Quick Hike

We did a quick 3 mile hike to finish off a few of the geocaches we missed the other day along the Big Ben Regional Trail in Oakley, California.  The weather was in the low 60's and the sunshine made it a perfect day to go geocaching.  Our walk started among the houses along the trail but soon gave way to open fields, a canal and serenading Red-winged Blackbirds.

We spotted Mallard ducks swimming in the canals, White Egrets, Gold Finches, Purple Finches, which my Dad commonly called Red-poles and a couple of Northern Harriers, but they didn't want to pose for a picture.

We learned that our newly-found friends, Bruce and Loretta will be heading back to Carson City, Nevada.  We were lucky enough to have dinner with them tonight and share a bit more of our lives and hope to have the pleasure of our paths crossing again on our travels, where ever they may lead.

Thanks for popping in.

Jo

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... 
It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. - C. S. Lewis

Sunshine and Geocaching

The sun finally has come out and the warmer weather took us out geocaching.  We started out with a multi geocache named "American Pie"  It was based around a dry levee intended to hold back water only if the nearby levees of Dutch and/or Sandmound sloughs fail. This one is designed to "100 year flood" standards ... I'll get back to you in a century or so and let you know if they worked. The homes are actually below the flood plain as are many Delta communities. This 5 part multi took us around the levee top, making for about a 4 mile loop.  It was a great cache and a fabulous walk.  We were greeted at the beginning of our journey by a hawk screeching overhead.  I tried to snap a picture of the hawk, but didn't have any luck getting a clear one.  We spotted hundreds of ground squirrels that would scurry out of sight as we approached their territory, some sand dunes, interesting mushrooms and cows ... doing what cows do ... eating grass, watching us and laying around the fields that surround this area. 

After completing the American Pie cache we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant, named "Buzz Inn".  The food was good old fashioned cooking and we sat for a bit discussing what our next cache should be.  

We did a couple of caches located on the streets of Oakley and then headed out to a section of the Big Break Regional Trail. Big Break was once an upland farm, now submerged. It is a small bay or estuary at the edge of the San Joaquin River, and lies in the zone where salty seawater meets snowmelt and runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountains.  The mixing of salty and fresh water produces an “edge effect” for increased habitat and species diversity. It makes Big Break a fine home or stopover spot for a wide variety of species, particularly birds and fish.  Big Break is home to 70 species of birds and several species of mammals. We were serenaded by thousands of  different species of birds as part of this trail took us alongside a water reclamation plant.  

Pussy-willows, blackberry bushes and open fields all within the town limits delighted us on this warmer winter day.
 

We found several caches but, as the setting sun brought cooler temperatures and our shadows danced in front of us, we had to turn around from our additional 2 mile hike with a promise to ourselves to come back here and finish the rest of the caches.

All in all it was a great day. 


Thanks for sharing our journey.
Jo


Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.  ~Albert Einstein

Discoveries after a frosty day

 We had heavy fog and frost the other morning.  It wasn't really that cold but cold enough for me!  Seeing the rest of the country getting hit by snow and unseasonably cold weather, I think I can handle a little frost and fog.



The next day brought warmer temperatures and sunshine.  We washed the rig and truck.  Afterward I decided to walk around the island and take some photos of the many animals that live here.

Goats

A little kid

Billy Goat

Ostrich

Buffalo

More goats

Rooster and chickens

I also encountered this fellow below.  He seemed to be concentrating more on foraging for food than me.
I gave him a wide berth!

That's it for now. 
Thanks for stopping by.
Jo

Quote for today:

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. - Margaret Thatcher

Celebrated the Christmas holiday with my daughter Coren.  We had a wonderful dinner that included some traditional family dishes, played XBox3 and watched "It's a Wonderful Life".  Charlie sat under the Christmas tree and enjoyed the festivities with us.  He also made a couple of new friends, Kizzie and Cole! 

Charlie - Under the Christmas tree

Kizzie and Charlie



Cole giving Charlie a Christmas kiss

The weather here has been ever changing.  We have gone from beautiful sunny days and mild nights to heavy fog, bone chilling temperatures and wind so strong it even provided us with white-caps on the river.



White-caps on the Delta



On a clear day you can see for miles

And then there was FOG!

With the colder weather it has provided me with a lot of inside time to finish my sewing.  Five baby sac gowns, a pair of pants with matching jacket and hat and even completed the crocheted crib afghan.

The new grandbaby is due in five weeks and I'm so excited to welcome this new life into our family. 
We've had neighbors over for dinner, a fun night of good food and conversation.  We have met some of the most wonderful people in our travels and look forward to meeting more!

Jo



Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.  -  David Hume