Hey gang, hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected. Last week our sky here in California actually showed through (mostly) so we all could breath a little bit easier. The wildfires which caused all the air pollution is also how we met our newest little friend, Gaia. Gaia is a Woodland Elf of the Coastal Redwood forest which extends from SoCal to the Oregon border and slightly beyond. Like many of the natural fauna that make these forest areas their homes, Gaia had to flee for shelter outside her normal stomping grounds. That's how we met her. Woodland Elves usually stay clear of human activities and habitation, but Gaia had been watching us since we moved into our present residence. She thought that she could trust us and played her hunch. We are keeping her presence to ourselves and in the process teaching her about us regular folk. There is lots we are discovering about her and her kind and we will share that with the rest of you over time. That brings us to our image of the day. Gaia in all her years (Elves live quite a long time!) she had never been to the beach and touched her toes in the cold Pacific Ocean! She had always stayed within the confines of the forest and had only seen the ocean from above the canopy of the tree line on mountain ridges. Needless to say she loved the icy-cold water and the sound of the surf - a natural born California beach blonde if ever there was one! It was fortuitous for us to find this solitary strand of beach so all the girls could dawn their birthday suits (yeah! I just found out that one of our friends here at Rendo is battling the big "C". Like everyone here, I am pulling for you, Mike. Words always seem so inadequate in situations like this so I thought an image dedicated to you would send a more personal message, and yes I DID choose to feature Gaia, our lovely Elven princess, purposely for you. Hope you take it in the vein that it's meant. Hang in there buddy.