With COVID-19 plaguing the world, those "stay in place" orders have been in effect in our state for three or four weeks; I didn't mark it on the calendar. These days it seems like we're lost in space. We've washed our hands a million times, worn masks on our few forays to pick up groceries and bagged soil for our upgraded garden, and have been safe at home since mid-March. But we've missed our dear ones! FaceTime is good as far as it goes, but nothing beats a real live hug. We wave to our friends and neighbors, but have no real visits. No card-playing or dinner invites. No car trips to Sacramento to play with our sweet three-year-old granddaughter. She "knows" the word "coronavirus" from her parents and understands as much as a little one can that this word is the reason her daycare school was closed and her Nevada City grandparents don't come to see her.
So far all of us are virus-free, and, in fact, we don't know anyone who has been infected with the virus. Thank God. Grateful is the word that comes to mind. Grateful for ample food, local produce that is still available, friends who care, a town that supports it's businesses and people, and the every-day basics we enjoy. Truly grateful. What else is cooking? Me ... I've been busy in the kitchen making cookies and bread and desserts and soups and main dishes that can be served more than once (think: leftovers); using up the freezer contents. Hope our waistlines won't suffer (haha).
Nature wins when the world is turned upside down. Nevada City has begun blooming, with gorgeous displays everywhere. Below, our Pacific dogwoods, trilliums, the cherry and the redbud, and pink phlox are shining examples of Mother Earth's beauty.
Also high on the gratitude list are no snow and warmer weather. We felt empty and closed in during that durned snowmagedden, but sunnier days are upon us. Now we can get outdoors to garden and hike -- much appreciated! Below you see we expanded our keyhole garden over Easter weekend, giving us more room for the thornless Blackberry and strawberries, upcoming tomatoes and peppers.
Getting Out and About to walk on local streets and paths, or explore new trails, is what we need to keep us on an even keel. We've put miles on our feet this week alone, including two hikes on the "DS Canal" trail; today's hike was in all new territory. We like that, and ya never know what you'll see on these canal walks.
Last Thursday we walked the DS canal section (above) between Red Dog and Banner Lava Cap Roads, starting at Red Dog, and using two cars -- the Prius at Red Dog and Smartie at BLC Rd -- mainly because we didn't know how long the hike would be. The distance would have been over four miles one-way, but for us it turned out to be over five miles, 'cause Smartie's keys were left in the Prius glove box, which Jimmy discovered a half mile into the hike ... so we had to turn around and start over! Someday we MIGHT get it all together. Are we glad we didn't discover this error when we walked up to Smartie? Hah!
We didn't count the flumes we saw (but we should have), possibly ten or twelve. Some are placed over deep ravines, with tiny rivulets flowing beneath. Most of the time, we walked alongside the canal, as above. The DS Canal was built in 1927-28 to carry water from Lower Scotts Flat Lake into the Nevada City-Grass Valley area. The DS Canal follows the south side of Deer Creek; hence, DS for Deer Creek South.
This? I don't know, but we stopped to read it, then moved on.
We saw no cows, but we did close the gate behind us.
Two geese, two goslings were the extent of visible wildlife. We encountered only one other person (masked) the entire time. We gave him plenty of room on this wide trail. The fruit trees, below, were in bloom, and you can see how fine the day was.
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Today we did the final section of the DS Canal trail from Red Dog to wherever it began, which would be a discovery for us. I had a hunch this canal trail would end at Lower Scott's Flat Lake.
We came across a cleared-of-trees hill to the left of the picture and were surprised to see a work crew walking toward us, carrying packs of baby trees to be planted. They turned off the trail above, and into the trees. Never have seen this before.
Lots of tiny streams add water to the canal.
In some sections, the canal is corralled into a cemented trench (above). Water literally flies through these sections. Two different rock formations in this spot, also. Interesting.
From wide to narrow.
As we wrapped around the mountain, we alternated heading north, south, east, west. Hard to figure it out unless you see moss-covered rocks and trees, and then you know that's north-facing.
Couldn't quite get this one, till we realized the tree had been knocked over by the downed tree in the canal, right, and it lodged in the mountainside as you see it. The branches swayed eerily in the wind, like a weird green punkah.
Think this apparatus is to measure CFS, but it wasn't being used today. We spied quite a number of fishies both today and last Thursday (small trout?), holding steady in the fast-moving water.
For most of the hike we heard water far below us on our left; we guessed a wild creek, rip-roarin' downhill ... and I was pretty sure it was Deer Creek, the same one that flooded Lefty's Grill in Nevada City a couple of years ago when we had too much rain. Because we were so much higher, we could only catch an occasional glimpse, but as we continued on, the canal trail and creek leveled off, and then, through the trees, we saw the falls (above).
Yup, end of the line -- the dam at Lower Scott's Flat Lake (aka Deer Creek Reservoir), and the spill water is Deer Creek. We could go no further. (In a funny kind of twist, Jimmy and I kayaked the lake waters several years ago, right up to the rope line preventing anyone from going over the dam.) We turned around and retraced our steps, back to the car. Today's hike was between 4.5 and 5 miles on one of the prettiest days of the year!
One kwazy duck that hopped atop the dam to pose for a picture!
Sparkling white cherry in the woods.
At this point, I looked back to take this photo; the canal was underground, beneath the grass (right), yet the water could flow down and up this big hill. Jimmy says it's because the ground was higher on the far end.
But mostly we walked beside this wide "ditch" with it's spring-green grasses flattened by the swift water. While we saw more people on this trail section, it wasn't a problem -- the broad trail could handle foot traffic with room to spare. And it's such a lovely, serene setting. Now we've walked/hiked the entire DS canal distance, which means we'll need to find another new place to investigate! Since it doesn't seem as if the virus is going away any time soon, we'll keep on moving; it helps to keep us sane in the surreal "new normal" of insanity/instability.
