Humboldt: Giant Fairyland

I spend some time in Humboldt evert summer, it is a long drive but pretty; going through Lake County.

Southern Humboldt, or SoHum, is sunny and rocky in places during the summer

This rock has a non-PC name related to Native Americans, marking the beginning of the area 

 You can almost see to the coast

But up north near the bay it is foggy most of the time

The trees just love it, getting thousands of years old 

And hundreds of feet tall 

And dozens of feet across 

 

With entire ecosystems in their tops

 They twist as they grow and age

 And merg with their neighbors

An old, mossy redwood log 

This one has been down for a while 

Fairyland, with paths through the redwood sorrel (not clovers), even the ferns are giant

Pillowy 

Which way?

A flower 

More wildflowers

 

And more types of moss than I could count. This was my favorite, like lizard skin 

Up close

They, and I, really like minerals and rocks

 And fossils

And geodes 

 A perfect black sphere

 Stone dragon!

But the rivers are the best part 

Tadpoles 

Turning into frogs 

Another Wine Country 4th

Every year I head up to the wine country town of Sonoma for the 4th of July with my best friend. We love the wine tasting, art, food and fireworks that are so abundant in this smaller cousin to the Napa valley.

They have been growing wine here for years

The vines go and go 

And undulate with the landscape across the valley floor 

Even the neighborhood houses have vines, this one is a good 50 years old 

The tallest building in town is the old fort from mission times 

I was confused with the name of this hotel, switzerland is a ways away 

This sunflower cafe has a great patio 

And the window shopping is nice too 

This was an ancient black fig tree in the patio of a great restaurant that I forget the name of, but it was all that was open 

They had this cool snail too

 

Chocolate lava cake and chocolate sorbet

 Weird stair configuration

So many lovely gardens 

 Doesn't it make you want to just sit there and chill out 

It was way packed this year, maybe people didn't travel as much, but well worth the 30 mins and finale, right above our heads.

High Foothills Hike and Blueberries

I recently went for a hike in the pine forest of the foothills. I haven't done much outdoors in this habitat, so it was all new to me. Then I went to pick some blueberries at some farms in the area (east of Placerville).

I first noticed how red (nutrient-poor) the soil was

 And the trees were tall, maybe 70 feet+

 The contrast between the fire managed areas and those overgrown was stark on the ground. See the difference between above and below

 Some wildflowers, despite the recent heat

 This is a sugar pine, with very large pine cones (over 14 inches)

And here is one on the ground

 There was supposed to be a good view here...

 But it was just further down the trail

 I don't think this is a snow plant, but rather a coral-root orchid, but I could be mistaken

 A small bird's nest

 This is one of the many lakes at this elevation, providing power and water to the valley. Check out how full it is, with the submerged trees to the right

 Sierra peaks in the distance

 Mmmm, blueberries

Just up the hill are the bushes 

These raspberries will be ready in a few more weeks

The tape scares off the birds, as does that black box, which emits hawk sounds

The product of my labors, yum!

And a sunset to finish off