This year’s Christmas spectacular at Filoli was themed around owls and woodland creatures. Our favorites! Here are some pics from the magical event.

…and baked gingerbread.

At the Dickens Fair she tried every craft they had, including candle-dipping and fairy house making. She also enjoyed the games like ‘boot the cat.’

This year at Filoli’s Holiday open house the decorating theme was owls…one of her favorite animals. (She calls all owls “Bill” after the one in “Owl Babies.”)

And December has just begun!

We’ve been trying to visit Filoli as often as possible before they close for the rest of the year. We saw a lot more fauna than usual today…perhaps because it was so quiet, few visitors in the gardens.

There were turkeys on the way in. (here is an old turkey pic from another visit.) One of our first stops is always to see the birds…there is one bird in this coop that makes an odd laughing sound…almost like a hyena. Madame told the doves some pretend stories to get them talking.

We saw our first cat ever…one of the gardeners said there are 8-10 cats who live there.

We also came across a chicken, roosted on the side of a path. I didn’t see her at first…madame thought she was a statue until she moved. The chicken was getting comfortable, perhaps about to lay an egg. She didn’t get up or run away…just waited for us to leave.

On the way out, we saw a pair of deer grazing on the grass.

Today I tried out a feature on my new camera called “movie digest.” It takes a few seconds of movie footage before and after each photo I take (while using that setting).

I was pleasantly surprised…not only did it capture the essence of our day, it was a lot more interesting than the video I intentionally took. (Beware, it is a little wobbly in places…now that I know the video is shot before the photo, I will try to be a little smoother in the camera handling. )

Filoli movie digest from Jill C on Vimeo.

Yesterday we wanted to get in a little outdoors wandering before the rain started up again.  It was a bit late in the day for Filoli so we went to the lovely Elizabeth Gamble garden instead. It feels a bit like a mini Filoli.

The main difference that is completely unlike Filoli is the traffic noise…it is surrounded on all sides by busy streets. I would guess it hasn’t always been so, and it must have been a most tranquil spot when Elizabeth Gamble first lived here.

The grounds have a vegetable garden area where elementary school kids have been allowed to plant,  gorgeous rows of flowers, and several secret nooks with water fountains in them. By far madame’s favorite part of this garden is the rabbit topiary.

Afterwards we stopped at a local patisserie for a macaron and next door got a really giant balloon…alas it popped as soon as it got home.
Today it’s expected to rain all day, so we will stay indoors and dry…and probably make chicken soup and pumpkin bread. Fall is here!

“I’m glaring at the hairspray. Mean hairspray!”
— Apparently the kid was minding her own business, playing at the sink when a nefarious grooming product launched itself in her general direction

Here are a few more pics from our visit to Filoli last week.

This weekend the family met up at Filoli, as has become our custom, to remember Susan on the day that she passed. (It feels odd to me to call her ‘Susan,’  but as only two of us know her as Mommy and one of us as Grandmommy, I will use her most universal name.)

The weather was warm and the place was full to the brim with visitors, but it was still tranquil and refreshing to walk around the gardens.

One of our family’s iconic pictures of Susan was taken in the yew grove by the pool.

Filoli has undertaken renovation of these yews in the past few years, and they have changed dramatically since that photo.

In the latest issue of the Filoli newsletter, the head gardener explained why and wherefore they were so severely pruning the yews. Apparently they were getting so huge they required scaffolding to prune, and were also obscuring views of other parts of the garden (and the distant lake). Very interesting stuff, glad to be privy to the inner workings of our favorite garden.

Anyway, whilst meandering the grounds, we heard a rustling in a bush…and discovered a chicken. You often hear chickens at Filoli, but rarely see them. (Especially when lots of people are around!)

This chicken, it turns out, had let itself into the garden via a hedge…she just crawled through it and then went back through to her chicken coop. (We watched her.) There was a sort of bell jingling…maybe in the hedge? maybe around her neck? to alert someone, somewhere of her position. Hello, chicken!

At Grandma’s house there is a perfect hole in a tree, which would be great for the saucy squirrel who lives nearby.

At Filoli  in the olive orchard (pictured) there are so many nooks and crannies in the trees it must surely be someone’s home.

Perhaps elves or gnomes, or relatives of the mice of Brambly Hedge?

“Mommy, where’s my goggles?” – Lucy preparing to cook

The youngest member and I were invited to a party at Filoli, an after hours stroll for members.

Madame handled her first garden party with aplomb. She enjoyed the hors d’oeuvres, particularly the crackers.

She waited patiently to go in the house,  listening to the barbershop quartet.

She was excited to go upstairs (usually not allowed, but open on this special occasion) and see the rooms up there.

In the ballroom she entertained the guests with some impromptu ballet to accompany the piano player.

She enjoyed herself so much, she didn’t want to leave…even when her tuckered mom was ready to go.