On Wednesday I featured the final episode of Huell Howser’s California Mission series; early in the show he visits a fourth-grade classroom to meet the kids and have a look at their mission models and artwork. Back in 1980, my mom was working with a fourth-grade Montessori class when they did their California Mission unit, and she was able to […]
I explored the Oaks Nature Trail at Folsom Lake’s Peninsula Campground once before, last summer; even though this path is a bit more “civilized” than the dirt horse trails I usually like to wander, I still enjoyed myself a lot. And this time out was even better. Everything was much more green than during my summertime visit. I had a […]
As I began watching this final episode of Huell’s California Mission series I expected something completely different. When I first saw the title “Art of the Missions,” I had imagined a tour of some surviving pieces of religious art — paintings of the Virgin, stained glass windows, tile mosaics. But even though I had it completely wrong, this turned out […]
Although the Brugmansia is extremely toxic, all seven species are still very popular ornamental trees. These plants, native to the South American tropics, are listed as Extinct in the Wild; but they’ve still managed to spread to other regions around the world, thanks to human cultivation. The name “angel’s trumpet” refers to the large, pendulous, trumpet-shaped flowers, 14–50 cm (6–20 […]
Sometimes when I’m at home I find myself rushing about for no reason at all: quick, run into the kitchen! Hurry up, put the dishes away! Let’s go, empty the drier! Move it …. wait, what did I come in here for? It’s great that I feel energized, but most of the time that rushing around probably looks like I’m […]
I visited the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma a few times in 2019, bringing back memories of at least one school field trip almost 50 years ago (yikes!). So I was delighted to find some slides my mom shot during a visit to the park back in early 1976. I don’t recall seeing the museum interior as […]
A breezy day at a quiet spot on Folsom Lake. When I was able to tear myself away from admiring the flowers, I actually noticed a few birds too.
The California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) was especially popular with developers and landscapers in my area during the 1950s and 1960s, and they can still be spotted thriving in some unexpected places even now. Not too surprising, since they typically live from 80 to 250 years, or even longer. It was hard to miss this lone pair growing along the […]
My last group of slides exploring La Purísima Concepción, shot by my mom in the spring of 1982, focuses on the garden areas. After going through all these slides, I would definitely like to visit this beautiful state historic park near Lompoc, California. I’m sure there has been a lot of changes and improvements to the mission over the past […]