"Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage."
C. S. Lewis

Tangleweed Farm




29 August 2010

Driving along a beautiful country road you will discover this treasure. If you've never been - plan a trip to Tangleweed Farm in Tehachapi -





You will find fresh cut flowers in season - sunflowers, lilacs, peonies and lavender as well as abundant organic produce. Spinach, lettuces, tomatoes, basil and chard to name a few. Ollalieberries, strawberries and raspberries are absolutely delicious. Let the season linger a little while longer by taking some homemade jam home with you. Laurie makes each batch herself with her organic berries.





Tangleweed has selected artisans that supply them with various goat cheeses, local raw honey, pasture fed beef, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I love to walk around the farm and never get tired of seeing something new each time I am there. Bring your picnic with you and take in the smells and beauty.

Tangleweed Farm is located at: 21192 Old Town Road, Tehachapi, Ca 93561 661.822.8806

Balboa Park - San Diego, California

16 August 2010
This is a departure from country living - but I hope you will enjoy it. We recently took a trip to visit N. in Carlsbad. While we were there we all visited Balboa Park. We had been there a few times over the years - but always for a particular purpose.

A little background - Balboa Park is 1200 acres perched on a hill above downtown San Diego. It is home to 15 different museums - Museum of Art, Museum of Man, Model Railroad Museum, Photography Musuem, etc. There are hiking trails, bike paths, a dog park and a botanical garden. What captured me (on this revisit) was the beautiful architecture. The first of the museums was built in 1874 and is the Natural History Museum. In 1915-1916 the other buildings were built to house the Panama-California Exposition - sometimes known as the first World's Fair. The architecture is Spanish Renaissance and it is beautiful.




One of the more recent additions to the park is a re-creation of the Old Globe Theatre based on Shakespeare's Old Globe Theatre in Stratford, England. San Diego's Old Globe was built in 1935 and has year round productions of Shakespeare's plays as well as contemporary works. If you've never been to Balboa Park - I encourage you to visit. You can get passes for the day and visit multiple museums in the same day. Here is the link: http://www.balboapark.org/

Buffalo or Bison


10 August 2010

Driving down the road from our house we get the daily opportunity to see our neighbors collection of unusual farm animals. I fell in love with this particular farm when we first starting visiting here. It is a new scene every time you drive by. Morning and evenings, the animals are very active and during the day it seems everyone is "napping". They have alpaca (in various colors), long horn cattle and bison. Today I'll talk a little about the bison. There is a male, female and their calf. The parents stay very close to this little one - he (or she) is never out of their sight. One time I saw someone stop by the side of the road to take a picture and I saw the male bison charge the hapless photographer. They are beautiful, massive animals. When I stopped to take my pictures all three of the bison were resting in the tall grass - I realized how massive they really are when I saw them up close. Some facts about the American Bison from Wikipedia:

A bison has a shaggy, long, dark brown winter coat, and a lighter weight, lighter brown summer coat. Bison can reach up to 6 feet 6 inches (2 m) tall, 10 feet (3 m) long, and weigh 900 to 2,200 pounds. The biggest specimens on record have weighed as much as 2,500 pounds. pounds. The heads and forequarters are massive, and both sexes have short, curved horns, which they use in fighting for status within the herd and for defense.

Bison are herbivores, grazing on the grasses and sedges of the North American prairies. They eat in the morning and evening, and rest during the day. Bison mate in August and September; gestation is 285 days. A single reddish-brown calf, born the following spring, nurses for a year. Bison are mature at three years of age, and have a life expectancy of approximately 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity.

For the first three months of life, juveniles are lighter in color than mature bison. One very rare condition is the white buffalo, in which the calf turns entirely white. White bison are considered sacred by many Native Americans.

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