It's been summer-like here this week, with high temperatures and still air. Late yesterday the fog rolled in from the Pacific, cooling the tip of this peninsula.
I picked up my 16-year-old daughter from her school in mid-afternoon and took her briefly by my office before driving her to the SPCA, where she attended the orientation for again counseling younger children this summer.
Later I picked her up and we went back to my house, where she didn't eat a thing. She said she's been nauseous and having headaches the past two-three days. But she's not the type to complain; she soldiers on, not missing any school days or other commitments.
This morning, for example, she is on a hike in the East Bay to raise money for Girl Ventures, the leadership/outdoors non-profit where she is on the advisory board. This is the group that sent her on a mountain-climbing trip to the Eastern Sierra last summer.
Julia has already raised $705 for the group (through this walk), 41 percent above her goal of $500.
***
Looking out the window or standing on the back porch, I survey my yard, blooming in this drought. That's thanks to my ex-neighbor, Jeremy, who filled the space with native plants. It may almost never rain in California these years, but our yard is filled with the colors of blooming plants.
Since they are native, they plants also attract many species -- hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, many other winged creatures -- that pollinate and thrive, water or not. It is a wonder to see, and a reminder how little we humans are, actually, in theways of the world.
The best we can do is adapt and play as useful and non-destructive a role as possible, as we go about our social and political mayhem.
I'd say a walk by a girl in the hills to raise money for other girls to gain confidence through outdoor treks is right in line with this philosophy.
You rock, Julia!
