Clearlake State Park

Clearlake State Park Entrance

I have found my new hiking/running place!  Today I stopped at Clearlake Park, which is just a 5 minute drive from my house, and is on the way to where my horses live.  I only explored a fraction of the trails.  Here are some pictures from my explorations.

California Buckeye.

 The California Buckeye looks like a tree festooned with Christmas decorations. It made me want to come through with gold and silver paint to color the balls.   At first, I thought they were galls, which are swellings filled with larvae.   But they are supposed to be there.  Evidently Native Americans used to grind the buckeyes into powder and then soak in running water for days to get the poisonous elements out.

Dorn Nature Trail

View of Clearlake

Hobbit Land!

Lizard in the sun.

In the channels and quiet sections of lake, there were thousands of tiny fingerling fish. Not sure what kind they were.  The lake is home to very healthy stocks of catfish and bass, so maybe young ones of those species?  They would swim, and suddenly a whole school would leap out of the water in successive waves, sounding like hard rain hitting the surface again. 

Marsh Channel

Mountain Mahogany

Closeup of Mountain Mahogany

Fire-color

Mt. Konocti from Clearlake Park

My House, From Clearlake Park

Closeup of My house...  You can just see the islands, to the left.  My house is behind them.

Skylight in the trees.

Squirrels and Woodpeckers are not friends. I watched as a pair of woodpeckers repeatedly strafed a grey squirrel, hopping through the trees. Down would come the woodpeckers and out would leap the squirrel, jumping from tree to tree to escape.  The woodpeckers did not give up.

Snag silhouetted on mountain

This wood path goes a long way. 

Ber and Gio are doing great. They are very happy at M-Square Farms.  I'm really enjoying working with them, because there is zero stress/anxiety.   They are back to being happy, responsive, respectful beings.  Phew.   I was seriously beginning to doubt my abilities as a horse-person.   The only one who really knows how bad it was is my brother Stuart, who saw them at their worst, unfortunately.  Ber rearing straight up, squealing and striking out with his front hooves.  They really were pushed to the edge of their ability to cope, I think.  Horses do not lie, and they do not make things up. What is, is.   So I have learned a huge lesson about listening to my horses!   They have thankfully recovered from the physical manifestations of their stress, and are, well, as healthy as horses!

Ber, ready to go. 

Ber, waiting for me..He turned around while I was snapping pictures.

Gio at the trailer, ready to go. She was reaching for something, hence her neck muscles bulging. 

Modelling new bridle and walking.

Alerting on the sheep next door.

I'll leave you with some pictures of "my" lake view, at dusk.    May you enjoy this last week of October.  :)

My islands at dusk.

Can you see the reflection of the Great Blue Heron, stalking frogs and fish?                                                                Look to the middle, then  just to the left and up a bit.

Fall Has Arrived

When I was melting from the heat, I knew Fall would eventually come.   What a relief to feel the cool night air and the afternoon breezes!  The colors on the hillsides are beginning to be stunning.  Today I got out for my first hike/adventure.  I went to Highland Springs Park, which is about 5 miles south of where Ber and Gio live.  So I went to see them and brush them, went for a good hike, and then came back and worked with both of them.  Here is a photo journey of the day, starting with the horses.... Yes, they both feel as soft as they look. Their winter coats are coming in like velvet!  (If you click on pictures, they increase in size)

Ber's all done with getting his mane braided.

Gio

Gio all braided. She wasn't feeling well today--got a bit too hot for her in her winter coat.

At Highland Springs, the vegetation was beginning to put on a show for fall.   Here is some of the color:

Some kind of lichen in the pine trees. Brilliant yellow.

Sun coming through these red leaves was incredible.

These haven't turned red yet.

Another yellow lichen.

I hiked a trail that went all around the lake. This is a map of the trail:   Highland Springs Trail Map

Here are a few choice views of the reservoir:
 

Highland Springs Reservoir/lake

Reeds along the lake.

Every lake has a rope swing!

At what seemed like a dam of some sort, I got a clear view of most of the lake in one direction: 

Highland Springs Lake overview.

And a clear view of Mt. Konocti in the other direction:

Mt. Konocti in the distance. 

 The loop trail around the lake is about 3.5 miles.  A nice, rigorous but not overly so trail.

Back at the horses, I took Ber out and we had a fun ride.  I just worked Gio a bit, lunging her and walking her.  Earlier in the day she was breathing really shallowly and rapidly, and she didn't eat all her breakfast.  I think with her winter coat, she may have gotten a bit hot today in the fall sun.  She seemed fine this evening.

After our ride, modeling the new saddle pad.  I noticed how his halter picks up the orange leather on the saddle. Kind of Halloweenish.

And that concludes the photo journey from today.   Next weekend I hope to go on a hike on Mt. Konocti.  That should provide some spectacular views! 

Ber being cute, nodding his head for the camera.

8 Weeks...It Has Flown By!!

My Lakeside Retreat

Here I am, eight weeks since my adventure in Lower Lake began.  Phew, I'm just now beginning to look beyond the frenzy and busy of this massive transition.   This weekend I moved Ber and Gio to M-Square Farms, where they have larger pastures and a quieter atmosphere but lots to look at ("horsey TV").  They were really not settling at the ranch where I originally moved them, for a number of reasons. It was pretty stressful, now that I have some distance and can look at it. But they are settling in to M-Square very quickly.  It feels like "home" to them, and to me.  The people who run the place remind me a lot of my 8th Avenue friends (the Mankas).

Gio, first evening at M-Square. Mt. Konocti in the distance.

My job at Lower Lake is what I was looking for, and I couldn't be happier. It is a challenge, and I am called upon to be my best, every day.  The school is over 700 students, K-8.  That's about 3 teachers per grade level!!  Everything I learned as a teacher in McKinleyville and Burnt Ranch, running Blue Heron, and as a professional development provider for the writing project....my MA degree and studies, and my Ed.D. degree and studies...  it all feeds into this job.  As you know, I love a challenge.  Whee!

Ber, looking regal. First day at M-Square, Mt. Konocti behind him.

The house I found on the lake suits me well.   I have a dream of a view.  "My" piece of the lake is right on a marshy area, so I have many families of birds who come in and out. There is a great blue heron who calls the area home, flying in every evening. The other night I watched him/her hunt for fish until it was so dark I could no longer see the bird.  I even have a pair of humming birds. They are so unfazed by my presence, they hover right in front of my face, so close my eyebrows move in the wind from their wings!   They are ruby-throat hummers.      I am still pretty much living out of boxes, though I set up my kitchen fairly well, and I just got my desk set up.  One thing at at time. My horses needed a lot of my attention, to the tune of 2 or 3 hours every day after work.  But now that they are in a happier place for them, I think I can direct some of my energies towards other projects.  Like unpacking. And exploring the natural beauty of this captivating county.

A Pistachio Tree!  There are three of them right in front of Ber and Gio's pastures.  Yum!

Since I moved at the peak of harvest season, somehow I managed to get a bit of canning done. This is pear country, so I've been in heaven!  I made pear chutney, pear butter, dried pears, pear marmalade, dilly beans, and dried tomatoes. Right now I'm making rasins from the abundance of grapes at Ber and Gio's new house.   

What else?   Oh! The Book!  The manuscript for the book I've been working on for the past year with Bob Barr has been accepted by Solution Tree Press, with an expected publishing date of May, 2013.  Way cool. (Okay, now that I think about it, how on earth did I get through the last 8 weeks?  The move, new job, the huge push to get the book manuscript done, and finishing the online CLAD class I had...  Yeah, it's time for some decent down time!!!)    At any rate, this book is a dream come true. The tentative title, developed by the publishers, is "Building a Culture of Hope: Enriching Schools with Opportunity and Optimism."  I couldn't be prouder of this piece of work, and the opportunity to work with Bob has been an experience that has impacted my whole life. 

Ber and Gio's new pastures.  They are the black shapes at the far end.

As I head into the last half of October, I am grateful for so much in my life. I am doing what I wanted to do, and I feel like I am making a valuable contribution.  I deeply miss my friends in Humboldt County, though. I will be back up there in November to take care of things at my rental, so I hope to check in with folks who are around!  It's funny how I don't think about how much I miss Humboldt, the area, the way I did when I was in Idaho.  Lake County feels like a second home. I feel good here.   I know when I go up to Humboldt it will hit me, hard, what I left behind.  But every day, I am surrounded by beauty and a similar earthly energy or presence as in Humboldt.     I am very fortunate.

 

If you look close, you can see Stuart, my brother, exploring the Soda Spring.

My Patio.  The plants are from Trinidad. They ALL made it and all are doing well.

I hope you are well. Please catch me up on your news when you can.