Sunday, June 26, 2011

Lavender


I read about them in The Los Angeles Times, lavender fields that stretch far and look like Provence except you're in Ojai, a hop and a skip from balmy Los Angeles so I packed up the car with kids and a helper and hit the road, Jack, to meet our friends Phil and Erika and Izzy, to Ojai for the annual Ojai Lavender Festival, a town park with a fountain and nearly a hundred booths the smell of lavender wafting (there's no better word than wafting, here) around us all. I breathed it in, deep, and yearned for the lavender massage, the cold lavender soaked cloth over my eyes, the strong hands kneading my hands and feet but there wasn't time because we needed to get to the fields of lavender and that's where the wafting turned to breathful, breathless, fields of lavender, light to dark purple, lavender to lie down in where the bees don't sting because it's paradise.









33 comments:

  1. oh, i don't know which is more beautiful. the fields of lavender or your children. thank you for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Surely that is heaven. Oh, Elizabeth- this post just makes me crazy-happy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful lavender and beautiful children!

    Our pilot pointed out some lavender fields as we were turning north and descending into Oakland last week. They looked like a patchwork quilt with their different shades. Alas, we did not get close enough to enjoy the delicious fragrance.


    Best,
    Bonnie

    ReplyDelete
  4. I bet if you kicked the nest enough somebody would probably get stung

    ReplyDelete
  5. And lavender essential oils...nothing more relaxing (except valium)...knocks my son out all the time at bedtime...hope ya stocked up!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my goodness. I thought of going to this festival. I saw it advertised and I live in Santa Barbara! You are just a hop skip and a jump away from me! It look lovely! what a wonderful day.
    xo,
    Noelle

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Elizabeth,
    Your blog is so beautiful, I linked it to Postcards from Paradise. I hope you don't mind.
    xo,
    Noelle

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Elizabeth -- I'm glad Noelle linked you to Postcards from Paradise, because I wouldn't have been transported here without her intervention.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy sigh. Deep, deep breath. Thank you for that.

    ReplyDelete
  10. absolutely gorgeous...I think I can actually smell it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely! And now the blog is lavender. I always seem to miss the Blanco Lavender Festival which is close to me...I'll have to make a point of NOT missing it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am in LOVE with Lavender. I keep a lavender mist by my bed. I have lavender sleep stones. Lavender hand lotion. It is the best smell. (Next to a baby's head)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mmmmmm. When I opened this page, some lavender scent wafted in through my window. I kid you not. This is the way my world works. xo

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, I can just smell all that lavender and feel the sun on myface. what a wonder!Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gorgeous pictures of a lovely day. I, too, can smell the lavender wafting off the screen. I'm going out to pinch some of my own lavender buds. Hugs from Here, N2

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ah. This reminds me of something I forgot. Good. So timely. Hope you and Izzy's sweet parents got a hit of mellowness that will last for days...

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a wonderful family field trip. when I was little growing up in Oregon one of my favorite places was in the middle of a pasture of tall growth on a huge cardboard piece someone had left out in the field. I'd drag that piece of cardboard out in these fields and lay right down if i could!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beyond beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes lavender wafts...
    lovely

    ReplyDelete
  20. Gorgeous! I have lavender field envy!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love,love,love lavender.Probably what is found the most in my yard.

    Wish I had known.Marks hours have been crazy and I have been going it alone.Would have for sure met you.Just a 30 minute drive for us.Next time.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Alice Walker writes that "heaven is a verb", and that is what I see.

    Children heavening in a field of lavender.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Ojai, one of my favorite towns. I'll be up visiting friends there at the end of July. Thanks for these beautiful photos of you and your family at the lavender festival.

    ReplyDelete
  24. How beautiful! Lavender is one of my favorites, as well. I have 8 plants that I've propagated from two mommy plants. I usually use them to make lavender water, but I had a wonderful lavender ice cream awhile back that makes me want to buy an ice cream maker...

    Looks like a good time was had by all :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Very beautiful! Your photos always make my day!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Gorgeous! Jude and I are driving to Ojai TODAY for a camping trip. Where exactly are these lavender fields? I want to swing by!

    ReplyDelete
  27. tender, sweet and fragrant with love.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Such a beautiful, dreamy place you took me to, with these words and photos...

    p.s. (and I've read it before, but right next to this post is that quote by Yogi Bhajan, and the part that always gets to me is "She is on extended life and your prayers have done a wonderful thing."

    That part always makes me feel so grateful... I am singing in my heart, for me, and for Sophie, and for all of us on "extended life," in this moment.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Glorious photos. There is something healing in lavender, and even more so in a lavender field.

    I love your new header - it makes me feel as if I can smell it, in the south of France, or even nearer, in Sequim (west of here), or my own little bed in our yard. Love to you and your beautiful family.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Elizabeth...
    this is over the top.


    thank you for taking the time to share it.
    thank you for heavening (thx Noan)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh, I haven't been to Ojai in ages! And I live so far away, but I sincerely thank you for sharing this with me. I can smell the flowers now.

    ReplyDelete
  32. What a nice capture of all that. I'm loving your photos so much these days!!

    ReplyDelete