My alarm goes off at 6 AM. It's not easy to get out of bed when it's this dark and rainy. The weight of the duvets try to hold me down but I know at 6 AM, West Marin is mine and the drive to the ocean will be magical.
I have come to that point in life where the winter is a welcome friend. Wait, let's correct that, a California winter is a welcome friend. 58 F is freezing now. It's perfect, you can wear your cozy sweaters, rain boots and scarves and occasionally a hat but you still don't need to own a winter coat or gloves.
The storms came this week and they have been incredible. My head turned in shock at the first lightning bolt. I thought maybe something was happening on the farm but then the thunder came to confirm it. All night long, thundering and lightening. The entire town is talking about it. We don't get that out here. My friends children were awoken and frightened, calling their parents to their bed side. Thunder and lightening is perhaps the only thing I have always missed about the Midwest. It was glorious. I turned off my music and lights and laid in bed, giddy from the sounds of the storm.
I got my coffee, the single biggest motivation for getting out of my bed and drove towards the ocean. Maybe it's because I moved to town, maybe because I don't leave my home early anymore, or maybe it was the storm but I saw animals everywhere in the morning. It was just me and them. A massive coyote stalking a deer. Skunks playing with each other on the side of the road, a herd of elk, deer, everyone was out.
All the creeks have filled with water, filling up the forest with a rhythmic, hypnotic clapping.
I spent 4 hours walking along the raging, stormy sea and foraging for mushrooms. I had been so busy with the millions of joyful new things in my life, so to get back to why I first fell in love with this place was a dream. I realized how much has changed in the two years since I have been here. Instead of it seeming like another adventure, everyday filled with newness and exploration, it has now become my home. I move a lot slower, I spend a lot more time with my community. I have no need to do it all anymore, small town rural life has enveloped me.
I came home with a porcini and funny looking pictures from my old camera which is so dirty on the mirror that I know when I take it in to get cleaned, I will be scolded. Life has too many elements in it to keep a clean sensor.
I am so lucky to have a job I really like and a home in this place where both are hard to come by. This place that is so magical and unlike any place in the US. This place, where even winter is a joy.