West-Central Valley : Pretty in New Ways

New feature! I will post a map link of the trip on the top of each post:

http://goo.gl/maps/Q4bC0

I recently went mining for the state gemstone, Benitoite, in western Fresno/eastern San Benito county. On the way through the valley, there were immense contrasts from the valley into the mountains.

The west side of the central valley south of Stockton lies in the rain-shadow of the nearby coastal range of mountains

Some farmers resent the water politics, having to let orchards die

And some communities are getting lost in the sand

A tumbleweed, one of many

But the nearby aqueduct provides water to farmers for miles of greenery in this otherwise-desert

Beautiful. Fresh. Water

And some had water rights that gave them confidence to plant these new almonds, a big crop in this part of the state

This is what an almond fruit looks like, a long summer away from harvest

I also saw a pomegranate

A solar installation was on the way into the mountains

It was an ominous day, but nothing more than light sprinkles

Rolling oak hills gave way to

More interesting terrain shaped by local faulting

This area has been mined for a long, long time

The drive back was lovely

Sunset the day before, going

Going

Gone

But a light guided my way home

I got a great gem/crystal of Benitoite, and other specimens, will post pic soon.

Sutter’s Fort With A Boom

Sutter’s Fort State Park, in Downtown Sacramento, has re-enactments of life in the 1840′s.

This was a real fort in the middle of nowhere, with many hostile groups surrounding the area. They built these doors with cannons on each side

People came out here in these tiny wagons, apparently everyone walked while their stuff was transported in the wagon by ox

Weaving was a big deal, as clothing protected everyone from the elements, they had a lady demonstrating its use

They had a selection of bright, naturally-colored yarns

Blue came from indigo, derived from the plant of the same name

The browns were made from cutch, derived from the bark of an acacia tree

A still was all-important to the early settlers

This is a flour mill, where raw wheat was crushed between stones to create the fine-grained sustenance of life

They used milling stones like these to make their flower

An oven like this was used to make bread. I got to try some of their original recipe breads freshly-baked, they were amazingly flavorful

They used these giant pots to feed the many, many families that lived in the fort

The blacksmith shop was up, running and hot

A docent showed us how they created various items

They probably didn’t make gun barrels at this fort, but they were clearly well-armed

He also makes all these cool rope holders, used when they cordon off an area for the cannon firing, below. Some had ram’s head decorations on front

A few times a day they fire one of the original cannons without the iron ball, here they are prepping by shoving the powder in, a few moments later and…

BOOM! It was really loud

Outside the fort, I couldn’t tell if it was a chicken or a duck

Also out in front were some very cute turtles sunning themselves

Bulbs for Patti

I’m so sorry it has been so long since my last post, I’ve had a lot going on.

Spring has sprung and is slowly turning into summer. I tried some new bulbs this year, tulips, that I’ve always had trouble growing. I had about a 2/3rds success rate, and the highlights are below.

These are red, white and blue hyacinth flowers. I’ve been growing these bulbs for years, and they are my favorite since they have such an intoxicating aroma. Very sad they are only around for four weeks a year in late winter.

Close-up

I found these two seasons ago at a big-box, and have been pleasantly surprised by their subtle beauty

This is a fresia flower, another bulb I’ve grown for years. They have a lovely, soft lemon scent

And the tulips, this magenta one was cool, but all of them were unexpected, as I planted them so long ago in October.

This one was red on the inside, and looked quite devilish

Interesting coloration on the outside

These ones started out looking like dinosaurs, or even the plant from Little Shop of Horrors

FEED ME!

Gotcha!

It was spectacular, and my favorite color combo – red, yellow and green

These were grown downtown

Like an egg in the middle, no?

Peach blossoms in the garden (much more on that in a later post)

And plums too

This redbud tree blooming outside of the fort was the last harbinger of spring

Next up, old west blasts it’s way to life

SF Gardens, Buildings, Paint and Waldo

I spent a very mild winter’s day in SF’s SoMa district around Yerba Buena Gardens and MOMA. Along the way, see if you can find Waldo, as in Where’s Waldo.

An interesting mix of buildings are in the area, this one is an inverted cube

And this one had it’s corner sliced off

And is a building inside a building from the other side

Such modernity against the ancient brick church, it was making a lot of noise with it’s bells though

The gardens were in early bloom

There is a restaurant at one end of the park, right on the MLK Jr. waterfall

Very small inside, but gorgeous

With al fresco dining

An interesting BART station entrance

And I found this sign, but it wouldn’t talk to me

Then over to the modern art museum, this lady was laying around outside

The 4-story atrium was full of these tapestries

And they had this exhibit with a very long wall of mushrooms with lots of eyes

So, so weird

And a little disturbing

The art spanned era’s, but was mostly simple and progressive

 

Way cool cafe, but pricey

So many buildings

So did you find Waldo yet? Look a little closer…

Sierra Snow, Now

So I went out to the snow again in late February and it was the same snow I saw back in December. We didn’t get more than a couple of inches over the last 9 weeks. That said, it was a really nice, if cold, day out. Squaw is right in Tahoe and has great views in all directions, they held the Olympics here in the ’60′s.

I thought they could do better than just this promoting its history

They have built and demolished two or three village areas since I was here as a kid, a little fru-fru, but this fountain was nice

Interesting geology here too

Random outcroppings like this were rare though

The granite base of the Sierra Nevada’s is visible below

And the lake views are incredible, this is Mt. Rose ski area and the north shore of the lake

Middle lake

And Heavenly on the south shore

The trees showed which direction the wind usually blows

This was easily a 500 year-old sugar pine, maybe 7 feet in diameter at the base

A tree becomes a shrub flowing over the rock

I’m pretty sure this was looking out west, with the snowy Trinity Alps in the distance

This is the backside of Northstar

And these are of the Desolation Wilderness

Squaw creek and valley, generally protected from development

It was epic, as this picture communicates well (enlarge by clicking on it)

Sierra Snow, Then

These are pictures from the Kirkwood area of the Central Sierra Nevada after the storms in December. Located in aptly-named Alpine County, this ski area has very different geology than the Lake Tahoe resorts.

The slopes are steep and located among creeks and lots of trees

You can see a brown patch where the snow hadn’t built up much below, along with a large tree

Similar tree, but dead for many years. It still acts as habitat for many animals though

So much pretty it hurts

This is the twisted trunk of a Cypress tree, a relatively rare species

It was a giant specimen, easily 60 feet tall

There had recently been a small dusting, but I only head up when it is clear out and the roads are safe

Caples Lake is located in the area, and the ridgetops provide great views

I think this is the Icehouse Wilderness, but maybe a different one

This mountain in the distance looked like a pyramid

Kinda like this one

And this one, pattern much?

The red cliffs were prominent

The vista’s went on forever… (click on it to enlarge, worth it)

And at the end of the day, a final beautiful view

Crazy Colorful Mushrooms (SC Post #2)

Here are some more pics of mushrooms from my trip to Santa Cruz in early winter.

This one turned green when disturbed, and was quite slimy

This one stained bright red when cut

These purple mushrooms are some of my favorite

I mean that color is just outrageous

Little brown mushrooms

An amanita button, or young mushroom, likely very poisonous

This is an older one and a younger one, you can see how there is a veil around it that turns into the little specks  on the older ones

Banana slugs love to eat mushrooms

These were black!

This polypore was banded in so many colors

This is a different species of polypore

And they are growing right next to each other on the same dead log

I call these sunset mushrooms, because they are bright red at the base and fade into an orangeish-yellow on the cap

 

Can you spot the tiny little bug on this one?

This one had an inverse nipple

This polypore is used in dying naturally, with reds and oranges derived

 

Vibrant yellow

Another little brown mushroom? yes and no, this is a bleeding mycena, when its skin is punctured, it oozes a bright red fluid reminiscent of blood

Ouch!