The Rock Faces of the Pinnacles

According to Cambridge Dictionaries online, the definition of rock face is "an area of vertical surface on a large rock or mountain."

To me, a rock face is a face—eyes, nose, mouth, and so on—that I see outlined in a rock. And, I see many rock faces in the Pinnacles National Park. How about you?

Dry!

This field borders the west side of Highway 25, before Santa Ana Road. I've never seen the soil look so dry around here.

The other day I noticed that the soil of the outdoor potted plants were ridiculously dry, and I had watered them a few days earlier. "Is it because of the heat?" I asked the Husband. "Yeah," he replied. "And the low humidity."

Cloud Action above Hollister

Quite a lot of fluffy clouds were passing through the other day. Hopefully some of them joined forces and made rain when the reached the Sierras.

A Horse is a Horse

Two horses snacking on the grass behind the Highway 25 sound wall was a very cool sight yesterday morning when I was riding my bicycle. Of course, I had to pull over to take a photo.

Both horses turned to look at me. "Who's that?" they seemed to say. The white horse came over to greet me, probably thinking I had some kind of yummy snack. When it realized that I was just going to pet him, it went back to the grass.

Easter Sunday

Peace and Joy to you, one and all, dear Take 25 to Hollister Readers!

Smelling the Roses

The roses are bursting in bloom around town. Have you noticed?

The other day, the Husband and I stopped to admire the roses in front of a house on Seventh Street. As I smelled a red rose, the Husband, having no sense of smell, asked, "Do the different colors have different smells?"

I leaned over to sniff an orange rose. "Yes, they do." I can't remember what I told him the rose smelled like, but the red rose reminded me of the taste of vanilla.

The Blossoms at City Hall

The trees in front of the City Hall are in blossom right now. They're more gorgeous in person. Check them out, if you can.

The Trees on Monterey Street

Dear Take 25 to Hollister Readers,

I bet you  didn't know we have sleepy octopussy trees hanging out in our sweet town.

:-)

Have a wonderful day!

Su-sieee! Mac

Lovely Spring Day

Looking down from Vista Hill Park

Yesterday—Sunday—was a gorgeous day for being outside, whether it was working in the yard, walking about, pedaling around, or taking a Sunday drive. Hope you had a chance to get some sun bubbles.

We may be in luck and have rain come our way this week. Yay!

The view from the end of the paved Los Viboras Road

There's a Fault?

I had no idea until this morning that the Union Road Bridge stands over a Calaveras Fault strand. However, according to this geologist at Geology Cafe.com, "There is no direct evidence of the fault in the river bed. . . ." I guess that's good to know.

Coming into Hollister from the North

The Gabilan Mountains that we see beyond San Benito Street never stops to amaze me. I love how they tower over the city. I took them for granted as a kid, but then what do kids know.

Spring!

The first moment of Spring starts at 9:57 AM today. So says the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The coming of Spring usually makes me go search for this song by Daniel Valdez, a local musician and one of the founding members of El Teatro Campesiño. It's a sweet song called "Primavera" from his 1973 record Mestizo.

Receding Fog

 

We've been getting a lot of fog lately. Have you ever noticed how on some days it makes its way back towards the west? This photo was taken a few days ago from Cienega Road, looking across the San Benito River by the Union Road bridge. 

Tree Mushrooms

The other day, the Husband and I took a stroll on Monterey Street. We stopped for  a moment to admire an old house and as we turned, voila, we spied tree mushrooms.

It surprised to me see tree mushrooms in town. As a kid, I used to go mushroom hunting with my dad on Cienega Road. We found buckets full of delicious mushrooms that we picked from dead trees along a creek. My parents knew what are edible mushrooms, but they always threw a quarter in the pot as the mushrooms simmered. They told me that if the quarter turned black, we would not eat the mushrooms. The quarters never turned black. To this day, I don't know if they were kidding me.

Spring is Popping

This is somewhere along San Felipe Road. All of a sudden, the color just popped out at me as I was pedaling along on bicycle.

The Magical Diablos

I was very fortunate the other morning as I was pedaling my bike up Meridian Street. I got to see the Diablos in a different lighting. The mountains seemed so much higher and the Three Sisters was transformed into a Hawaiian pali. I had to stop and enjoy the moment.

Better Late Than Not Ever

Not a lot, and only here and there. But, the San Benito River is beginning to flow beneath the bridge on Nash Road. And, the hills are starting to turn green. Thank you, Rain!

Farming Continues

San Juan Valley

Drought. Or not.

Bursting in Pink

Yup. Look around. They are in bloom. The pink blossoms always surprise, delight, and amaze me every year.

Fencing

Poetry: Barbed-wire fence snakes up a hillside on San Juan Canyon Road.