Trip to the "cabins" in Mendocino County

Above is the mossy driveway that we drove up to our house (the "glass" house). That is Lorelei, our beloved 1969 Mercedes, parked next to the deck where we can unload it. There had been a terrific storm in northern California, and the ground was littered with down trees and branches. It was not an ideal time to visit the cabins, the temperature was near freezing, and Otto and I both had bad colds . However, we had promised the contractor who put the new roof on the "fenced" house that we would inspect the finished job and sign off on it. It is an enameled metal roof, and below is one of the photos of it. There is already a fallen branch in a trough of the roof, as you can see.
I was fascinated by the mosses that covered practically every surface.

This is a picture of a little corner of the post fence. It is typical of practically every bit of unprotected wood.

When our children were little, we had a continuing "pretend" that our house and yard were occupied by "itsy-bitsies." These were not fairies. They were merely exceptionally small people who slept in acorn shells, ate the crumbs of our food, and collected wee bits of lint to make bedding. If I had accidentally spattered a drop of batter on the griddle we would sometimes put out a tiny pancake for them. Wouldn't the moss below, growing in a curly piece of wood, be an ideal play-site for itsy-bitsies?

We returned to Berkeley last night. After the long drive we were pretty tired, but when I checked my e-mail and found that Noni had left that wonderful award in the column at right, I revived quickly! Thank you, Mary Anne!