Sutter's Fort State Historic Park

Sutter's Fort is a recreation of the fort built by John Sutter in 1840.  A German born Swiss, Sutter secured a Mexican land grant of over 47,000 acres by becoming a Mexican citizen.  He sought to establish a self sufficient colony which he called New Helvetica (New Switzerland).

 He had a successful farming operation, growing barley, peas, beans and cotton in addition to wheat.  He raised cattle, sheep, horses and mules.

Carpentry shop

Grain mill

Blanket Factory

Distillery

Of course, who could imagine a frontier outpost without whiskey?

 

Docents in period costume explain and demonstrate life at the fort.  Many displays have audio explanations that turn on when the visitor approaches.

Sutter's colony did not last long.  John Marshall's discovery of gold in 1848 at the lumber mill he ran for Sutter was the beginning of the end.  Sutter could not hold his land against the hordes of gold seekers that began coming to California in 1849 and the American courts did not recognize his Mexican land grants. 

By 1860 all that remained of Sutter's Fort was the central building.  In 1890 the site was purchased by the Native Sons of the Golden West and reconstruction was started a year later based on a map that had been published in Germany in 1847.

Today the Fort is a living history museum, a place where school children can come and learn about life in 19th century California and get some hands on experience in some of the skill that were needed then.

This is one view of our amazing world, see other views at 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.

Sacramento National Wildlife Reuge

Knowing that Hubby's eye surgery would soon keep us tethered to our home, we took a trip up deep into the rice growing country of the Sacramento Valley.
Before Europeans came to California this was prime habitat for wildlife.  Migrating birds used it as a stopover and other waterfowl found it to be an ideal winter resort.
It is also prime agricultural land and the wildlands eventually became rice fields.  The birds thought the rice was a fine substitute for their natural food, the farmers didn't agree.

In 1937 the US Fish and Wildlife Service began to turn some dry alkaline land into wetlands.  Today there are 35,000 acres of wetlands and uplands and an additional 30,000 acres in conservation easements.The new wetlands help to lure the birds from the rice fields until after harvest.

There is a two mile walking trail and a much longer auto tour.  Except for two spots along the auto tour, visitors are required to stay in their vehicle. I saw Black necked stilts, pied-billed grebes, snow geese, white fronted geese, northern shovelers, American widgeons, cinnamon teals, gadwalls, American white pelicans to name just a few.  I was thrilled to see the heron with snake.

I spotted this creature sneaking across the pond.  I thought it was a beaver but when I downloaded the shot it was obvious that it was a raccoon.

We were pleased with the variety of bird life that we found at the complex headquarters but disappointed that there were no sandhill cranes.

We learned that the cranes could be found at the Llano Seco unit so the next day we went there.  Here the land was being flooded across the road from some rice fields.

See those hazy skies?  One problem for the photographer in the Sacramento Valley is the practice of burning the rice fields after harvest.  Day after day the sky is filled with smoke haze.

There were lots of geese and I could here the cranes but they were far away.  If you enlarge this shot you might be able to pick them out under the trees in the background.

Across the road, in the rice field there were many more but too far for a great shot.

Rice farmers with conservation easements flood their fields after harvest providing additional habitat.

I know that conservatives think government should do less, only spend money on things like war but it is my belief that our nation would be far poorer with a do nothing government.  Yes, we need farms and the food they provide but I don't think I would like to live in a world where the only animals were humans and their factory farmed meat animals.

See more of our amazing world at Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by 

Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.

See more great birdlife at World Bird Wednesday, hosted by Springman

Now Hubby is spending 10 days in a head down position while his eye heals.  We're hoping that when he sees the doctor on Wednesday he will again be free to roam.

Jacksonville, Oregon Dressed for Halloween

We avoid urban areas most of the time but I do love small towns, especially the ones that seem caught in a past era.

Southern Oregon has a cluster of three towns.  Medford is the urban commercial hub, a place we avoided.  Ashland is the artistic town, host to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival and Jacksonville is a small town that tries to attract tourists by preserving its early mining town heritage.

I liked the display in this barber shop window.  Black Bart had been a local stagecoach robber in the nineteenth century and who couldn't enjoy the barbershop memorabilia.

Do you remember these?  I do.  There was one in front of the local drug store when I was a child.

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

Bumpass Hell

An easy and worthwhile hike in Lassen Volcanic National Park is the hike to Bumpass Hell

The trail is fairly level for the first mile with views of Mt Lassen along the way.

Looking back towards the parking area there are views of Mt. Diller as well.  An explanatory sign at an overlook explains that Mt Diller is a remnant of the volcano that once covered the area.  Some references call that ancient volcano Brokeoff Mountain and others call it Mt. Tehema.

After a mile you reach another overlook and a 300 foot decent down into the basin.  This is the largest concentration of hydrothermal features in the park.  There are no geysers as in Yellowstone but it is still interesting and I like the pastel colors.

Boardwalks lead through the area allowing safe viewing of the features.  A trail to the right continues on past Cold Boiling Lake to the Kings Creek Picnic area.  

It had been a cold and windy day but down by the hot pools and vents, the steam kept us nice and warm.

We made two trips to Lassen this year and hope to make many more.

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

Sardine Lake

Several years ago we took a drive up California route 49.  We explored the northern end of this road through California's historic Gold Country. That trip had been before digital cameras and blogging and I was anxious to return so that I could share this place with you.

The innkeeper at the B & B we stayed at (no, we don't always camp) suggested dinner at Sardine Lake resort but warned us that they did not take credit cards.It doesn't look very impressive but as I recall, the food was good.  Since we didn't eat there this trip I can't vouch for the quality currently nor do I know if they now take credit cards.
















We were told to check in at the boat house where we could get a drink and wait for our table.

As pleasant as that evening had been, neither of these things are what I was anxious to experience again.

 It was this that drew me back. The incredible beauty of the Sierra Buttes reflected in Sardine Lake.

The area is very popular in the summer but was quiet when we visited early in the fall.  Even though many fisherman were out on the lake, there were still plenty of boats available to rent.

 Nearby is Sand Pond with a picnic area and swimming.

An interpretive trail begins at sand pond.  Signs along the way explain how both man and nature have changed the environment over time.

A sign here explained how beavers dammed up the creek here, drowning the trees.  After the beavers moved on the pond filled in and became a meadow.  Eventually the forest will retake this land.  

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

A Tribute to Fallen Firefighters

While traveling US 395 going to and from our cabin, we pass the site of the 2003 Cannon fire.  Over the years I have noticed that T-shirts have been accumulating on a wire fence near the fire area.  Today I stopped to check it out.

I found this plaque commemorating the crew of a fire tanker which crashed near the site while fighting the fire.  Most, though not all of the shirts are from various fire-fighting agencies and as you can see many other mementos have been left over the years.

I was sorry that I had never stopped before.  It had the feel of a place of pilgrimage for firefighters and others.

If you are ever driving through the area and want to stop, here is where you will find it.




For more views of our world, go to Our World, Tuesday, hosted for us by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy.