Camping at El Capitan State Beach

This past weekend we went camping at El Capitan State Beach about 17 miles west of Santa Barbara. We had a lovely weekend with perfect weather to enjoy the beach and surrounding area. Alyssa's favorite activity was riding the tag-along bike behind her daddy on the numerous bike paths. Jonathan rode in a little bike trailer behind me. He really enjoyed riding, too. On Sunday we found a wonderful little trail that meandered through an old sycamore forest with HUGE old trees. The trees were so large that many big branches draped on or near the ground and spread out over 70 or more feet. Beneath the branches were periwinkles and nasturtium in profusion. It was like walking in a fairyland forest. The end of the trail came out in a grassy area right next to a rocky and sandy beach. The kids had fun playing on the shore for a while before heading home.

Santa Rosa Plateau - Part 2

A week ago, we had the privilege of meeting my friend Elizabeth Joy (from Wildflower Morning) and her family at the Santa Rosa Plateau for an enjoyable day hiking and picnicking together. I had not seen her for quite a long time nor met her family. We were blessed with perfect weather and it was so much fun to catch up and do a bit of reminiscing. The flowers were still beautiful, but we only saw a couple of fairy shrimp left in the vernal pools. There were lots of small garter snakes swimming around hunting for food.


It was so much fun to see you again, Elizabeth Joy. Let's get together again!

A Feast for the Eyes

On our way down to the Santa Rosa Plateau on Sunday, we passed hills in the distance covered with poppies. So on Monday we decided to go on a poppy hunt to try to get up close to a beautiful patch somewhere. After a bit of searching, we were rewarded when we finally found a dirt road that followed the bottom of a hill covered with poppies, bluebells, and other wildflowers. It was a royal feast for our eyes and was overwhelmingly beautiful. Alyssa and Jonathan enjoyed climbing around in the sea of flowers.

God is an incredible Gardner! He must enjoy creating such beauty.

Gorgeous Santa Rosa Plateau

On Sunday we visited one of my favorite springtime spots here in Southern California - the Santa Rosa Plateau. It is now an ecological preserve, but the history of the place goes back a hundred years or more. The beauty is unbelievable! It reminds me of the few times I have had the priveledge of walking in the Alps - the high grassy meadows with scattered trees and rolling hills with snow-covered mountains in the distance. It's hard to believe there is actually a spot like it in Southern California, but here it is, green and unbelievably gorgeous this time of year with a wide array of wildflowers not seen too many other places. Here is a sampling of the beauty we encountered.

Pinks

Chocolate Lilies

Shooting Stars

Another fascinating thing about the plateau is the springtime vernal pools that dry completely by summer. But now the waters are teaming with small creatures including fairy shrimp, copepods, and planeria.

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung into full swing down here in Southern California. This post is in honor of Week 8 at Wildflower Morning's wildflower challenge.

Because we have had rain there are new wildflowers appearing every week. This past week, my two favorites started blooming - the California poppies, and the bluebells. Above us on the hills, large patches of purple appeared and I couldn't wait to go see them up close. This past weekend I had opportunity to do that. Here is what they looked like:Once up in the hills, we found lots of other wildflowers blooming, too. Below are forget-me-nots with chia. Second picture below is brodea I believe.

Here is a view of our house from a hill above us. We are so blessed to have space around us to roam while living in the midst of city. And it is especially nice right now because the hills are green and the temperatures are still too cool for rattle snakes to be out.

Wildflowers in Winter - Kid's Art Entry

Wildflower Morning is hosting her seventh week of her Wildflowers in Winter project. Week 7 is a children's wildflower art contest. Here is her website for more information. So, my daughter went out and found some California poppies blooming on our property and decided she wanted to paint them. Here they are:

California Poppies - painted by Alyssa (age 4) with finger paints

Here is where she picked them. They are so bright and cheery! I always love it when they cover the hills in cheery orange. God is a wonderful Gardener!

More Wildflowers

I think this year will be a good one for wildflowers here in Southern California because of all the rain we have had. Our little hill is coming alive with color. One part of our hill is filled with little white forget-me-nots and purple fillary. Here are a few pictures I took this afternoon (while wearing shorts because it was nearly 80 degrees!) Another part is covered with the yellow flowers that Alyssa brought in last week. I can't wait to explore the hills above our house to see what else is beginning to bloom. On our property alone I counted six different wildflowers that are blooming now.

Wildflowers in Bloom!

Alyssa came into the house this afternoon holding something behind her back and told me to close my eyes.

When I opened them she was holding out a boquet of little wild flowers she had picked and brought in.

We put them in a vase where everyone can enjoy them.

Now we have oodles of them blooming all over our property. They are such a rich yellow-orange color with little orange throats. I'm not sure what they are. I feel lucky I get to decorate my house with real wildflowers in winter! (For more Wildflowers in Winter, visit Elizabeth Joy's blog)

Wildflowers in Winter - Part 2

My friend at Wildflower Morning has a new challenge for the week in her "Wildflowers in Winter" post. This time we are to post images of flowers in winter. I live in one of the few places where we actually have flowers in winter. I took my camera out yesterday afternoon and captured a few images of wildflowers growing on our property.

All the wildflowers (aka weeds when they are in my garden, but allowed to grow freely elsewhere on our five acres) I could find currently blooming were yellow which makes the cloudy, rainy days especially brighter. I have also included two images of flowers in my garden that are still blooming even at this time of year. The white flowers (2nd picture below) are Argyranthemum "Neptune." The pink flowers are Argyranthemum frutescens "Pink Elf." The yellow is Euryops, and the blue is Felicia amelloides "Blue Marguerite."Many of my flowers lie dormant at the moment, but promises of good things to come are visible. The wintering leaves of my lobelia, "Cardinal Flower" are one example.

Wildflowers in Winter

A friend of mine has started a "Wildfowers in Winter" project on her blog. She has invited people to put their favorite wildflower pictures on their blogs while we wait for Spring to spring.

For me, it's a little different. Winters in Southern California are my favorite time of year. The hills are finally green, the skies are clear with very little smog or haze, and temperatures are cool instead of deathly hot. So I'm not anxious for winter to end - here anyway. Having lived in the north for several years, I can relate to the longing for Spring, the browsing through flower catalogs and dreaming about what new posies I would add to my flower gardens. Here, I still have flowers blooming in my garden. But I thought I would add a few of my favorite wildflower pictures I took back in 2005 when California had so much rain everything bloomed profusely. We took a trip to Death Valley and saw the once-in-a-lifetime wildflower show. Incredible!

Gravel Ghost - Atrichoseris platyphylla
Desert gold - Gerea canescens
Purple mat - Nama demissum

Some sort of evening primrose - not sure which kind

This picture was taken in King's Canyon. I'm not sure what type of lilies these were, but they were beautiful backlit. The picture at the top of my blog was also taken in King's Canyon. The flowers are a penstamon and some sort of mustard-looking flower. Not sure of either name.