Aug3

Book Review: Sapiens

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Book Review: Sapiens

Sapiens AudiobookFeeling stressed really impairs my ability to read. I find it hard to stay focused so I have been listening to audiobooks. Sapiens now has available a “graphic history.” I read part one as an accompaniment to the audiobook, and part two has just been published. I enjoyed seeing the images of the now-extinct animals.

Sapiens takes us on a trip from the earliest appearance of humans on earth, up to the current day. The author makes the point that we evolved to be hunter-gatherers and our recent development of agriculture and technology seems to have overtaken our biological penchant for living and working in small groups. He ends the book with the question, “How do we want to be now? Who do we want to be?” I can see why back-of-the-book blurbs were written by the likes of Bill Gates and Barack Obama.

According to Wikipedia:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is a book by Yuval Noah Harari, first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011 based on a series of lectures Harari taught at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in English in 2014.

SapiensGraphicNovel

Aug1

My Turkey Family

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My Turkey Family

turkey eggs
In mid-June, I was using the hose to water the shade trees and suddenly a turkey hen burst out from under the spear-leafed phormium, revealing a clutch of eggs. I caught myself before I hosed down the eggs and the hovering hen. She stayed for a month, never seeming to leave her spot in my front yard. Google told me that she would lay one egg a day but that they would all hatch together and the hatchlings are called “poults.”

Then, two weeks ago, she was gone, leaving this behind. I think that half of the 10 eggs hatched. I never saw her again, or the poults. But I feel like a grandmother.

Jul29

Vagus Nerve: High-Tone, Low-Tone Dorsal

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Vagus Nerve: High-Tone, Low-Tone Dorsal

Vagus Nerve High-Tone Low-Tone dorsal

As I learn more about Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges, I am starting to understand why experts say that one must be in the Ventral Vagal state to really heal. Starting with an image from an article in Frontiers in Psychiatry written by Swiss researchers, I added information on high-tone and low-tone dorsal from Meditate Not Dissociate.

Adrenaline is like stepping on the accelerator; ventral vagal is the ideal coasting state — generating nice Alpha waves, relaxed, engaged, compassionate, fully-present-emotionally, “tend and befriend” or “feed and breed.” Low-tone vagal is described as a gentle brake on the nervous system, allowing a calming/relaxed and alert state, “rest and digest.” High-tone vagal is slamming on the brake and accelerator pedal at the same time. It LOOKS calm, but inside the systems are disintegrating. The graphic below describes three states, but there are really four.

three states of vagus behavior

Update August, 2021

As I continue to watch Stephen Porges videos and participate in Rick Hanson on-line meditation sessions, I have refined the graphic. This version clearly shows that the ventral vagus, which develops myelination through interaction with caregivers, stops at about the navel, while the unmyelinated vagus, fully-functional at birth, extends all they way through the intestines. I lined up the stomach with the direction the brain is facing on this version, and clarified that high-tone dorsal (stuck in the high-beta wavelength of fear) is like pulling on the hand-brake while still in gear.

The myelinated ventral vagus is a state of biological relaxation where one can play, including wrestling the way puppies do or touch football, and still feel safe and connected. It is the interoception of the cues of safety from the ventral vagus that allows play. Modulated voice, smiling face, welcoming vibe. The ability to sit still and listen to another.

Jul24

I bought A Painting

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I bought A Painting
painting by Isabelle

á la soupe, as hung

In 2014, I took a Sierra Club trip to Loon Lake, led by Isabelle. I met Liam on that trip and taught him how to say “buon giorno!” I returned to Loon Lake several times, including this private trip, also with Isabelle and Liam.

Isabelle was born in France and her father bequeathed her the family stone cottage in the southeast part of France, about an hour from the Rhone river. She would go back every year to make sure it was okay and to keep her ownership intact. The pandemic took a financial toll and Isabelle decided to retire, which required moving back to France permanently.

She decided to sell the oil paintings that were studies from her portrait class. This is titled “á la soupe” because that is what the French say when it is time to come to the dinner table. “French people eat soup for dinner,” Isabelle said.

 

Isabelle said that the decision to retire was difficult because she had spent about 20 years building her business as an acupuncturist. Her resilience shows in her journey of self compassion.

Jan17

Lake Hennessey 2021

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Lake Hennessey 2021

Spent a beautiful Saturday at Lake Hennessey with the Marin Canoe and Kayak club. This is a great winter paddle because this area is too hot in the summer. About an hour drive to the lake and a pleasant eight mile paddle from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a pleasant stop for lunch.

Kayak club at Lake Hennessey

Marin Canoe and Kayak Club


Lyz took this photo with her cell phone as we waited for the others.

Lake Hennessey kayak

Enjoying Lake Hennessey

Lyz has a folding “origami” Oru boat.

This is the path we paddled, about eight miles. The lunch spot, with a porta-potty, is marked in red.

I drove along Silerado Trail to witness the Glass fire burn, and on the way back I took Chiles Pope Valley Rd. I realized that there is still “nowhere” available in this state. The pastures, which are supposed to be emerald green in January, were not because the year has been very dry so far. Not a good omen for this wildfire area.

Chiles-Pope Valley Rd.

Dec15

Facebook Hou-Dunnie

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Facebook Hou-Dunnie

Jim DeRoche posted this on Facebook with the comment, “It’s not.”

My comment:

When I was a toddler, my parents used to tie me to the highchair in the kitchen, then go to the front room to play Bridge with their friends. I was so adept at getting free, their friends called me Hou-Dunnie.

His reply:

Anyone, who is incarcerated or held against their will in any manner, possessing the mental toughness and heart to stand against their circumstances, I have great respect for always. Anyone, who adds a 3-D component to the mental one, physically demonstrating where their heart is by successfully going over the wall in any manner and beating the opposition, I have even greater respect for always! Love that move you pulled, reversing your parents sketchy binding caper, defiantly executing a move superior to that perpetrated against yourself and winning the evening. That’s a keeper of a story! ?❤️?❤️?

Yeah, well I have 10 younger siblings, and I have more stories about bound toddlers. But… another day…

Anet Dunne Crack me the F up!

Dec2

Walker Creek Paddle

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Walker Creek Paddle

Deb turner organized a Wednesday outing to Walker Creek which started at the Keys Creek Put-in. Justin joined us to further scout after an outing with Miguel from Marin Canoe and Paddle a few weeks earlier. A cool, 65° day was predicted but it was warm in the parking lot.
Walker Creek Put In

There was a 5′ high tide at 12:20 pm, so we put in at 10:30 am and paddled upriver with Justin who would stop and use his lopping shears to remove overhangs. At noon we hiked to the top of a hill with a magnificent overlook of the valley shadowed by the coastal mountains. The sun went behind the clouds and a breeze came up — I regretted leaving my compression shirt in the car. We took a short hike on the valley floor and saw some beautiful owls fly away. My knee-high rubber boots were adequate for the short hike.

Walker Creek Satellite Map

Red circle: estimated lunch spot

The creek is beautiful and lined with a variety of riparian trees: birch, alder, bay, and sycamore. There are many submerged logs, so a 5′ or higher tide is necessary to clear the logs and it was like paddling a slalom in many places. I think my short Kiwi boat would have been a better choice than the 14′ boat. We saw a river otter early in the trip, and as we went farther up, the water becomes very clear. When the sunlight hits the surface you can see the bright green grass growing on the bottom.
Walker Creek Map

On the return trip, we saw some ENORMOUS brown cattle with big horns at the crest of a hill where a subsidiary creek enters. We were all wondering what cattle breed we were seeing. The paddle back took one hour and the outgoing tide was clearly moving, so a shorter boat would have been fine except when transporting tree loppers as both Deb and Justin were. It takes about 45 minutes to drive from Santa Rosa to get to the put-in. This was a sensational day trip when the tides are advantageous! Very beautiful and satisfying, with a real sense of visiting a place rarely seen. I almost didn’t see it — I missed the turnoff to the Petaluma-Tomales Road twice!

Two Rock Turn Off

Nov13

Frida Kahlo at the DeYoung

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Frida Kahlo at the DeYoung

Frida Kahlo at the DeYoung

My artist friend, Sue, drove up from Santa Monica to join me for a visit. It was nice that the gallery wasn’t shoulder-to-shoulder with visitors like some previous special exhibitions. This show captures the time when women were objects — I find it useful to think of them as products of their own marketing. Examples from my youth: Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Maria Callas. Like Frida, each was exquisitely aware of her public persona and cultivated it carefully.

Back in Frida’s day, art was narrowly defined by the kinds of things you see in the Louvre: pastoral landscapes, allegories, myths, biblical stories, heroic battles, portraits. This show is much more personal and feminine, and I was stunned to learn that her foot had been amputated and that she died before her husband Diego who was 20 years older. I was also surprised that her father, G. Kahlo, was German-born, and that the Casa Azul belonged to her because her father had bequeathed it to her.

The photographic portraits of her were very interesting to me. Her father was a professional photographer so she knew how to “sit” for a photograph and many famous photographers (Weston, Dorothea Lange) made portraits of her. As her reliance on pain-killers increased, you can see it in her face in the images.

Her father made many photographic self-portraits of himself, and that may have influenced her many self-portrait paintings. The artist I went to the show with has NEVER done a self-portrait, and neither have I.

Of course, the clothes and the story behind the clothes was the centerpiece. I liked the show a lot.

Oct30

Van Damme Camp Albion River Paddle

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Van Damme Camp Albion River Paddle

Covid restlessness finally kicked in for me after seven months of seclusion. I joined Lori, Deb, and Liam for three nights camping at Van Damme State Park at the end of October. Liam and I shared site 009 and Deb and Lori were next door at 008 where they had the sunshine and free wi-fi that Lori loves. She joined a Zoom meeting with the Petaluma Paddlers one evening! This was my first visit, and not cheap! My half of the on-line reservation was $61 plus $10 a night for three nights as “extra car” for a total of $91. I discovered more private and forested campsites 27-30 deeper in the “lower loop” that are far from wi-fi and close to the Fern Canyon trail that I would like to try out when it is hot in Santa Rosa. Here is a link to a video showing all the Van Damme campsites.

Van Damme Campsite 009

Ft. Bragg Bike Trail

Wednesday Bike Ride

We all brought bikes, and Lori on her electric bike led us on a trek from the north side of the mouth of the Noyo River in Ft. Bragg to MacKerricher State Park Laguna Point for lunch. Because it is autumn, the rafts of ice plant that cling to the coastal cliffs were turning red, making russet caps on the ochre cliffs silhouetted against sea. I had not been on a bike for years, so the 11-mile ride was a stretch for me and for Deb.

Mercury is retrograde, and when we returned from the peddle, Deb’s car battery was dead (again). Liam gave her another jump start and we rolled into Mendicino Tow at 110 Manzanita St at the north end of Ft. Bragg just before closing to get a new one.

The scenery along the coastal trail was quite beautiful, with plentiful, colorfully-painted rest stops along the way (Covid petri dishes) and beautiful Glass Beach sparkling with the sea-softened remnants of a long-ago refuse site.

The next day we explored Big River at 9:30 a.m. to catch the high tide, but it was too windy so we drove south to Albion River Campground and paid the $5 per boat to launch. The river was beautiful, calm, dotted with unique houseboats. Deb and I got all the way to the “island” and explored the Lagoon on the way back.

Albion River Campground

Covid Line To Get Permit

Albion River

Beautiful Albion River

Albion River Owl Box

Owl Box Foreground, Lori in White Oru Boat, Deb in Blue Boat

Albion River Island

Deb Approaches Island Turn-Around Point

Albion River Island

Island Turn-Around Point

Albion River Kayaking

Heading Home

Mercury being retrograde, we got to see the Mendocino Tow people from Ft. Bragg again when we got back, because Deb accidentally locked her car keys in the trunk. Liam used his AAA membership for the call, and when Deb’s door was open and her key retrieved, the driver waved good-bye. Liam said, “Don’t you want my billing information?” “Nah, we have it all on file.” “See you tomorrow,” I chirped as he left. That night after fresh guacamole and white wine, we went to the beach across Hwy 1 from Van Damme.

The drive home on Hwy 128 is breathtaking through the Navarro section. Deb, Liam and I stopped to check out now-closed Paul Dimmick campground on the way back. No water, and the Navarro River is very low. The trip was great fun and I hope I beat the odds and will not get sick as a result of my adventure.

Two Hours to Van Damme

We Stayed in Site 8 and 9 near Campground Host and Visitor Center WiFi

Circled campsites 27, 28, 29, and 30 looked like the ones chosen by expert campers. They are deep in the campground, away from the WiFi and close to the very interesting Fern Canyon trail. I would like to check them out.