Mother's Day Outing

 

Before we go back to the fascinating standing stones of Carnac, I want to share our little trip on Mother's Day. The Geek and I don't give presents to each other for birthdays etc., but instead opt for outings that we both enjoy. We used to go to Mendocino on Mother's Day, but this year I chose Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park instead. 

This is an extremely photo-heavy post.

This place is not unknown to you - I have written about it before (here and here) and I hope that you won't get bored reading about it again. It is certainly a place I don't get tired of. This was the first time that we experienced it in spring with all the coastal flowers in bloom.

When we had already reached the coast I decided that it would be better to get my big camera, so I trotted back to the parking lot to fetch my camera from the trunk of our car where I had stored it out of sight. On my way back to the coast I came upon this little guy - a Western fence lizard.

Fun fact about this lizard: if a tick infected with the Lyme disease bacteria bites a Western fence lizard, it is not able to further spread the disease to anybody else. I learned this from a local park ranger and it really surprised me (I had no idea about this). Here is what I found on the Internet (thanks to AI): "Western fence lizards play a significant role in reducing Lyme disease risk by acting as a host for ticks and possessing a protein in their blood that kills the Lyme disease bacteria within those ticks. This proteibn, discovered in 1998, effectively clears the infection from ticks that feed on them, preventing them from transmitting Lyme disease to humans and other animals." Pretty cool, huh?

I also noticed White-crowned Sparrows.

My husband, meanwhile, had made himself comfortable on the rocks and was taking a video upon my return. 

What was he filming?

After having watched the harbor seals for a while we walked along the trail which was lined with the beautiful yellow flowering Coastal Bush Lupine.

I was really taken with all the beautiful flowers. Such an abundance!

Clockwise from top left: Hare's Tail Grass, Creamcups, Coastal Bush Lupine, California Goldfields

Clockwise from top left: Varied Lupine, Douglas Iris, Dwarf Brodiaea, Johnnytuck

Clockwise from top left: Checkerbloom, Narrow-leaf Mule's Ear, Sea Thrift, Blue-eyed Grass

Of course there were California Poppies!

The slopes were golden with California Goldfields (such a fitting name) and California Poppies.

California Goldfields with Nuttall's Milk Vetch:

It was quite amazing how little some of these plants need, they were growing right out of the rocks.

Clockwise from left: Scarlet Pimpernel, Sea Thrift, Sea Plantain, Sea Thrift

And of course there was the incredible tafoni (the honey-comb like sandstone) which this location is known for.  These rocks always succeed to amaze and fascinate me.

There are so many of them! This is just a fraction of what we saw.

They are particularly picturesque with some Sea Thrift in front of them. You might have noticed that I'm posting quite a bit of Sea Thrift pictures here - I like them so much (and this is my favorite picture of that day).

The phone camera is excellent for getting into tight spaces and taking some fun photos.

The Geek and I definitely enjoyed this beautiful spot.

Of course there were birds! We saw a few gulls -

Seeing gulls always reminds me of my mom who used to say "Die Möwen sehen alle aus als ob sie Emma hießen" (The seagulls by their looks suggest that Emma is their name) which is actually directly quoted from a poem by German writer and poet Christian Morgenstern (1871-1914). But what excited me even more was the large number of Brown Pelicans that flew along the coast. They are so elegant and graceful.

 

White-crowned Sparrows were our constant companions. We could hear their cheerful song and see them on the rocks and in the bushes throughout the entire time we stayed there. What a delight!

We also saw Song Sparrows (at least I think that's what this little guy is - I hope that David will correct me if I'm wrong).

I puzzled about this shorebird. First I thought it might be an Oystercatcher, but "our" Oystercatchers are black. I consulted Seek and Merlin and both said Wandering Tattler. I admit I have never heard of this bird and again am waiting for David's judgement.

Back to the rocks - some of them were covered in lichen, and I'm not attempting to identify which lichen it is. These are only "might be"s.

Shrubby Sunburst Lichen (Polycauliona candelaria)

Protoparmeliopsis pinguis

Armored Sea-Fog Lichen (Niebla homalea)

I had run the lichens through the Seek app which was recommended to me by a park ranger. The app itself says that there is always the possibility that the results are not correct, so please take this with a grain of salt.

Something else was fascinating - sea salt left behind in the holes of the rocks. 

And did I mention that I love Sea Thrift?

Congratulations, you made it to the end! With all the faces in this post - human, animal, plant - I link to Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Enjoy your weekend!

A Few Hours of Pure Bliss

 

After having purchased fresh vegetables at the farmers market yesterday morning, I decided to stop at the lake on my way back and go for a quick walk. Since this was a spontaneous decision I didn't have my big camera with me, neither my binoculars. I would miss both...

I had planned a really quick walk around the lake, but of course (and I should know this by now) I never made it around it. I stopped every few meters because I saw or heard something exciting and instead of walking around the lake, I went to my favorite places in its vicinity.

The lake never disappoints.

First I visited my favorite tree.

Look who was standing right next to the trail! I just waited and watched, but soon some dogwalkers came by and the Great Egret (Ardea alba) took off. 

I always like the lichen on the tree branches, either on the trees themselves or on twigs and branches lying on the ground. This is oak moss (Evernia prunastri).

The following, however, is not Spanish moss as it is widely believed, but Lace lichen (Ramalina menziessi). It is a combination of fungi and algae - and it is the state lichen of California (the first state to adopt a lichen as a state symbol).

Then there is lichen on rocks - Entodon seductrix (left) and Xanthoparmelia (right), at least that is what I found out.

I find them all fascinating. Here you have oak moss and lace lichen on the beautiful bark of a manzanita.

The manzanitas are already flowering.

So are the Milkmaids (Cardamine californica), one of the first wildflowers to flower, usually in January. Right on time.

Leftover thistle from last year - isn't it stunning?

There were also leftover grasses from last year while the California bay (Umbellularia californica) already showed the first tiny flowers.

While standing above the lake (top photo) I had already noticed a rather large bird on top of a tree, but since I didn't have my binoculars with me, I couldn't identify it at first. I tried to get a bit closer with mixed results because it took off before I could confirm that it was an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). But then I saw it again in a tree and it was dining on a fish it had just caught. The pictures are very poor, but I had to include them.

I was so excited - can you see that?

This is for Nicole's Friday Face Off.

There were so many birds, the loudest of them being Acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). They are a noisy bunch! They're also beautiful (like all birds, really) and incredibly entertaining. I could hear and see them everywhere in the lake area, but they especially loved this part.

They love to hang out in the old and dead trees. You have to look hard to see one of them at the top of the tree.

There are a lot of dead trees in this part and I'm glad that they don't get rid of all of them. The woodpeckers use them as their pantry.

There are fungi growing on those dead trees - I think this might be tiny Turkey tails (Trametes versicolor). I'm still a complete newbie when it comes to fungi, lichen and moss.

The trees are so majestic even when they're not quite "fresh" anymore.

Now I was turning onto one of my very favorite trails, in the company of more crooked trees.

It goes up a slope and on top of the slope is a wide "room" with old trees, manzanitas, rocks and low growing native plants.

This is my favorite area near the lake where I often sit on one of the rocks, watching or journaling or sometimes even meditating. Often I see deer up here. This is almost sacred to me, without wanting to romanticize it. I can't really put into words what I'm feeling about this place. The only time I'm not here is during the summer months (May-October) because it's too hot and I respect the rattlesnakes who like to hang out on the rocks. This is not a beautiful place in the conventional sense - it is rough and barren, and exactly what I love.

Look at this dead tree that is standing up here.

I love this tree - and I'm not the only one. Look closer - it has been the home for birds (I suspect woodpeckers). I love how dead trees are still hospitable to those who need a place to raise their young.

This was such a beautiful morning! I'm so glad that I decided to come here and spend a few hours of pure bliss. Nature is so wonderful.

On the way back to the parking lot I noticed that the fence was covered with lichen as well. Don't you just love it?