Sunday, October 28, 2012

Fall Farm Day

I went on another farm tour in early September in the Capay valley. There are a lot of organic farms in this valley, as well as a large casino (so, so out of place).

On the way, I saw the remnants of a field of corn stalks
 And a giant research/food processing facility in woodland
 Can you see the chickens in this view?
There it is 
I ran across this sign in the fields and was a little tempted to knock out internet and phone service between the east and west coasts, but decided against it
A field of gourds. Mostly winter squashes
Such as this beautiful goose-neck squash 
Purple peppers, white peppers, so many free peppers for the picking
They were so good, everyone joined in 
This canal runs water through the valley for all the farms
a crossing to get to more fields 
Broccoli starting out for the fall 
An empty field of former cucumber. Look closely and you might find some old, yellow cucs 
 
 Asparagus bushes. Apparently the second year you get the spears
Brussel sprouts
Ripe pistachios, that is why some countries dye the shells red 
A little citrus 
 These candy-stripe figs were out of this world; so sweet and juicy, you could eat a dozen in one sitting. I made an amazing pork roast with them
Butterflies and bees on lavender


 They even had a petting zoo and hay rides


I came across this brand new field of endive or lettuce 

So cute 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sacred Alpine Wonderland on Shasta

The wildflowers of Mt. Shasta are outstanding. One of the meadow's I went to had a native american cross that showed how important and religiously significant the place was (see below). 



 This one looks very alien, I was surprised to see such a vibrant coloration on it

Looks desolate, but these are ancient little plants, each more than 50 years old. 




Then came the mossy, tiny-planted, wet, alpine marsh/bog/meadow (this part was dry, for contrast)
Budding out 
 Indian paintbrush (that's not very PC of me, wasn't sure what else to call it)

Like a flame 


 The moss was 6 inches thick! Some of those are sundew carnivorous plants

The water was so crystal clear 

The trees struggle to make inroads into the area, likely due to acidic soils 
But leads to fun, twisted shapes 






 



Careful where you walk, it could be a very important, very old stone or plant with great meaning. 
Peace.