Mary Lou helped found the Poetry Center San Jose and has published several books. I recently discovered her website and would love to share her poem. For those of you have been here, you know she has captured it perfectly.

Driving Bohlman Road

The last house on an unpaved road
looks over the mountain top,
a fire road to the reservoir,
the sharp drop of a ridge on the left,
greenery on the right. Goodbye

to good friends in late afternoon, goodbye
to two deer and the Steller’s jays harsh calls.
No time to ponder recent talk of poetry,
of haiku and lyric, of classic poems
reinvented, of Pound, Hicok, Bly.

The car makes turn after turn high
above the village. In the canyon below
a glimpse of vineyards.
Just beyond the mountain peak
the ocean, flat and silver.

Redwood branches droop. Oak leaves
touch across the road. Madrone, saffron
trunks bright against the green. Sword fern
fastened to banks sprinkled with fall red
of poison oak and brown of bark.

Passing the Scout camp, the oil
of eucalyptus trees on the wind.
A breeze changes shadows.
Sun’s shades of light and dark.
One white butterfly startles.

An orange truck on monster wheels
its grill a jailhouse door
side by side with a small brown truck
the size of Bishop’s moose.
Hazard lights blink white sparkle-glitter.

Both vehicles block the road. Halfway down
the long, winding road to town
no way to move, time at last
to dream and write,
more passenger than driver.

Imagine starting at a hundred-old-ranch in a rural mountain area and running along a ridge with views of row upon row of mountains running to the ocean. A local band is playing hot rock and blue grass while the church members are cooking up eggs, sausages, pancakes, and cutting up fruit and bagels to greet you on your return. Kids are gearing up for a fun run, and raffle prizes await that include wines from great local vineyards. Picnic tables surround a lake where three hundred runners/walkers of all ages relax, their cars parked in a neighboring field at the ranch.

This year my friend, Phyllis Karsten, came with me. Last year, at 85, Phyllis started walking and used an iPhone app to show her distance and time on her walks. She posted this information on her Facebook page. She was good! So I asked her if she would like to start doing 5Ks with me. Of course she was game. She now comes close to showing me up!

We both did well and had a great time. She is saying we should try a 10K sometime. I think she has lost her mind.

I took pictures and put them together into this video. Although I intended it just for the neighbors, we were able to use it to get the County to waive the considerable cost of dumping this trash. They also recognized us at a Board of Supervisors meeting and gave us a plaque.

Bohlman Road Cleanup from CApoppy on Vimeo.

This is a view looking in from the front door. The kitchen, which has a beautiful view of the Sacramento Valley, is just beyond the living and dining room. To the right is the bathroom, bedroom, and closet. (Yes, those are my shoes that I abandoned in the middle of the floor.)

The bedroom is just beyond the short wall behind the beautiful old fold down desk. In the wall alongside are jacks for telephone and dsl connections. The walls have been plastered with mud-colored plaster, which is available in 35 earthy colors. They are gorgeous! The insulation is cotton and ecologically friendly.

The bathroom has a shower stall on the right and shelves on the left. You can see a hint of them in the lower left corner of the photo. An on-demand water heater provides ample showering comfort.
In building this haven, Sandy has found people who share her vision. They have added unique touches and provided valuable advice. If you are interested in knowing more about the products and people she found to help her, you may send her an email.