Torty in the eating stakes I think.
Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank you Lisa!
DeleteWhat a lovely post from such a beautiful region of California. Torty brought up fond memories of a tortoise we owned by the name of Timothy. He would enjoy all that the backyard offered along with produce we provided. Then, sometime in October he would start coming into the house if the door was left open trying to find places to hibernate. Ultimately, he was adopted by friends who had a young son that had always wanted a tortoise.
ReplyDeleteOur summer in Southern California has been relaxing and slightly cooler than usual. We're convinced we'll be baking come September!
Glad you're back, I've missed your musings.
xo,
Karen
Hello Karen,
DeleteGlad to have awakened memories of Timothy for you. I had no idea tortoises hibernated when kept in southern California, being as it is a lot warmer there. Do you recall how you helped him do this, and what you did to prepare? I don't think Torty has gone into hibernation yet, but surely all tortoises away from the equator should?
Happy to read you are having a relaxing summer too and making the most of the cooler weather this year (must be a pleasant change from the usual punishing heat).
Oh I'm looking forward to the garden and antiques posts! Glad to see you're back, and have had such a relaxing time over the Summer. Torty looks like fun, was s/he the class pet that you were minding over the school break? Lucky Torty to get the fruits of the veggie garden though!
ReplyDeleteHello Heidi,
DeleteFunny you should mention the class pet. I do recall a tortoise in one of my schools as a youngster, but I never took it home. It was all about Paddington the hamster for me. Loved that little thing. Most of the UK's school aged children became very well acquainted with the life of a tortoise and its care, by watching Blue Peter, a children's program which also had a dog and a cat on the show as the resident pets. Each winter, we'd be shown how to box up the tortoise for hibernation. I think your children would love a tortoise as a pet. Much easier than a dog or a cat.
Gosh I am a sucker for antique posts!! Looks like you have had a lovely summer thus far. The summer is ok considering but I have stopped complaining about summer weather and reserve complaining for the winter months. I do love tortoises/turtles and am thinking about getting a goldfish funny enough! Enjoy the remainder of your summer.
ReplyDeleteHello Naomi,
DeleteWell, that makes two of us being suckers for antiques and their subsequent posts. I hope I don't disappoint.
Complaining about weather is a very British thing to do and I rather miss that quaint aspect of living in England actually. Nowadays, we Californians just complain about the lack of rain as the weather seems to stay constant for months on end unlike the UK which seemingly changes from one hour to the next.
Do get a goldfish, but make that goldfishes, so he/she has friends. They are beautiful to watch as they swim about in their glass tank.
You are coming back just as I'm going off for a bit. Our cook top blew off yesterday just as I was heating it up to make coffee. Not a good start to the day and the rest didn't get better.
ReplyDeleteTorty must have been in torty heaven in your garden. I am sure she will be quite distraught when she has to go back to her regular habitat. Imagine dining alfresco on arugula and nasturtium. Every once in awhile we get one around here but of course they are much smaller. They don't stay around long, particularly when they catch a glimpse of our Westie. Your stacation sounds wonderful. Wish I could say the same. Can't wait for the Fall and for your future posts!
Oh my heavens! A cook top blowing off does not sound in the least bit appealing, and very dangerous to boot. I hope you get that issue resolved quickly (and safely). Nothing should interfere with coffee making, ever!!
DeleteYes, I rather fear Torty is better off with us as her regular garden is paved over with not much opportunity for foraging and exploring. She returns on Sunday and I'm sad for it. By the way, we never see wild tortoises here, so you are lucky to get a glimpse of one occasionally in your part of the world.
Enjoy your break away from the blogosphere.
Hello CD,
ReplyDeleteSomehow we knew that you wouldn't just be whiling away your summer. It's amazing how the Sutro Baths look like an ancient ruin--a website I just checked says that they burned only in 1966. About those marble feet, I might have been much weaker than you in resisting their purchase.
--Jim
Hello Jim,
DeleteI'm afraid that "whiling away" is a personal goal of mine, but somehow I seem to fail at it as there is far too much to be curious in. Ultimately, that is what usually gets me into trouble and "down time" seems to vanish before my eyes.
Sutro Baths does indeed look like ancient ruins. Perhaps that is why I'm drawn to them. I've toured around many ancient ruins in the Mediterranean and there are many more I wish to visit on day. Hmmm... is that the same reason that I was also attracted to those marble feet I wonder?
Hello CD,
ReplyDeleteI had a sneaking suspicion you were making the most of the summer - good on you. A warm welcome back - I've been looking forward to our return.
Spud.
Why, thank you dear Spud. Yes, indeed, what turned out to be a slowing down period was actually filled to bursting with enjoyable activities and pastimes. As I wrote above, I shall be posting on some of what I got up to in the near future so please do come back soon.
Delete