Given my Raynald's Disease I too often seek the sun in order to warm up my right hand; and if there's no sun, the front burner on the camper's stove will have to do. [Click 1 or 2 times to zoom in.]
Here are two more cold-blooked relatives sunning themselves on a warm rock with the North Fork of the Kern River in the background.
As you can see on the other side of the river, there have been at least two burns on that side of the river at Chico Flats. While the elevation is a bit low for ponderosa pines, it's clear from the small to moderate size of the digger [aka "bull"] pines that a previous fire clear off the previous growth.
Late in the year idiots with cans of spray paint cross the river to try to make the other side look like an alley in a ghetto. They'e the same flatlanders who break their empty beer bottles rather than cart the empties home. Of course, now that most beer bottles are plastic rather than glass, it's a bit more difficult to create a pile broken glass with a "half life" of at least 200 yrs.
I drove up the N.F. of the Kern looking for a side-by-side example of a ponderosa pine and a digger pine. Note that the ponderosa has darker green needles than the digger; it also has large scales in its bark; further, it is much more symmetric than a digger pine, which may have 2 or three large limbs reaching its high point. Which is which? If you said the ponderosa is one the left, "go to the head of the class."
And here's a very healthy ponderosa on the far side of the Kern where it will likely grown faster than neighbors because it's close to a reliable water source.
After sending an e-mail from the Lake Isabella McDonald's, I took SR155 back toward Kernville, but turned left & headed up a steep hill with eventually remined me of the Robert Louis Stevenson State Park between Calistoga and Clear Lake. The signs said winter driving conditions were still in effect; hwr, saw enough low-slug vehicles to convince me that I would have any problems. Note the snow on the east-facing slope in the photo. And the clouds were caused by moisture evaporating and a strong wind (25-30mph -- didn't see anything on Lake Isabella but chop -- no boats). The pass is called Green Horn Pass; I'd guess its elevation at c5500'. There were new cabins and homes on the south side but the houses at the Slick Rock Sub-Division were all at least 30 years old.
While berating myself for not taking a photo of an empty church in a community called Linn's Valley, I stumbled across something even better -- given the name of this blog: "The Oak Grove Cemetery." As you can see the daffodils are in bloom not only around the perimeter but at some individual gravesites as well. [Wonder if the daffodils at the NW corner of our former house in Santa Cruz are also blooming now?]
While there was a lock on the double gate, I was able to pass thru the single gate on the right. Clearly, it's a rather old cemetery. I selected the Carvers because of the large white monument, but was unable to make out much on it. However, Eona J Emery died in 1948, which, while it was afrer I and my 4 siblings were born, was still "many moons ago."
I took this final shot across the road from the cemetery since it reminded me of the Sierran foothills on SR108 below Jamestown [or "Jimtown," as my late maternal grandmother used to call it.]
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Links:
- Wikipedia article on Porterville, CA
Su 3 Apr Actual Route: Chico Flats - Kernville - L Isabella - Wofford Hts - Linn's Valley - Porterville
M 4 Apr Actual Route: Porterville - Springville- Pierpont Springs - McD's - Lake Success Corps of Engineers RV CG
T 5 Apr Actual Route: Lake Success - Porterville - Lindsay - Exeter - Visalia
W 5 Apr Route: Visalia
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