a pre-birthday wander

looking for wildflowers

finding frost

i do love an oak tree

wee tiny pretties as far as the eye could see

these were my favorite, so many colors

happy wanderer

We spent the morning wandering around Santa Margarita in search of wildflowers. While it is still a bit early and drought-y for a fancy show, there were patches of pretty no matter which direction you looked. Also...there were birds singing. Everywhere. They were quite busy. We wandered and drove for a few hours and it was quite magical.

a wee wander on the mountain...

Yesterday, the mister and I headed out for a wee wander. We didn't really hash it out ahead of time so of course found ourselves in the driveway, in the car, asking each other..."So...where do you wanna go?" There may have been a wee squabble and there may have been a bit of crankiness on both sides but we were determined to walk and so we hit the Lemon Grove Loop on Cerro San Luis aka Madonna Mountain. We stopped at the eucalyptus grove as eucalyptus and this jek do not mix but continued on the loop once we met up with the main trail...

 The total loop is 2.2 miles...there's a bit of up and a bit of down. Not too much shade and you can see the freeway and hear it...not the best but the morning was overcast and so we continued on.

 A few trees here and there...tons of cactus and not much else save for the dirt path and grassy bits...

 I was winded. Super winded. More winded than the Rinconada trail which had more of an elevation climb. I was also congested with allergies and now I am more so but still I got out!

 I may have stopped a dozen or so times to photograph the mossy bits on the few and none-too-frequent posts...I still need to upload the photos from the Rebel thee are probably a dozen or so of the mister's back...wheee!

 See? Dirt trail and grass...there were a few wildflowers popping up and a mockingbird or two sing-songing about with the occasional tweeee of a hummingbird zipping by...no insects, no tracks, just a lot of bags of canine crap...really people? Ugh. So we walked, and it was pretty enough and I got my cardio for the day...then I came home and moved piles around in the pink room and planned for some craftiness. Planned being the operative word but there shall be crafting! I'm working on getting my mojo back...and doing something about it. Tomorrow is the final day for my second round of The Great Wardrobe Adventure...I need to remember to take photos...note to self...TAKE PHOTOS!

once, upon a time...

before I got lazy but then got sick, the mister and I went on a wander...

 We walked up, up, up and stip-stepped across sandy sand making sure not to step on the great pilgrimage of wandering pill bugs. At least, I did. I fear the mister just stip-step-stomped his way up the hill but really he is far more graceful than I am which is a very good reason to have him wander behind me, you know, to catch my fall when I stumble because I always do. Stumbling happens when one's eye is affixed to the camera.

 As we stip-stepped up, up, up; we heard a thrashy-crashing which turned out to be a posse of cows trip-trupping down, down, down the hill (and through the poison oak). One bovine, in particular did a most graceful careen down the oak covered hill. She spun with wild eyes and a long lowing song. I think that one in the middle there is her, you can tell, she is giving me the stink eye and thinking I must be jealous of her choreography, She would be right.

 As always when I wander, I stop...quite often...to take pictures and sigh over all the pretty around me. Each view of the path ahead is something I love. The flowers, no matter I have seen them (and photographed them) before, I must stop and sigh and snap, snap, snap a picture or two, or three, or four.

 Pretty pink papery flowers that tickle my fancy. I crouch low and photograph up. I stand over them and photograph down, all the while asking the mister if it smells good where we are. If it is a sagey smell or perhaps juniper-like. Is it grassy? Green? Sweet? Most of the time he is kind and tells me it doesn't smell much like anything at all yet I am certain he is lying and there must be some sweet scent wafting by.

 

And so we wander and I stop and the mister patiently stops with me as I crouch down, down, down to spy the large ants busy at their work...

 Or as I stand still, still, still to catch the deer sneaking past.

 Or even stiller as the mama turkey gobbles and clucks her way through the grass, chicks in tow.

Once upon a time before I got lazy but then got sick, the mister and I went on a wander...I'm certain we will do so again...

abandoned pink

On Superbowl Sunday we went out for a photo day with a flickr friend. We left before 8am and hit up the James Dean Memorial and Jack Ranch Cafe just in time for pie and coffee. More about that on goin' with the a-go-gos.

Mister drove and we hollered out stop every time something caught our fancy. There were hills and shadows and all sorts of pretty but I think the best find of the day was this abandoned salmon pink auto garage. It was pink people. Salmon pink! How awesome is that?

While the mister kept an eye out in the sun, Adrianna and I s l o w l y crept inside taking cautious photos here and there and only startling once when a cat appeared out of nowhere. It was rickety and crickety inside as the wind blew the tin this-way and that but the light was so pretty. A meadowlark camped out on the tippy-top of the building sing-songing away as we took picture after picture of the dark and dusty space.

I can't tell if the artist of these stars was going for anarchy or spooky devil stuff, either way it cracked me up. We need some original taggers to make their way here don't ya think?