Hiking in the Upper Arroyo Seco

Saturday we went hiking in the upper Arroyo Seco. The week before had gone from temperatures in the 60s to 99 and back to the 60s. It was pleasantly cool for our hike which was mainly along the stream under the trees. We hiked to Switzer Falls. Switzer was a fellow in the early 1900s had a fashionable camp up in the canyon, to which vacationers would come from Los Angeles, hiking and hiring pack animals to carry their belongings. Then they'd eat in the camp dining hall and stay in the cabins and dance on Friday and Saturday evenings. The camp is long since gone. In its place are invasive plants planted to fill in the understory - english ivy, periwinkle, blackberry, I even saw a rose plant. We brought a picnic lunch and had a great time. A very relaxing family Saturday.

Chris had time to kick back on a rock by the stream. The camel-back hydration system is like a water bed for your head.

It's great going hiking now-a-days when no one cries to be carried.

This is Switzer Falls. It goes way down.

I was nervous getting this close for a picture.

You can see where I was standing in the previous picture in this shot from the other side of the canyon. I was just to the right of the stream where it leave the pool to plummet down the rock face.

It took some rock climbing to get to the pool above the falls. Now my worry is that Davis or Nathaniel will remember it when they are teenagers and go back there with friends and without good judgement. It is really steep.

But, they'd never do anything foolish to get hurt. They always know what they are doing. Even more so when they are teenagers, I'm sure. (Can you sense my reticence about Davis' impending 13th birthday?)

Nathaniel wanted to spend a lot of time climbing and exploring. He does not consider speed hiking enough of an outing.

And though I kept telling him not to, he ended up walking across the chasm on a log anyway. Is it a good thing boys don't tell their mothers about all the dangerous things they do as they grow up? Maybe.

April Blooms

April doesn't bring many showers to S. Ca. We get most of our rain in January and February tailing off in March. But there are some terrific flowers out right now. The air smells great with orange and lemon trees finishing up their blossoms and honeysuckle in full bloom. Here are some pics of some flowers that I thought were especially pretty.
I have no idea what this is called. It is kind of like a bleeding heart flower, but much bigger and the blossoms are tube shaped. I saw this while walking to the train station with Nathaniel's class field trip.

This is a yucca plant up along a trail in the Rose Bowl. I've seen yucca flowers before, but they are ususally all white. These had purple tips on them. (They were prettier than my cell phone camera could depict.)

Click on this one to make it bigger. The colors don't show up as well in the small version of the picture. This is above my garden with lavender in the foreground, CA poppies center right and my sage is blooming with purple spikes in the background. It's especially pretty in the morning sun.

Cala Lily in my yard (can you find the ant?)

I think this is called butterfly iris. It is a plant that takes any amount of abuse and requires very little water and still blooms all summer. Miraculously, it isn't invasive like most other plants that fit that description. Its very handy for borders that won't get much attention.

I love the California Poppies. They last longer in my yard than in the wild because they get some extra water. They are so bright and sunny. And they self-seed to return each spring.

This is something that just comes up each spring behind the house. Its in a spot that will have red Amyrillis blooming in a couple weeks followed by yellow Gladiola. Then by the middle of summer pink Naked Lady Lillies will bloom there. Stay tuned.

Not Canadian?

My mom became a naturalized US citizen 28 days before I was born. I may not be a newly minted Canadian citizen. I sent an email to the Canadian Visa office in Los Angeles. Their website says they'll respond within 28 days, or maybe they won't respond. I guess that covers all the options. Oh well. I wasn't planning on renouncing my US citizenship.

The Garden is Planted

The garden is now planted. The artichoke plant is from last year and I think I'll pick it tomorrow to steam with garlic. Here is a long view of the garden. If you have a magnifying lens you can see the labels. Basically I have a raspberry hedge in the far distance, then tomatoes with radishes and lettuce in between and nasturtiums along the edge. Then peppers and chiles, onions, garlic and shallots, and then red and russet potatoes. Where the soaker hoses get wavy I planted early and late corn with spinach in between. In the foreground is climbing and bush beans with marigold and chives interplanted, cucumbers, summer and winter squash, and a variety of herbs. I'm trying partner-planting with herbs to cut down on ants and aphids.

Here is the sun shining through the cages of peppers and tomatoes.

Nathaniel helped by planting potatoes, onions, and beans.

You can see the garlic already starting to come up.

I'll post more pictures as it grows, and as I begin to harvest.

Waking up Canadian

Apparently I am now a Canadian citizen, Yesterday a Canadian law went into effect restoring citizenship to all Canadians who had to renounce their citizenship to claim citizenship in another country (like the US), and to their children. My mom was a Canadian citizen, born in Kitchner, Ontario and became a naturalized US citizen after marrying my dad. I have no idea what advantages this may offer me - free maple syrup? That would be worth it.

Nathaniel

Nathaniel, Sock Monkey, and Boopas (from whom Nathaniel received Sock Monkey).
Nathaniel - expressing his thoughts and feelings no doubt (he keeps it up throughout the school day).

Last week during our spring break Nathaniel came down with the stomach flu. He didn't eat anything except half a cup of applesauce for about 24 hours. He was miserable. He kept asking if this meant we couldn't go on our planned beach-camping trip. I'm sorry, but can you imagine a kid with the flu in a tent 5 campsites away from the bathrooms? Poor kid. He felt miserable.

At the end of the second day he was starting to feel better, and he was starving. He wolfed down a package of yaki soba noodles in chicken broth (like top ramen but not pre-fried in oil). I fear it was too much for his tummy. That night he woke up with stomach cramps. We spent some time in the bathroom where he cried because he COULDN'T throw up. He was strangely upset and kept dropping down to the ground as we walked down the hall to put him back to bed. In bed he was shaking. Finally he told me that he had dreamed his stomach exploded and destroyed the world. He was actually afraid it would happen and didn't want to go back to sleep and dream it again. We got out his sock monkey for comfort and I rubbed his cheek for awhile as he relaxed and was ready to go back to sleep.

The next morning he was feeling much better and came into our room to describe how he avoided having the same nightmare. In the dream the earth was made of clay and it is totally destroyed when his stomach explodes. Instead of letting that happen, in his dream, Nathaniel said, "Monkey, monkey, monkey," and a floating version of his sock monkey appeared to save the day. Nathaniel described the whole dream in detail and there were many video game aspects to it. He consciously chooses items to intervene with whatever problem is presented in the dream. I don't remember all the details, there were many, and they were a bit confusing, being from a dream.

Nathaniel has a talent for describing how he feels and what he thinks it means. It is a big help to him at school because teachers find it endearing. It is helpful to me because it teaches me about what he needs and brings me into check when I'm on a "because I told you so" rampage.

Easter Egg Hunt

Here are some pics from our Easter egg hunt this year. Davis feels like he might be getting a little old for this. But that ol' enthusiasm kicks in when its time to collect candy.
It was a beautiful day. Sunny and pleasant. The day before had been cloudy and breezy and fairly cool.

I think the yard is looking great!

The eggs are getting hidden better each year. It takes a little more time to seek them out.

Is this why they call them Peeps?

They grow so fast (at least their hair does!)