Mailboxes and yellow flowers~Mellow Yellow Monday 042610

I found this row of mailboxes up in our local mountains as I was driving around looking at the yellow wildflowers there and just couldn't resist taking it! I like the fence line behind it and the row of mailboxes. What do you think? Mellow Yellow Monday for April26, 2010.

"M" is for mine~ABC Wednesday, April 14, 2010

It's back to Bodie, CA for this week's ABC Wednesday letter, "M". Bodie, CA was a mining town and part of the mining operations can still be seen there. It looks like we will be heading up that way this year, as soon as school is over! We'll be heading back to the Sierras, then up to Bridgeport, and South Lake Tahoe. I have relatives over in Lovelock, NV, and we may head out that direction, too. Only 43 more days of school and then SUMMER VACATION! YEAH! I am looking forward to visiting Bodie again! ABC Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

Door and windows, Coachella Valley Preserve~Windows and Doors, too!

This is the homesteader's cabin at the Coachella Valley Preserve, which now serves as the visitor's center. Don't you just love the old, wooden door? In spite of several gaps in between the roof and the walls, the visitor's center is very cool inside. Windows and Doors, Too! for April 9, 2010.

Coachella Valley Preserve~That's My World 040610

I'm on Spring Break this week and Saturday morning I went out to the Coachella Valley Preserve, in Thousand Palms, CA. If you want to learn about desert plants and animals, this is one of the places to go. Their visitor center has all kinds of information. I stopped there first and then set out on one of their many trails through the palms. I hadn't been on this particular trail before and was surprised to see a wooden plank trail throughout the palms. Looking down at the flowing water, I understood why it was there! This particular oasis is right on the San Andreas Fault and hubby and I are going back today, since he's never been there. Oases like this one are common along fault lines, since water will flow up from the ground. There is a lake on the preserve and I'd like to hike out to it and find it today. When you see palms along the foothills in the mountains, you know that there is water. Our local Indians settled along these oases and used the palm fronds for their houses. It is really cool inside the towering palms and many animals can be seen among them. That's My World for Tuesday, April 6, 2010.

Canyon wildflowers~Today's Flowers 040410

When I went for my morning walk on Saturday, I was surprised to see these desert shrubs growing right out of the canyon wall! Yes, they also cover the desert's sandy acres, but these were growing right out of the granite! They must have a deep root to be able to hold on like they do! They now dot our desert landscape and even grow up in our local mountains, to about 2,000 feet. I believe, if my memory serves me correctly, that they are called encilia, or brittle brush, and they are a part of the sunflower family. They certainly are prolific! They dot our desert landscape. Today's Flowers for 040410.

Desert wildflowers and Mt. San Jacinto~Looking at the sky on Friday 040210

I drove out by the acres of wildflowers last week. The wildflowers were at their peak at that time. I went out there today and they aren't quite as vivid. That's what our desert heat does to them...But who can resist all that blue sky? Looking at the Sky on Friday for April 2, 2010.