The Calf Fire

Last Monday, my goal for the day was to get Oliver's doctor to send over the order for his brain MRI.  Getting Oliver figured out has been a top priority around here.  I sat down at the kitchen table to get some work done and make phone calls when I noticed how beautiful the grass looked outside.  I thought, "Why have I never noticed the true beauty of the grass before?"  I picked up my camera and walked outside to take some pictures.  Everything was peaceful and orange.

A few minutes later Oliver, Pearl and I noticed planes flying close to the house.  I looked up and saw a giant smoke cloud looming over the mountain.  I called my mom (my neighbor) and told her there was a fire outside.  We decided to call our husbands at work and ask them to come home.  Glenn drove home and shot this video about 20 minutes later while driving toward the farm.

It looked like a volcano had erupted.  I was starting to get scared, but couldn't help taking pictures of the fire balls that were exploding over the house.  Pearl was amazed by the planes.

A firefighter came over and walked the property with Glenn.  He told us to have a horse trailer ready to evacuate our animals.  

We began to frantically search for a horse trailer by posting on facebook and calling all of the horse people we know.  I found a woman with a trailer, but she was told by a firefighter she was not allowed to drive to our house.  I called a horse rescue place and they said they would come for our animals.  We had not heard anything from them for a half hour and time was running out.  A neighbor picked up our alpacas, then some strangers pulled over and asked if they could take Smokey.  We loaded Smokey into their trailer and watched them drive away.  They promised they would be back for our goats.  Glenn and Oliver spent an hour catching all of the turkeys, guineas and chickens and loaded them into the back of the truck.  Pearl watched all of the excitement from the front window.  I have never seen her more mellow.

Just as I started to panic that our goats were doomed, a cowboy with a white trailer pulled into the driveway.  I had no tears, but sobbed when I saw him.  I was filled with love and thanks and relief.  His wife, daughter and grandson jumped out and rounded up the goats.  You can see my dad in his business clothes chase one of the kids in circles.  

A police officer arrived to tell us to leave just as the last goat had been loaded.  I had a few minutes to run to the house and pack up my valuables.  I (gently) threw my two cats, our mice and a quail in the car.  I grabbed a box and put our framed photos and some baby things into it.  I saved my computer and camera.  I packed a suitcase earlier in the day and shoved it in the back.  Saying goodbye to everything else was easy once I had my babies strapped into their cat seats.  

The fire burned just enough to help us appreciate everything we have without having to lose anything at all.  We feel so grateful for all of the people in our lives.  

I watched with awe as my parents stayed with their animals until the very last minute instead of packing up "stuff."  I saw my husband in a new light when I found out he had gone back for Oliver's frog and fish and carried them on his lap in a mug and dish.  I appreciated my sister and her husband for making us dinner and giving us a place to stay.  I was amazed by all of our friends who offered to let us stay with them or take our animals.  

I was blown away by the kind strangers who rescued our livestock.

I will be forever grateful for the 900 firefighters who saved our farm.

So, now it is back to the regular dramas we have on the farm.  Oliver finally has his MRI scheduled for Friday.  We are loving all of these life lessons, but are really hoping for a break this Friday!

Daycationing!

As most of you know Oliver has been under the weather since January.  He has had endless tests and doctors visits.  We finally have a "solid" diagnosis for him: severe constipation.  Carrying this extra baggage around has made Oliver most unpleasant.  My easygoing boy has turned rather grumpy and has lost his usual zest for life.  In order to get him out of his funk, we have been taking mini-vacations every weekend.  Taking these short trips to the coast helps me realize how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place!

Morro Bay


I took Oliver and Pearl to Morro Bay a few weeks ago.  We went to the aquarium to feed the seals and then purchased shells at the shell shop (all this fun for under five dollars!).  Oliver brought his camera, so we headed to the ocean to capture an otter.  There were plenty of otters to photograph, but Oliver discovered something more exciting crawling among the rocks: squirrels.  We have dozens of squirrel shots.  He was proud of this shot because he managed to get three squirrels.  You should have heard the delighted screams.

Here is another squirrel shot.  I think it is quite good!

Finally, Oliver's attention focused on two sea otters.  He waited patiently as the two otters swam toward one another.  As the otters met, Oliver made his move.  "I got them mating, Mommy!," he shouted with pride.  If they were, it certainly was a quickie.  In any case, it made the teenage girls giggle nearby.  

Los Osos

The next weekend, I heard the weather was going to be warm, so I suggested we go camping.  We drove out to Montana Del Oro and found the perfect spot. 

The kids played in the water, dug in the sand, climbed rocks, found creatures, ate s'mores at night and had hot chocolate for breakfast.  It was 24 hours of bliss (minus the eight hours sleeping on the cold, hard ground).  

Cayucos

I have a friend with a wonderful worm/compost bin.  I lure Glenn down to Cayucos a couple of times a year to pick up compost for his garden. While we were there, we turned it into a mini-vacation day.   

We ate smoked fish tacos at Ruddell's Smokehouse.  Seriously, if you live close to Cayucos, you must have a taco here (and pack a sandwich because each taco is $5.50-yikes!).

We lounged on the beach.

Then we ate cookies at the Brown Butter Cookie Company.  

The icing went on the cake when we stopped by the hardware store to pick up some free popcorn for the kids.  What a great way to end a string of mini-vacations!

I'll be back soon for some more farm updates!

Christmas Card Outtakes

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is dress my kids in nice clothes and take them outside to try and get the perfect Christmas card picture.  The hardest part is picking out just one picture.  Generally all of the "no" pictures go into a folder never to be seen again.  This year I decided to publish the cute, funny and imperfect pictures from this year's sessions (Glenn didn't like my favorites from session one so we had two!).

So many of the pictures captured the love that Oliver and Pearl have for each other.  I nixed these sweet pictures because the kids weren't facing the camera.

Glenn thought we should have one of the pets in the card this year.  Pumpkin was featured in our card a couple of years ago, so we thought it would be nice to include Lotta.  Lotta really wants to eat our cat, Otter.    Otter decided to tease Lotta and walk by the photo shoot meowing.  Here we almost got a good shot, then Otter caused Lotta to jump up and knock the kids off of her.

Again, Otter disrupted this perfect scene.  All eyes are on him!

Not Christmas card worthy, but sometimes I love the "set up" pictures when I am checking the light.  Pearl is having a nice talk with Lotta in this picture.

Here are a few more of my favorites.  I hope those of you who receive our card this year agree with our final pick.  And if you are not on our list, but would like to be, please send me your address!  

Baking a Birthday Cake

I made it to the age of 33 without ever having made a cake.  For the past couple of years I have heard this little voice calling from deep inside, "Bake a cake, Jessica!  You can do it."  Cake baking is a talent that has been passed down from generation to generation in both of our families.  Glenn's sister can whip up an amazing cake creation for every occasion.  This cake she created for her daughter who loves skateboarding.

My mom (who once won a "Mrs. Betty Crocker baking award) has provided me with 33 fantastic birthday cakes over the years.  She is so talented, she began making Oliver's birthday cakes as well.  Here is the cake she made for Oliver's fourth birthday.  It was a pink castle and scary dragon theme.

Glenn and I knew we possessed the genes to make a pretty great cake.  We decided we would spend the day making a cake for Pearl's first birthday.  We sat down the evening before her birthday celebration and began to discuss the type of cake we would make.  Glenn searched for "pearl birthday cake" and this cake popped up.

"Perfect!," I said.  Glenn read the instructions and showed me what we would have to do to build the cake.  First we would have to start with a wood base.  Then we found out the shell is made of hardened Rice Krispies and is covered with colored fondant.  The pearl is even made out of chocolate and has an actual pearl necklace inside.  I knew we found the wrong cake-too damn fancy.  If you want to spend 1000 hours on a cake, read this: Freaking Hard Cake Recipe.  Maybe when Pearl is ten and I have made a few more cakes, I will give that one a shot.

The morning of her birthday celebration, we headed to town to buy all of the ingredients we needed to make Pearl's cake.  Glenn has made many cakes in his day and felt comfortable teaching us all how to mix eggs, flour and sugar.  The cake baking part went well until Glenn realized he doubled the recipe online, then doubled it again in his head.  Glenn tuned pale and began clutching his head like he was having an aneurysm.  I started yelling, "What is happening!?  Talk to me.  Someone call 9-1-1!"  He finally admitted his mistake and I calmed down.  Needless to say we had tons of batter.

Fondant making was easier than I imagined.  Thank you to Glenn for finding an easy fondant recipe.  Oliver and I greased up and kneaded and kneaded that sugar into something smooth and beautiful.

Glenn is somewhat of a master at using the rolling pin.  It is another one of his hidden talents.  I did not want to mess up the cake so far into the process, so I was happy to have Glenn roll the fondant into a perfect circle.  We frosted the cakes and added fruit to make it "healthy" and then Glenn gently rolled the fondant onto the cake.

Pearl went down for a nap, Glenn left to put the clothes out on the line and I was stuck with a perfect white cake to decorate.  I finally got up the nerve to add a pearl necklace to the base of the cake.  I took tons of pictures because I was sure I would mess up the lettering in some way.

I can now tell you how a doctor might feel during a complicated cardiac surgery or a pilot might feel knowing he has to land the plane in a river.  Cake decorating is really stressful.  I wiped my brow with a hand towel and went in with my first handmade string of lavender fondant.  Slowly I spelled out "Pearl" and added a "1" because there was no way I was going to write "birthday."  I added some pretty green pearls and then guarded the thing with my life.

And of course, she loved it.  Or the pretty candle. Whatever.

I have to say, baking a cake all day was pretty great.  This may be a new family tradition for us.  Happy Birthday Pearl!