Tag: Wildwood

First Day of Spring Break

Well, probably officially the second day of Spring Break!  I spent Friday doing all the things I usually do on Friday mornings – cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping, and so on.

Today, I got up early, determined to finish up a couple of rolls of film.  When I ran out of film, I was sort of cursing the fact I hadn’t another roll with me, or a decent digital camera.  All I had was my phone, but it did an okay job.  In general, I don’t really like the pictures from cell phones – mine is a Galaxy S5 – but you can get a decent shot or two.  I think they tend to overdo the sharpening or whatever they do.

I headed out around 7:00 to a local open space, Wildwood.  I took the Moonrise Trail, but veered to the right rather than the left as the path was crazy muddy.  It was definitely a delight!  Sunflowers, lupine, morning glory, mustard, allium, and others I recognize but don’t know the names.  In particular, the image “Tiny Pink Flowers” was a bit of a favorite – these flowers are about 1/4 inch across – less than .5 cm, I am sure.

14 / 365 Pond at the Corner of the Path

14-365-pond-at-the-corner-of-the-path

The rains have begun to turn our dreary California landscape into a bright green.  This little puddle is now a pond.

While a lot of California is considered to be “out of the drought”, where I live, we are still considered to be in drought conditions.  We have more storms on the way, which will help with our drought, but the aquifers are still below normal levels.  Unless California considers continuing stringent water control and water storage problems, these rains will mean nothing if we have little rain in the years to come.

5 / 365 Hidden Corner & Path

autumn-rain-3-1-of-1

A corner may also be a “hidden part of the world” – I think this fits the theme element for this month.  Throw in the little curve in the path, and we perhaps have covered two?  For me, these little gems of natural beauty are the best.  11 images to make the panorama.

Rainy Day Walk

working-in-the-rain

I’ve been rather housebound for the last few days, busy with this and that, and just plain lazy.  This morning, though, with the prediction of a whole day of rain, the allure of a walk in the damp was too much.  Our rain has dwindled into a slow drizzle, but it is so welcomed here in our parched California landscape.  The sky was a blue-grey, hinting at moisture to come, and it did soon after I started out, more like a misty rain than drops, which is fine when you want to go hiking.  The trails were all sticky – my boots sucked into the mud and made a rhythmic noise with each step.  Areas of the trail had not yet dried, but when they do, the trail will be lumpy and bumpy for a long time.

When I got to the area I wanted to explore – it’s always new, no matter how many times you go! – the parking area was closed for repairs.  I skirted around to where the oaks and cacti and stream and sycamore hang out, just in case it did get wetter.  It turns out that the recent rains have caused soil slippage, and some trees have toppled a bit.  One oak had fallen and split, so the work crew was waiting for the oak tree specialist (the city has one, as oak trees are protected where I live) to determine whether it needed anything or just a bit of a trim.

gate-at-the-corner

Here, a little bit of rain goes a long way, and soon enough the grasses begin to sprout for the upcoming spring.  Beige and brown give way to the delicate greens.  The cold temperatures have pushed the autumn leaves to golds and reds, so suddenly a dull grey-brown landscape pops into life.  The smell of the damp earth, the creeks with running water, and the occasional bird song or insect was all that could be heard.  A bit of bliss for a couple of hours!  Click a picture below to scroll through them.

Toyon Berries
Sycamore Seed Pods
Sycamore Leaves
Prickly Love
Fallen Oak
Across the Canyon
Muddy
Orange, Gold & Green