To the River Again...

On Sunday, we took the dogs and drove up Electra Rd. to the P,G & E power plant. The day was warm and beautiful.

The turbines inside the build were humming and the water was rushing out into the river. 

We stayed out of the grasses and watched for snakes.

On the way back, Carl, our Corgi,  found the old staircase from a time when people lived here.

And a time when someone planted this huge Magnolia tree and piled rocks into a stone wall to separate the small community from the commotion and activity of the power plant.

The Electra Camp even included an indoor swimming pool. Imagine.  Must have been a nice place to live... along the river... in Spring.

Wildflowers abound... This plant and flower, called Euphorbia was everywhere.

 It would appear that this is a very invasive wildflower. It's beautiful but, like Genisteae or wild Broom, it spreads like wildfire.

We stopped at our favorite place along the river.

Where the bedrock called out to us ...

and Carl got his paws wet without getting in over his head.

And where Cutter could continue to be in his panic mode. He is getting better about being near this noisy river but he still seems afraid of any place that doesn't have walls and the familiar feeling of home.

Carl tried to set an example of how to investigate and still have a doggone good time.

I really think that Carl would go swimming if he was down here more often. He loves the water.

Of course my shadow and I were taking pictures the whole time.

And complaining about the debris that people leave in the river. We collected plastic water bottles, soft drink cans, assorted paper containers from fast food places, a Walmart price tag from a childs bathing suit and this tennis shoe. (Odd?) We left the shoe, hoping that someone would have the other one and might come looking for it.
And then there is this...

Three creatures in the middle of the river... small wooly mammoths... waiting patiently, to come alive when man leaves. Waiting on a rock island for a moment when they can reclaim the river from all the fighting and arguing that never seems to end. I'm sure that they simply wish that man would become extinct and leave the environment to them. This may happen sooner than later.

The wildflowers...

and the butterflies wait patiently....

Telling us, in their own quiet way, that we need to leave before we decide to save one more thing... before we try to save nature from itself.

And so we took our last look at the river.

And moved on.

“If we surrendered
to earth's intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.” ~Rainer maria Rilke~

Beautiful visitor

It seems that every year at least one Western Swallowtail Butterfly finds its way into my garden. They are a bright moving splash of color against the Spring flowers.

And so I move my camera in closer...

and closer...

to see the beautiful little blue tail with its orange circle and marvel at the way this butterfly is put together... how it is unique to any other in the butterfly family. Like Tiffany glass windows, like an impressionist painting, they draw you in and make you want to attain some of their beauty secrets.

They don't stay long in one place but flit from one flower to another.

and then move on.
This is Papilio rutulus and its beauty is a joy to see.

Wordless Wednesday: An Iris called Jesse's Song and a beautiful Columbine

Memories of my Mother

In my ambitious attempt at cleaning up the garage last month, I put the box of Easter decor somewhere safe and now I can't find it.  So I took a look in the extra bedroom/craft room/ computer room closet, hoping to find something Eastery... and there I found an egg carton with my Mother's Easter eggs in it.
These are very special eggs that she decorated many years ago. I carefully took them out of the carton and hung them on the Manzanita branches on the buffet.

 Each represents hours spent blowing out and drying the eggs, covering them with tissue (decoupaged in small pieces) and then cutting out various kinds of wrapping paper designs with small, very sharp scissors and decoupaging the pieces on top of the tissue paper.

Mom was meticulous about this. She would spend hours working on these eggs.

Each one became a small work of art.

 Sometimes outlined with gold to make the flowers stand out even more.

Sometimes with small pieces of tissue in different colors to bring out the colors of the design.

A little rooster...

 A beautiful Peacock...

A horn playing cat...

I've hidden a few in my house plants...

 and around the living room.

 to remind me...

what a wonderful "gift" my mother was and how important it is to take the time to celebrate each moment... in your own special way. Thanks Mom... I miss you.  Happy Easter.

Wordless Wednesday: Hello there... now go away... I need a nap.

A Day of Loveliness and Fun

My friend "C" came for the weekend.

So nice to have her visit. Hadn't seen her since the New Year. She brought her little dog, Max, with her and arrived on Friday.
We went to Dandelion Days downtown and ate lunch at Mel and Faye's. We also drove to Electra Rd. along the Mokelumne River.

The water was very low and the rocks were many.

Some creating beautiful patterns in the water.

And small still life's in the curves and indentations of the rock.

The bedrock is everywhere.  Some holes are deep and filled with gravel, sand, pyrite and maybe a few nuggets of gold. I marvel at the amazing assortment of tiny debris shinning up at us in the sunlight.
These old rocks and their amazing beauty are there for to all who come to walk on the river's ancient floor.

The hard, smooth petrified wood lays like fallen reminders of some old growth forest that lost its battle with a fire or storm, long ago, turning to stone as a result of the its tragic failure.

And... OH! A dog...What animal is this who follows us along the river?

His named is Max ("C"s dog) and he was having the time of his life. Jumping from rock to rock, looking as majestic as he possibly could. He was at one with the river. He was a dog briefly in heaven.

We drove up to the Electra Powerhouse, driving past thousands of Poppies and other wildflowers. This is a most beautiful time in the Foothills. A time of verdant madness.

I saw this sign at the weir and snapped a photo of it, in tribute to my "beans" (my grandchildren).

Someone had written "Cool Beans" on the sign and drew a picture of a happy bean. I know it's graffiti, but... I just had to take a picture of it.
We drove back down river, stopping once in a while to take pictures. The hills were alive with color.

Then we drove on over the river and into Mokelumne Hill, a small town with a rich mining history and a charming presence.

Interesting buildings made of stone and metal doors.
This one was noteworthy...

A secret entrance to the Horny Buffalo Society... This was the WORLD headquarters? In a little town in Calaveras county, California? I think someone might be pulling someone's leg.
There was the old car that sat on the side of an old building... sticking its nose through the fence.

I love seeing this car every time I come over here. It's been there for a long, long time.

We drove up to the Catholic Cemetery and drove through it, looking at all the tombstones and names. Lots of Italians lived here in the last hundred years or so.

Huge old Italian Cypresses, some of the biggest I have ever seen, towered over the graves of so many.

Then we finally drove home. It was a day of showing my friend what a beautiful place I live in... especially in the Spring of the year. It was a day of loveliness and fun. I didn't hear Max on the way home. I think he was taking a nap.

Wordless Wednesday: Carl should have been a showdog.

Why I walk...

Let’s take our hearts for a walk in the woods

 and listen to the magic whispers of old trees. ~Author Unknown