Blown Away

California, it’s been said, has four seasons: mudslide, fire, earthquake & riot. Perhaps we should add one more: freak windstorms, one of which blew a giant fir down much too close to the Lodge.
  Life and limb.



Rural life allows one to have a business comprised of little yappy dogs. The neighbors aren’t close enough to be driven crazy. There’s plenty of ground for lovely walks far from the presence of traffic or people. On the other hand, rural can also mean funky sewer pipes (that had to be dug and replaced this week) and mammoth trees that will fling large pieces of themselves at you when disturbed by anything greater than a summer breeze. On the third hand, however, “rural” in this part of the country means a 10-minute drive to the nearest Starbucks.

Convenient pumpkin spice lattes at the risk of  being impaled by an errant windblown tree limb? Fair enough.