Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

California

Wanderlust

I found this panoramic image in the photo archives this morning . . .

valley view

During our visit to Joshua Tree National Park last year, we took the short drive from the main road to a place called Keys View. From that point, you can see the Coachella Valley and the Palm Springs area five thousand feet (1525 meters) below. You can also see the San Andreas Fault which has been the cause of many Earthquakes in California, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Although it is difficult to see through the haze, the Salton Sea is visible at the left and Banning Pass on the right. A spectacular view to be sure.

As I looked through the photo album this morning, I had the urge to book a trip to escape the cabin fever. Maybe soon, real soon. Click on the panoramic image above to enlarge.

20 Mar 2010 by California Panorama Wanderlust

California Poppy

California Poppies have been blooming all over the area for a couple of weeks now, but the first one in our flowerbed just opened today. When spring begins next weekend, we expect to have many more of these. Click on the image to enlarge.

cal-poppy.jpg

From Wikipedia:

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2,000m (6,500 feet) altitude in the western United States throughout California, extending to Oregon, southern Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and in Mexico in Sonora and northwest Baja California.

I’m hoping that we can raise them in Arizona, but if not I’ll be happy with the Red Bird of Paradise that grows there and not here.

14 Mar 2010 by Arizona California Home & Garden

Along the Coastline Today

We took a drive to Point Vicente today, as we often do. There is a pathway there, where we take our dog for a walk. As usual, we take a lot of pictures of the area. The photo below shows the coastline looking northward. Beyond the two coves below in the distance you can see Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains through the haze. Click on the image to enlarge.

coves.jpg

10 Mar 2010 by California Photography

Purple Hyacinth

I love early spring when all the bulbs in the garden start to produce flowers. I especially like my hyacinths like this purple one that is currently in bloom in the garden. Click on the image to enlarge.

purple-hyacinth.jpg

28 Feb 2010 by California Home & Garden Photography

Icelandic Poppies

yellow-icelandic.jpgWhen the winter months roll around, you see a lot of flowers that are tolerant of the winter weather in California. We don’t have harsh weather along the coastline, but the nights are noticeably colder, often getting into the low 40’s.

A popular annual we see planted in flowerbeds is the Icelandic Poppy. I recently purchased some for the planters on our front porch. This bright yellow one bloomed just yesterday. I took this picture this morning, just when it was facing almost directly at the sun.

Click on the image to enlarge.

More from Wikipedia:

The Iceland Poppy is a boreal flowering plant. Native to subpolar regions of northern Europe and North America, Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, 1-foot, curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage 1-6 inches long.

25 Feb 2010 by California Home & Garden

Diaz Lake – A Panoramic View

Diaz Lake is located in the Owens Valley, California, It has the distinction of having recently been formed as the result of a large earthquake. Click on the panoramic thumbnail for the full-sized version.

diaz-lake-pan.jpg

From Wikipedia:

Diaz Lake is located just south of Lone Pine, California, United States in Owens Valley. The lake was formed by the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake when 18 mi (29 km) of the Owens Valley dropped approximately 20 feet (6 m) and a new spring opened, causing water to fill the lowland.

The lake was named for the Diaz family who established a ranch here when brother Rafael and Eleuterio Diaz emigrated from Chile in the 1860’s. They owned and operated a successful cattle ranch until the land was sold to the city of Los Angeles.

Year-round fishing is available, and the “Diaz Lake Fish Derby” is held the first Saturday in March.

24 Feb 2010 by California Environment Travel

Ice Plant Flowers

Some families in our neighborhood plant ground cover in areas around their homes, like flowerbeds and parkways. One home about a quarter mile from our place uses ice plant, a common ground cover shrub in California, to decorate the parkway next to the curb on one side of their corner lot. Today, it seemed like the whole parkway was alive with colors from orange and yellow flowers.

ice plant

Click on the image to enlarge.

23 Feb 2010 by California Home & Garden Photography

Categories

Archives