Monday Hike before the rain

Brenda and I just had to find out what that yellow wildflower we'd seen was for certain, so today we hiked up the Rock Creek Road in search of it.  In the two weeks between trips, a LOT of wildflowers have begun to flower, and there were lots more of "our" flowers, so we were able to take a sample without guilt.  We have now identified it as a broomrape variety; orobanche fasciculata.  Know we now!

Above the clouds?

Indian Paintbrush and Lupin

can't name it with confidence, but it is everywhere, with lots of flower buds ready to bloom

A pretty variety in seemingly dry granite gravel

Manzanita berries

Here is our mystery yellow wildflower!  

A water works of some sort for some reason we may later learn

Bleeding Hearts

White Horsenettle  of the Nightshade family

Flowering Fruit Tree Patrol

This may not be too exciting for many of you, but I need to show off our blossoming trees to Jeffery, who is the tree keeper here.  I'll try to remember to take shots of the grape vines for future posting.

Cherry blossoms after the rain

Apple blossoms down by the pump house

In years past, this tree has only fruited on its left side, so this year's right side blossoming is very exciting to us.

The Fuji Apple tree is covered in bud bunches!!!

Dwarf Pear looking good, eh?

Jeffery pruned this tree several years ago, and it is only now starting to flower and fruit again.  These are such good apples, I hope every flower produces a fruit!

Compost heap received a dusting of snowy ice.  At bottom of photo are spontaneous peas growing!  There are about 20 or so little pea-vines in the heap.  

A Slice of Life for Jeffery

I sent Jeffery off to work, so I thought he might be needing a touch of home. I post some views for him now.
It's a day of hard rain, so it's not conducive to photo-taking, unless one sits in one's car, which is what I did.
I will go take some blooming Tobin shots when it's not pouring.  Ah!  Rain!  We can't complain!

Jeffery on his way to work.

We lassies wish him the best from here in Tobin.

The flowering quince at Caribou Corner

radiant color beams into the house

fun murals at a fun shop, which happened to have been "closed for remodeling" when I got up the bravery to go buy something yesterday.  Luckily, it wasn't raining out to the east of the mountains, so the drive was pretty 

I like how the road arrow leads you into the shop.

Check out the old motor lodge sign amidst the "modern" buildings

Always a deal on a meal in Reno

to show where I hung the prayer flags Kathleen gave me

Sam's waterfall at Misery Bar

One of the Rock Creek Dam waterfalls

And another, right next to the first

The sacred waterfall east of Tobin

the little creek beside Rock Creek

The one Jeffery likes below the Buck's Creek Powerhouse

reflections on a deck

Mouser

An Outing with my Sister

Sara and I took up Jeffery's generous offer of an available Free night in a Holiday Inn, and had a girl-trip to Reno, Nevada.  I'd been needing to get to an REI (the next closest one to Tobin is in Sacramento) for some much-needed hiking boots.  My old sneaker boots are showing their age, and I just simply love stores like REI.  We didn't take too many photos, and she took most, so I don't have many visuals to offer, but we did take a long, long bike ride, and a drive up to Virginia City as dusk was falling, and we walked in the scary darkness a mile to a sushi restaurant I want to take other folks to sometime, and back to our very comfy room.  The fun stop at a midtown hippy shop was another of our delights, and this morning's stop at the Village Baker in Blairsden capped off our Lovely Time together.

our extremely comfortable bed

our kitchenette/living room

the view out our window

Sun's set over Reno

Just some stuff

Here are a few late winter views and places seen locally since we returned from our Gulf vacation.  Many of the photos contain water, as you'll see.

the same waterfall as the above shot, only after a rain, and in full length, rather than a portion of it

Rock Creek Bridge over Highway 70

cool rocks and moss

in an earlier post, this species of plant's greenery was bright red, yet, here it is green and flowery

up near Twain, they finally burned off the cleared-debris piles

Little Indian Creek

relic

Chambers Creek at the bridge, with more water in it than I've ever seen, which is only the past year's hiking trips

plain old ordinary ground; look down and shoot

pretty yellow flowers climb a hill

there were five of these little trikes in a row, but I wasn't fast enough

interesting clouds

shadows and light