Tag: wildflowers

A Walk in the Woods

I’m still doing my best to keep up my walking habit. It got harder over the winter, but there’s tons of beautiful scenery to enjoy now. There are longer gaps than I’d prefer between my proper long walks, but I also try not to let it turn into a source of guilt, because guilt is like ADHD kryptonite. Even if I forget or get busy for a week, I’ll always come back to it because it’s fun and it makes me feel good. Plus, I find all sorts of cool things to take pictures of.

White mushrooms on a log
Pink bleeding heart flowers in front of a mossy log
A fern frond
Cute yellow wildflowers
A little slug enjoying a nice mossy patch
These might be salmonberry blossoms. I vaguely remember them from last year.

California Nature Walk

I’ve mostly been hanging out with family and getting to know my cousin’s new baby, but my sister and I managed to get in some fun nature time. We found many excellent creatures and plants around a vernal pond we’ve been visiting since we were little.

Pacific treefrog
Newt egg sacks with daphnia clinging on the outside. When those newts hatch, daphnia will be their main food source.
Baby California newt
Baby California newts, and a dragonfly larvae. Dragonfly larvae are one of their main predators at this stage in life.
An adult male California newt (Taricha torosa) in breeding conditon. Males swell up and their skin gets smoother at breeding time.
The same male newt. California newts are extremely poisonous, and that bright orange belly is a warning. Do not handle them if you have any open cuts or scratches, and always wash hands thoroughly before eating after touching one.
California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus)
Another slender salamander
Turkey tail fungus (probably)
More turkey tails
They’re just really pretty mushrooms. I like them.
Some final turkey tails
Western fence lizard who was not at all intimidated by me or my phone. These lizards cleanse the local ticks of Lyme disease. They’re awesome.
Stink beetle
Fuzzy caterpillar. Not sure what species.
Another fuzzy caterpillar
Pretty orange wildflowers
Wild garlic. I think.
Pretty white wildflowers
Wild garlicky thing with a tiny beetle friend
An oak tree that broke since the last time I hiked here
Eucalyptus trees
Oak trees and the bay area hills

I Live in a Chilly Rainforest

I’ve been missing my favorite hiking places ever since we moved to Seattle from the bay area. I’d been hiking in the same spots since I was a little kid, and they were so safe and comforting for me, and provided a really great way to relax and get into a more creative frame of mind. The night I finished my rough draft of Somnolence, I called it done done around dawn and then went for a hike with my dogs as the sun came up. Moving was hard, and I still haven’t found a place around here where it’s so easy and comfortable for me to just go out and walk a trail. I still visit all those same places whenever I go down to see my family in California, but I really want to try to find places around here that fulfill that need.

To that end, yesterday I just googled some nearby trails, picked one kind of at random, and drove over there with the pups. It was absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful. Totally worth it.

Camping Pics and Stuff

I don’t think I’ve been reading enough lately. I got distracted by life for a while and it’s been bothering me. I’ve been listening to audiobooks, but I miss just lying down with a book and being absorbed for hours. I needed the full book experience. So, I wandered into a local bookshop today and walked out with some new books and a super cute bookmark.

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This is how you remember history. Statues of old racists not required.

Camping was really fun and relaxing. I wandered around the woods and went wading in the river and took a million pictures of flowers and bugs and things. I also munched on some yummy wild blackberries and caught minnows. All in all it was extremely satisfactory.