Seriously! The flu!, or something like it. I was totally sick for days, with an awful fever. As if that were not bad enough, it happened while I was supposed to be relaxing and on vacation!

Neither was planned. Getting sick never is. The vacation was a total surprise too; a Christmas gift from one of the guys at work! It was totally rad, even if I was sick for it.

You see, we work at one of the most excellent places in the entire universe, where people come from all over for restorative retreats. That by itself is totally rad. What is radder is that we can rent unused rooms or cabins for out-of-town guests or for ourselves if we like. It is very affordable, and like vacationing at work. That may not seem like much fun for those who do not enjoy their work like we do, but like I said, this is one of the most excellent places to work in the entire universe.

So, my colleague got me nine nights in what is classified as an ‘economy’ cabin, but by my standards was very luxurious. I had stayed in a smaller newly remodeled cabin for two nights, and a hotel like room for a night, but had done nothing like this; nine nights in secluded luxury! If one must get sick, this is the way to do it!

Anyway, this is where my six pictures for this week came from.

1. This is the upward view from the front door. The black margin at the top of the picture is the edge of the eave. The trees to the left are canyon live oaks and a tan oak. The trees to the right are towering coastal redwoods.p90105

2. This is the same spot. Instead of looking straight up, this is looking outward from the front door. There is no refined landscaping here; only the native trees with the exotic English ivy that is cascading slightly over the old stone wall.p90105+

3. These towering coastal redwoods are outside a bedroom window.p90105++

4. These towering and somewhat darker coastal redwoods are outside the bathroom window.p90105+++

5. The artwork on the interior walls are mostly pictures of the local flora and wildlife. Most are rather artistic. Some are pictures of common but exotic flora that, although probably appealing to those who do not recognize them, are not the sort of subject matter that I would have selected. For example, one of the big framed photographs in the bedroom is a closeup of the summery foliage of London planetree, Platanus X acerifolia. Ick! I took this picture of three pictures that I found to be amusing. On the left, we have some interesting lichens and a bit of moss on what seems to be an apple tree. Okay. In the middle, we have foliage of California bay tree, Umbellularia californica. Odd, but again . . . okay. On the right, we have maces from the exotic sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua. Now, I would say that is weird, but it really is a cool picture!p90105++++

6. Rhody was not supposed to be on the bed.p90105+++++

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

29 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: Cabin Fever”

    1. We never get tired of them. It is obvious why so many people come here for retreats and vacation. A storm is coming in now, so we are expecting a big mess from the trees. They are hundreds of feet tall, so produce tons of debris.

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  7. So sad to be sick over the holidays — but, as you said, what a place to be sick1 That looks like a delightful resort — and I’ve wanted for some time to return to that area for a visit — haven’t been there since I was a little girl!

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  9. Pingback: Addendum – Tony Tomeo

    1. Well, it was good enough for Miley Cyrus. Those recent pictures of her in the waterfall were taken just a few yards away, where Ferndell Creek flows into Bean Creek (which is just a few yards from the confluence with Zayante Creek). The site is located just below and to the left of the redwoods in picture #3.
      When I was still at my former home. I lived among the redwoods, seriously. I bathed in Zayante Creek, and later built a shower within a burned out hollow stump of a redwood tree that was harvested a century ago. My outhouse was built on top of another hollow stump that did not open to the outside. It was on a steep slope, so, although about fifteen feet tall on the downhill side, was only about two and a half feet tall on the uphill side.

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  11. That photo of Rhody cracked me up!! Looks like you weren’t the only one lazing around. I’m sorry you weren’t feeling good, and I hope that you have healed by now. I would say the woods might be the best place I could think of for respite and relaxation! What a thoughtful colleague and friend!

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    1. Oh, my colleagues are SO excellent! Most are not even horticulturally oriented! https://tonytomeo.com/2018/10/10/horridculture-lessons-from-motivational-posters/ My work with them was supposed to be only temporary, until I go back to growing horticultural commodities. It will be VERY difficult to leave this work now.
      Redwood forests may not be the healthiest places for those recovering from a cold or flu. I do not know for sure. It seems to me that a drier place, such as the Mojave Desert, would be healthier. However, if relaxation is healthy, then I got the best of it. Rhody is not as lazy as he seems to be in the picture. Once he gets going, I can not keep up with him.

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    1. It is exotic because it is not native here. It is so voraciously invasive, and can climb much of the way up the tallest redwoods. If we just cut it at the base, it stays attached to the trunks for many years.

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  13. So wonderful that you had that time to relax, but sorry you weren’t well for it. Loved the photos of the redwoods, we have nothing so tall on the East coast. Some huge oaks, but not majestic redwoods. Hope you are feeling better and have a wonderful next year!

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    1. I am still coughing two weeks later! I did not got to work today. I went in just to make coffee for the crew and open the gates, but left before anyone else got there. Anyway, I will eventually get better. Now that storms are coming in, we will be even busier than before. Redwoods are a lot of work, but we really do enjoy them. People come from all over to see them, and these are not even the really big ones.

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