Lizards

Lizards galore! ‘Nuff said.

Love,

Jenni

Pretty As a Peacock

While sight seeing around Lake Solano, near Winters, California, we happened upon

A gaggle of geese? No.

A murder of crows? No.

A bevy of quail? Nope. Not that, either.

We found a muster of peafowl.

Enjoy some pictures of these birds, who seemed overly friendly, gathering around me, waiting for handouts.

Peace and blessings,

Jenni

Come Walk With Me

Come walk with me and see what we shall see.

There are many joys waiting for you and me.

Come walk with me and discover something new.

My friend, come walk with me. Oh, how I miss you.

The most difficult part of leaving Portland, Oregon, was leaving all my friends behind and, of course, leaving my son. I spent years, growing in God’s presence, learning how to find and nurture appropriate friendships, and just when I find the most wonderful family of friends I could have ever hoped, God says, “It’s time to move on.”

Life seems to be that way, sometimes. We finally get “it” right (whatever it may be) and then life happens. Or, as in my case, God tells me he has a mission for me in the Southwest.

For the past several years, Ken and I have tried to start our travels, with only the intention of traveling, then eventually returning to Portland. For the past several years, God has put some pretty major roadblocks in our way. And He has also put a pretty major mission on my heart.

Over those years, I cried out, “I just want to leave. I cannot stand Portland anymore. Portland doesn’t want me.” With all the troubles I have because of the Northwest weather and other more personal issues, I no longer felt like Portland was my home. Yet, over those same few years, God planted the most awesome set of girlfriends in my life. Angie, Sandy, and Chrissie. He gave me these women to help me heal, and now that most of my healing from my past has taken place, He says, “It is time to go.”

My heart aches for my friends I left behind. And yet, I am full of eager anticipation for the new friendships I know God will plant in my life when He finally says, “Stop.”

I miss you, my sister, my friend.

So come walk with me, then sit a spell.

Let me rejoice in our friendship once more.

I appreciate all you have been for me.

More than you will ever know.

Love,

Jenni

EARTHQUAKE!

Festival, that is.

The little town of Winters, California, has a unique tradition. They celebrate the earthquake that shook their town in the late 1800’s. It was a lot of fun watching the dancers and listening to the music, but we weren’t much into the drinking atmosphere, so we didn’t stay all night.

We ended our evening by having dinner at The Preserve, a trendy (as trendy as you can get for Winters, anyway) little bar and grill on the main drag. They had an old shuffleboard table, and underneath, there were all these antique cameras. Too cool for this antiques and camera fanatic.

Thank you all for reading. It is a pleasure sharing our adventures with you all.

Blessings,

Jenni

Don’t Be Late For Dinner

On our drive to see part of Lake Berryessa yesterday, we traveled down the road toward Pleasant Cove and happened upon a ranch. In the pasture, I spotted one gray cow among all the angus. I asked Ken to stop so I could get a few pictures.

Lo and behold, when they saw our truck stop, they must have thought we were bringing dinner. We triggered a Pavlov response, and they began bellowing and trotting toward the barn, watching us as we slowing traveled down the road.

We laughed so hard, I almost forgot to take pictures.

But then, when we got a little farther down the road, we triggered the same response in a hog. What is it about our big white truck? Does it just scream, “Dinner’s coming?” The pig actually appeared to jump for joy when she saw us.

What I do know is that they made my day, to see these animals so excited by our presence, even if the local horses only gave us a passing glance and the wild turkeys ran for the hills.

Peace, love, and a good meal to you all,

Jenni

Winters Wildlife

Wildlife abounds in the Winters wonderland. Yesterday we went for a drive, heading back into town, and we saw this mama with two babies and also two more little deer families. Ken also spotted what he thought was a buck on the hillside above this trio. The proof is in the picture, and these are no deer. He has a good eye.

 

I feel blessed to be surrounded by so much raw and wild beauty. I hope these pictures bless your day, as well.

Love,

Jenni

Winters is Wonderful

Being the optimistic soul I try to be, at first I thought Lake Minden would be a great place to stay; however, a gazillion biting insects and unrelenting mugginess from the lake quickly changed my mind. I detest using the H word, but I hated it there. I have so many bites all over my legs, I look like a poor waif who lives in a flea-infested shack. Every time I stepped outside, I seemed to get another dozen bites, plus another swarm would zoom right in the open door. We weren’t safe, day or night, from their biting, blood thirsty ways.

But Winters is wonderful. We are staying at Canyon Creek RV Resort about ten miles outside of the town of Winters California. We hear the rushing water of Putah Creek as we drift off to sleep. And thanks to a wonderfully large number of bats, the insect population is manageable. Our first night, we watched the bats swoop and dive, as they gobbled up the mosquitos.

It is so beautiful here, my heart bursts with the joy of God and His nature.

Yesterday morning as he walked Tinker Belle, Ken discovered a patch of thistle being visited by butterflies. The thought of such beauty pulled me out of bed and out of my self-absorbed pain-pity-party (having done too much the day before) so that I too could see the wonder of God’s peaceful insects.

I leave you now with these beautiful pictures.

Love,

Jenni