San Jacinto Mountains national monument~Nature Notes~011212

On my way to visit my horses, I travel through the San Jacinto mountains national monument, which is right next to Deep Canyon.  The monument is a total of 272,000 acres, which includes 61,000 acres of BLM land, 19,000 of forest service land, and the rest belongs to the Agua Caliente tribe of the Cahuilla Indians.  I only travel through a portion of the monument, which extends all the way to Mt. San Jacinto, at 10,831 feet.  It is located near Idyllwild, CA and I don't travel that far every weekend.  I love to explore the mountains, especially the pinyon forest, along the way, like this area above Deep Canyon, which is one of my favorite areas.  I find that every time I stop here and explore, I feel refreshed and my head clears of all stress and strain!  I always enjoy my time up in these mountains and now that the afternoons are starting to lengthen, I may start taking some drives up there in the afternoons!  :-)  There is an excellent visitor center at the bottom of the mountains, the Santa Rosa Mountains visitor center.  It has lots of books, movies, and "hands on" activities for the kids.  I sometimes walk there in the mornings, but it's still too dark for that right now.  Nature Notes for January 12, 2012.  To visit Nature Notes, please go to this link:  http://ramblingwoods.com/

Last year's blossom

Last year's blossom from a yucca.  It was in my way while I was walking on my favorite road last weekend, so I stopped to take a photo of it.  I see many of these old blossoms and I'm wondering when the new ones will sprout?  We've had such warm weather lately, who knows?

Yellow wildflowers~Mellow Yellow Monday~010912

It's very early to see these wildflowers this year.  They don't usually open up until it is warm enough, like April or May.  I was surprised to see this one blooming over the weekend.  With all the warm temperatures we've had lately, I spotted blossoms at the top of my acacia tree this afternoon.  Strange weather, indeed!  Yes, I believe this IS brittlebrush!  Thank you!  Mellow Yellow Monday for January 9, 2012.  To visit MYM, please go to:  http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/

early morning, Deep Canyon

Sometimes on the weekends I'll leave the house early just to drive up Highway 74, which is along Deep Canyon, and see what's happening.  On this particular morning, there were no clouds in the sky, and I was disappointed at first, but look at the contrast of the rocks on the sky!  I was surprised to see the first wildlower blooming.  This is extremely early.  They don't usually bloom until after the cold season.  Hmmmm...it makes me wonder what our summer will be like here! We'd better get our air conditioner thoroughly checked out before it konks out in the middle of summer!

Clouds over Deep Canyon~SkyWatch Friday~010612

I love driving up to Deep Canyon on mornings when we have clouds here in the desert.  They create such unusual effects up in our mountains.  Shadows, periods of sun and shade...the mountains are always changing!  I took these photos this week, on Tuesday, when I headed up toward Deep Canyon to be there for my horses' lesson with their trainer.  I'm heading up there again tomorrow morning, since I've had 3 lessons this week on my own horsemanship course (or what I call "horses 101") to try out my newfound knowledge on Sunni, Cali, and Gigondas...maybe even Quad this weekend!  Skywatch Friday for January 6, 2012.  To visit SkyWatch Friday, please go to:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Deep Canyon in the morning~Nature Notes~010512

I headed up Deep Canyon Tuesday morning because my horses had a lesson with their trainer and since I was off of school this week (HOORAY!), I wanted to watch.  We have been having unusually warm weather here in the desert and the mountains are warmer than normal, too.  In fact, as I was driving up the highway, I recalled last winter's snows and snows from the previous years.  This year it is very dry and the forest service sign said "Fire Danger:  Very High" as I drove by.  But, it was an absolutely gorgeous morning, with high clouds in the sky and beautiful morning light.  I had about 20 minutes to spare before the horses' lesson and I stopped to walk down my favorite dirt road and admire the mountains' beauty.  I'll be going back up there tomorrow morning to work my horses and I hope it will be another incredible morning!  Nature Notes for January 5, 2012.  To visit Nature Notes, please go to:   http://ramblingwoods.com/

horse time and Deep Canyon

I finally headed up the mountain early this morning for a lesson with my trainer.  ALL of my horses are in training...sigh...not an inexpensive project!  But, they need it.  Scout needs to learn some manners, and Quad does, too.  Off the track thoroughbreds, like Quad, are sometimes just treated like a number...they get exercise, training, walking, but don't really learn basic horse manners, like how to not barge through a gate.  He's pretty laid back and mellow, but he DOES have his moments, like with my trainer today!  He wanted to bust out and go running in the arena and she said, "NO!  You have to work first!"  Hmmmpppfffff!  He didn't like that!  So, he needs to learn that he works first, then he gets to play!  Sunni, on the other hand, is "Mr. Mellow" with regards to his training, but any sudden noise used to send him running off.  I noticed today that he only gave one little flinch and settled right down. Top photo is my thoroughbred chestnut mare, Gigondas, who was rescued of a slaughter-bound feedlot in WA state.  She's made a LOT of progress. And, she REMEMBERS her lessons!  I do believe that someday she'll make an excellent trail horse.  It was such a BEAUTIFUL day driving up the mountain.  There were high clouds, it was warm, the air was clean....aaaahhhhhhh! I stopped at my favorite dirt side road to take some photos because the morning light was so breathtaking.  Here are some horse pics and photos from Deep Canyon today. It really helped me to get back up in the mountains today.  I feel so much better.