Misty Morning at the Lake

For Rain's TADD I don't have any art to show - my art today are the photos I took yesterday morning when I walked around the lake. I finally had taken my big camera with me - the last few times I was here I saw so many birds, but couldn't really capture them with my cell phone. I have a good camera in my phone, but it certainly is not THAT good.

It was a misty morning like we have so often here, when the fog from the coast is hanging low. Since temperatures are much lower on those mornings and the moisture in the air is higher, I prefer them to a bright sunny morning (that's something I like in the winter). It is very typical weather for our area.

The sun was just peeking through the fog and the trees.

It is so beautiful when the mist hovers over the lake. I sat on my favorite bench for quite some time, journaling and just enjoying this delightful morning. The birds that I was hoping for, though, kept hiding - as if they knew that I brought my camera! Only the mallards were kind enough to make an appearance in a very safe distance.

Slowly, the fog started to rise. Isn't it beautiful how the water sparkles in the few rays of sunshine?

And then the fog just burned off - the entire process in the following three pictures took less than ten minutes (maybe this fits the "movement" prompt in today's TADD?)

Life on the lake became busier.

Eventually I left the bench and continued my walk. I had given up hope to see any herons this morning - usually there are Black-crowned Night Herons and Green Herons here, who are favorites of mine. But it seems today they weren't in the mood to show themselves.

Instead I first heard and then saw this lovely woodpecker. I always have difficulties identifying woodpeckers; I believe this is a Downy woodpecker, but I'm confident that David will correct me if I'm wrong.

Then I heard the distinctive call of the Red-shouldered Hawk, but I couldn't see it. It kept me company for a few minutes until I suddenly saw him (her?) flying towards and landing in the top of this tree (I'm even worse in identifying trees). But what was that? Right behind it was a second hawk, landing right beside No. 1. I felt like winning the lottery.

I took a million photos until they were tired playing model for me and took off. I felt quite elated when I walked on - what a wonderful sight these birds had been.

There were unmistakable signs of autumn - my favorite season is just around the corner!

There was some rustling in the underbrush - our state bird, the California Quail.

On a shady trail sunlight lit up the pale-yellow flower heads of fennel. I love this kind of light.

And then, when I least counted on it, there it was standing by the side of the lake, waiting for its morning snack - a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron! I love love love these birds.

This was such a wonderful morning. 

So today, I went to the farmers market in the morning. Wednesday and Saturday mornings are our famers market days, with the market on Wednesday being much smaller than the one on Saturday. Even though there are by far fewer vendors, I tend to prefer Wednesdays for the simple reason that there is much more time to talk. I learned so much about the different kinds of garlic, e.g. that you have to use much less of "Red German" than it states in a recipe because it's quite strong - and it is the one I always buy. It has such fantastic flavor.

This time of year is simply the best - the abundance of vegetable and fruit is incredible. Look what I brought home from the farmers market this morning:

Even Kibeau approves!

Unfortunately, the "mushroom guy" wasn't there today. He has the best selection of mushrooms - however, I still mostly buy cremini and shiitake and sometimes chanterelle. Recently I made (crooked) vol-au-vents with my creamy mushroom sauce - looks odd, tastes delicious. A glass of dry rosé from a local winery is a fine companion. Bon appétit.

 

Laguna Birds

 

In my last post I promised to show some of the birds that I had seen during my walk in the laguna a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful sunny day, but as you can see in the photo above, there was still snow lying on the hills. It's always intriguing to see flowering trees and fields down here and the snow capped hills in the background.

I know that there are quite some Western Bluebirds in the laguna, but I see them only rarely. This time, however, I spotted them every time I walked here.

There were dozens of Song Sparrows in the bushes and grasses. These sparrows truly pay credit to their name - they have such a beautiful song. They may blend into their surroundings, but their singing gives their presence away.

In the trees along the laguna I spotted so many herons that I stopped to count them. One tree was solely populated by Cattle Egrets, some Green Herons were visible, but most of all I saw Black-crowned Night-Herons. The male and female look alike, but it is easy to tell the juveniles apart. There were entire families roosting in the trees.

I love these guys!

The Red-shouldered Hawks were very active that day. Before I saw them I usually heard them, they have a very unique rather high pitched call. One of them was so kind to land in the tree near where I stood watching the Black-crowned Night-Herons. 

After my walk I stopped on the other side of the laguna - I always wanted to explore the area here and I finally did it. While I was happily taking pictures of trees in water I discovered some big white birds swimming in the distance. I first thought they were swans, but when I observed them more closely I though they were behaving differently from swans. I tried to get closer where they were, and when I finally could see them much more clearly I realized that they were American White Pelicans.

I was surprised to see them here. At the ocean I have seen hundreds of Brown Pelicans and I always thought we don't have White Pelicans in Northern California. Well, I stand corrected. This seems to be the farthest North they get in the winter - seeing them North of the Golden Gate is, indeed, very rare, and I think this was an extraordinarily special treat. Once in twenty years...

This was such a wonderful day in the Laguna that was complete after I had discovered the field of mustard on my way back.

 

Precious Waters

Tuesday was my last day at work before the summer break. The last couple weeks had been very hectic and busy as they usually are at the end of the school year. But now the seniors have graduated, the other students left for their summer weeks off and we used the final two days to tidy up the library and get the textbook room in order for the beginning of the next school year. Then our break started.

It's a weird feeling to wake up in the morning knowing that you don't have to go to work for several weeks. It didn't take me long to seize the opportunity and walk around my beloved lake. I just wanted to walk enjoying the scenery and decided to leave the camera at home. Of course I saw way to many things I wanted to photograph, but fortunately I still had my phone with me. These pictures were all taken with my LG G4 over the course of two mornings.

There is a paved path that travels around the entire lake, but I usually stick to the horse trails. For obvious reasons they are not paved, well maintained and usually less crowded.

One of my favorite parts is the Fisherman's Trail that leads right next to the lake. The blackberry bushes were overgrowing almost everything. These plants are very invasive and unfortunately crowd out the native plants, even though the rangers do their best to control them. The lake is mostly hidden behind the high plants, but the sound of many birds is present all the time. To the left is a slope with many trees, some of which display beautiful bark color or an interesting shape.

I know the spots where I have seen black-crowned night herons in the past. I always stop by there, and sure enough there was a juvenile black-crowned night heron fishing for his breakfast.

On the other side of the lake I saw an adult one - maybe his momma?

Sometimes I walk up the slope to the huge water tanks near the paved path. The shadows of the trees on the tanks drew me in that morning. I love the shape of all these trees.

Turning back to the lake this view always captivates me.

I met Canada Geese with their young ones on the slope - I was quite surprised not to see them at the lake but in this dry environment. They were busy nibbling the seeds on the grasses.

Look, who I met here! S/he came out on the trail from the side, surprising me. Lucky for me I was still about 30 feet away and I made sure to keep a respectful distance. S/he eventually decided to disappear in the tall grasses up the slope and I could proceed unharmed.

Along the trails by the lake there is always a lot of beautiful vegetation in those places where the blackberry bushes haven't overtaken. Gorgeous thistles, seedpods of salsifies, Queen Anne's Lace and something I couldn't identify.

Then I decided to leave the path by the lake and follow the horse trail up the hill. There's no one there except for the rabbits and snakes.

The views are gorgeous and always remind me why I love living here. All the fresh spring green is gone by now - we haven't had rain for weeks - but I also like the "golden" look. It's so typical for California in the summer.

It was here that I discovered this beautiful dragonfly.

The trail then leads into the forest and it seems you're entering an entirely different world.

This tree was still standing the last time I walked along this trail. Change is ongoing. The fungi on the trees looks interesting and is constantly growing.

There are more wildflowers to find, especially those that like some shade. We're almost at the end of our trail. To the left you can climb up into Annadel State Park (it is much steeper than it looks), to the right you get back to the lake.

Or you can stop at this picnic area next to some old Redwoods. Take a rest, write in your journal, listen to the birds and do some push-ups (that's what I do).

Taking the path back to the lake I end up at the Children's Memorial Grove right at the lake. A few years ago together with some friends we put in a tile for Katie here.

Back in the parking lot I noticed that the California Buckeye is in full bloom. I love these trees!

It was a beautiful morning at the lake and I plan to come back as often as I can during my summer break. This place feeds my soul and every time I'm here I feel like my entire body relaxes and my thoughts are going in a positive direction. Often I don't think anything, just take in the nature around me, listen to the birds and watch the herons. It's time just for me and a precious gift.