Rose Valley Falls

here are the shots I took on our hike saturday morning. This is Rose Valley Falls, just up the hill from Wheeler Gorge. The hike was easy even for the 2 yr old and the reward was stunning. Come on, follow me up the hill!

We like to call these tree caves! Aren't you just waiting for the hobbits to come around the bend?

Greg and Alaster on the trail. only about a 1/2 mile to the base of the falls.

What??this is it????? No wait for it ....wait for it....
now look up!

this is the last part of the falls. It is visible about 3 miles off so you can imagine how tall it is. During a heavy rain year the water covers the whole rock face.

Still here....well we will see you on the trail!

Tent-a-cools in Joshua Tree next month!

The Tent-a-cools ride again!

Well, the camping season has officially begun. My camping buddies the Tent-a-cools met at Wheeler Gorge in Ojai, California this weekend to kick off this years camping extravaganza. We always begin the year here. It really is so incredibly beautiful as the photos show. And the nice thing is no real amenities ( flush toilets or showers). This keeps those with ......delicate constitutions out of the really cool spots. Call me crazy but camping for me is all about being out there in nature, cooking over a fire and peeing in the woods!

our camp was about 20 feet from this creek

the view from our table......

water runs in this creek all year round and you wouldn't believe the frog racket at night. Quite the serenade! Not quite sure how the frogs brave the water, cause man it was cold.

Downstream from camp.

and the best for last! The absolutly fabulous pop up trailer my honey gave me. It needs a lot of work but boy was it fun. Don't know if I can go back to tent camping after this.

how does my garden grow?????

here are a few shots of the garden! Spring is here and the garden is just starting to take off.

see the purple cabbage patch!

the oregano and nasturtiums are growing like mad...

my soon to be water feature amid the marigolds

the mint bucket over flows

and the grand fennel finale! enjoy your week.

party over here

My chickens think it is mardi gra! Quite a ruckus coming out the coop at the moment. You see mini belfry has been hired to create nest bedding for me out of recycled paper and this week he brought me Easter grass. It is lovely cream and gold crinkled paper shreds and the coop feels quite festive. Rest assured that when the chickens are quite through with the party, the shreds will then go to the compost heap and then on to the garden!

sadly no photos of the party but you should hear the noise. The neighbors are going to call the police!

How did you spend your hour?

Last night all around the world, people turned out the lights for one hour.

our earth needs a break so earth hour set up this event and it caught on like wild fire. Go check out their site for more info and a great map of all the participants. Here on the urban farm we were very excited. We had lots of discussions about Laura Ingalls and what is will be like when the big girl moves to her farm in Montana.

The high point of our night was bath time by candle light. We then climbed into bed with candles all around the room and read more of our new favorite book "The Secret Garden".

how did you spend your earth hour?

meet the dragonfly artisans

meet the dragonfly artisans

there was a photo here but i forgot to ask first. sorry for the tease.

On the left we have the most talented paper, front and center, our beloved belfry ( where else would she be) and on the right is me the maltagirl herself (otherwise known as soap). but wait one of us is missing....Felt, where are you felt. well my wand isn't working and she seems to have walked out of the picture for the moment. Go and check out every bodies blog and stay tuned for new projects, shop updates and show notices.

see alaster cook

Recently Alaster turned two! What did he want for his birthday you ask? No, not a grand party or even a pony (silly boy), no Alaster wanted to "TOOK mama". Translation, he wants to cook and cook he did. He helped me make vegan blueberry pancakes for the big day. By no means was this a passive event . He held the spatula and flipped the pancakes and helped pour in the batter. He was thrilled.

no fancy noise making toys for this kid!

just give him kitchen tools and he will be happy!