carved cupboard in the kitchen at Fort Ross
Our friend Allison Smith came up for the weekend and we journeyed up the coast to see Fort Ross as research for a potential site-specific commission on our land this summer. Allison is one of my favorite artists; we met when she helped with the construction of the Lightning House at Mildred’s Lane, and she recently accepted a professorship at California College of the Arts. We toured the 1810 Russian settlement, watched migrating whales spout from a bluff overlooking the Pacific, picnicked on tuna and ginger ale, and noticed these new blooms as we walked and talked along the bluff:
Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans), outside of the Call House
(Echium candicans), up close
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria)