Friday, June 02, 2017

Hikes and Trees

Friday Fave Fives.  One of my favorite ways to celebrate the blessings of the week.

Three hikes
1.  We had never been hiking in Wildwood Park which is in the Conejo Valley just east of where we live.  So we decided to venture out for an exploratory hike. There are miles and miles of trails in wide open expanses and into (and out of) deep canyons.  We barely began our explorations.  We'll definitely be back.






2.  The next day we decided that a short walk would be enough.  This iconic walk is not more than a third of a mile up the slope from one of the main roads in Camarillo and ends in a cute little park.  Lined on both sides by towering eucalyptus trees, the path is often photographed or painted and displayed around the city.


3.  I never get tired of the beach paths. Never.  Ventura Beach and Pier.



4. The jacaranda trees are blooming everywhere.  I first noticed jacaranda trees the first May (spring) we lived in Los Angeles.  Entire streets would be lined with giant purple bouquets as the trees burst into bloom.  Jacarandas tend to be boring and they easily blend into the background as their leaves are more like fern fronds.  But.  Then they bloom.  They take over the towns in Southern California while their branches are full of lavender flowers.  I think it's because the purple is so vibrant that they all of a sudden pop up everywhere in the scenery.  I could do a whole post of just photos of jacaranda trees around town.  Here they are gracing one of the main drags in town.


5.  No photos--but we have been eating our salads from our garden this week.  Cherry tomatoes. Snap peas.  Romaine lettuce.  Yum!

Bonus:  I've been thinking and meditating on this verse from Isaiah (61:3) this week.  My prayer:

they will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

I live in the land of native California live oaks, so I see oak trees everywhere (almost as often as palm trees!).  I want to be an oak of righteousness!

8 comments:

ellen b said...

Nice hike and walks. I so enjoyed seeing the Jacaranda's while I was in Cali. Love the verse, yes and amen!

Gracie Saylor said...

Growing in righteousness is definitely what I want to do...and I find it challenging! Thanks for the lovely images.

Susanne said...

Those trees are stunning and what you said about them blending in and then all of a sudden blooming with beauty got me thinking how sometimes people are like that too. Blending in until their "season" and then they bloom and are a blessing. Anyway. LOL.

Those hikes are lovely and how wonderful that there is so many available to you. And I can see why that lane is photographed and painted. Lovely!

Now you have me craving salad from homegrown veggies, alas, we are quite far the gardens being ready for harvest yet around here.

Gattina said...

That looks like a very beautiful place !

Faith said...

oh how I enjoyed looking at your hiking photos. The terrain is vastly different from my beloved Adirondack Mountains and I hope to one day hike in CA. it is actually on my bucket list to do part of the Pacific Coast trail. we did hike an easy trail in the John Muir ( national forest??? cant remember) but we were in San Francisco and had to cross over the golden. gate bridge. it was when our oldest was 4 in 1997 so has been awhile. we loved the big redwoods...imthink i have that right.

and i have seen that photo somewhere before!! the one with the path between the eucalpytus trees!! am not sure where.....maybe a postcard?

enjoy your week!

A Joyful Cottage said...

How fortunate you are to be eating salads from your own garden. We can have greens now, but much too early for tomatoes (my favorite). Jacaranda trees are, indeed, beautiful. I remember them from my years in Southern California. Seeing the photo of the beach makes me yearn for a trip to the coast. Maybe it will happen this summer. Not sure. Love the scripture you chose. It brings to my mind Psalm 1:1-3. Have a lovely week. xo

Barbara H. said...

You have some nice areas for hiking! I have never seen a jacaranda in person - they look lovely. My son found some hanging planters - I'll have to ask him where - that have a variety of salad greens all on one planter, and it works out just right that as they harvest some, more will grow back. I am thinking of trying that next year. Something hanging would work well for me so rabbits and other visiting critters can't get into it. Bags of salad spoil so quickly - it would be nice to pick some fresh greens for salads.

Tracy said...

Such WONDERFUL views, Willow! It's always a treat to see from your corner of the world. And those Jacaranda trees are so special! We don't have them here, so to me they are almost magical. :) Home grown on your plate... YUM! Nothing like picking from one's own garden. We're looking forward to some of the too, in the weeks ahead--the season's still very young here... LOL! Oh, that verse at the end, and so beautiful, what you wrote--I want to be an oak of righteousness!" Savoring those words over my cup of tea this morning... ((HUGS))