Alpine marsh

One of my favorite sights in spring is the "marsh marigold" Caltha leptosepala.
Quick to bloom when the snow melts and the meadows are marshy.

It will soon be gone.

For more watery sites and sights, click here.

My World--Virginia Lakes

On our most recent visit to the cabin we put up the deck railing. For over 15 years we had a fixed railing but after we had a new metal roof installed the winter snow removed it. Now we take the railing down each fall and replace it in the spring. Once that chore was done we could go hiking, the first real hike of the season.

After wandering through the woods, the trail crosses a scree slope above Blue Lake. Often you can hear a pika call and if you are really lucky you might see one. They look so soft and sweet you wish you could pet them.

The first stream crossing is this little seasonal stream. It flows through a meadow that will soon fill with the blooms of wild onion, lupin, larkspur and Columbine. The bloom will be brief and then the meadow will dry with the stream.

The trail then passes this old cabin. The forest service keeps trying to prop it up but I suspect it will eventually collapse as many such cabins have in the past.

This meadow will have some tiger lily. I'll need to be there at just the right time, they don't last long.

On this day the most prolific blooms were on the dagger pod (Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides).

Here the trail comes around a bend to Cooney Lake. I call this spot "hurricane bend". It is one of the loveliest spots on the trail but there is often a strong wind blowing here making it too cold to linger. You can see that this day was no exception by the chop on the water.

Here the trail crosses the creek, right into the snowbank. We'll turn around, we've come 2 1/2 miles and climbed 600 feet. Today we will settle for the 5 mile round trip.

That's my world in the summer months.

See more worlds here.

Fort Ross Shadows

The previous post shows the exterior of Fort Ross and tells a little of its history. Here are some interior photos which show how they lived at the time. They also have some interesting shadows.
Inside the buildings of Fort Ross there is little light.
This lantern casts an interesting shadow.

Most of the rooms are lit only by the light coming through the windows, casting shadows inside even on this overcast day.

This candelabra hangs in the chapel.

The tool room has interesting shadows.

This room has a desk and items that would be found there in the early 1800s.

The Russian's at Fort Ross used this laboratory to study the flora and fauna of the area.

I like the look of this storeroom, lit only by the window.

To find more shadows, go to Hey Harriet .

Fort Ross State Historic Park

One of California's many wonderful state parks is Fort Ross. Fort Ross was built in 1812 by the Russian American Company. It was hoped that the settlement would be able to raise enough food to supply their settlements farther north in what is now Alaska. When we visited there was a group of school children having a living history experience. It looked like they were planning to spend the night.

The Russian's venture was not as successful as hoped. They were not able to produce enough food to supply the colonies in Alaska. The native Alaskans they employed were more successful at their task. They were such good hunters that they almost managed to hunt the sea otters to extinction.

The cove below the fort was the site of a small shipbuilding operation.

The fort was eventually sold to John Sutter who removed anything of value to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. There followed a series of owners and the state acquired the property in 1906, just before the San Francisco earthquake. The fort was heavily damaged in the quake and most of the buildings had to be rebuilt.

It is a beautiful spot, well worth the visit even for those not interested in the history.

More information on Ft Ross can be found here.

Alabama Hills and Mt. Whitney

Morning and the clouds were already building over the Sierra Nevada.
If the boulder strewn Alabama Hills look familiar it may be because they were used as a location for many movies.

Mt. Whitney seen from the Alabama hills. Not sure which peak it is?

Here is a close up. Mt. Whitney is the triangular peak in the center.

To see more skies, click here.

MacKerricher SP Beach

My Watery Wednesday
Twilight at the beach

For more watery sites and sights, click here.

Bird Box update

I thought I'd give an update on the bird box. The bluebirds left. Two young successfully fledged an a third one died. I cleaned out the box an there was soon a couple of swallows checking it out.

The swallows are not as tolerant of my working nearby as were the bluebirds. Sometimes they will fly at me or sit on the fence glaring at me.

But I have a project. I am removing the water hungry lawn to replace it with a flagstone patio and some more raised beds for vegetable and more borders for flowers.

Fortunately, the lawn is not too big. I'm working at it slowly, 3 or 4 strips of sod a day.

We're at the cabin for a week, we left on Friday, the swallows are glad, I'm sure. I have half of it done and I'll finish when I return.

Where's my Hubby? Well, he knows I enjoy hard work and is willing to let me do it. After all, I'm the one who came up with the idea.

To see more worlds, click here.