Hidden Villa Farm

We had a wonderful Saturday, visiting our friend Niki at the Hidden Villa in Los Altos where she works and lives . Niki is the daughter of my good friend/mentor Belinda with whom I used to work with at the I.M.F. in Tokyo. Anyway, it's been super cool to hear about Niki's adventures and her choice in work. Since I've always worked in offices and live such an urban life, I deeply admire Niki's focus on learning how to make her own food and run a farm.

Our dream - for Tesla when she is a bit older and can remember things - is to cut out of urban society for a few years and live in another country where we can chill and totally hang as a family. Part of that dream is finding a place where Tesla can run around in nature, discovering bugs and seasons, get dirty, and build things with nature and her imagination. Dav and I both have good memories from playing in nature and we want that for Tesla. Visiting Niki underlined how precious big trees, open air, animals, and being in touch with the cycle of life are. It was also fun to watch Nike play and hold Tesla. I can tell Niki will be an awesome mommy one day!

Hidden Villa has a lot of history. It was established by the Duveneck family (who were quite the cool activists back in the day) in 1924, and since then serves to educate adults and kids about farming and the environment. They have activities (like a fun Halloween event) and tours and hikes. I definitely want to go back.

I've been wanting to pet a cow [read last paragraph] for many years and never succeeded. But at Hidden Villa, the 2 cows were so friendly. One was pregnant. We totally got to pet them. We saw newborn chickies, and big fat pigs. I loved it!

The best part was hanging with my brother, Izumi, Tyler, and Julia. We don't get to spend as much time together as I'd like but when we do it's so much fun to see them. I really feel like an auntie, and can see the different stages the kids are growing through. Tyler is waiting for an adult front tooth to move in. Julia hunted random items around the picnic ground and was delighted when Dav made a slingshot for her out of a rubber band she found. When Tesla is older, she is going look up to Julia and Tyler so much! I love this picture that captured Tyler's enthusiasm:

Dav's pics. Ian's pics.