Flowers Along the Way

The state is building a bypass around our little town.  It won't open until the end of the year but they have already planted wildflowers along the right-of-way.

We went out a few weeks ago to take a look.

Lupine

Goldfields

California Poppy

Clover

At least this little strip of land in being returned to the natural beauty that John Muir wrote about.  Most of California's Great Valley is cultivated or grazed with few of the native plants to be found.  I guess there is something positive that can be said for freeways. 

Find more flowers at Today's Flowers, hosted by Luiz.

Find more views of our wonderful world at Our World, Tuesday, hosted by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.

Spring in My World

It's Spring, that magic time in the garden and so I've been spending more time at home and less time traveling and taking pictures.

The bulbs are up, undeterred by the dry winter.  Tulips, muscari and daffodils grace my garden.

The wisteria is will soon burst into bloom with its heavenly fragrance and cascade of blooms.

The peach and nectarine trees are in bloom and for the first time the winter nellis pear is blooming.  Unfortunately, its companion the comice pear is not in bloom so I have been roaming the neighbor hood, snipping some blooms from the many ornamental pears in hopes of successfully hand pollinating.  The apricots, early bloomers, already have little fruitlets developing.

I've been carefully tending tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings, keeping them on a heating mat in the house and putting them outside on warm, sunny days.  Some of the tomatos will soon be ready to plant in the garden (if the weather cooperates) but peppers and eggplants started at the same time still don't have their first true leaves.  A week of much needed rain is in the forecast so perhaps I'll be in at my computer again instead of out playing in the dirt.  But then, maybe I'll be stuck with my nose in the seed catalogs or gardening books.

This is what is happening in my world, to see other parts of the world go to That's Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.

Autumn is for the Birds

In the Summer I don't see much bird life around here.  Perhaps it is me, I don't like the heat and hide inside much of the time.  Now that the weather is cool, I'm outside and the birds are here, like old friends they have come to keep me company.  Here are some birds I have seen on my walks over the last week

The Spotted Towhee is not uncommon.  What is uncommon is to get a good shot.  Ground feeders, they are often seen in the shade and they scurry under some brush when I come near.  This one was catching some sun after a day of rain.

His cousin, the California Towhee

A Meadow Lark shows off his bright plumage.

I've shown you the Acorn Woodpecker, here is another woodpecker that frequents my community, the Northern Flicker.

Phoebes are flycatchers, they can often be seen hawking bugs out of the air.  This one is a Says Phoebe, we also see the Black Phoebe on our walks.

I noticed this ball of fluff perched on top of a branch.  I couldn't get a view of the entire bird, I think it is a Mockingbird but it is hard to be sure from this view.

Our numerous wetland areas offer a different variety of birds.  There are plenty of mallards, coots and Canada geese, but others are around as well.

It is not unusual to see an egret, either hunting in the grasslands or by a pond.  The cormorant has it's favorite snag, often this location is too backlit  for a good shot.

I think this little heron is a juvenile Green Heron.

I was pleased to get some great images of this Great Blue Heron.  He posed, stretched, fluffed his feathers and then flew away.  I got some great shots.

See more of our wonderful world at Our World, Tuesday; hosted for us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy

See more birds at World Bird, Wednesday,  hosted by Springman.

Shadows and Reflection

Last month I noticed these great shadows and reflection at the entrance to our community lodge.  I guess I could link it to SkyWatch as well but will limit it to 

Weekend Reflections, Hosted by James

&

Shadow Shot Sunday, hosted by Tracy

 

Feats of Clay Ceramics Competition

I promised pictures of some of the entries in the "Feats of Clay".  There were so many wonderful pieces of art I had to pick just a few to share, actually, quite a few.

It would be hard to pick a favorite, but this would be at the top of my list.  I found it to be an amazing 

creation.

There was a lot of variety, some were whimsical.

Some showed such an amazing 

realism, it was hard to believe that they were made of clay.

Others invited contemplation.

The presentation of the works was unusual.  Some were shown in a warehouse section of the building, surrounded by pieces of Gladding McBean's own ceramics, the rest were displayed in one of the beehive kilns.

The human mind is amazing, what a variety of ways it can find to mold a piece of clay!

You can find more interesting views of our world at That's My World, Tuesday, hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren and Sylvia.

Feats of Clay

"Feats of Clay", strange name, funny logo.

If the little city of Lincoln, California has a claim to fame it is "Gladding McBean".  Never heard of it?  If you are an architect who likes to use decorative Terra Cotta in design or a ceramics artist who wants to enter her  work in competition, then you probably know Gladding McBean and the "Feats of Clay"

Clay pipe for sewers and fresh water is the most obvious product,but the truth is that since the housing bust there has been no market and these pipes have been sitting here for several years.

So what do they make at this large plant?  This stuff at the left.  These broken pieces of decorative terra cotta have been sent here to be replicated for the restoration of the buildings from which they were removed.
Each year in May, Lincoln Arts in cooperation with Gladding Mcbean hosts a tour of the plant and a juried competition for creative ceramics.

The first step in the process is the making of a model.  For new work the architect would send a detailed drawing, for restoration drawings would be made from the old pieces.  The model must be larger than the finished piece because the clay will shrink during drying.

Molds are then made from the models and clay is beaten into the molds.  There can be no air pockets.

The clay spends several hours in the mold, once out of the molds they are finished by hand and then sent to the drying room before being glazed and fired.
There is only one firing, unlike the pottery some might have made as a hobby, there is no bisque firing here.

The kiln room is huge, mostly containing these large beehive kilns used for the clay pipe.  They haven't been in operation for several years though some still hold the fired pipe.  I guess there was no point in removing it if there was no one to buy it.




The decorative terra cotta goes in this smaller kiln, roof tiles and quarry tiles in a similar kiln a bit bigger.

It is an interesting tour with too much information to take in all at once.  Fortunately, Gladding McBean has some informative videos and pictures on their website.




The tour of the plant is only one part of the"Feats of Clay", the other part is the amazing works of art on display.  The competition draws artists from around the world and I'll show you some of it in a latter post.

This is a part of my world, find other views of our wonderful world at That's my World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Klaus, Sandy, Wren and Sylvia.

Western Sky

A spectacular sunset augmented with HDR software.

You can find more skies at Sky Watch Friday, hosted for us by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia.

Game Over--Sky Watch

We came for pictures in the nearby preserve, most folks came for a girls softball game that finished just as the sun was setting.

You can find more skies at Sky Watch Friday, hosted for us each week by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia.

12 Bridges Perserve

That's my World, Tuesday

One of our favorite bike routes takes us through the nearby 12 Bridges preserve near our home. This is a lovely ride and takes us through several different habitats. It is not without its hazards though.


I have not yet seen a rattlesnake on our ride but I have seen king snakes and racers. I'm sure the rattlers are around someplace.

In spring there are many wildflowers in the prairie grasslands. Nothing like what John Muir described after walking through the central valley in 1868, but lovely none the less.

One of the prettiest is the Gold Nuggets. This one was nice enough to bloom by the trail where I could get a good shot.


We also ride by wetlands with their perennial pools, cattails and marsh grasses.

A special type of pool is the Vernal Pool. Unlike the perennial pool above, these are seasonal. Once common in the central valley they are being lost to development. Lately there has been an attempt to save as many as possible.

This pond is in the process of drying up. As reduced in size as it is I have recently seen cinnamon teals and black necked stilts in it as well as killdeer and an egret, barely visible center rear of the green area.

This pond is now completely dry, the water has been replaced by a field of golden wildflowers. Yet another habitat can be seen along the edge, the oak woodland. On this ride we could hear wild turkeys and ring neck pheasants.

The several interconnected wild land corridors within the 12 Bridges development provide a rich habitat that is enjoyed by the residents, both the human kind and the native wild species.

There are more worlds to see at That's my World Tuesday, hosted for us each week by Klaus, Sandy Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia

Crisp Shadows, Blue Sky, Green Hills

Shadow Shot Sunday

We had some sunny days this week. Sunshine means shadows and a chance to get back on the bikes.

We managed to get in three rides last week. Nice conditioning rides of about 12 miles. We didn't want to over do it as the two months of cold and fog had gotten us out of biking condition.
Our rides took us beyond the trails in Sun City to a trail past emerald hills where the still naked oaks cast their long winter shadows.

You can see more shadows at Hey Harriet, hosted for us each week by Tracy.