Live Last read · last published · next check
We're in the "in-between" times at the Ranch. Our summer camp programs celebrated their end of season last week and we bid farewell to most of our seasonal summer instructors (spoiler alert! some will return for the school year! And hopefully many will return next summer). It feels almost like the land is taking long, slow, deep breath as we reset and shift gears for the season to come. While the…
This summer we welcomed campers, ages 5-12, and Counselors in Training, ages 12-18, throughout the summer to engage in all aspects of our ranch. Our weekly themes ranged from Junior Ranchers, Farm to Belly, Pollinatorpalooza, and Great Outdoors. Campers’ days were filled with discovery! Children learn best and create the most vivid memories when they engage all their senses and our campers learned…
What a treat to have Anna Ash and Tom Conneely and Birds of Paradise under the cypress tree in the Slide Ranch garden a couple weeks ago. It was such a joy to have former Slide educators, community members, supporters, newcomers, people young and old in the crowd representing the expansive network of the Slide Ranch Community. We're thrilled to bring music back to Slide Ranch, filling the garden…
This morning I walked out of my tiny house and the entry way and small wooden porch were already baked in sun. The rich smell of sun-on-wood is so different from the scent of the thick fog that rolled in a couple mornings ago. When the fog is dense enough, it gathers on the pine tree above my roof, collects, and falls in heavy droplets on the corrugated metal. That morning, I woke early to wander…
We'v been enjoying some wonderful low tides over the last few weeks. Ecologists from UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Natural Resouces took advantage of the excellent access a few weeks ago to continue their coastal monitoring of biodiversity and community composition in the rocky intertidal zone along Slide Ranch's coast. As you can see from this photo,…
I’m Vickisa—an artist, educator, and longtime friend of Slide Ranch. Many years ago, I lived on the land here, back before Slide Ranch became the vibrant organization it is today. Recently, I had the chance to reconnect with Susie Washington Smyth to reflect on those earlier days. What follows is drawn largely from her memory, with a few of my own stories woven in. We’re talking about the late…
This past Saturday, Slide Ranch hosted its annual Spring Fling celebration. More than 500 visitors from all over the Bay Area flocked to our little oasis on the coast to dance, craft, eat, and explore all that this place has to offer. For a majority of these visitors (including ~80 babies and toddlers), it was their first time coming to Slide Ranch! It’s never too early to introduce your kid to a…
Spring is an amazing time to be at Slide Ranch. The flowers are blooming, the pasture is green and growing, sounds and sites of the warmer season is being enjoyed by wildlife and humans alike. It is also a VERY busy time for us here. Spring Break camp sold out and is in full swing. We have additional school programs exploring with us. Our Ranch team is caring for all of our animals, tending our…
I’ve been a regular volunteer at Slide for over two months now. You may be wondering what I have to show for it. Well, my fridge is currently overflowing with bushels of fresh kale, bags of mint, arugula, and celery, and my whole kitchen smells of citrus thyme. Staff at the ranch have been kind enough to let me harvest to my liking after every shift! Usually averse to celery, I’ve learned that it…
Hello Blog friends! I am Kate, the animal care focused ranch hand, and this is my very first blog post. I’m excited to dedicate this post to our new friends (and objects of our obsession) at Slide Ranch, Boots and Butter. Boots and Butter are twin sisters and are Nubian goats. Nubian goats are distinguishable by their long ears and gentle disposition, and are crosses of British goats and…
