the land: living in the national forest.

my entries this month are going to focus on the land. now that i've been here for 6 months, it's nice to have some perspective on living in the san bernardino national forest.

i came from living in state forest in the hilltowns of western massachusetts complete with gently rolling hills and scenic new england towns to slightly steeper elevations of the high desert. i still remember driving up from the desert into the forest and seeing the marked change from craggy desert land to the ponderosa pine forests. i've slowly connected to this place, not as quickly as i connected to the forests of western massachuestts. my home in massachusetts had hallockville pond to its favor which provided year-round entertainment with polar plunges and ice skating in the winter and summer swimming. there was also the pond loop which i walked most days there...

but the land in the california definitely has its perks, too. since i'm up in the high desert, there aren't too many different species of trees and plants, so it was easy to learn. i'm starting to notice plants that i don't know now and need to keep reminding myself to bring a field guide out the next time i go on a hike.

it was interesting to experience fall here with out the dramatic color change of leaves. since most of the forest is filled with evergreens (pine, fir, and cedar), only the oak trees changed color (with some willows and alders closer to waterways). now the land is covered with a blanket of snow. most of the snow has yet again melted off and considering that it is already march, it might be safe to say that this is the mildest winter i've experienced in my life.

in other life news, my bread baking adventures have continued. i baked a monster loaf of garlic rosemary bread followed by a more appropriately sized honey wheat loaf. i capped the week off by making maple-cinnamon challah bread based on this delicious recipe. along with my friend karis, i also made some chickpea burgers with homemade buns! so delicious.

i finally got around to cleaning my car out this morning and found a moldy orange, a snow shovel, a tent, lots of directions to random places but the best thing was finding a $20 bill underneath the driver's seat. holler! then i found $2 more wedged between the seat and the center console. that combined with submitting my federal taxes (getting a nice refund!) made today very good financially for me.

that's it for now. more musings (and hopefully pictures if i can get to a high speed internet connection) to come later!