Walking Among Old Oak Trees

 

Last week my friend Kris and I took a lovely walk in Crane Creek Regional Park which is one of my favorites. The reason I like it so much is that it has so many old native oak trees that give the park its special character. In the spring a grand show of native wildflowers downright explodes here, but due to my stupid knee and the surgery I wasn't able to see it this year. However, last year I did see the wildflowers and if you are curious about them, you can see them here. 

The first oak we saw was a dead oak.

Most dead trees are simply left in this park where they slowly decay and still give lots of shelter and food supply for the wildlife. I think this is one of the reasons I like this park so much, its very natural state.

Here's another decaying tree:

Isn't it gorgeous? Of course, poison oak is already growing up the trunk in the background.

Below you see two dead trunks in front of and next to oaks and other trees that are way more alive.

Getting closer and changing perspective, they looked a little different.

They actually remind me of a mating dance of (rattle)snakes, only a bit bigger and clumsier.

We were getting closer to the halfway point of our walk, a bench in the shade of this tree. From up here we had a splendid view over the oaks in the valley. While we were sitting there, we were able to observe many birds and feisty squirrels. Crane Creek is home to a good number of raptors; this time we saw and heard Red-tailed hawks as well as White-tailed kites.

The oak we were sitting under already showed some signs of autumn.

Other oaks seemed to have fallen only recently, lying on the ground with their foliage still full and green.

Others were just crooked - my kind of tree!

Do you see the Turkey vulture sitting on the dead tree (this was actually a song Kaefer learned during 6th grade science camp on the Marin Headlands). Just right before it had landed with wide open wings. Their wingspan is enormous, but I was too late with my camera, because...

... I was taking a picture of this. Crooked tree branches over our path. These are the things I love.

You can hardly see the face of the Turkey vulture, but I do need a face for Nicole's Friday Face Off. So I stayed closer to home and took a picture of soundly sleeping Kibeau on top of the leaves in my garden, just wanting to be near me. I love his sweet little face when he is so relaxed. My sweet grumpy old man.