First a white steed and then a black one

Today King drove up on his BLACK steed, not the white Toyota Truck of last Tuesday and our adventures intoYolo Wildlife area.  Today was to be my first motorcycle ride in 52 years!  His is a fairly quiet mount and he a very careful driver.  We did travel hwys 80, 113, and 12 making a large circle to Dixon, Jepson Prairie, then a yogurt shop in Cordelia and on home.  I had gobs of sunscreen on as the temp was in the 90s and a jacket was out of the question.   I had to wear a hat under the helmet so it would fit.  I have found that one is never too old to have fun!

A trip to the Yolo Wildlife area just past Davis, CA

Today my friend, King, and I drove to the Yolo area and observed many water fowl. Here you can see just some of the MANY coots swimming away from me as I took the picture. These are interesting birds. In order to fly off of the water, they run ON the water with their wings flapping waiting for air speed so they can lift off.
My camera is NOT the best for taking bird pictures, but I tried to get a few shots. The birds we witnessed today were: Red-winged Black Birds, Northern Harrier, White faced Ibis, Great Egret, Blue-winged teal, Cinnamon tel, Marsh wrens all singing their buzz songs, Mallards, Pied-billed grebe, Black Phoebe, Double Crested Cormorant, Shoveler Duck, Savannah Sparrow, Killdeer, gadwall, Meadow Lark, Cliff Swallow, great Blue Heron, Ring-necked Duck, Pheasant, white-tailed Kite, and a group of Dulin. the other birds are below with pictures.
I sure love watching the birds.

Snowy Egrets greeted us as we drove along the waterways of the Yolo.

Black-necked Stilts are fun to watch with their long legs and long bills. Love those wading birds. These two had some Coots eating nearby. Look at their shadows in the water.

I love Avocets with their brown necks and black and white stripes and long necks. They seem quite elegant.

It is fun to watch the Yellow Legs wading birds as they search for food in the shallow water of the Yolo area.

Yellow-headed Black Birds in a large group were spotted near the Yolo area. I have not seen these since I left Idaho. The Red-winged Black Birds were also in abundance.

This past Monday I took 7 teenagers from one family for a hike into Rockville Hills Park. We saw the same flowers and trees on the past 3 times I took others last week.

You can see these lovely children flowers amidst Lupine and Popcorn flowers.

You can also see some of them climbing about Sunset Cave. What fun to be amongst youth who want to learn.

I love my back yard. I have 5 bird feeders, one for hummingbirds, 2 for regular birds, and 2 for American Goldfinches. During this time of year, I have a hard time keeping the feeders filled! You can see the Goldfinches happily having dinner today. On the ground I have observed both Golden Crowned Sparrows and white-crowned Sparrows.

Today my friend, King, and I drove to Jepson Prairie to join about 15 others in observing the flora and fauna of this large Vernal pool called Olcott lake. Vernal Pools are unique in this area and are temporary wetlands. There is a hardpan that does not allow water to soak into the earth. Only evaporation and rapidly growing plants empty a pool. They remain completely dry through the summer. They undergo 3 distinct stages: an aquatic phase, a flowering phase, and a drought phase. This cycle creates extreme conditions for the plants and animals that live here. Their life-cycle is VERY short. There is a solitary bee that pollinates one species of flower, both live in this place ONLY.

I am a 2nd year docent for the Jepson Prairie Vernal Pool, and I continue to learn more each time I adventure to this amazing place of miniature plants and Fairy Shrimp type aquatic animals.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the yellow Gold Fields lining the north side of the lake and of the group looking at the tiny water animals dipped from the lake. Many of these species are near extinction.

On and around the lake itself, we observed Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Brewers Blackbirds, Canada Geese, Pintails, Meadow lark, Yellow Legs wading bird, Great Blue Heron, Great egret, Raven, Turkey Vulture, Redtailed Hawk, 20 White pelican soaring above, and about 100 Black-bellied Plovers on an island in the lake.

On the way to the lake, we came upon lovely, yellow Sun Cups, patches of Popcorn Flowers, California Poppies, and a large area of Lupine and Stork’s Bills. After arriving at the lake, we ate lunch at one of the very nice picnic tables. As I was sitting with Lea, I motioned round us with my arms out wide and said, "This is real life! Not sidewalks, streets, concrete, noise, and grime." She looked at me like she was agreeing wholeheartedly. THEN the three children really had a ball.
How can one adequately describe a three year old during 30 min. of wading in the water gathering weeds using a stick? Check out the glee on his face.
Way too soon for all of us, we headed back down the hill and to my home. Hosing off, washing clothes, and a bath were necessary. But all were happy, well, and full after Chicken Noodle Soup. Luckily I have swings, stuffed animals, and Lego's for kids to enjoy.

ROCKVILLE HILLS PARK, AGAIN!

How lucky can one elderly woman get? Yesterday, I hiked up the easy way to the pond and lake in Rockville Hills Park, starting at 9:30 am with a friend’s three children in tow ages 3, 7, and 8. Such eager beavers they were: ready to learn, and not a cranky time was had. The day was perfect, the path not too muddy, the birds visible, and the flowers plentiful. At the small pond we enjoyed watching a Great Egret with its huge black legs and feet, sneak up on some morsel in the water and gulp it down. A pair of Mallards had taken up residency. A Red Tailed Hawk soared overhead, and a Black Phoebe fluttered out and back from a near-by tree limb catching insects.

Cub Scout Pack Hike

Today I led several cub scouts from our pack and their families into the Rockville Hills Park. Our destination was the lake at the top as well as learning the names of at least 10 different plants. We had back packs with water and lunches and headed west from the parking lot. We trudged
north through the ash quarry and several muddy areas, and got up-front and personal with the beautiful Poison Oak plants. Hopefully no one will get the dreaded rash from brushing against it. From the trail near Rockville Road, we could see the Green Valley Fault which cuts across the hills.
We followed the exact route that the missionaries did on Monday. The plants and flowers and trees we learned were: TREES: Mancinita, California Buckeye, California Laurel Bay, and Oak; lichens and moss; poison oak; FLOWERS: California Buttercup, Bluedick, Goldfields, Purple Vetch, Miners’ lettuce, popcorn flower, California Poppy, Fiddle neck, Stork Bill, Lupine, Sticky Monkey, Johnny Jump up Viola, Sun cup, Butter n Eggs, and Horehound mint.
We observed in the lake a Doubled Crested Cormorant, Mallard ducks, Canada Geese,
a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, and Turkey Vultures. While we lunched at one of the nice picnic tables, about 6 of the kids literally went into the lake and found frogs and tadpoles. Then they tried to dry themselves off on the nearby rocks. More clothes for the wash! Many lizards were found on the walk down to the parking lot.
This should accomplish quite a few areas for the cub scouts in their books. I love helping others learn about the world around them.

HIKING IN ROCKVILLE HILLS PARK

One of my favorite places to hike is on the many trails in Rockville Hills Park, about 2 miles from my home. This past Monday, 12 Elders and 2 Sisters from the Santa Rosa Mission Fairfield Zone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints joined me in the adventure as this was their Preparation Day and they had about 3 hours of “down” time.
Taking lunch and water with us, we headed west from the parking lot to the “Unknown trail,” on to “Sunset Caves,” and then the Lake, our lunch destination. We spent about 2 hours trekking on
narrow paths that led us through the ash quarry from which large blocks had been mined years ago and used in several homes in the area, one called “Stone Dean” which is near our church house. Also VERY close to the paths were MANY poison Oak plants which all tried to avoid. We found the caves and the youth had great fun getting into and out of these holes and taking pictures. Just past this area we climbed up Cascade Trail, with me coming in last, as it is quite a rocky, 45 degree angle for about 100 feet to the top. It was then on through the forest and cows to the blue lake in what is called “Horseshoe Plateau.” This lake is home to several species of water fowl. Years ago someone wanted to put a golf course on this plateau. Glad they did NOT!
After feasting and resting a bit, the elders engaged in a game of touch football and entertained the rest of us with their lunges into very wet areas while striving to either catch the ball or dodge the opposite team’s reach. Some of the young men got quite muddy but much fun was had. Thank goodness that this was also the day they would do their laundry because it was obvious that was needed!
I am very glad that I had this opportunity to guide this special group of missionaries and show them the flora of the area. It is wonderful being around clean looking, speaking, and doing youth.