Walk on the Mellow Side, Wed, 11/13/24

 

I assume a lot of people in the world have never been to California.  They may assume the entire state is palm trees and year 'round sunshine (and -- boo hiss -- wildfires).  Not so!  While Southern California follows the palms and sunshine formula, here in Northern California (NorCal) we march to the four seasons, especially in the foothills.

This time of year is The Best, with vibrant autumn leaf color holding us all spellbound, and this year has been particularly spectacular for brilliance.  NorCal's rains have begun, too.  Monday we recorded close to three-quarters of an inch.  Tuesday the sun shone all day.  Today rain was forecast, beginning at 1pm.  (gotta love Accuweather).  Jimmy and I decided to walk the Cascade Canal trail and we were out the door at 11am.   

The sky was laden with gray clouds, the temp hovered around 48, and we were dressed in layers.  I stopped long enough in our driveway to capture our front yard trees.  Red is pink Dogwood.  Yellow is a Birch.

Our walk takes us through the neighborhood before we achieve the trail.  This remarkable beauty decorated a front yard.

Along the way ....

On the trail at last.

Off in the distance is downtown Nevada City.

The water level in the "ditch" is very low, barely visible.

No matter, walking here is always a joy.

Big Leaf (Oregon) Maples flourish along the canal.  As you see, above, their leaves are huge, large enough to be worn as floppy hats or float as boats in the canal.

That's not Jimmy in this pic.  See the dog?  We encountered this dog the last time we walked the path, padding along with a huge "stick" in its mouth.  As it is today!  Enlarge the pic and you'll see.  Funny dog!

We saw evidence of this guy long before we spotted the machine.  It had been dredging gunk from the canal bank and depositing the yucky stuff on the land side of the trail.  First time we've seen anything like this.  The guy inside the cab was eating his lunch! 

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Crossing at the "tube" -- below the tube/walkway is a natural, often times dry, creek.  The king-sized tube carries canal water from one side of the hill to the other.

Another front yard 💗

And, finally, the lovely Maple tree in our side yard.  Last week, no color.  This week?  Wowzers!  Think we got wet?  Nope, we made it home before the rains came -- sure enough, drops appeared almost on the dot of 1pm.  (Alfred) Joyce Kilmer wrote the lyric poem, "Trees," over 100 years ago, in 1913.

A biking get-away, early November

 

I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Autumn is my favorite season.  I dearly love the fall colors, crisp days, chilly nights, falling leaves, and the occasional rain.  I can work in the yard without breaking into sweat, and raking leaves to me is a zen moment.  Jimmy, on the other hand, favors summer, perhaps because he grew up in the deep south where every hot/humid summer lasts roughly six or eight years (IMO)!  Nevertheless, we are both in awe of our colorful community, which is ablaze with breathtaking reds and oranges and yellows.  Plus, with cooler days, we can get Out and About and enjoy outdoor activities comfortably. 

This Pink Dogwood is the first tree in our yard to turn.

The next photos are a combination of three different bike outings along the American River.  The first was a day trip from home, in fine weather under a cotton ball sky, below. 

Of course the girls were out.

As well as a BIG fella!

Is he in jail?

Datura and Evening Primrose were the only two flowers we saw.

From start to finish the American River bike trail (aka Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail) is 32 miles one way, from Folsom to Old Sacramento, in sight of the American River much of the time.  You see, above, why we like to pedal here -- not only is it relatively flat, it's flat-out gorgeous.

The ride was so enjoyable, we decided to return, this time "camping" in Tergel for two nights at Cal-Expo's RV park.  Cal-Expo, in Sacramento, is a bit over 60 miles downhill from our house ... and it's adjacent to the American River bike trail.  No rain was predicted, but big winds appeared in the forecast after I'd made the reservation.  No matter, we can still ride in windy weather.

They weren't kidding!  We arrived Tuesday Noon, Nov 5th, and took off on the bikes shortly thereafter -- in REALLY strong winds.  Cold North winds.  (Added more layers.)  At least the sun was shining, which made us feel warmer.  Actually, it was when we were in the open and not shielded by trees, that the wind tried to push us over, but, you know we did all right.

We encountered a number of "trail closed" signs due to trail/bridge construction, with detours taking us around and about, which is just more adventure to us!  At the Discovery Park area, we spied a lone boat moored near the shore.  While the river appears placid here, the reality was: white caps in the water!

Crossing the river on "The Green Bridge."

Sacramento's Tower Bridge.  We didn't ride across it today, though we have in the past.  We continued on beyond Old Sac to the marina and Miller Regional Park, to a cul-de-sac marking trail's end.

A group of ladies was sashaying across a city street, till they got honked at.  They didn't exactly run away, but they did ease toward the curb.  Dang things are everywhere.  Her feathers gleam in the sun.

Made it back to Cal-Expo!  This was Wednesday, the 6th, and only slightly less windy than Tuesday.  We were off the trail at this point and checking out Bushy Lake via a narrow smushed entry through tangled dense foliage.  Another nice quality of the river trail is all the offshoots you can access.

Not much to Bushy Lake.

Harumph.  When Jimmy unchained the bikes Thursday morning for one last bike ride, my front tire was flat.  Well, the heck with it, no riding today.  Instead, we each grabbed a bag and walked a mile to where we'd seen a super abundance of walnuts on the ground.  Like the Oaks, these Walnut trees seem to be having a mast year!  I weighed the combined nuts and we picked up 6 lbs of unshelled walnuts.  Hopefully most will be good.  I'll get out the nutcracker soon and check 'em out.

BTW, Thursday dawned clear and calm, no wind -- haha.  We packed up the little we took and made for home, arriving late afternoon (after shopping).  Altogether, we put 55 miles on our bikes, not earth-shattering, but we sure had a good time pedaling the trail.  These short getaways are The Best.