Auburn Farmer's Market

My world is at the eastern edge of California's Sacramento Valley.  Not quite on the valley floor but not really the Sierra Foothills, Hubby likes to call it the "toe hills".

One of the great things about this area is its variety of locally grown food.

In the Summer you can find a Farmer's Market any day of the week, and there are two year around markets.  While the variety may not be as great in the winter months it puts the cook in touch with the rhythm of the seasons and encourages one to try cooking what is currently growing.  With the coming of spring, the number of vendors has increased here at the Auburn market, open Saturdays year 'round.

While most of the vendors feature produce and goods from Placer or the adjoining counties, Rodriguez comes from Watsonville on  the coast.  It's about 200 miles, not close but a lot closer than most grocery stores get their food.

With its marine influence, it is hard to beat the quality and variety of food grown there.

If citrus is what you crave, though, you can't beat Placer grown mandarins!  Mine don't come from the market but from my own garden.

So what can you find besides veggies?  Well, how about some fresh picked mushrooms?

Or some freshly baked bread.

Pistachios,   locally grown, in the shell, flavored or turned into a spread.

Olive oil in several flavors.  Dedrick's features cheese from north of San Francisco as well as imported cheeses.

Tired of chicken eggs?  How about turkey or duck eggs?

We don't eat much meat but most of what we do eat comes from my friend Bob at Coffee Pot Ranch.  The beef is all grass fed and lean.  All of the meat is hormone and antibiotic free.  I've been out to the ranch and seen how well treated the animals are.

Wine?  Of course.  This is California after all and not all of the wine comes from Napa or the Central Coast.  There are plenty of fine wineries in the foothills.

If you don't want to wait until you get home with your purchases to eat, well how about some pizza.  Not in the mood for pizza?  There is also a vendor selling fresh hummus and pita, another with samosas and other Indian food and of course Mexican food is also on offer.

One rancher even brought his livestock.  This man sells skin products made from emu oil!  He assured me this gal would never be turned into "product".  She has a name and once named the animals are safe.  At least until old age makes them unproductive breeders.

You can see more of our wonderful world at Our World, Tuesday.

Looking for Panstarrs

In hopes of getting a shot of Comet Panstarrs I drove with my gear to a nearby viewpoint.

March 8 was a perfect night with clear skies but alas, the comet had set by the time the sky had darkened enough to view it.

March 9 had a similar issue plus the marine layer was creeping over the coast range 50 miles away.  March 10 we walked up to enjoy the view but since it is 3/4 of a mile I didn't bring my camera gear.

Last night, March 13, I tried again.  By now the comet was higher in the sky, away from the glare of the just set sun.  Unfortunately the clouds in the west were also higher.  Although the comet was faintly visible through the clouds it was to faint for a picture.  I did enjoy the sunset, though.

Clouds on the western horizon are normal here, great for sunsets by not too good for comet gazing.

I'll be checking SkyWatch, Friday to see if any other sky watchers had better luck.  Follow the link and join me there.

Don't Feed the Wildlife!

Hubby and were headed out for an evening photo shoot when we came upon a van stopped in the middle of the lane.  What was going on?  A coyote on the side of the road.  I quickly grabbed my camera with no time to check the settings before Jules drove around the other vehicle (when will I learn to leave it in auto mode?)

This is what I found when I downloaded my images, woefully underexposed!  The camera had been in manual mode, set for much more light.  All was not lost, I was shooting in raw.

 Not the beautiful image I would have liked but good enough to make another point.  Not only had the driver stopped in the traffic lane, he was feeding the coyote and inviting it in to his van!  We then heard a woof of a different sort, a ranger pulled up behind.

The driver was pulled over at "Valley View", our first photo stop and I heard the ranger say he was giving a citation for stopping on the road but the "biggie" was the citation for feeding wildlife.  I don't know what this will cost the driver but it can be as much as $5,000.

Human food is not good for animals (much of it isn't good for humans, either).   Feeding wildlife can train them that humans are a source of food and they can become aggressive and dangerous.

Wildlife should not be fed or approached but no matter how hard rangers try, some folks just don't get the message.

See more critters at Camera Critters.

Impressionist Reflections

We saw a great art show while in Yosemite--"Yosemite Renaissance"

 I was inspired to try something a bit different.

Soft light and ripples in the water allowed me to make some interesting, almost painterly, images of the reflections in the Merced River.  

Follow the link above to see what the creative artists of "Yosemite Renaissance" did last year in a variety of mediums.  If you find yourself in Yosemite between now and May 5, stop and see the current exhibit at the museum.  You might find yourself inspired as I did.

See more reflections at Weekend Reflections, hosted for us by James

Alligator Pear

This California girl couldn't pass up a sign like this, seen on Highway 41 just east of Morro Bay.

Avocados are one of my favorite fruits but good ones are not easy to find. 

They are sometimes called "Alligator Pears" and like many true pears they ripen off the tree.  Perhaps some commercial growers pick them too early, before they are fully mature or they are improperly handled after picking.  Whatever the reason, the ones in the super market often lack flavor or show signs of rot.

They are picky about growing conditions, they don't like it too hot and are susceptible to freeze and frost damage.   Many of the trees we drove past showed such damage due to an unusual cold snap.  The coastal areas of California, south of Big Sur are the best growing areas.

Another interesting fact is why most cultivars are not self fruitful.  "A" cultivars open in the morning of the first day of bloom as female, close mid-day and open the next day in the afternoon as male.  "B" cultivars are female in the afternoon of the first day of bloom and male in the morning.  Thus they can not pollinate themselves

The avocado ranch had a little store with perfectly ripe and soon to ripen avocados.  They were delicious.  They also sold a variety of gourmet items such as avocado oil (it has a very high smoke point), balsamic vinegar, salsas, chips and dipping oil.  I bought a habanero  salsa that son Eric found to be adequately hot and quickly devoured.  I now have yet another reason to visit Morro Bay.

Linked to Signs, Signs, hosted for us by Lesley.

Limekiln State Park

While camping at Morro Bay we decided to drive up the coast and check out Limekiln State Park.  This was one of the parks slated to be closed until the state found funds to keep it open.

The park sits on the coast and features both ocean views and deep, shaded redwood groves.  There were also several hiking trails and we chose the short (1 mile each way) trail to the historic limekilns.

The trail follows a lovely creek which is crossed several times by nice, sturdy bridges.

 One of the kilns featured this impressive stone base while three others were just tall steal cylinders.

Limestone was packed into the kilns and smelted into powdered lime which was then shipped to be used in the making of cement.  The combination of limestone and abundant redwood to use as fuel made this a viable but short lived operation, the limestone ran out before the redwood.

There was another trail I wish we had been able to explore.  It went up to what I am told is a very lovely waterfall.  Unfortunately, there are several stream crossings and no bridges on that trail.  I didn't have time for what might have been a tricky and time consuming adventure.  Perhaps another time.
You can learn more about the park and the trail here.  For a map to its location, click here.

To see more of our amazing world, visit Our World, Tuesday.

Memo to self, don't link when tired

Birding at Morro Bay

Morro Bay on the Central California Coast is a popular place to vacation for humans, birds and humans looking for birds.  With a nice State Park Campground with hook-ups it was perfect for us.

Brant

 The area has a variety of habitats which means there is a variety of bird life.

American Wigeon

In the grasslands of the estuary we saw Brants, American Wigeons and Great Blue Herons.

female Bufflehead

In the bay were Buffleheads, Loons, Greater Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, Pelicans, and a variety of grebes.

Loon

Grebe

I find it hard to ID the grebes in there winter plumage, my guess would be an Eared Grebe.  I also saw pied-billed grebes.

Ruddy Duck

I love the way their little tails stick up.

American White Pelican

Greater Scaup

I'm sure there were many species out in the bay that escaped my view.

Brown Pelican

Other birds were spotted above the water like this Brown Pelican.

A squadron of Cormorants skimmed the water.

female Belted Kingfisher

Hubby spotted this Kingfisher watching for a meal from the mast of a sailboat.  Thanks Jules, my best kingfisher image yet.

Long Billed Curlew

Shorebirds hunted in the mudflats at low tide.  In addition to the Curlew I saw Egrets, Marbled Godwits and Willets.

Assorted Peeps

I was told that there were some redknots among the other peeps out at the water's edge.  They were too far to get a good shot.

Black Phoebe

Of course, there were passerines as well.  I heard but did not see a Great Horned Owl.

We saw a lot in our three days but there is a lot more to see, we need to go back.

See more of what our wonderful world has to offer at Our World, Tuesday, hosted by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.

To see more birds from around the world, go to Wild Bird Wednesday, hosted by Stewart