Farmland, CA

Without much further ado, we made it to the farm. Throughout the last few days we had been seeing redbud everywhere, the one at Mom's was in full splendor and the bees so vigorously attending it that brother Sam has been having difficulties napping under it. I doubt most of us would seek respite under a tree abuzz with happily frantic little bees, especially when there's a perfectly nice hammock elsewhere... but Sam is Sam.This is the time of year that Central Ca is vibrant green and shimmering (with less aid of irrigation) with productivity. And there are plenty of insects to chase. The little blue below is somewhat similar to the butterflies I'll be paid to chase/watch/count eggs of in a few short weeks. So I practiced chasing them.

As one might expect, plenty of edibles were blooming, like these nectarines, quince...

 
Blackberries and cherries like fluffy little pompoms.

 One of the crops that has developed since I abandoned the sweltering farm for drizzly Washington... Strawberries. I think they're crazy, strawberries are backbreaking work. But its an earlier crop and expands   fruit production a little... so there you have it. They sure look nice. And tasty.

Potatoes!

Another backbreaking addition has been a winter garden full of lettuce, peas, onions and who knows what else. I'm not sorry to see the half acre of tomatoes disappear in favor of other vegetables in the summer garden (their little tomato picker fled to get a higher education a few years ago). I love growing potatoes so I'm pretty thrilled about the lush rows of tater bushing out.

lettuce

peas

Fava beans

more lettuce

There were also trees with fruit already set, and a few birds to pester. Here's a scrub jay hanging out in a fig tree for your viewing pleasure.

Figs and cherries set and leafing out.

Look, a Black Phoebe! Looks quite different from a white Phoebe (har har har...)

Since it was nice and sunny, we went out to some water (Turlock inlet) and chased around birds and butterflies. There was a glut of redwing blackbirds about, making lots of noise.

This is a really flattering picture, I hope blackbirds aren't vain.

 The coolest flutterby we caught all day. It was kind enough to hang around and let me get a few pictures.

 We got too close or made too much noise or something. Due to lack of stealth, this is the best Egret shot I got.

At some point early in our visit, Rachel sighed a little woefully and said she rather missed playing the role of Easter Bunny. So to indulge Rachel (and coincidentally entertain everyone else) we got her some candy, she stuffed the eggs, and she and Sam hid them for Brandon and I to find. Yes I'm 23. 

Here's Rachel scribbling the tally in her notebook. We take our egg hunts seriously.
Sam delineating the boundaries, which apparently Brandon didn't quite get since he wandered out of sight at one point.

 And like the large toddlers we are, here we are fighting over each egg we see.

I 'won', finding the lion's share of the eggs despite Brandon's dirty tactics(skinny sporty boys have sharp elbows and no lack of competitive spirit) and my own poor choice of dress which resulted in awkward running and kneeling to get eggs to spare flashing my relatives.That night we had lamb, lots of other things, and lemon tart with Tyson Hill Farm strawberries. Yum yum!

We have since successfully returned to Washington, and it is a glorious brilliant day overlooking the Columbia at his parents. 

We wish you a fun filled Easter!

Central Califronia

We made it to central Ca without a hitch, staying with Martha and Orlando. They showed us the sights at Lake Berryessa the next day. On the way to the lake Orlando pulled over to get a spot off the windshield, I chased a swallowtail, and we heard these fellows. Orlando honked the horn and they 'shock gobbled' back. We went around the corner and pulled over again, Orlando got out and called to them. Wild turkeys are silly creatures.

This one in particular was strutting his stuff... Handsome guy huh?

Our five mile oak woodland walk commenced, I brought my uninitiated butterfly net (have to get in shape for my upcoming job you know...), and we stopped every three paces when I decided I needed a picture. Some sort of Brodiaea above I think and an unknown to the right. I've missed oaks. These are nice craggy oaks.

 It was  beautiful, clear, mild temperature, and there were flowers, birds and butterflies for all...

Acorn woodpeckers are farmers. That's something I learned. They make hundreds of holes and drill acorns into them. They don't eat the nuts themselves, but wait for insects to mine in and eat the acorns... Then there are insects galore! This is the best I could do, but there were at least three or four winging around.Some pines, like the one below, are well on the way to death since they have probably thousands of holes drilled into them, allowing introduction of bacteria, fungi, malicious insects...

After laughing at my antics, Martha decided she needed a turn. She didn't catch anything :)

 We wandered on, there were healthy patches of lupine all over, demanding admiration. Shooting stars(below), a few Indian Warriors, and some borage were blooming too.

Incidental bycatch... damsel flies are too damn easy too catch, especially when you aren't trying to catch them. This guy was probably a little stunned since it didn't move til I prodded a little bit.

 Brandon stunned a little butterfly for me. It sat still for a bit before its vertigo receded. (Do butterflies get vertigo?)
We came across this critter sunning itself; it was pretty unimpressed with our presence.

 A lone Downy woodpecker hanging out in an oak.

We had seen these Osprey on the way to the lake, but when I got out, they abandoned the nest. The next time, I managed to picture-capture from the car without frightening it off...

Look at that beak!

Dutchman's Pipevine and Pipevine Swallowtails

Dutchman's pipevine is a special and weird plant. The flowers look like little pitcher plants, but aren't. Pipevine swallowtails (above) feed on pipevine species in the caterpillar stage making them poisonous...

The butterflies are fairly large, and quite eye-catching.

We left for the farm later that day.
 Have a deeeeelightful Thursday!!