ashland and dunsmuir

i had the opportunity to go with someone making a trip to ashland so i took it spur of the moment on monday. the trip was full of beautiful interactions and good vibes. we went to the co-op there in ashland for lunch. my new friend Basking Roots was on the trip and craig drove. he was taking his brother to the airport in medford. we stopped by lythia park and drank some of that special water before heading back south. also on the way south we stopped at a reptile shop and communed with the snakes, lizards, frogs, and other creatures. i was stuck by the calm, slow, wise presence of a snapping turtle. right before leaving a chameleon who lives careless in the shop climbed onto me and said hello. Roots was enjoying holding a snake and craig found a companion of a bearded dragon, which is the kind of lizard his brother had had as a child. he bought it and it rode on his shoulder the rest of the day! after stopping back in shasta for a while we accepted craig's invitation to visit his home in dunsmuir, just south of shasta. it felt like a lush little forested valley to me and his house was very comfortable and spacious. he shared with me his electronic music and he recorded me singing a little so he can maybe incorporate it later in a track. that was fun to do with him. i had worked on a couple spoons while in the car and gave him one i finished. another creative burst was when i found a piece of chalk on the sidewalk in front of the house and drew the seed of life. there was more chalk sitting on a shelf by the front door of the folks who live below him and i decided to just go for it and use what colors i wanted. i felt like it would be alright to use them without asking, even though i knew that was sometimes not okay. after i was finished craig told me that the guy there had expressed to him that these were for everyone to use!