Thursday, July 22, 2010

Summer Hike In Placerita Canyon - July 22, 2010

I usually do not go hiking in the summer. First, it is normally way too hot here in SoCal for summer hiking. Then there is the chance of running into rattlesnakes along the trails in the canyons. But this morning we had a very heavy marine layer. It burned off around 7:00 am but it kept the temperatures in the low 70's so I decided to head over to Placerita Canyon Nature Area and go for a short hike. Actually ended up doing about 2.25 miles.
I can add another reason to my list as to why I don't usually hike in the summertime....everything is so dry and brown. The last time I hiked the Placerita Canyon Trail it was still spring. Everything was green, the creek was flowing and the wildflowers were blooming. Today everything was brown, the creek is almost completely dry and there are no flowers.


I did see a lot of lizards, birds and several squirrels. The birds were singing as I walked along the trail. I could also hear the drone of either bee swarms or fly swarms as I walked through the canyon. The flies were eating me alive. There's another reason to not hike in the summer!




I will say that some of the trees were still green, but the grass under them was brown.


I like to take photos of fresh cut tree logs. They always have such pretty colors and markings on them. Sometimes you can almost see "shapes" in them. Is it just me, or do you see the turkey in this one?


After my hike, I went over to the Nature Center to use the bathroom and stopped by to see their Red tailed Hawk (Kia) and their Great Horned Owl (Orion).





Turned out to be a really nice morning.

8 comments:

  1. Nice to be able to hike in the hot country in summer...you are a brave one. The critters are always a treat, and Yes, I do see a turkey. The owl and the Red tail, are they in captivity for show or were they injured?
    Have a Cool Weekend
    BlessYourHeart

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hiking and summer don't mix in my books either. Even here it is too hot. Mingus the pup says yuck Mom. We do need exercise everyday so try and get a walk in early ... otherwise I have to chase the little guy around the house. Catch me if you can is his favourite game ... not mine!

    In my books 15C is about the right temperature for hiking ... that's around 59F in your books.

    I was reading your profile ... sounds like you had an interesting place to work. 37 years. Wow. I never lasted more than 13-15 years per job. Luckily the last job came with a pension ... 15 years of service there. I retired early though, at 50, when I married D.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know what you mean about everything being brown and dried out. We can't hike in the summer when its 90 degrees, not pretty sight at all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing your walk with us, very enjoyable. I'm glad you run into any snakes. And also thanks for commenting on my fawn.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Kay, I would love to see a red tailed hawk that close. I have a pair living on the farm but only see them in the air.

    Love your photo of that little grove of trees.
    Marnie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, Kay, Thanks for taking me along on your hike and thanks so much for visiting me today. Yes, I can see the turkey, looks quite pretty, like watercolor. The hawk and the owl are quite pretty aren't they. The picture you got of the hawk (closeup) is beautiful. Have a great Sunday. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's getting pretty brown around here too. Sure do see a turkey to. Doesn't look like the heat bothers the critters...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Summer isn't my favorite hiking time either, too hot and like you we have rattlesnakes. I love your shots of the squirrel and those are great close-ups of the hawk and owl. I do see the turkey, that is neat.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for hiking along with me and Hiker.
Kay