On Sunday, Kyle and I were sitting in our backyard, staring at the ivy. It is Afghanistan Ivy. Some brilliant person planted it back there 20-30 years ago, thinking it would make a reliable, drought-resistant ground cover. And boy is it ever.

See, in California, Afghanistan Ivy is an invasive species. It just loves it here. Nothing eats it. It spreads by root and by vine, both creeping under the soil and up every surface above ground. It winds around other trees like a boa constrictor and chokes them. And, when it gets very old, it grows into a tree and begins to make berries to further propagate itself.

We had two such ivy trees in our backyard, and subsequently, our yard is covered with ivy.

(In this picture, the ivy is choking the tree next to it. I don’t have a picture of the ivy trees themselves, but it gives you an idea of the back fence before.)

I have been dutifully killing it, but it’s coming back already, its shiny new green leaves waving like plastic lily pads at me. So on Sunday, Kyle asked me if I wanted to take down the ivy trees, even though it meant we would have less privacy in our backyard for awhile. I said yes. Or rather, YES. He got out the chainsaw.

I knew that taking down these two large trees meant that I would have less privacy. I didn’t realize how much it would open up the space, or how much sunlight it would let into the backyard. The ivy was dark, heavy, and full of bugs. As the trees came down, my backyard suddenly seemed huge and sunny. For the first time, I liked it back there.

As for privacy, I plan to replace the ivy trees with another tree, maybe an olive or something that flowers. But the truth is, I will probably never get rid of the ivy altogether. Even if I manage to eradicate it from my yard, the house next door has at least two trees of it.

Seeing those hated trees come down limb by sneaky limb was satisfying, let me tell you.

After about 4 years, my spider plants are finally reproducing. I can’t get over how lovely spider plant blossoms are. They are like a cross between an orchid and a jasmine blossom.

The birds are crazy this year. I hear them all day long. This morning I had a dream that hummingbirds were building nests in my backyard, and then I woke up and realized it was because the birds outside my window were so loud they had invaded my dream. A few minutes ago, a little bird lighted on the screen of my window with a twig in its mouth. Every time I go outside, jays are perching in the branches of my baby fruit trees. Yesterday, a black bird flew into my kitchen window, but didn’t seem seriously hurt.

The neatest part of all this is that a red finch family has built a nest in my garage. Every time I go into the backyard, the female flies away and sits in the branches of the mystery tree in an attempt to distract me from her nest.

The other day I decided to read outside. When I went into the backyard, the female flitted to the tree as usual. As I sat out there for awhile, she grew bolder and flew back to her nest and hopped around the outside of it, looking at me. Right as she was about to get back in it, she flew away again. I looked over my shoulder and realized that my cat Quill had entered the backyard. As he meowed and rubbed against me, the female bird sat in the tree and looked worried. After awhile, the male bird joined her. He was just like her, except he had a bright red neck and face. Together, they flew to the roof about two feet from the nest and looked over at Quill, who was rolling on his back on the cement and chattering at them. They looked so upset that I took pity on them and left the yard, calling Quill with me so that they could have their little bird family in peace.

The down side to all these birds is that I am trying to grow a. raspberries, b. strawberries, and c. cherries. It’s going to be a battle to get any of these for myself. Already, my bean seedlings keep mysteriously disappearing as soon as they sprout. However, there are very few pill bugs this year. It’s a trade-off.

The first fruit of my labor: a radish.

This weekend, I went snow-shoeing in Yosemite. It was the first time I have:

Gone camping in a national park

Stayed in a cabin covered with canvas

Done any sort of winter sport

Seen people ski

Snow-shoed

Snow-shoed on an expert trail

Eaten hot dogs in the snow

I had been to Yosemite a lot, but never with friends, and never to stay the night before. The park is much less crowded in winter and just as gorgeous.

El Capitan

The first day, we drove up to the park, found our cabin, and looked around Yosemite. By the Ansel Adams Gallery, a herd of deer were eating leaves in the snow.

We stayed in a heated tent/cabin–a wooden cabin frame covered with canvas. Yosemite at night is nearly as impressive as it is in the daytime. The snow glows in the moonlight, making for dramatic views even in the dark.

Sun setting on Half Dome.

The next day, we went snow-shoeing. As mentioned before, I had never done anything in the snow. In fact, I’ve only been in snow a handful of times in my entire life.

LtoR: Marcia, me, Kyle, Stephanie, Justin

We hiked up to Dewey Point, a 7-8 mile round-trip. At first, snow-shoeing was a lot of fun. It was surreal to see all the landscape covered with snow and to know we were walking on top of bushes. We didn’t see any wildlife–except for a spider–but we saw lots of cross-country skiers, all of whom looked exhausted to me.

Kyle jumping off a rock in his snow-shoes

Unfortunately, the trail we ended up on was somehow an expert level, which was a lot for the first time snow-shoeing. Turns out going up steep hills in show shoes is hard. On top of that, we were in a hurry because we wanted to make sure to get to the top of Dewey Point and back in time to return our snow shoes. I had a hard time keeping up with everyone.

However, at the top of the hill, we had hot dogs in the snow. Justin cooked them on his camping stove, which is a nifty little gadget. Having a hot dog picnic cheered me up.

Justin cooking the hotdogs

Dewey Point is alarmingly high up and there is nothing to prevent you from falling to your death. Kyle was very concerned I would fall, but I thought it was all completely awesome.

A shot of the drop–I believe that circle in the middle is a meadow covered with snow.

On the way back, we took an easier trail, which was a relief for me. Still, this was one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever done. It felt like we did 15 miles instead of 8 miles. Despite this, I’m really glad we went. Thanks to Justin and Stephanie for arranging it all.

Kyle and me at the top of Dewey Point

Wow! Scientists found a mummified dinosaur in North Dakota.

A newly found “dino mummy” has exquisitely preserved bones, skin, and possibly muscle and internal organs, scientists have announced.

The duck-billed dinosaur, named Dakota, is already changing theories of how the extinct creatures looked and moved—and may contain preserved ancient proteins that could better reveal the dino family tree.

Artist rendering:

Read more in National Geographic.

Any day you climb a mountain is a good one.

We stayed in Boulder for two days before driving practically straight home. On the first day, we went around the town, which reminded me of a prettier, more interesting Eugene, Oregon. Lots of dreadlocks, lots of college kids in vintage clothes, tea houses, awesome bookstores. We saw an exhibit on environmental art, which was mostly pictures of caribous and penguins walking on snow. Not sure what that proves, but okay. After that, we ended up at a local brewery eating buffalo steak and watching local sports fanatics cheer football on TV. Boulder made me want to be in college again.

The next day, we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park and hiked 6 miles to the top of Deer Mountain and back. We had a great time. It was an icy morning that turned into a beautiful sunny day. As we neared the top of the mountain, we encountered snow but by the time we finished the hike, it had all melted from the sun. The mountain is covered in fir and pine trees except for a few deciduous birches and alders that glowed bright yellow like patches of supernatural fire on the mountainside. And, as you might imagine, it was a really rocky hike. I saw a couple of birds, a deer mouse, and a tiny squirrel. No moose or elk, unfortunately.

I have pictures, but they are on my laptop right now. Check back to this entry later on to see some.

And now I am home petting my kitties and typing on a decent keyboard. Home!

UPDATE: Pictures

Quick Facts:

• Distance Traveled: 436 miles
• Lunch: Cracker Barrel, Kyle’s favorite restaurant
• Books Listened To: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
• Altitude: 6,000 feet
• Scary Thunderstorms Traveled Through: One
• Hotel: Red Roof Inn in Gallup, New Mexico

Kyle and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon three years ago, so we decided to drive straight through Arizona this time around.

The weather, for most of the trip, was perfect–75 degrees with a pleasant wind. Arizona is beautiful with a giant sky and huge clouds and zillions of juniper bushes that spot the landscape like a never-ending Christmas tree farm. The highway signs kept telling me to look for elk and rams, but the only creature I saw was a dead coyote on the side of the road. False advertising.

I did, however, see my first desert cactus.

At the end of the day, Kyle and I went to the painted desert and petrified forest. The painted desert was not as vibrant as it usually is because of a persistent thunder storm that had started about an hour beforehand. I still enjoyed the weird rock formations.

Now the petrified forest was amazing. The trees, which are millions of years old, are gorgeous amalgamations of colors–red, yellow, white, black, orange. Sometimes it’s hard to believe they are stone. Other times, it is hard to believe they were once trees.

A pile of rocks? No, the roots of an ancient tree.

The thunderstorm was the strangest one I have ever been in. Because the clouds were interrupted by the blue sky, you could see where it began and ended. As we drove into it, giant bolts of lightning twisted in the sky and when we got on the highway again, there was a giant rainbow that ended on the freeway. We drove right through it. (No pot of gold, though.)

Then, it started to hail. Soon it was hailing so hard, I thought it was going to break through the window. Lightning was flashing all around us. It scared me, so I put my hands over my face and tried not to freak out. After awhile, I decided that if the hail was going to go through the window, it would have done it already and started to calm down.

Just then, a giant bolt of lightning streamed down and struck across the freeway. It was so close, we could see how the end of the lightning looked like a red poker when it struck. I more or less held my breath from then on, and finally, we came out of it. The sunset that night was amazing.

Tomorrow: Santa Fe.

I just got back from a picnic on a hillside overlooking the ocean near Jenner. It was perfect weather, lovely company, and delicious food. There was also a wooly bear caterpillar which apparently turns into an Isabella Tiger Moth. I was excited because I hadn’t seen one of those caterpillars since I was a little kid.

It was weekend of views. Aside from spending an afternoon looking at the ocean, I went to the Sierra Mountains and visited my parents. We took a drive up the pass and I tried out the camera, which continues to amaze me. Setting actually makes a difference! It’s so fast! Details come out! I mean, you can count these pine needles:

Some other pictures:

This fisherman caught a trout a few minutes later

The road with the mountains in the background

Colorful foliage

Castle rock and clouds

Kyle’s birthday was a weekend extravaganza. We hung out with our friends, went to a wannabe-Speakeasy, ate Puerto Rican food for the first time, and spent Sunday with Kyle’s dad, who came down from Seattle to surprise Kyle. The three of us went to the beach, the redwoods, and took a tour of Korbel winery. We really know how to celebrate around here.

Here are a couple of pictures from the beach, which was fogged in, and the redwoods.

The pier off Bodega

I couldn’t get over the colors in the beach plants

Random woman in the mist

Kyle and Dennis doing important work.

In other news, I am going to get a new camera. I tried out the Nikon D40 and it is looking likely we’re going to splurge and get me one. I should have it in time for our cross-country trip. Hooray!

On Saturday, Marcia and I went for a hike at the Jack London park in Glen Ellen. It was a gorgeous day–if a tad too warm. We saw the ruins of the house of a famous writer, a mountain, vineyards, lots of dragonflies, and lizards–including the blue-tailed skink. We tasted blackberries along the trail, side-stepped poison oak, and were almost attacked by a giant butterfly. Then we ate our sandwiches by a green lake. Finally, on the way back, we had a good long look at a baby deer, which was eating a tree. It still had its spots and reminded me of Quill.

That settles it. Jack London Park is officially my favorite Sonoma County park.

Pictures:

Woman sketching the park.

Old tree.

The green lake

Weird thing sitting in the lake. Marcia and I couldn’t figure out what Jack London used it for.

Another shot of the lake.

Red dragonfly