May Interlude: A Lotta Newt

 "... What makes you think she's a witch?

Well, she turned me into a newt!

[uncomfortable silence]

[sheepishly] I got better..."

You could call this the season of "a lotta," as in there's a lot of everything out there right now. The May Interlude, a hold-over from what was supposed to be the April Interlude, was a clear indicator of that. A lot of wildflowers (how all that monkey flower can grow on those seemingly inhospitable cliff faces is a wonder), a lot of bees enjoying those wildflowers, a lot of clouds in the sky (in fact they filled it so completely, it was grey pretty much the entire morning), a lot of birds chirping in the trees, a lot of blackberry brambles just beginning to flower, a lot of waterfalls tumbling out of the mountain sides, a lot of poison oak, a lot of deadfall clogging the river banks, a lot of squirrels scurrying across the road...

but a lot of newts? Enough newts to make a newt crossing sign necessary?

I can honestly say I did not spy a single one. Not one hiding in the grass and leaf litter, not one poking its head out from under a rock beside the river, not one scurrying across the road. 

I'd be really hard-pressed to call this a hike, rather than a walk since (for those who don't know) the West Fork road along which we strode is paved for its entirety (though closed to unauthorized vehicles). Never-the-less, we donned hiking boots, slung hydration packs over shoulders, wore wide-brimmed hats for the sun that never really showed, you know, the things you'd normally do for an interlude hike, and joined a very few others out there on a Friday morning - a couple backpackers setting out on.a three day weekend trek, a trio of day-trippers with a hammock beside the river, a single fly-fisherman, and a lone cyclist spinning his way all the way back to the dam on the West Fork of the San Gabriel River.

a whole lotta monkey flower

a whole lotta green

where Bear Creek (straight ahead) joins the West Fork San Gabriel River

a whole lotta waterfalls

a whole lotta bees; a whole lotta blackberry brambles

so many trees were killed in the fire of however many years ago it was, but some always survive to bring forth the next generation. multiple times i noticed cottonwood seeds drifting down through the air

Well, that's a wrap. It is now officially the weekend. This was such a perfect start that I think I will ride down to the public plaza to hear Craic House performing, after all a perfect day need a perfect cap. Have a good weekend, what ever you do!