Dawn Hike

Up at camp with my students. It keeps me busy all day, every day. But, the sweetest hour is at dawn, before most folks are even awake. 

I headed out for my hike around six in the morning. It was still very cool out, about 40 degrees. This is an original Kumeyaay Indian hut. 

First critter I saw was a rabbit. 

Mountain lilacs. . . hundreds of birds tweeted in the distance.

Beautiful morning. . . 

Birds on rocks. ..

I spotted several bluejays. 

I bet the dogs would love to run in that meadow. 

This is the first turkey I have ever seen in the wild. It took one look at me and ran away. I could hear the gobble gobble of turkeys for most of my one-hour hike. 

Another gorgeous bluejay. . . 

Wow!

Almost back to the school camp. . . 

This lizard showed up while the students were playing an outdoor game. I was glad it showed itself. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to hit another trail and try to spot some deer. 

Digging for Victory

Back during World War II there was a push encouraging every citizen to do his or her part to help the war effort. Self-sufficiency on local and personal levels was sought after. Women joined the work force and did the work previously done by men. They worked with steel, building planes, tanks, and whatever else was needed. At home, people were encouraged to grow their Victory Gardens. This reproduction poster is now on our refrigerator to encourage us in our planting endeavors. 

I had two weeks off for Easter break. I had thought I would need about five days to do all the yard work I had in mind. It took more than ten days, and I still have some work unfinished. 

I cleared out the jungle of weeds choking the succulents in this planter box. I also  cut away from overgrown succulents to replant them elsewhere. 

Pruned, fertilized, and mulched the roses. . . 

That giant cardboard box is full of wood I chopped and trimmed. I had to cut away from the dead bougainvillea for days. Plus, I cut down one long tree limb to create more shade for our new fig tree. That's the wood in the box. See the fig tree in the background? 

This tree reminds me of the village in Lebanon. I love it! I removed about a ton of poor soil and mixed in seven huge bags of rich soil, chicken manure, and steer manure. Then I covered it all with peat moss to hold in moisture and help prevent weed growth. 

I removed about two hundred big rocks from the planter areas near the pool motor shed. Took eight hours to clear the soil in this area and transplant the succulents. . . .

The acadunia tree is exploding with fruit. I tried one that looked ripe, but it lacked flavor. I'm hoping they just need a few more weeks. I think the plants may be a bit confused by our erratic spring-winter weather this year. 

Once or twice a year I have to clear grass away from the sprinkler heads, Otherwise, they would be buried and choked. The grass is stubborn. Sometimes I have to use my garden saw knife to cut through their stubborn roots. I have dozens of sprinkler heads to clear. 

Pomegranate tree is one year old. 

We planted two grapevines this past week. It's a way to bring the village to San Diego. 

Saturday the dogs got to go to the beach for their weekly jaunt. We went later than usual today, so it was a lot more crowded than during our regular routine. 

To the dogs, that just meant more friends to play tag with! 

Incoming military jet. . . The navy has a base adjacent to the dog beach. In fact, I think the dog beach is navy property. 

Frolicking in the waves. . . 

Racing on the shore. . . 

Flocks of birds usually hang out just beyond the barrier, safely out of reach of dogs. 

Wet, sandy dog. They normally have a bath after their trip to the beach. 

And after the bath, nothing is as wonderful as luxuriating in the warm sun! 

Beautiful Sunday

It was a tough week. It rained hard for several days, an unusual occurrence for San Diego. I had a nasty cold, one of those insidious viruses that creep on you and try to establish some roots. Probably the worst cold I have had in ten years. It kept me home for a couple of days. My classroom has looked and sounded more like a hospital ward. Empty chairs where many students should be sitting, and the ones who did attend coughed and drooped, and blew, and snorted. I joked with my classroom aide and told her she would soon have to dress up in a nurse's outfit. Boy, was I glad to see the end of this week.

And today, after more drizzle and rain, I wake up to this glorious morning. The plants are exploding in the wetness and sunshine. 

I had to go outside and take a few pictures. The chirps and songs of delighted birds filled my ears. 

And though the air was crisp and cold due to the newly fallen snow in the mountains, the sun was exquisitely delicious in its warmth. 

The terrier and chihuahua followed me outdoors. Anytime I pull my jeans on, they get very excited, hopeful that we will go again to the beach. But that was yesterday's adventure. We went even though the weather was dreary, drizzling, and cold. They ran, chased other dogs running after balls, jumped into the rolling ocean surf, sprinted after birds, and dug massive holes in the beach sand. Now that they have had their baths, the next beach adventure will wait until we go again next weekend. Poor dogs only have a lush yard, a big back outdoor area, and a big house in which to romp. Someone should write a poem about their terrible confinement! 

This dead bougainvillea plant is one of my upcoming projects. I have been accused of murdering it, but all I did was cut what was already dead away. We have waited more than 6 months for our beauty to come back to life, but I'm afraid, she's gone, gone, gone. I need to cut all those branches away from the ironwork. Tougher still, I need to dig her up out of the earth, so her replacement can go in. 

Beautiful view of Coronado. The morning was a little misty in the background. 

Unlike the unlucky bougainvillea, all the other plants are happy and thriving, probably because I don't pay much attention to them. This is our acadunia tree. 

We planted Swiss chard, spinach, and a few other green edibles I can't identify. 

The goal is to eventually have our own little edible Victory garden. Neither one of us is very good at it. 

But we aim to try. 

After losing all its leaves in the winter, this plumeria is on its way back. 

The terrier is chewing on some grass. 

I suppose it is her way of telling me the turkey soup didn't quite agree with her. We've had a lot of soup the past few days. She sometimes get leftovers. 

The chihuahua can lie motionless for twenty hours at a time, but if she suspects a trip to the beach might be in the works, she jumps into action. She makes it her job to claim every inch of the beach. 

Honeysuckle. This plant is a hummingbird favorite. They flock to it like drunks to a bar. 

These saltillo tiles will have to be sealed again before the end of next summer. They are crumbling in so many places. I am pretty good at sealing but terrible at applying the grout. But to hire a worker to do it out here in San Diego is akin to paying someone to poke my eyes out. The work is usually expensive and so shoddy, that it makes my amateur attempts seem like the work of an accomplished craftsperson. 

Gorgeous dandelion. 

Does it remind you at all of the album cover to the Eagles' "Hotel California"?

This plant has a long story. She was bold and strong for a long time, then was trapped in a dark room for a couple weeks. She never fully recovered. But a few months ago, I repotted her, gave her organic soil, and put her in a mostly shady spot. She seems to finally be making a comeback! 

beautiful sunday

Whale Adventure San Ignacio

February is a very active month for whales. This is the time of year they mate or give birth to their young, depending on the year. It is for this reason that we headed down this past week, about 600 miles south of San Diego, to San Ignacio, Mexico. 

On our way, we stopped in San Quintin, at the Old Mill, a restaurant refashioned out of an old flour mill. We all ordered the clam dish, which came in tacky swan-styled aluminum foil. The good news is none of us became sick. 

When we reached our halfway point in the remote "town" of Catavina, the hotel told us they could not find our booking. They had no room, they said, because two tour bus groups were due that evening. We could try our luck at the motel across the street, the only other structure besides a convenience store shack, and that was all. Well, we checked out the motel, and it was something of a nightmare: Pepto-Bismol pink exterior, cardboard doors, reeking of bleach, promising bedbugs, poor lighting, and general misery for the night, if we were lucky. Privately, I considered how we could all sleep in the car.

 Since we had a few hours of daylight left, we decided to take a gamble and headed another 240 km south to the next town of Guerrero Negro (Black Warrior). We were so relieved to find wonderful accommodations there.  This is a shot of the lamp in the room. We had a good restaurant downstairs, towels, hot shower, the works. I practically did somersaults in the lobby! 

Next morning, we were three hours ahead of schedule and checked into the San Ignacio Bed and Breakfast. This is a delightful spot located right along the river. A Canadian couple runs the place. The place is set up with yurts and humble cabins. The rooms are basic, but it is the immediate access to the river that can't be beat. Also, the full breakfast, with jam, sausages, ham, eggs, fresh orange juice coffee, toast. Well, it was delightful! 

Best of all, our hosts offer kayaks that guests can just grab and use. Since we were there early, we had time to kayak up and down the river twice. We spotted white egrets, blue herons, and other birds. It was a delightful day, and luckily for us, the wind died down just enough for us to enjoy the activity. When had first arrived, it was cold and windy, but once we had started kayaking, it all quieted down for our enjoyment. 

Perfect weather. 

After a day of kayaking, we headed back towards the town square to find dinner. 

This hardware store is in the town of San Ignacio. 

The old man who owns the place has everything imaginable, from candy, to sunglasses, T-shirts, hoodies, cowboy hats, magnets, buckets, and detergent. Everything in there looked like it had been sitting around for at least thirty years. 

The next morning, we headed out to the bay. First it was an easy drive, about 30 km on paved road. The last 20 km or so was a rocky, dirt road. We took a bit of a pounding but reached our destination easily enough. Two guides greeted us and gave us our instructions: no standing in the boat, keep lifejackets on at all times, don't touch whale eyes, tail, blowholes, or fins. Only eight panga boats are allowed in the bay at any time. The whales enjoyed making their rounds. What looked like a professional photography team was on one of the boats. They had underwater cameras, which they held at the end of short poles. 

We rode out in a fast panga boat, and within 15 minutes we were surrounded by whales. Here a mother whale and her calf approached our boat to be petted. I would say we saw at least a thirty different gray whales, if not more. They seemed to be at every point on the radius, like the numbers on a watch dial. 

A dolphin or two decided to accompany us for awhile. They seem to enjoy riding along. 

I can't figure out why whales are attracted to humans in boats. Like dogs, they just seem to want attention. We don't feed them or give them anything. Here is a close-up shot of my left hand petting the mother whale. The round yellow things are barnacles. 

These creatures are huge but move swiftly, powerfully, and majestically through the water. We did see two whales mating, frolicking through the ocean at high speed. Well, we learned a thing or two. The one picture I caught was, um, blurry, and probably best that I don't post it. I will leave those images to National Geographic. Think 200-pound pink banana, and you will start to have a blurry picture similar to the one in my camera. 

Much to my relief and enjoyment, I didn't experience any kind of motion sickness on the trip. 

Unlike a whale watching trip I tried over ten years ago in the open ocean off of San Francisco, this one was tame. The San Ignacio bay has calmer, gentler waters, and the whales are in close proximity. No need for long hours in the open, rolling ocean. This was easy. And if I can do it, anybody can. 

Back on shore, we noticed how the ospreys had built their nests atop posts. The bird on the right gave me a few warning squawks as I approached. This was as close as I could get without sending it into hysterics. We saw so many wild animals on the trip, several I could not get a picture of. But a couple coyotes scrambled up near the side of the road, buzzards and turkey vultures flew in the skies above Catavina and San Ignacio. Burros, cows, sheep, goats, lots of stray dogs, too. 

Back at the town square, we had some time to visit the church. 

I know he is a saint, but I never found out why he is holding a broom. Cleanliness is next to Godliness?

Church doors. . . 

The garden outside the church reminds me a lot of village scenes in Lebanon. 

On our way back, we did stay at the good hotel in Catavina. That afternoon, we hiked up the hillside in search of ancient cave paintings. Beautiful cacti and rocks make up the landscape. We thought this one looked especially interesting. 

Here is what we found inside the cave. 

The general consensus was that the cacti and rocks were more interesting.