Late Afternoon

Along the Chumash Trail
Along the Chumash Trail

Yesterday afternoon I did a lot of sewing and running around to the point I so tired of the house and machines and tasks that the best thing to do was run away.

I do that a lot.

At about 5 p.m. I decided to snag the Canon G7X Mark II as all I wanted was a point and shoot and a brisk hike along a trail with trees and rocks and bugs and poison oak. It was perfect! The hills beyond the little canyon where the trail is were still covered with golds and lavender from this past winter’s rain, and alongside the trail was a profusion of mustard, monkey flower, salvia, penstemon, sunflowers and a number of flowers I don’t know. For two hours I ran around, ignoring my wifely duties of dinner (we had leftovers, so J. was fine!) and getting my mind elsewhere.

Too easy to forget about the natural world when the unnatural one demands so much time. The shade, light, sun, shadows, were not simple to get in a photo, and the colors just got burnt out in the glare or lost in the dark. In the end, a black and white with lots of subtlety seemed the best way to express the beauty of the hike.

Miner’s Lettuce

Miner's Lettuce

Miner’s lettuce is a “wild edible” that is quite tasty! Here in California it grows in damp places, usually along streams, but on our trip up to Paso Robles last week I found some flourishing beneath an oak tree. After all the rains of this past winter I am not surprised, but I was really delighted to find this little patch.