Clouds on the mountain today~SOOC Sunday~012212 and Creative Exchange

I drove up the mountain today to go buy some pellets for my horses.  I looked at the weather forecast for the next week and every night will be down in the 20's.  They need some sweet feed and pellets in the afternoon so that they have extra calories to keep them warm at night and my supply was low.  I really wasn't sure if I'd even make it up to the horse ranch today!  It was so windy.  I mean, it was windy enough to slam my car!!! The manzanitas were all moving, the pinyons were moving, dust was blowing across the road.  It was BAD!  I've been driving up that road now for 5 years and this is the WORST I've ever seen the wind!  I just kept thinking that I'd turn around if it got too bad, but I made it.  At the top of the hill there was fog and I could barely see.  I took this phot on the way back down the hill after picking up 4 bags of pellets for the horses.  They will need some tonight, for sure! SOOC Sunday for January 22, 2012.  To visit SOOC, please go to:  http://www.murrieta365.com/  and Creative Exchange for January 23, 2012. To visit Creative Exchange, please go to:  http://www.the-creative-exchange.com/

The valley below

Sometimes, if there isn't a car behind me, I'll pull off onto one of the FEW turnouts up on Highway 74 and stop to take a couple of photos, like this one I took last weekend.  The problem is that there just aren't many turnouts on this side of the road!  There are several going up the mountain, but very few on the return route.  I can only think of two and one of them, this one, has telephone wires in the view.  I used my telefoto lens for this shot.  Another problem is that when the farmers down in the Coachella Valley burn hay or straw to keep their crops from freezing, the sky is very hazy.  It's already sprinkling down here in the valley this morning, but I'm going to head up the road later today.  Snow is forecast for elevations above 7,000 feet, so I won't be running into any snow...that's for sure!  That's looking down into the Coachella Valley.  Joshua Tree National Park would be in the mountains all the way across the valley!

Pinyon and clouds~SkyWatch Friday~012012

Pinyon pine and clouds over the pinyon forest last weekend.  I never really know what the top of the mountain will be like and I enjoy seeing its many moods.  SkyWatch Friday for January 20, 2012.  To visit SkyWatch Friday, please go to:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Cahuilla overlook~Nature Notes~January 19, 2012

Deep Canyon is slowing revealing her secrets to me.  Last weekend, I stopped at the Cahuilla overlook and walked around and read the markers.  I'm learning the differences between yuccas and agaves.  The bottom photo is from the yucca family and it is the Mojave yucca.  I've learned that yuccas have lots of white blossoms on them and they also have stringy fibers on them, but agaves don't.  The agaves have different leaves, which are much larger and thicker than the yucca ones.  Slowly, slowly, I'm learning more about this amazing environment, which is only 10 minutes from my house, which is on the desert floor.  This environment is up at about 2,000 feet and occasionally gets snow, but not much this year.  Nature Notes for January 19, 2012. To visit Nature Notes, please follow this link:  http://ramblingwoods.com/  It is the 6th year for Nature Notes, so be sure you stop by and check it out!

Cahuilla Vista~Our World Tuesday~011712

The Cahuilla Vista is one of the main overlooks above Deep Canyon and I stopped there Sunday morning, on my way up to the horse ranch.  I needed to do my "homework" for my horsemanship lessons and I was anxious to get to the ranch.  However, it was such a beautiful morning, that I pulled into the overlook and walked around.  There is a self-guided trail with many display signs and sometime I'll have to go back and photograph them all.  The Cahuilla Indians lived in this area and used Deep Canyon to travel from the mountains to the desert.  They harvested, cooked, and ate the pinyon nuts from the trees all along the canyon.  These photos show just a small portion of the overlook.  It was fairly windy up there on Sunday (and cold), so I'll return another day!  Our World Tuesday for January 17, 2012.  To visit OWT, please go to this link:  http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/

Sunday

Had a good day yesterday driving up the mountain and working with my two mustangs on my horsemanship "homework"...getting them to flex and move off their front and hindquarters.  Scout, my alpha mare, caught on very quickly.  Cali, my loveable palomino, er, uh, huh? didn't really get what I wanted, so I'll need to work with her some more.  It was a cold, cloudy, and slightly windy day yesterday, with a rain storm moving in.  It finally got just too windy and cold for me, so I headed home.  I drove up the mountain about 11:00, which is unusual.  I usually go early in the morning, but we had breakfast with our daughter and son-in-law. They made croissants with Nutella and bananas.  I didn't eat any bacon or eggs, but they also served fruit.  Yummy!  We are returning today for ebelskiver (round pancakes)!  Here's a link so you can see them:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86bleskiver We also get to babysit the grandson today, so we may take him to the Living Desert Reserve to see the model trains!

Skies above Deep Canyon

Sometimes when I drive up through Deep Canyon, I get pleasant surprises, like on this morning.  What else can I say?  Just gorgeous!