Leaving our home in Lafayette was difficult for one reason more than any others: leaving my animal friends.  The deer and the turkeys are a memory now.  They were both a pain in the rear end, but I still wondered if I would miss them.   I thought I was coming to The Big City of LA, and discovered I was actually coming to Orange County – no more crowded than the Bay Area in reality.  It comes complete with a mountain the size of Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County.  Mt Diablo has a rich geologic and spiritual history.  It rises up rather suddenly out of the valley and its modest foothills to close to 4,ooo feet and, like a chameleon, takes on the character of whatever surrounds it that particular hour of the day.  Misty pastel colors in the morning, fiery gold in the evening, a dusting of snow after a cold winter storm, and every mood in between.  The area’s artists have a field day with this quintessential symbol of the county.

Here, I have been comforted during this transition by Saddleback Mountain – which also seems to be out of place among the valleys and seaside, and which rises to close to 6000 feet.  I think this whole business would not be as pleasant without turning a corner to see Saddleback exhibiting similar wardrobe changes as those of Mt. Diablo.  Gorgeous cloud formations, light, colors and shadows dress Saddleback up throughout the day.   When I was first here, it was a bit abrasive to me – you couldn’t fool me, that wasn’t Mt. Diablo.   Within a few weeks my soul embraced it as Mt. Diablo’s cousin – more than eager to please me with it’s own brand of hospitality and beauty.

Tonight I am compelled to write because we have a mockingbird.  We had them in Lafayette, too, and because I was given the gift of bird appreciation by my parents, I never felt compelled to find an all night Wal Mart in which to purchase a BB gun when they serenaded me in the middle of the night.   The one in my back yard usually sings just as the sun is going down, and boy does he have a repertoire!  I was already giggling as I stepped outside to get a better ear on him, and was full on laughing by the time he flew away.  He must have made twenty different sounds during the 10 minutes I listened to him.  Pure bird lover’s delight!   Chortle this and chortle that, tweety tweet tweety tweet, chip, chip, squawk.  You name it, this guy has all the vocal moves.

The hillside garden (which I don’t even have to mess with, it just kind of does its own thing) attracts hummingbirds, cooing doves, jays and a whole host of other birds I haven’t had time to really watch.  We also have bunnies, some little, some the size of a cat, all of which drive Ed the Dog absolutely out of his little doggie mind.  It’s very comical – yesterday after he whined for twenty minutes I finally let him out.  He was out on the hill, just inside the portable green wire fencing I put up,  (when he’s really nuts he flies out of the house and practically breaks a leg jumping over it)  sniffing away, when Peter Rabbit dashed across the grassy area just outside the house, Ed totally oblivious.  I didn’t tease Ed about that lack of hunting ability…too much…

Being southern California, we have lots of those little lizard-y things, some of which are not so little.  I had a dream that one was in the house last night.  At least I think it was a dream.  I’ve had them up north on occasion.   I have been worried about rattlesnakes but have been assured that unless you are in an area that is being built up you are probably safe, unless you’re hiking in which case I’ve been told that their rattle is very distinctive, impossible to ignore or mistake, and gives you plenty of time to retreat.

Finally, one advantage of no deer:  Absolutely huge and stunning rosebushes next to the house on two sides, full of buds and opening and opened roses.  This is one of my dreams come true.  When I used to work in the hospitals, patients would often have a container of home grown roses in their rooms from their local friends.  I lusted after bouquets like that and now I can have them.  We won’t be staying at this home forever, but I know now that I want a house with lots of southern California sun.  Why be here, otherwise?

I think I’m going to like it here.  Someone once told me when I was moving somewhere: “Don’t worry, Mary, you make friends easily.”  At least I know that is true about my nature friends…I like them all already.