On A Clear Day - Outdoor Wednesday

View from our front porch. We have a few trees starting to bud.

 On a clear day you can see the snow capped mountain range in back of this one.
I believe it's the Sonora Pass.

 One of the transplanted baskets and the first miniature daffodil of the season. 

Rain clouds! Finally, some long awaited rain here in

Northern California.  

Hope you are having a wonderful "Outdoor Wednesday".

Please join Susan at "A Southern Daydreamer" for other participants.

Mumzie

Outdoor Wednesday - February 8, 2012

 

Last basket to make the move.

Tapado

Fauna watching the sun go down.

Moving the Baskets & Roses!

It's been some time since I've posted on "Outdoor Wednesday".  Actually, I didn't post to my blog for over two months.  We were in the process of buying our new place in the country,  and it consumed all my extra time and energy, so blogging just wasn't on top of the list of things to do. Even though our new place is just a mile and half out of town, it seems like another world. 

On a clear day we have a  fantastic few of the Sierra foothills and snow capped mountains.  I took these pictures on Monday evening when the sun was going down.  The hanging basket is the last one to make the move from our California street house to the ranch on Campbell Avenue. Trees are few and far between on the ten acres, but we plan to plant several redwoods and white birch in the future. We brought over three of the the four rose bushes and the wisteria tree on Monday.  I'll be going back later this week to pick up the last rose bush.  We've decided to leave the hydrangeas, since they are too big to make the move. 

 Please join Susan @ "A Southern Daydreamer"  

for other "Outdoor Wednesday participants!

Mumzie

Trout Fishing in the Sierra Snow - Outdoor Wednesday

We are very fortunate to live less than one hour from this beautiful fishing spot in the Central Sierra Nevada mountains just off Highway 108 east of Sonora, California.  

Highway 108 continues along Deadman Creek to the Sonora Pass and drops into Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras. Just before Dardanelle is Clark Fork Road which will take you along the Clark Fork up to Sand Flat campground. We took these pictures on our fishing trip last month.

The Upper Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River contains both rainbows and browns.

It is heavily stocked by Department of Fish & Game (DFG) with about 30,000 rainbows annually.  

 The Hubs enjoying the day!

 The Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River is a small stream with runs and riffles. It is heavily used by campers and is stocked by DFG with about 13,000 rainbows annually.
For wild trout, you can hike in at the end of the road into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. 

Highland Creek which is the main headwaters for the North Fork Stanislaus offers good fishing.

 

 The outlying portions of the stream contain wild trout in the 9-12 inch class.

The river consists of deep pools, riffles, and runs.

The Spring runoff makes it difficult to fish until mid June. Usually, fall brings great fishing.

 The roads are closed now, this was just after the first snow.

 No fish caught this day, but we enjoyed our hot chocolate and picnic lunch.

Just being in the beauty of nature is very relaxing. 

Someday I hope to learn to fly fish!

Today I'm joining

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for the 100th "Outdoor Wednesday".

Thanks Susan for hosting this event!

Mumzie

Colin's First Pumpkin Patch

 My grandson....Colin

He wants to touch and feel everything. 

It's amazing to watch him discover everything.

 

He's only been walking for around one month,

and walking on dirt was very different.

The fresh roasted corn was simply wonderful!  

Yum!

Love these colorful beauties.

Check out the corn maze in the background.

It's huge.

Pumpkin rides.

The adventure ends with a taste of

pumpkin pie at the Country Store.

A very tired little boy...but so much fun.

Thanks for sharing our trip to Dell'Osso Family Farms  and Pumpkin Maze.  

It was my first time to visit Dell'Osso's farm, and

found this place to be tons of fun, even though it was raining on and off. 

The Farm has everything from a corn maze to a train rides. 

We plan on going back next year for more fun!

Today I'm joining Susan at

"A Southern Daydreamer" for

Outdoor Wednesday.

Mumize

Outdoor & Watery Wednesday - Seals at Casa Beach

This little one is so cute! (Click on picture to enlarge)

The ocean is so cool and refreshing!

Seals sunbathing in the warm summer sun.

Family time.

This picture is looking down on the other side of the cement wall. 

You can see why the seals

use the beach for their home.

When my daughter lived in Carlsbad we visited this beach in La Jolla, California.  Jenni wanted me to see the seals and water....both were amazing.  We hiked down and out to the end of the cement wall,

 and that's where I took these above pictures. 

A Little History.... 

Casa Beach, also known as the Children’s Pool, is a tiny beach in La Jolla, California that is famous for its colony of harbor seals. The site is a huge tourist attraction and a favorite spot for locals to watch wildlife.

In 1931, Ellen Browning Scripps donated money to build a sea wall in order to create “a safe place for children to swim”. To allow the artificial construction, the State of California transferred the land to the City of San Diego in a Tidelands Grant of 1931, dedicating Casa Beach to human recreation. Back then, seals were commercially hunted by fishermen who viewed these animals as competitors for fish. Hunting was so extensive that many harbor seal populations abandoned traditional haul-out areas.

Casa Beach has been home to the seals for centuries; the rock the sea wall was built on was called “Seal Point” by the first settlers to the area. Seals made their comeback in the late 80’s and early 90’s as a result of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the federal law passed by Congress in 1972.

Information from

The weather here in Northern California has finally warmed up, so my thoughts today are on the outdoors and cool clear water.   Today I'm joining
Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer  for "Outdoor Wednesday" and
"Watery Wednesday".

Have a great Wednesday!

Mumzie

Outdoor Wednesday - No Water Needed!

These are my new Solar Sun Flowers....No water needed,

just a whole bunch of sunlight.

Thanks Jenni, Curtis & Colin!

For for "Outdoor Wednesday" participants, visit

visit Susan @ http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

May your day be filled with sunshine!

Mumzie

Vail Colorado - Outdoor Wednesday #38

This time last year we were taking these pictures in Vail.  We stayed at a timeshare located in town which was our homebase for the many trips to other areas of Colorado.  Vail is breathtaking and one of the most beautiful places I've seen.   Hiking and walking is the best way to get around town.  Our stay ended with the season's first big snow storm, which came into the valley on our last day. 
Fortunately we were able to see the storm from the airplane upon leaving out of Denver.

 I would love to visit during the winter to see the snow,

 but would love to return for the fall colors which were breathtaking.

Portion of the forest cleared of Pine Beetle damage.  The tiny pest with big damage: About the size of a grain of rice, the mountain pine beetle is destroying great swaths of pine trees in Colorado.

Road winding to top of moutain behind the timeshare.

Looking down from the top mountain...you can see the timeshare in the middle.

A little history.....
The town of Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the opening of Vail Ski Resort. The ski area was founded by Pete Seibert and the local rancher Earl Eaton in 1962, between the town of Eagle and Vail Pass. The pass was named after Charles Vail,

the highway engineer that routed U.S. Highway 6 through the valley in 1940.

Seibert, a New England native, served in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division during World War II, which trained at Camp Hale, just southeast of Vail. He was seriously wounded in Italy and was told he should become a professional skier when he recovered. He was noticed as the best skier in the world for a short time.

***********

Our trip to Colorado was to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary October 3rd, 2008.  We originally planned our trip to Ireland and Scotland for this celebration, but were unable to coordinate a timeshare exchange at that time.  So, we visited Colorado and it was fantastic. 

Happy Outdoor Wednesday!

Visit Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for more participants.

Mumzie