Back at the Lake

 

The week before last was the first time since my surgery that I was back at the lake. I had missed these outings to "my" lake so much and it felt wonderful to be out again and walk the familiar trails.

I opted against the paved trail and chose to start out on the shaded trail up the hill. Only few people walk here and I had the trail almost completely to myself.

There's always something interesting and fascinating to see, like these roots.

I noticed that the Western Spice bush (Calycanthus occidentalis) had it first reddish-pink flowers and the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) started to bloom as well.

Ferns peeked out from under old logs and lace lichen softly wafted in the wind.

Fallen trunks gave the forest a fairy tale like mood - Hänsel und Gretel, anyone?

My beloved Rattlesnake grass (Briza maxima) - this is invasive, but has very little ecological impact, therefore I feel okay to like it. The thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus) has become quite invasive in California - but boy, it's so beautiful.

Eventually I left the forest and walked along the sunny trail above the lake. The view from here fascinate me every single time.

Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) was growing through the fence, a sweet little bi-color wildflower. It is non-native, but at this time not considered invasive in California.

On the fence a California Quail (Callipepla californica) was watching over his family who was foraging in the grass and bushes nearby. I was quite surprised how close he let me get to pass by him. Usually they're rather skittish and run to take cover in the nearest bushes.

I'm not quite sure what this is. I suspect it's some native plum (Klamath plum? Prunus subcordata), but I wasn't successful in identifying it without a doubt. Nevertheless, I thought it was very beautiful the way it was arching over the trail on my way down to the lake.

Closer to the lake, both Wild Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and Hemlock (Conium maculatum) had already grown pretty tall. Both can be quite invasive and hemlock, of course, it highly poisonous.

Down at the lake I sat at one of the picnic benches, wrote in my journal and watched the waterfowl. The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor - and if I identified it wrongly, I hope that David will correct me) made a big splash and offered quite the show while doing the cleaning routine. The Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) paraded their youngsters along the beach. Aren't those goslings just too cute?

Before I go I want to share a photo of one of my favorite "corners" at the lake, this crooked tree. In the background you can see that the lake is still much covered by Azolla and duckweed, something that always happens during warmer days in spring. It eventually will die off completely.