Superbloom

“A superbloom is a rare desert botanical phenomenon in California and Arizona in which an unusually high proportion of wildflowers whose seeds have lain dormant in desert soil germinate and blossom at roughly the same time. The phenomenon is associated with an unusually wet rainy season.” Wikipedia

Sunday we all drove down to Half Moon Bay. The Northern California super bloom is at its peak right now. The drive took us past fields of wild, bright yellow mustard blanketing the ocean cliffs. Cars were parked all up and down the road. Instagrammers frolicked through the fields with outstretched arms. We stared out the window and took it in, but kept driving. Not one of us got a picture. Some things are hard to capture on camera. Some things you just have to breathe in and feel with your whole body to properly remember. Like a super bloom. Like a sunset. Like a full moon.

We visited Harley Goat Farms in Pescadero a few miles down the road. If you haven’t been, you should go. It’s been a working goat farm for decades. You don’t have to book a tour but you can. They sell fresh goat cheese of all kinds, local honey and beef from their own cows that roam around. If you do go, buy the Rose Geranium lotion. It’s literally my favorite. It was extra special to see the baby goats this time. Current count is 105.

After the farm, we drove out to the beach. The beaches in Northern California are not hip and crowded. They are not very beachy. They are cliffy and cold and unpredictable. You generally have to climb down to get to them. You can wear a bathing suit if you want. As long as it's under a full body wetsuit or a puffy jacket and sweatpants and you have no intention of wading into the water.

Wren and Billy made their way down to the beach to kick around the soccer ball. Cash, Bracket and I trekked to the top of the cliff and sat at the edge with our feet dangling over.

We talked about the nature of waves. Bracket showed me a video he recently watched about rogue waves. I told him about Nazare in Portugal and the big wave surfing that’s happening right now probably. Someday I want to go and watch. We talked about the phenomenon of destructive interference - in which two waves of similar frequencies and amplitudes hit and instead of creating a bigger wave, entirely cancel each other out.

Bracket brushes a small black stink bug off my pant leg, then helps me up and we walk back down.

This is the only picture I have of the day. Some things are hard to capture on camera. You can’t appreciate how high above the water we are. You can’t see the 4:00 pm sun glittering off the water. You can’t feel the ache that is too big for words, so instead we talk about waves.

I breathe in the ocean, feel this moment with my whole body trying to properly remember.

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