Guerneville Column: March 2010

Well, we’ve gone from muddy and damp to muddy and sunny back to muddy, damp and freezing. I love being subject to Mother Nature’s consistently inconsistent weather patterns during this time of the year. I breath a cautious breathe of relief for the fullness of our reservoirs and the H2O saturation of the surrounding land. But now, I’m burning…itching!; itching to dig my hands elbow-deep into the dark brown abyss of soil, bugs and roots and create my annual failed masterpiece (well, at least this time I’m starting in March rather than May).

This year I’m feeling rather ambitious; determined to grow and harvest my bounty from the tender, microscopic seeds of life recently purchased on a beautiful sunny day. On this day, I decided to trade in the droning scenes of Hwy 101 and River Rd for the beautiful, mystic hills of Sweetwater Springs Rd. With my son in tow, a lemon tree bouncing in my back seat and a small fortune’s worth of seeds and flowers, we headed off for the twisting road of mystery. Then I was struck with an amazing view; oaks and bays twisted together, rudely interrupted by the thick trunk of a redwood, roaming up and down the majestic swells of land, lightly decorated with sporatic clearings of green, green grass. How could I NOT stop? It was adventure time! After about an hour of exploring, pretending to be little fairy people, and pondering the inner mysteries of a twenty-tree root system completely uncovered by the world’s tiniest stream, we found a moss-padded rock overlooking the “jungle” and my six-year-old son turns to me and says, “Mommy, this is the best day of my life.” I knew bliss at that moment; I knew that this place wasn’t just a spec on the planet at 38 degrees N, 122 degrees W; this place is the most sacred of all, touched long ago and now forgotten, only to be revered by passersby. Shangri La is in our backyard, and boy, do I thank all above, beyond, around and within that I get to live here.

Oo! Exciting news! I got my first correction! Here it goes: the “Mothers in Black” are not infact “mothers” but are actually “Women” in black. The “Women in Black” turn out to be a worldwide organization! Starting in Isreal in 1988 and now spreading to as many as 28 countries, “women, who are sometimes joined by men, provide strong witness to peace and grieve for all victims of violence and fellow sisters worldwide who are routinely victims of violence,” as told by the Guerneville Chapter’s leader “Kay.” I was astounded to learn that this little corner of the Universe participates in such a profound and deeply spiritual practice (well, ok, let’s keep religion out of this one) especially since most of us local-yokels thought of it as a neverending protest to the Bush administration. Thank you Kay, woman in black, for educating myself and allowing me to educate others in your efforts to bring some much-needed peace to our planet.
And speaking of Earth, how about celebrating it? There’s this strange occurrence that happens every three months as the Earth travels through space; it spins and wobbles its way through its orbit around the Sun. We call these wobbles “seasons;” or equinox and solstice. Coming up soon is the Spring Equinox and there’s a celebration at hand for y’all to go check out. Head down to the Guerneville Regional Library for an Equinox Celebration, March 27th at 2:00pm-3:00pm. They’re gonna have story-telling, songs, performances and headband making. Bring the family and sing in the Spring!

It’s great to have community come together, but seems that there is still some lingering confusion over our community services. West County Community Services vacated office nearly a year ago, leaving many locals unsure of what is still available. They are, in fact, still providing all the same services as before, the only difference is the location and their hours. They’re here Mondays 1:30-4:00pm, Wednesdays Noon-3:00pm, and Thursdays 9:00am-5:00pm and are in the Main Street-side of the B-of-A building. The hope is to one day extend the hours back to the full-time status as once before, but with funding cuts being as they are, it is expected to take some time. So if you are in need of food, housing assistance, or family counseling, drop on by during the above-said hours, ‘cause they’re there to help.

The month of March is going to be fantastic! My #1 most favorite person was born this month and for that I have much celebrating at hand. So, my Guernevillians, get out there, get dirty, and celebrate ‘cause Spring is on her way.