Monday Blues: Predictable and Expected

lf you're not familiar with it, winter in southern California can be a bit of an aberration, a contradiction between what we imagine winters to be and what they are. No matter what is predicted, the only thing you can expected is the unexpected. It is surprising, though not unexpected, how many patches of penstemon are blooming out there. If you pay just a little attention, you may notice that neon pink and purple glowing in rangy clumps all along the Heights. Then there is the figgy forest. The first thing of notice are the ghostly grey branches of the mass of trees filling the gulch. For all intents and purposes they appear as they should, in the midst of their seasonal hibernation. But stopping, and taking a close look reveals all kinds of fruit popping out at the ends of branches. And the Buckwheat... well, what are you going to do about the Buckwheat, it just does not want to play by the rules, and blooms when ever the heck it wants.

On the other hand, there are some things that are completely predictable and expected each and every time - like walking up that sweeping uphill turn to the right. Automatic. It doesn't help when you don't have a full range of climbing gears, but still. Lately I've been checking off some of the rocky crossings that have long been problematic; there is only one left. If I could just put my mark next to it, and that turn, I could declare complete victory Out There.

Cucamonga Canyon

the figgy forest

the shoe tree always looks so sad this time of year