dur comme un ane

hard as a donkey. hopefully the title of this post translates correctly?  :)  dear friends, my trip to the islands was sometimes dur comme un ane! we paddled for hours and hiked for miles (nine at one time!) many uphill and into the wind. oh but there are no words to describe the beauty. there is moisture on the island, unlike california, so there were wildflowers, and green. rolling green hills dotted with blossoms and the smaller island oak. birds sang well into the night and foxes scampered playfully (and sometimes annoyingly, one pooed on our cooler and another left muddy little paw prints on our tent, knock knock, let me in!) while on our hike we spread out a blanket near the top of montañon ridge and devoured our picnic lunch of salami and hard cheese, trail mix and tiny apples. we agreed there was no more prettier view, no place we'd rather be. sitting there together, with only the birds and the wind and the earth and sky. i'm reading robert louis stevenson right now, 'travels with a donkey' (hence the influence of today's post title) and wishing for just one moment i could put together words as r.l.s., to bring a moment to life... like these from 'travels with a donkey'... that truly describe our island time, "the view, back upon the northern gevaudan, extended with every step; scarce a tree, scarce a house, appeared upon the fields of wild hill that ran north, east, and west, all blue and gold in the haze and sunlight of the morning. a multitude of little birds kept sweeping and twittering about my path; they perched on the stone pillars, they pecked and strutted on the turf, and i saw them circle in volleys in the blue air, and show, from time to time, translucent flickering wings between the sun and me." sigh...
while chuck worked, guiding kayak tours, i read and knit and knit and read. the black shetland hap shawl, i'm hoping to make, destined for shetland islands this summer, now has it's beginnings on california's channel islands. if you'd like to know more about this national park (national treasure!) follow the links below.

 channel island national park

island packers (the boat to take you there)

channel islands outfitters (to kayak)

xoxo lori