A few weeks ago, our friend Mike Canrinus passed away after a long struggle with an insidious illness that affected his brain. His wife, Francine, a friend for more than thirty years, could not have been more stalwart and patient as she fought for the best care possible for Mike and dealt with all the frustrations of his illness pattern, which was unpredictable day to day, all the while working hard to keep income flowing and raising their teenaged daughter, Anna. Both heroes. Mike had been a sailor and a yacht-outfitter, building his professional life around boats. We went on a few outings with them around San Diego Bay before his illness set in. We didn't travel to San Diego for the memorial service last Saturday, but I took one of the photos Fran had posted of Mike at the helm of a sailboat and made a drawing of it, accompanied by a poem I found and sent it to her. It's how we like to remember him.
Speaking of Saturday, my wonderful neighbor and friend, Lorri, and I had planned to go over to see a garden on the San Juan Ridge (oh, 40 minutes or so north-ish from here). I'd seen the notices in the paper every spring since we moved here four years ago, but had not yet checked it out in person . There's a religious community called Ananda that opens up its garden each spring for a few weekends to the general public.
It's timed to coincide with the blooming of 9000+ tulips and other gorgeous features, including flowering cherry trees, other flowering plants, Japanese maples and water features. Fortunately, though we were going through a long rainy stretch forecast to last through to Monday (accurate, as it turned out), Lorri and I went on Saturday morning when, though heavily overcast and a bit drizzly, it didn't actually rain.I could post pages of photos and still not quite communicate how beautiful we found it. I chose three to give you the gist (including one with Lorri in it).
It's a terraced garden overlooking the Yuba River, far below. Stunning setting. All colors of tulips. Huge pink cherry trees. Daffodils, pansies, camellias-- more than I can list here. There are little lawn strips and pathways to walk in between the flower beds as we worked our way down the hill. We tried to imagine it in the sunshine. Although the official visiting time ended last weekend, the head gardener said we could come back anytime to see it when the sun was out. We might. For sure, we'll be back next year. And the next.
Saturday afternoon, Mike and Rachel arrived to stay with us for the weekend. It was raining most of the time, so we didn't go out much, except for dinner at Plaza Jalisco, as you can see. Check out the tiny plates. Oddly, none of us had yet seen "The King's Speech", so we ordered it up on the telly. Yup. Good one, as advertised. The rest of the time, we just, well, hung out, as we say. It's just the sort of weekend we like--lazy and unscheduled.
So, that's it. Three-in-one. I like to think of myself as a responsible citizen, doing my part to conserve and preserve for future generations.
