Where are my keys?

'Tis the season! I love these Tiffany keys. What's on your Christmas list?

Flower Power

My first sighting of Matilija Poppies in the wild was on June 14, 1981 during my Senior picnic in high school. There they stood, over 8 feet tall on the banks of Santiago Creek. It was love at first sight. At that time, I didn't know what they were called, but I knew that I had just discovered something tremendous. The photo above was taken last week.

Over the years, I have unsuccessfully attempted to grow these flowers in my garden. They will not be fussed over. They die back to nothing every year, then in the Spring, if the conditions are right, they bolt up from the banks of sandy washes to reaveal their blooms that are as big as dinner plates. The petals are pleated crepe paper and from afar they mimic a sunny-side up egg. Lovely to touch and admire.

I've been waiting all winter to see them, and now they are here. Fully abloom. Taller than me. You can see them in their glory until the end of June. I have been visiting a large stand of these beauties for the past few weeks. They are there to greet you near the entrance sign at Riley Park in South Orange County, California.

Gentle Breeze?

Is it a horseshoe crab? A hovercraft?

Welcome to Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, California. For today's fascinating factiod, I bring you the mystery of rocks in motion. No one is quite sure how these rocks move around, but it is certain that no human intervention is involved. I love the strange and erratic trails
left behind in the cracked clay.
Scientists have been studying these moving rocks for years and postulate the force behind the locomotion is wind. During brief periods of rain, the surrounding mountains flood this uber-flat playa, and the clay particles turn into a slick surface for the rocks to skate across. Clay particles are flat in nature, similar to the shape of a lentil. When the particles are stacked atop eachother, these particles create a perfect condition for the rocks to be pushed along by stormy downdrafts. Notice that there are no human footprints here.
To learn more about these rocks, go to the geology.com website. If the wind can move these rocks, imagine the potential energy that could be produced to serve our planet.

Thanks, Norway!

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway

As a gift to the world, Norway has built and now maintains a seed vault that contains millions of seeds of thousands of varieties of plants and food crops. The purpose of this vault is to preserve and protect the diversity of plant and crop life on earth. Experts fear that civil unrest or a climate catastrophe could wipe out certain strains of important food crops, thus jeopardizing the global food supply. Paid for by the Norweigians, this vault is built into the permafrost of an island near the Norway coast. Even without electricity, the seeds will remain frozen and preserved. The underground vault was completed in 2008 and had been receiving new deposits since it opened. So what's in your freezer?

Cozy Cabin in the Snow

My cabin in Running Springs, California

Welcome to my cozy cabin in the snow. A wonderful place to read, nap, watch movies, take a walk, and enjoy a glass of wine. The charming covered porch has a swing for two. The ceiling of the porch is painted sky blue to match the color of the mountain sky. This photo was taken during a suprise snow storm on Memorial Day in 2008.

Sycamore in Winter

Don't you love the white bark of this sycamore tree? The bark is always white, but the wintertime really shows off the gnarly twists and turns of this California Sycamore tree. This is a true California native Sycamore tree (Platanus racemosa), not the upright standard variety that is installed by landscapers. I love the way the lower branches come all the way to the ground, almost like it is leaning on its own elbows. I have watched this particular tree for a few years, and it gets twistier every year. This spectacular tree can be seen along the footpath at Riley Park in South Orange County, California.

My Favorite Porch

For the past 22 summers, this porch on Long Island has been a place of wonderful memories for me. Family card games, quiet reading, busy craft tables, and feasts with friends all happen on the porch. Whether it is hot, breezy or rainy, everyone seems to end up on the porch. I look forward to returning to the porch again this July when the tomatoes are ripe and the basil is abundant. Thinking of this porch makes me smile and I can't wait to see it again.