Swimming Hole

At the local river there is a remarkable jumping-off tree. It looks purpose-built. Non-swimmers can't fall off of it because it is on the far bank from the beach. You climb up to the tree from the river via soft, silty pocket steps in clay, then balance on horizontal branches worn smooth by feet. These are so sturdy that they are where the jumping-off line forms. And they are enveloped in glowing green leaves. You can jump from either of two low hanging branches. A rope hung from a higher branch can help prolong your fall. I had a lot of time to memorize everything and enjoy it because I was much too frightened to jump. I guess it was fear, but it felt resolute. I was just certain that jumping was the wrong thing to do, as I told the children who stuck around for ages to encourage me. I was up there a really long time. I think it is out of fashion to call feelings primal, but it was a primal fear of dark water.  I have always been able to count on not being afraid of heights or other physical things. But, I am a bit glad I've experienced it. It had better not be ongoing.

Update:

I jumped off it and it was okay. I remembered to wear my contacts, so I think that helped. Also, I made these photos by swimming my camera across the river. 

Kraut

The highlight of my day today was driving to the grocery store. I had to hill-start my car because I the battery died from driving it so infrequently now that the water pump complains the whole way. It's a reliable car that never needs push-starting so I am a novice. I was pushing and pushing it with all my might, and it wasn't moving, so I took this photo to prove that it was on an incline. But it turns out I was either in gear or in neutral, whichever is wrong. 

At the grocery store I had to smile when I saw this Home Style Sauerkraut. I have only made kraut 3 times, but it comes out amazing because I use the same equipment, ingredients, and climate that my Dad has used to perfect the process. So I have this false feeling of mastery. 

And this is what it looks like, a gorgeous jewel. The reason it's pink is it's half red cabbage, half white, and the reason it comes out so good is that you crush the vegetables with your hands with salt for a long time and it breaks down. 

Kits

Baby rabbit day one, above, and day six, below. 

Mendocino County Mini Maker Faire

 I usually like to just take a good picture and then crop it, but lots of things I saw this weekend seemed to call for heavy filter use. Dawn and Dad were making hula hoops at the Willits Mini Maker Faire, and they brought me along to teach jewelry making with bike tubes, and it was fun and not too hot or busy. The focal point of the Faire was the gypsy caravan of a performer named Doctor Sol, whose magic show encourages children not to pollute. He does it as an 1800s carnival barker and even though  I heard it twice I didn't mind it.

The Faire was in the Roots of Power exhibit which is full of trains and lumber equipment. I wold have liked to make some drawings of the machines but I was too busy. After Willits we drove up to Lake County to gather Dawn's son. The lake county house is such a treat- it is in a vineyard and Clear Lake is just across the road. 

It was sunny but not hot so I couldn't bring myself to swim, but laying on the dock was almost as good. 

 One of Dawn's old friends spotted this tiny opposum, and Dad caught it so we could move it a few yards from the cabin, just to let it know it's not welcome to eat the recycling.

 Lake County is wonderful for plants, as is Santa Rosa. This is one of a stand of 5-7' tall fried-egg poppies.

I'm lucky I was spared nearly all the ills of working a fair-- overheating, sunburn, hoarse voice, sore feet-- I just got a backache from leaning over all day. Also my fingertips wore off but it wasn't visible.

Lifeguarding

My lifeguarding class is nearly all teens, including teens who have reached the age of majority, and I thought I had identified myself as an adult woman but I guess a lot of the teens didn't notice. So having them discover it was a bit of an embarrassing episode. No one has ever in my life thought I was my own age or older; I should have a medical alert bracelet made. They immeiately asked me about SAT scores, alcohol, and college, and I think I was a fairly good example on all counts. Since then I have been thinking about how much my life sounds like youthful imaginings. There's the whole trope of a camp boyfriend/Canadian girlfriend. I have an alive boyfriend, and we lived together for six months after he graduated college, but he lives in Boston. Now I just mail him sauerkraut and he mails me sweaters.

When I first left highschool for college I had a horror of being put back in high school or elementary school. I would have nightmares about it and everything. But now in my lifeguarding course I have a former juvenile hall teacher yelling things at me about responsibility and whatever, and it feels okay.

Lifeguard Cert Class

Usually everything interesting in my life is art-related, but not the Lifeguard Certification course I've just joined. The instructor asked us all to write down why we wanted to be a lifeguard, so I wrote about the drownings in Louisiana that made me decide I had a responsibility to be able to save swimmers. A large family was picnicking on a riverbank. None of the children or adults could swim, so when one teen fell off an underwater drop-off, several more followed to try to save him, and drowned too. I looked into it, and learned that it is unsafe to save a drowning person because in their desperation they will drown you if they are able, and that is when I knew I would have to be formally trained. The five allotted minutes passed faster than expected so I finished with, "I don't want to be helpless."

Almost all of the teens wrote that they want to be lifeguards because they love to swim and want to help people, and want a summer job. Oh. I honestly did not think of that. Swimming is my favorite exercise, but lifeguarding is sitting in a chair in the sun.

These teens have been in school all day, and now they are taking a 3 hour swimming + lecture class for 50 hours in two weeks. We get out at 9:30, and we got homework for tomorrow (but it's just reading). When will they do the homework? Teenagers are amazing! I was amazing in that indefatigable way as well. Get up at 7am to go to high school, bike to second high school for special class, bike back to first high school, then after school were committees to help the school, fitness club, or special-interest community college class. "peaking in high school" is for athletes, not students who spend all of their time reading and inventing weird little projects, but that was my peak to date for spending my waking hours progressing toward external, measurable goals.