I can still smell the hills in my hair and on my hands. The hint of the cool mountain air and the smell of pine and sage entwined in the boys' clothes.  And as I shake them out getting ready for them to be laundered, my heart bows to the small time taken out of our day-to-day to be together in the Fall. The way the Great Oaks reach out to shade the dusty roads and stand guard over the children at dusk. hawks and butterflies drift lazily in the cool morning currents.

Due to the nature of my on-call work, I don't often get a chance to run away to the mountains on a moments notice.  I love being a doula. I love being a birth photographer.  But being a doula and a birth photographer means a life "on-call", a life lived at the whims of babies and the needs of their mamas.  It doesn't mean that I don't love the work that I do, but I find the time away from Los Angeles precious. And needed.  And when I get the chance at renewal, I am all the better for it. 

Here are some images that depart from my usual slew of babies and birth that you typically see. A little orchestra of images from coffee roasting, vegetable picking, and pretzel making while we spent the weekend away at Camp Stevens, located just outside Julian, CA. 

Besides roasting coffee, sampling local beers, making pretzels, digging in the dirt and tie-dying shirts, we were able to set some time aside for just being: Present. Still. Laughing. And living.  And enjoying the wonderful company of family and friends. 

PS. You don't have to be a doula, or a birth photographer, to enjoy time away. xoxoxo