Category: California

A Sea of Orange

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A Sea of Orange, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I spent a long week-end up in the Sonoma Coastal area with Naturalist Jon Menard and 6 other hikers this was one of the first places we stopped to visit. I enjoyed the garden so much I didn’t have a chance to go in the house! You know what that means don’t’ you? Right! I must go back.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 18-200mmVR @ 27mm| f8| 1/620 second| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod

For the Historians:
The famed horticulturist Luther Burbank made his home in Santa Rosa for more than fifty years. On this garden site and in nearby Sebastopol, Burbank conducted the plant-breeding experiments that brought him world renown. His objective was to improve the quality of plants and thereby increase the world’s food supply. In his working career Burbank introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants- including over 200 varieties of fruits, many vegetables, nuts and grains, and hundreds of ornamental flowers.

Tioga and Glacier Roads Plowing Update

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There is still a lot of snow up there!

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm

 

Watch the crew as it plows near Olmstead Point

http://www.nps.gov/media/pwr/avElement/yose-olmstedplowing.mov

 

For the historians View a log of Tioga & Glacier Roads Closing/ Opening dates.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm

Dogwood

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Dogwood, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Another photo of the Dogwood blossoms taken while hiking on the Overlook Trail in Calaveras Big Trees State Park here in California.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35mm @ 17mm| f8| 1/250 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held

Juvenile Northern Pacific Rattlesnake

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Nikon D90, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday afternoon I hiked up to Black Mt. starting from a new to me trail-head. On the way down he was sunbathing on the side of the trail. Heman nearly stepped on him! He was about 2ft long, not too fat, and only had 4 rings on his rattle. I didn’t get all that close to him. I stayed on the other side of the fire road/trail.
About 1/2 mile from the end of my hike I saw another smaller one sitting on the side of the trail.
Yesterday afternoon was the day for wildlife. I saw a deer, a rabbit, 2 rattlers, and a hawk eating something. I couldn’t tell what it was I was too far away.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 18-200mmVR @ 170mm| f10| 1/25 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
Hike details
Black Mt Trail via Rhus Ridge Trail
Total hike 10 miles
Total feet gained 2,549
Total time: 4h 33mins.
Average speed 2.2mph

Correction- Thanks to Correcamino for correctly Identifying this rattler for me!

Forenoon under the Dogwoods

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Nikon D90, PhotographyTagged , , , , 1 Comment

Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved.

The Dogwoods are blooming in the mountains so a friend and I went on a day trip up to see and photograph them.

Our journey took us to Calaveras Big Trees California State Park. The ranger told us the North Grove was probably at peak bloom, and the South Grove was already showing signs it was past peak, so we went straight to the North Grove.

I hadn’t been to this park in many years. It’s a beautiful park with a lovely ancient Redwood forest with Giant Sequoia, and Coast Redwoods. There is a very famous tree stump here it’s as big a room. These colossal trees can reach up to 325ft tall, and have a diameter of 33ft! Some of these trees are thought to be 2,000 years old.

Growing all around these beautiful trees are Dogwoods. The forest floor is full of new Dogwoods with their slender trunks and delicate branches.

We didn’t find many low blossoms on the day we went. The blossoms were high in the canopy where the sunshine hits the trees first.

Our explorations took us up to the North Grove Overlook trail. We hiked up about a mile, and it was here we found some new blossoms which were low enough to photograph some close-ups.

There is a Christian legend about the Dogwood tree, author unknown, is as follows:

In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
To a stately size and a lovely hue.
‘Twas strong and firm it’s branches interwoven
For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
Christ made a promise which still holds good:
“Never again shall the dogwood grow
Large enough to be used so.
Slender and twisted, it shall be
With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
As blood stains the petals marked in brown
The blossom’s center wears a thorny crown.
All who see it will remember Me
Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
Cherished and protected, this tree shall be
A reminder to all of my agony.


Additional Tree Facts:

The species of dogwood tree that is native to California is the Pacific or Western dogwood (C. nuttallii). It is one of the tallest of the dogwoods and one that produces the most blooms. Its natural habitat ranges from southern British Columbia in Canada to the southernmost parts of California and as far as 200 miles inland.

Features

The branches of the Western dogwood, which can grow horizontally as well and vertically, form a thick crown that can be round or cone-shaped. The tree can grow from 15 to 40 feet tall, or be trimmed to grow as a hedge. It produces white flowers that can have a touch of pink and are larger than the flowers of other dogwood species, and orange-red berries. The green leaves turn yellow/orange in the fall and then fall off.

Uses and Benefits

The California dogwood will attract birds and wildlife. It can be used as a standalone lawn plant, grown as a hedge or as part of a wind break.

Tree facts obtained from Sunset Garden Books

 

Horse Heaven Trail to Mission Peak Pole

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nikon, PhotographyTagged 1 Comment

Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved.

I met two fellow hikers this morning who are also training for some upcoming summer hiking and backpacking trips. Our goal this morning was to start the hike at 5:30AM, summit and be down by 8:30AM.

I fell behind rapidly, and at one point was at least a 1/2 mile behind my 2 hiking companions. They were wonderful and marked or pointed me in the right direction when I reached a fork in the trail. We hiked up a new to me trail this morning called the Horse Heaven trail which takes you up the back side of the mountain.

The trail is pretty steep in a few places, and then meanders around the ridge, and then you drop down into a valley lush with a little creek, oak trees, and native shrubs. A large part of the trail is single track and very rutted from cows, and rain, but it winds its way gently up the slope then under the Peak 100ft or so it gets steep again.

I was surprised to find myself at the Pole once I reached the summit. I was there before I expected to be. The hike itself was work, and quite strenuous in those really steep places, but not as hard as it’s been before. I do believe I’m getting stronger. Rather than another shot of me at the Pole here is the view of the Pole, and distant Downtown San Jose gleaming in the morning sun light.

I improved my Summit time by 10 minutes and overall up and down time by an hour!

(see my hike stats at the bottom of the page)

More views from the trail-

View of Mission Peak Trail winding up the mountain w/ construction trucks. Mission Peak is getting a new bathroom up at the sub Peak. It’s much better than an Out-house!

Steven and Nick climbing a really steep bit of Horse Heaven Trail

Lichen covered boulders and rocks with a view of the bay and Fremont, CA.

A view of the single track part of the trail, and ridge line with the morning sunlight shining on the hilltop.

Very near the summit a Meadow Lark was greeting the morning with song.

On the way down taking the Mission Peak Trail we saw the new bathroom’s upper half and roof being put into place.

Hike details:

Total miles hiked- 6.2

Total elevation gain- 2,197ft

Time to summit 1:50

Total Hike time: 3:06

Nikon D300s|Nikkor 18-200mm VR