lambertiana
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 9,376
My original plan for today was to go up to Pear Lake and possibly Moose Lake in Sequoia for a last trip to the high country for the year (already a foot of snow up there, and it will get a lot deeper soon). But my friend backed out at the last minute, so that plan was out. Instead, after painting a bathroom, I decided to make a quick trip to get some outdoor time. Kaweah Oaks preserve is only ten miles from my house and is a prime example of the original riparian ecosystem that was prevalent in the San Joaquin Valley before it was settled. Here is a typical view there, with open grassy areas and scattered trees (mostly Valley Oak)
Since it's late fall, everything is quite dry. I wonder how this would work as tinder
The ubiquitous Valley Oak
There are a lot of blackberry patches there (with a California Sycamore in the background, which is a sure sign of water close to the surface)
And here it is, a creekbed about ten feet below the surrounding land
Can you see the little minnows? There are a lot of them there
There are a lot of these tracks there in the creekbed - raccoon?
All dried out now with just a few leaves and flowers left, but I still wouldn't want to try them out - poison hemlock. There is a lot of this at Kaweah Oaks.
A California Sycamore that has fallen over and resumed growing the branches upward as new trunks.
There are patches of these gourds, I'm not sure what they are
Sycamore leaf with a feather that I found
Valley oak leaves with galls, you could get a truckload of oak galls there
Anyone know what this is? Looks tasty
Some small sumac
A patch of mixed blackberry and grapes. The leaves were peppered with purple bird droppings, lots for them to eat here
A nice thicket, with the ever-present blackberries. I need to go back in mid-summer to harvest some.
On the way back out, saying hi to the local residents. My county is the number one dairy producing county in the nation, so cattle are present everywhere.
This little guy was on the fenceline by the cattle; it's amazing how far their piercing chirps can carry
This is a really nice spot to decompress if I only have an hour or two. I only saw about a quarter of it today, I need to go back when I have a whole day.
Since it's late fall, everything is quite dry. I wonder how this would work as tinder
The ubiquitous Valley Oak
There are a lot of blackberry patches there (with a California Sycamore in the background, which is a sure sign of water close to the surface)
And here it is, a creekbed about ten feet below the surrounding land
Can you see the little minnows? There are a lot of them there
There are a lot of these tracks there in the creekbed - raccoon?
All dried out now with just a few leaves and flowers left, but I still wouldn't want to try them out - poison hemlock. There is a lot of this at Kaweah Oaks.
A California Sycamore that has fallen over and resumed growing the branches upward as new trunks.
There are patches of these gourds, I'm not sure what they are
Sycamore leaf with a feather that I found
Valley oak leaves with galls, you could get a truckload of oak galls there
Anyone know what this is? Looks tasty
Some small sumac
A patch of mixed blackberry and grapes. The leaves were peppered with purple bird droppings, lots for them to eat here
A nice thicket, with the ever-present blackberries. I need to go back in mid-summer to harvest some.
On the way back out, saying hi to the local residents. My county is the number one dairy producing county in the nation, so cattle are present everywhere.
This little guy was on the fenceline by the cattle; it's amazing how far their piercing chirps can carry
This is a really nice spot to decompress if I only have an hour or two. I only saw about a quarter of it today, I need to go back when I have a whole day.
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