As the lockdown seems to be moving toward its end, we can't help but daydream of trips to foreign lands where people speak different languages and eat strange foods. At least we don't have to miss the garlicky, buttery escargot from our last visit to France! We found all these last week in our garden - right here in Soquel! The little slimy buggers have to fast and then are fed a neutral diet, then boiled…

[video width="1920" height="1080" m4v="http://wellstoneredwoods.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_2280.m4v"][/video] We got ourselves a few more pandemic chicks in March, as we did last year. We have more than enough chickens providing us with eggs, but these ones are for meat. Yes, we are going to slaughter them and eat them! They will be delicious! And in the meantime, they make for excellent babysitters.    

  If you've been here, you know how much we love the redwoods and the trails leading into them. Maybe one of our interns has walked the loop with you and you got to breathe the cool, clean air down there. We've walked the trails many, many times and even our children know the way by heart. This last time we wanted to do something different, something a little weird and exciting. Exciting for another family…

    This year we've had a lot fewer writers stay with us, as you may have guessed. In fact, we've had as few guests as ever before since Steve and I started living in this special place. At first we were guests ourselves (and in ways we will always feel like guests here ourselves) and then with time we became codirectors and owners. But in truth, we will never own this place (literally and figuratively), but…

    We think finding reasons to be grateful is always a worthwhile endeavor. It's too easy to succumb to feeling hopeless and inadequate to face all the new challenges. But not us! It turns out that life just keeps on going, and so we find new ways to feel close and show our love for each other. We get creative. Like these two young women above who have helped us out so much over recent…