Hiking Weather

 

The weather has been fantastic for the past few days! We've enjoyed warm temperatures, reaching over 80 degrees, with yesterday being the hottest at 84. However, we're expecting rain to start tonight around 10 p.m. and it will continue into Sunday and Monday.

So we were not going to let this good weather go to waste...

this is hiking weather! 🥾

This is the bike trail we did not go on - 

We live and "recreation" on the ancestral land of the Wintu people, a local Native California tribe. 

Source: Outbound

On Wednesday afternoon, after I returned home from my Bible study group, we decided to go for a hike—my first one of the year. It wasn't a long hike, as I had to turn back at the halfway point. As I made my way up the trail, I quickly realized that I was pushing myself a bit too hard for this 71 year old body.  Although I had to hike back down, the good news was that the path downhill was easier. If I had continued on, I would have had to make a long trip back up, and I just wasn't up for that challenge. I took my time and was extra cautious because there were some muddy spots along the way.

I had a great time, but I felt disappointed in myself. When I mentioned this to my son, he replied, "Mom, you really need to prepare for those hikes, especially if you haven't been climbing steep inclines." 

Yeah yeah yeah - 

We didn’t encounter anyone else while we were out. When we arrived home, I was completely exhausted, and I slept very soundly Wednesday night. 

On Thursday morning, I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping. While my back felt sore, my legs and feet were doing just fine. To help ease the stiffness, I decided to take a walk behind our neighborhood. It's not a long walk—about 2 miles. I find that if I keep moving, I don't get stiff.

There's a piece of land for sale where this pond sits, and we couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to buy it and build a home with a view of the pond. It would be such an easy move—just 0.4 miles from our current house!

 I'd stock it with fish! 

Decades ago, this area was for cattle ranching and there are many of these cattle ponds back here. 

Typically, there are goats on this property - I did hear some donkeys in the distance. 

There are quite a few coyotes in this area. We've lost 2 outdoor cats to coyotes. If you live in a rural place, you might already be familiar with this, but it's something I've learned over the 17 years we've lived here. Donkeys can be really helpful in keeping coyotes away! These friendly animals are great at protecting their space. It might sound a bit unusual, but there's a good reason for this. Donkeys make deep sounds, known as brays, that coyotes find unpleasant. Because of this, coyotes prefer to stay away from areas where donkeys are present.

Sometimes we will be sitting on our patio and hear donkeys. Now that's a sound you don't hear in San Francisco! 

The road is on the left - 

We're still within city limits - it feels like we're in the country.

I love that I live here. I have easy access to nature while still being close to town. 

You can see the pond from another angle, but it really needs a lot of cleaning. People have thrown away all sorts of things there, including sofas and other trash. I even spotted a TV sticking out of the water once! We also noticed broken fluorescent light bulbs, which are dangerous to the environment. I tried calling the city, but this property is considered county and it is on private property. 

There has been some cleanup done, but we still have people who camp in that area, make campfires, and leave their trash behind.

I continued my walk - on this dirt road. 

My goodness, these cheery tree blossoms were gorgeous. 

I loved this curly type of cactus. I'm not sure if it is a ribbed cactus.

On Friday, I went grocery shopping with my son and took care of some errands. Meanwhile, my husband and his daughter went for a hike near the Keswick Dam, and he sent me some photos from their adventure.

The city and county use goats to help clear vegetation—it takes a herd a day to clear 14 acres. It looks like these three wandered away from their designated area and ended up in a parking lot.

pyracantha bush

Initially, I mistook these for PVC pipes, entwined within the flowers but it turns out they're actually the white branches. 

They're known as Bookbrush.

These are interesting, too. This is a species of willow. 

By Friday afternoon, I started to feel some discomfort in my mid to lower back. I've noticed that sometimes it takes a full day after a strenuous hike for the soreness to kick in.  Despite that, I couldn't just relax because we had plans to meet my son and his wife for our monthly Double Date Night! We both were celebrating our February wedding anniversaries. 

It was their turn to choose, so we met up at Cattlemen's Steak House. By the time we got home, I was completely exhausted. I changed into my pajamas and barely made it to 9:30 PM!

Foodie texted me this older photo of Mt Shasta from his many hiking treks up that way. 

Today, I have been resting and finishing up my bible study (Revelation 17) 

It is a lot cooler today at 74 and those wispy white clouds are moving in. 

Wow! I just realized today is March 1st. Happy March, everyone! And Happy Spring, too! I hope you’re all feeling cheerful and well!

 Until later...

Debby