Cool Gardens To Visit In California

Love flowers? Then here are some cool gardens to visit in California.

The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
Lancaster, California

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Claremont, California

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Santa Barbara, California

Theodore Payne Foundation Nursery Garden
Sunland, California

Arroyo Seco-South Pasedena Woodland and Wildlife Park
South Pasadena, California

Audubon Center at Debs Park
Los Angeles, California

El Alisal, The Charles F. Lummis Home
Highland Park, California

Fullerton Arboretum
Fullerton, California

The Water Conservation Garden
El Cajon, California

Enjoy the adventure!

Caitlyn
www.caitlynwillows.com

Wildlife Sightings - April 2008

My husband glanced out the kitchen window one day while I was away and saw an usual bird. He snagged his camera and tried to get a picture. The bird was a little nervous and shy and would fly off, only to return a few minutes later. Finally, my husband was able to get a shot. It's still not as close as he wanted, but it was good enough for me to make a pretty good identification. Here's the picture. The bird is on the right edge of the bird bath.

Using A Guide To Field Identification, Birds of North America, we determined this was a heron. Most probably an immature black-crowned night heron. While some people would think this is really an amazing discovery considering we live in the Southern California desert, our area is on a migratory bird path and we get a large number of birds fly through.

Shortly after the heron visited, a friend showed my husband a large raven's nest built in the garage of an abandoned house. The nest was huge and if you look carefully in the picture below, you'll see one chick. Look in the triangle formed by the three wood studs and you'll see the beak. The size of the nest is something I would equate with an eagle or hawk. The debris on the floor is fallout from the nest, or where the raven missed when building the nest.




If you are interested in identifying birds, the field guide I mentioned at the beginning of my post is a good start. It divides birds by category (i.e., waterfowl, raptors, song birds) and has colorful illustrations to assist with identification. I've used it for years and can generally identify a bird in under one minute. :) Yes, I am truly a nerd.

Caitlyn
www.caitlynwillows.com

Looking For Something Unique To Do?

This article on CNN.com from Sunset.com list 10 earth-friendly spring things to do:

Go wine tasting
Be a beach bum
So spring skiing
Ground yourself at a day spa
Raft a river
Cross-country ski in pure wilderness
Sleep by the sea
Escape to a very quiet island
Indulge your inner foodie
Get into the wild in style

You can read the details at: 10 Earth-Friendly Spring Flings

In the article you'll also find links to Sunset.com's Top 10 lakeside resorts and Top 10 secret coastal escapes.

Enjoy!
:) Caitlyn
www.caitlynwillows.com

April - Miscellaneous Links

Sometimes I come across information that doesn't lend itself to a full blog entry, so I thought I'd try to save these tidbits and post once a month.

I thought this was amazing. It just help prove the wealth of discoveries the Earth contains:
Giant sea creatures found in Antarctic search

~~~

The March/April 2008 issue of Westways Magazine has an interesting article about Old Edna, a 100-year-old, two-acre town site in San Luis Obispo County, California. It's owned by a couple, Pattea Torrence and her husband, Jeff Kocan. The town was founded in the 1800s and had all the places one would expect to find in a town of that era -- mercantile, blacksmith, butcher, saloon, and dance hall. The present owners are restoring Old Edna. Now a visitor will find a gourmet deli/cafe and a bed-and-breakfast.

:) Caitlyn
www.caitlynwillows.com