Calla Lily in Colors

I always think of  Calla Lilies as being white but there are several different colors these days. This bright yellow one is blooming in my garden now and I know I have a mauve one out there too, but it isn't blooming yet. This is one of the flowers I remember from my childhood... but only the white ones.

Calla Lilies and Easter Lilies go together in my memories. Just the smell of them takes me back to when I was a kid. The Calla Lily was my Aunt Ella's favorite flower and old pictures show they were in her wedding bouquet. She has passed on now, but when I smell lilies I think of  her wonderful laugh and smile. She lives on in her two daughters who are very special cousins to me.

My folks grew Easter Lilies in northern California along with family members when I was about 4  I was too young to go to school with the rest of the kids and since there was no such thing as Day Care, Pre-School or Kindergarten back then,  I would hang out in the shed where the bulbs were sorted. The bulbs were dug from the ground by the men and dumped on big tables. Long boards with holes which increased in size were used to measured each bulb and put it into the appropriate box. It was always exciting to find really large ones as they brought the best price. I remember tons of  those bulbs being dug from the ground and sorted and packed. The boxes would stack up around us as the day went on. I'm sure I wasn't much help but I was always there with my Mom, Aunt Ella and Grandma Berg.

The smell of lilies takes me right back to the bulb shed!

Ten Lined June Beetle

 

We found this critter out in the walkway. He is about two inches long and does have ten strips counting the ones on this head.  He is rather prehistoric and scary looking up close and yes, he did hiss at me! 

Have Helmet, Have Goggles, Will Ride

 

We stopped at the strawberry stand to get fresh berries and saw this cool doggie at the gas station next door. The Springer Spaniel and his master were on a motorcycle road trip. It seems he has only owned the dog for a short time, but they are always together and the dog instantly took to the ride-a-long life style

I've seldom seen such a cool, calm and collected dog. There was no wiggling and "let me out of here" activity. No sniffing or begging for treats. No sign of, "stay away from me... this is my space" behavior. Just one cool dude. Happy trails to them! 

Hearst Castle

 

Hearst Castle is located about an hour and 20 minutes north of us on Highway 1. We have gone to the Castle many times and taken most of the tours. But this time was special.

 

We went to a private showing of a CA State Park movie that will be aired on PBS this fall.

 

The movie and reception was good but the spring evening just before sunset was spectular! There was not a whisper of a breeze, you didn't even need a jacket. Very unusual up there. I guess Mr. Hearst knew what he was doing when he chose this setting to build a castle.

 

What's For Lunch

As we were leaving the house today, we watched two Red Shouldered Hawks catch and devour their lunch. They were in an open field and one right after the other, they swooped down and scooped up what looked to be good sized gophers.

 

Although they saw us watching them, they were much more interested in filling up on their tasty meal and made no move to fly away. Sorry gophers, this was not your lucky day.

 

That's how nature works... out here in the rural countryside of Arroyo Grande,

Lizzy Lizard

 

I LOVE this watercolor my daughter did. She is such a special and wonderful lady in so many ways. And then to top it off, she is a gifted artist!

I love you my darling daughter, just because you are you.

The Spotted Towhee

 

This Spotted Towhee comes quite regularly to eat underneath the bird feeders. They hunt for the seeds and cracked corn that the other birds kick out of the feeders and into the grass.

 

They are so much brighter than their cousin the California Towhee, which is a rather drab brown. Doesn't seem quite fair! All the Towhees love to eat on the ground and are quite tame and unafraid.

We love our wild bird friends.

Coreopsis Hill

 

The sand was pristine... not a foot print in sight. It rained last night which packed the sand and made walking easy.

 

The wind blows the grains of sand in wonderful and mysterious ways.

 

The drops are sharp and unexpected.

 

It was threatening to rain but it never happened.

 

Avila Bay, Oso Flaco Lake and Coreopsis.

 

The Coreopsis are like giant bouquets popping up in the sand.

 

I'm so glad I didn't let the chance of a few rain drops change my plans.

Home Grown

This is one of the Monarchs we raised here on our property. The egg was layed here, the caterpillar ate on our very own Milkweed plants, it made it's chrysalis on our fence and I found it drying it's wings and brought it to the house and put a tag on it. It sat in the lime tree for about an hour and then flew away.

Have a wonderful life!

Horses At Play

We were on our way to San Luis and saw these horses playing in a pond left from our recent rain. They splashed each other, rolled onto their back and pawed the bottom.

 

They chased each other and threw around some plants that were in the bottom of the pond.  I guess I'd say, "they were just horsing around!"  

 

It was quite a display and we watched them having fun until they had had enough.

 

Then, as if on cue they gathered themselves up, shook themselves off and regain their horse composure!

 

Help! My Bed Runneth Over

Please tell my person I need a bigger bed. Please??

Breaking Free

I was raking one day and while taking off some stuck dry leaves, I noticed it hanging there. I had been using the rake for some time so that gives you an idea of how well they attach themselves. I set the rake by the back door so I could watch it closely and hopefully catch it breaking free. I certainly think it is serendipitous that a Monarch caterpillar found this orange rake a good place to make a chrysalis.

Several days later, I noticed a crack in the clear case and by the time I got back with my camera it was already about half way out.

After a few more twists and turns he fell out head first and was free.

It takes a minute or so for the plasma like liquid to be pumped from the body into the wings. He slowly opens and closes his wings to move the liquid along.

 He sat on the rake for about two hours sunning himself and hardening his wings. And while the sun was still high in the sky he flew away to find his friends or maybe locate a special spot to hang for the night. Have a good life you beautiful big rake butterfly.

Spring can't Be Far

 

I love to see the Iceland Poppies starting to bloom and wave in the spring breeze. The colors are so intense. That is one yellow poppy!

The Hike

The San Luis Obispo area is the site of nine lava plugs that were made by volcanoes long, long ago.  They start with Morro Rock on the coast and end east of down town San Luis Obispo. The largest of these peaks is Bishop Peak which sits overlooking the Calpoly campus. It is a favorite climb of the students and rock climbers. We have wanted to take this hike for some time and decided Sunday was the day. It was a beautiful sunny day. Maybe too sunny!

The beginning of the trail was shady and wooded. The coolness was deceiving.

The trail wandered through large boulders and oaks. It was once the site of a rock quarry and supplied the granite stones used to build the beautiful Presbyterian Church downtown. Well, this was the easy part... soon the real hike was to begin.

Right about here... the trail got seriously steep and hot. The temperature was 85 degrees and we soon figured out we had picked the wrong day. So this was as far as we got on Sunday. We will try again on an overcast day!