Cay and I went up to Foothill on the 10th. After being disappointed by the flatness of Birdwalk, I was ready for something a little less flat.
A little less flat, not a whole lot less flat, which is what we got, and should have expected, at Foothill. We took the flattest route around the three ponds, and still managed to gain some altitude in the end, which, as it turned out, was the perfect amount of workout in our current condition with arthritis and bursitis flairs.
I had also chosen the route because it was supposed to be the best for wildflower viewing. There were not many wildflowers, due to the drought. There was also a burn scar running through the park, which was somewhat jarring to look at, but while the trees were blackened, below them the grasses and some of the flowers had come to life.
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| silvery-blue flowers glow in the sunlight on the hill arching down to the burnt trees |
It was a pretty walk, even without the wildflowers, going up the hills under the trees, down along the ponds, and through the rolling meadows.
During the walk we stopped here and there to photograph flowers and wildlife.
The cormorant surprised me, because I hadn't seen them in fresh water before, but Double Crested Cormorants such as this one (distinguished, in part, by the patterning of the feathers on the back and the bright orange gular) do live and nest near fresh water as well as salt... something I literally learned yesterday.
I am working on becoming more of a bird person.
I also learned that there are several Double Crested Cormorants nesting at Spring Lake, and I hope to go up there soon to photograph them.
One of the fun things at the park is the "selfie station", which is located at the top of a hill overlooking the third pond, the vantage point from where I took the first photo in the blog, and where Cay and I stopped to take selfies.
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