Category Archives: California

Flowers and Owl

March 9, 2015 Carly 1 Comment

Purple owl’s clover (pink flower) and small blue lupine (purple flower)

Wildflowers create
purple, yellow, white brushstrokes
on verdant hillsides.

On Saturday, February 28, David D. and I visited North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve located near Chico, California. The reserve is known for its annual wildflower display, and it did not disappoint. I hope we can return in the coming weeks to see what new flowers are making their appearance. I would also encourage you to seek out wildflowers in your area when the time is right. There is something magical about seeing a hillside painted in color by a vast number of flowers, particularly ones that have not been planted or tended by human hands.

Disclosure: my wildflower identifications are my best guess.

For scale, David in a field of blue lupine and purple owl's clover. — David in a field of blue lupine and purple owl’s clover.

Kelloggs monkeyflower — Kellogg’s monkeyflower

Poppies - possibly California poppies or frying pan poppies, blue lupine, and purple owls — Poppies – possibly California poppies or frying pan poppies, blue lupine, and purple owl’s clover.

Waterfall on the reserve — Waterfall and landscape of the reserve

Nesting great horned owl’s
yellow eye speaks without sound,
‘I am watching you.’

Observing wildlife is one of the chief perks of my internship, and seeing this – my first owl in California – was unforgettable. When that yellow eye fell upon me, I felt my heart jump. I had the sense that the owl was looking straight into my soul, an unnerving and exhilarating experience.

What also struck me was the nest, how well camouflaged it is and how dense the vegetation is around it. I know owls are agile flyers, but to navigate through the needles and branches to this site without rumpling feathers seems impossible. Perhaps the view is more open from above? Or perhaps my raptor nest blueprint needs revising? My framework is based mostly on Michigan bald eagle nests, which are large and obvious from a distance. The great horned owl bird cam in Savannah, Georgia that I have been watching seemed to confirm this would be true for large owls too, but given this nest, I think I must reconsider. Thankfully, this opens a whole new world of possibilities for nest sites!

Great horned owl nest. Photo credit: David D.

A #WorstBirdPic to show you just how hidden this owl nest is - I promise its in the picture somewhere sort of near the middle. — A #WorstBirdPic to show you just how hidden this owl nest is. I promise it’s in the picture somewhere near the middle.

Frosty Fun Run Champ –
Eight races to test myself.
Bandito Power!

The Frosty Fun Run Championships took place on Saturday, February 28, and I brought home the gold. This was an eight-race, Saturday morning series with courses ranging from 3.7 miles to 5.5 miles. Participating was a fun way to meet community runners – I was the girl the guys didn’t want to lose to – and to test my speed. I joyfully represented The Banditos (I wish “Banditos Represent!” was five syllables), and look forward to running with them in two weeks for the Palmetto 200. Super pumped!

Next chapters revealed.
THE overarching question:
Will it all fall down?

I thought I would address the delay between recent posts: House of Cards, Season Three was released on Friday, February 27, and my discretionary time was immediately prioritized to include one (or three, but who’s counting?) episodes every night. This in addition to running, yoga, and trivia meant blogging would have to wait, but I am glad to be back at it.

California, Everyday Awesome, Haiku, Hiking, Home

Northern California, “Oh, it’s beautiful!”

February 22, 2015 Carly Leave a comment

Looking down from a ridge toward Paynes Creek. 14.11.24

Natural beauty
of Northern California –
the place I call “home.”

This post is really about the pictures. Before I moved, my east coast friends would ask me where I was going, and I would tell them Redding, California. They replied with a blank look. Then I would say “it’s in Northern California,” and the immediate response was: “Oh, it’s beautiful!” They spoke the truth.

I have included the dates because this is also a celebration of California weather.

Eucalyptus flower at the Sacramento Bend River Outstanding Natural Area (aka "the Bend") 14.11.17 — Eucalyptus flower at the Sacramento Bend River Outstanding Natural Area (aka “the Bend”) 14.11.17

Looking west from the Chappie-Shasta OHV area toward the Trinity Alps

Coyote Pond in the Sacramento Bend River Outstanding Natural Area — Coyote Pond at the Bend 15.1.6

Snowy Lassen Volcanic National Park - from my first adventure snowshoeing — Snowy Lassen Volcanic National Park – from my first adventure snowshoeing 15.1.10

Oak savanna at the Bend, never gets old 14.2.10

I live here! 15.2.19 — I live here! (If you look closely, you can see Mt. Shasta in the upper third of the photo) 15.2.19

Adventure, California, Friends, Haiku, Unicorn

California, will you be my valentine?

February 16, 2015 Carly 1 Comment

What a weekend! Let me first squeeze it into a haiku:

Drive, tunes, ocean pools,
Bourbon, Elvis, hoops, stars, hearts,
Redwoods, ferns, beach, sun!

And now I can unpack it and add pictures:

Drive and tunes: gorgeous drive to the coast with a solid playlist courtesy of David D. We made a delightful stop at the Straw House Cafe, I highly recommend it if you are ever driving 299 to the coast.

View from the back porch of the Straw House Cafe

Ocean pools: our first stop on the coast was Patrick’s Point State Park. We strolled through a forest of giant sitka spruce before descending to the rocky tide pools.

So close to the ocean! Is that a whale in the background?

Tide pools at Patrick's Point — Looking for valentine candidates in the tide pools at Patrick’s Point State Park

Seals! (the white blobs on the rocks) — Want to seal it with a kiss? (the seals are the white blobs on the rocks)

All the valentine searching left us famished. Our hunt for food ended in the best veggie burger I have ever had; it was so good, I took a picture:

Nut burger at the Lighthouse Grill in Trinidad, CA

Bourbon, Elvis, hoops, stars, hearts: our evening activity was going to have it all!

Please note, it was actually Psychedelvis – but that was too many syllables for my haiku.

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening. Here are some pictures to prove it:

These are the hearts! — There were heart signs everywhere!

Face paint! (another form of “live painting” =P )

Band! (The Lonesome Heroes from Austin, TX)

I do not have a picture of the hoops, but among the circus performers were some serious hula-hoopers.

The stars reference was also not photo-documented, so you will have to trust me on it. We went to the beach after the show, laid on the sand, and experienced the awe. I even saw a shooting star!

Redwoods: you can probably guess this one; here are the tree pictures:

So big! This was in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. — So big! (This was in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.)

Ferns: after the super trees, we went to see Fern Canyon. As its name implies, it is a canyon full of ferns. It is also famously known for being one of the Jurassic Park filming locations.

Fern canyon - a sight worth seeing! — Fern canyon – a sight worth seeing!

Beach and sun: out of the canyon and into the sunlight. I am told that we had atypical north coast weather, and though I am concerned for the redwoods, which depend on the cool, moist air, I thoroughly enjoyed the sun on my face.

Oh, and we also saw elk, on the beach!

I will close by restating my initial question:

California, will you be my valentine?

I am going to take that as a “yes.”

Carly F. Summers

Category Archives: California

Flowers and Owl

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Northern California, “Oh, it’s beautiful!”

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California, will you be my valentine?

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