Pictures for Pam, Day 23: Manzanita Bark

(2 Insets above!)

Brrrr...it's really starting to get cold around here! I got up several times during the night to turn up my floor heater which was being very stubborn. It didn't want to budge from 64°F/18°C. I'd turn up the heater with the aim of warming up to about 68°F/20°C. The next time I woke up I'd check the temperature and it would only be one degree warmer, ARGH! Personally I don't mind. In fact, there are few things more wonderful than burrowing under a luxurious pile of blankets. But I do worry about Pumpkin getting chilly. Her cage, which hangs from the ceiling, is covered with towels at night to keep the heat in, and she sleeps in her fleece-lined Happy Hut, AND she's covered with extremely warm down feathers, but I still worry about her feeling the least bit cold. So the heater and I waged war all night long and when my darling little peeper woke me up at 5 till 7am, it was FINALLY sitting at 68°F/20°C. MEH!

It was raining this morning but nothing about it was inviting today. Looking out at the murky, steel-grey sky, I made sure to bundle up extra warmly before I went out. The thermometer read 34°F/1°C but it sure felt a lot colder to me. I stretched inside, grabbed my umbrella and went out for my walk. I was pleasantly surprised to find that is was wonderful outside, with autumn smells and a nice pattering of rain on my umbrella.

Enjoying my walk up and down our road, I kept track of my laps by moving white pebbles from one rock slab to the other. I couldn't help thinking about yesterday morning's visitor. Guess who stopped by to leave another outrageously RUDE calling card? ON ONE OF MY ROCK SLABS, no less! I stood goggling at what I saw, totally aghast. Just imagine if people did that to one another to establish territory...totally unacceptable! I couldn't stop laughing and as I sent the fox poos flying off into the grass in all directions. "You're a BAD FOX! You're a VERY BAD FOX! And now I'm going to send you into the CORN FIELD!" (I love that episode of the classic Twilight Zone with Billy Mummy and use that quote whenever I can! )

Off I go down the road...and then...why..."IT'S SNOWING!!! IT'S SNOWING!!!!" I began to sing the words and laughed out loud, "IT'S SNOWING! IT'S SNOWING!!!" It was not possible to keep my inner child from giggling, singing and bouncing up and down as we looked out at the world around us. The world had grown quiet now, as the rain turned to snow and fell in fat blobs to melt instantly upon touching the ground. What a wondrous thing to see this remarkable change before my eyes.

The temperature was just not cold enough to keep forming snow though. But for a few magical moments, the snow drifted down, changing back and forth from rain to snow and back again. Such a joy. This experience will never get old to me because I was born and raised in San Francisco. For about 40 years of my life I lived in the City and around the Bay Area, where the weather is so consistently...BORING. San Francisco rarely gets very hot or very cold, so I wanted dearly to live in a place with actual seasons. As I felt the rain drops again patter on my umbrella, I smiled with gratefully because I loved experiencing this so much.

Today's picture is a lovely flake of manzanita bark glowing in the afternoon sun. I saw this as I was heading back down the Upper Table Rock trail a few weeks back. Have you ever seen manzanita trees before? They have the most wonderful, silky smooth bark, and every year they shed the last year's layer to expose the new layer. The skin flakes off in beautiful curls and fun shapes that are wonderful to see and hold in your hand. (I will include some insets for you to get a better view!)

Pam, does manzanita grow where you live? I imagine you hugging your resident trees like I do, sitting in branches from time to time and appreciating their beauty. I bet you would have fun discovering the little clumps of moss that form at the bases sometimes or in the divots that form here and there. These lovely trees would surely put a smile on your face. I hope you are doing well today and I am sending my love and healing energy to you!

Explored on 12/2/18, highest placement, #3.