What's Lurking under the Willow Tree?

Is That Hollow a Good Place to Hide?

If one passes by this willow tree and looks at it from the path, one sees this shady space, almost like a little hollow or cave that would make a good hiding place. But you aren't likely to find any lovers there making the most of solitude. Anyone who has any sense will stay away.

Let's take a closer look at what's hidden in the shadow of this tree. I approach it, stepping away from the trail. I use my flash to chase away the shadows. Does it look like a good hiding place now? It this a tree you'd like to climb? Would you like to gather these beautiful shiny autumn leaves? I don't think so. Not if you recognize that lovely patch of poison oak?

And If You Did Not Recognize the Poison Oak in Time or Fell Into It?

Use this. It should offer some relief from the itching and pain.

A Closer Look at the Poison Oak Leaves

The photo above shows how the poison oak looked under the tree without using the flash. It was late afternoon. You will notice that some leaves are changing color, but others are still quite green. Poison oak leaves are arranged in groups of three connected leaflets. They are shiny with urushiol, the oil that causes the rash when it comes in contact with skin. The leaves don't have to touch the skin to cause the rash. Anything touching the skin that has picked up some oil can also do the same damage -- clothing, pet fur, etc.

Below is a photo I took exactly two years earlier than the photo above under that same tree. Here it is easier to see the patterns and colors of the leaves.

It is very important for anyone who hikes in California to be able to recognize poison oak. When I was growing up, we all learned the rhyme you may have heard: "Leaves of three, let it be." That's a good precaution. It's better safe than sorry. And if you touch poison oak and are as sensitive to it as most people are, you will be sorry. Books can tell you how to identify poison oak, but the sketches are often much neater than what you will see in the wild.

 It's true that berries that grow in some of the same places as poison oak does and can resemble it. I've seen them grow right next to each other. Most of the berries have thorns. Poison oak doesn't. They both change color in the fall. If in doubt, don't touch.

Poison Oak Loves to Climb

It climbs fences and shrubs. It especially likes to climb oak trees. Chances are if you are in an unmaintained area and you see a group of oak trees, you will also find poison oak climbing some of them.

Many public parks in Paso Robles that have open spaces don't maintain those open spaces. That's why Larry Moore Park is such a likely place to encounter poison oak right next to trail. I've even seen poison oak in maintained areas. I once encountered it encroaching on a public sidewalk on a busy street next to a hospital in San Luis Obispo.  I sure didn't expect to see it on a busy city sidewalk.

Go enjoy your open spaces, but be careful. Keep your eyes open and stay away from anything than looks like poison oak. If you are walking your dog in such a place, remember if he gets the oil on his fur, and you pet him, you can be just as miserable as if you'd touched the plant itself.

Have you had any experiences with poison oak or poison ivy? Feel free to share them in the comments.

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How to Cross the Creek

It's been two days since my wildflower walk on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail, and I'm wondering if this part of the walk contributed to my emergency room visit yesterday. I had been trying to figure out how to cross the creek.  

The trail is more like a series of small trails emanating from the housing developments which surround the open space in the middle between them. I always enter from Oxen Street on a paved path with low stairs built in. A narrow dirt path parallels this. After taking the path or the stairs down the hill, I come to a creek. From the main path there is a wooden bridge that crosses the creek.  

From that main  path,  I could see a creek on my left. I decided to take the paved path to the other path I thought connected to it, but instead I was blocked by the creek.

Since I wasn't wearing boots, I took the path back in the direction I usually take it until I reached the turn-off to a dirt path that I believed would meet the other path I wanted up near a pond. It's the path to the right in this photo. You can see the path I want to be on to the left.

The dirt path became quite steep and narrow where it follows the curve of the creek. You can see how the path leans in a slope between the trees.  I have pointed to the path with the green pin.

The path on the hill had a dangerous slope and I almost fell, B. Radisavljevic

I wanted to get to where I thought I could get on the path I wanted, so I stayed on the dirt path even though I knew the slope and loose rocks were risky for me. Since I saw the woman and her children ahead of me, I knew help would be close should I slip. I figured I'd come back by the wider level path once I was across the creek. But that didn't happen. The path again dead-ended into the creek. There was only one place to cross the creek without getting wet.

Unfortunately, I didn't want to risk the slope it would take to get to it. I was between two steep places,  but I chose to go back the way I came. As I expressed my opinion about the lack of bridges to cross the creek from the paths, the mother explained that the golf course used to be very close to where we were walking before there was so much development around the open space. That's why the trails have no bridges across the creek. People used golf carts to cross the creeks where the trails stopped. Those on bikes still have no problem getting across the creeks.

After I left the the trail and went back to my car, I continued on to shop for groceries before going home. My back began to hurt just after I made it into the house with the bags of groceries. I can't help  but think it was the effort to keep from slipping on the slope that caused my back to go into a spasm. Fortunately the medications they gave me at the emergency room yesterday are helping and I'm  almost back to normal just before midnight tonight. I think I've learned I need to be more careful.

Related articles

• Trail
• On the Froom Ranch Trail in San Luis Obispo
• The Birds, the Bees, and the Flowers on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail
• Surprised by a Hidden Trail

O is for Oaks, Old, and Open Spaces

I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles. My childhood was spent in Bellflower in a typical neighborhood about two blocks from the main street of town, Bellflower Boulevard. I could walk anywhere I wanted to go -- the library, church, school, or shopping. That was all good. This photo shows Bellflower Boulevard as I knew it, and I lived about eight blocks from this part of it. Do you see any trees?

Everywhere I went there were buildings and cement except for one local park that was mostly developed -- ball fields, playground, tennis courts, and a picnic area. There were a few trees, but no wild or natural places. There was nowhere to take a hike or a walk that wasn't on a street or sidewalk. Except in the park, most trees were small. You would not have seen anything like this scene (just off Spring Street in Paso Robles) in downtown Bellflower.

Another thing I realized as I was writing this is that most homes were fairly new. Bellflower was founded in 1906. By the time I came on the scene I don't remember ever seeing any homes like this one (on 12th Street in Paso Robles) in Bellflower, though there were some in Long Beach (without the oak). Long Beach had palm trees.

When I moved to Templeton, I found a dramatic change of scenery. My mother also noticed it when I moved her to Paso Robles.  She missed her friends back in Bellflower, but she loved our trees. We have huge oak trees in the middle of town and on almost every street. The example here is typical.

What I love is the open space -- the walking trails that are accessible to those who  want observe the natural world. I live a couple of blocks from Larry Moore Park. It gives me access to the Salinas River whether or not it has water in it. Parts of the park are wild and let nature take its course. Trees fall and are left to decay and support lichens and mosses. One can often see rabbits at dusk and a variety of birds singing in the trees.

I always wanted to do what these children are doing when I was a child, but there simply was no place like this. Those of us in Paso Robles may take what we have for granted, but some towns don't have the opportunities we do.



Paso Robles protected some

open space for its citizens to enjoy -- even if they live in a tract home or apartment. The Snead/Ramboiullet Trail is a good example of this. In this photo on the right, you see part of this trail. People can enter the trail from four different streets that surround it. The trail  is coming from a street with single family homes and apartment buildings. Just across that bridge is a path coming from a large apartment complex. There are such entrances from many neighborhoods all leading into the park from different directions, and all those residents can enjoy the trees, wildflowers, and wildlife to be seen and heard as they walk the trails. There are probably more trails like this I have not yet discovered.  

The longer Salinas River Trail is only about a mile from the Snead/Rambouillet Trail for those who want longer nature walks. The Charolais Corridor connects to it, but is newer and does not have so much nature to see. It does, however,  provide a pretty and safe trail for those walking or on bikes.


I'm noticing there is a trend now toward more planned cities with more open space. It's harder, though, for the older cities that have already developed most of their land to find places for this kind of open space. Is open space available near where you live? Do children have places close to home where they can get out into nature?

On the Froom Ranch Trail in San Luis Obispo

After showing you the historic Froom Ranch farmhouse and barn yesterday, I'd like to  show you some of the trail near Froom Ranch  today. I didn't climb it last night while I was taking pictures. Not only was the sun already down, but since I hurt my knee, I have to keep all walking level. So I  took this photo of an unofficial trail access from behind the Home Depot parking lot in San Luis Obispo. The trail officially starts at the end of Madonna Road. Any of these photos can be enlarged with a click.

This area behind Home Depot and Costco is known as the Irish Hills. It may have been named that during the rainy season when the hills were green. They are currently approaching the time of year when they will be brown if we don't get more rain.

I took this photo of the water tower on the hill above Home Depot by walking only a few feet on the trail. It is quite close to the Froom Ranch buildings.

I did, however, manage to get onto the trail from the Madonna Road Entrance in April, 2012. My husband and I decided to work off some lunch before our Costco visit so we walked in the Irish hills on the trail for about half an hour. Then he  got tired and I didn't want to wander alone. This is Hubby on the trail heading back to the car.

This next one shows an uphill trail ahead of me.

The trail is curvy and steep in some places.

This was the view as I was about to take the path back down to the  residential area where we had parked. 

Someday I hope I hope I can find someone to walk the easy part of the trail down to the creek with me after I can start hiking myself again. Have you hiked this trail? Have you gone to the top where you can view the ocean?

For more specific information on hiking the Irish Hills and the rest of the Central Coast, you might find this book helpful. 

 Day Hikes Around San Luis Obispo: 156 Great Hikes

Contrasting Views of Froom Ranch in San Luis Obispo

I first discovered the historic Froom Ranch buildings in November, 2011, when I happened to go to Costco in San Luis Obispo alone (as opposed to with my husband.) It had been raining, and after I had shopped I followed the lot around to the Home Depot side and parked at the far end. I decided I wanted to photograph the buildings during a lull between rains. That turned out not to be a great decision.

I tend to be spontaneous. It wasn't good enough to take the photos from the parking lot of Home Depot as I did here. I wanted to get closer and find the Froom Ranch Trail itself. Never mind that the trail was wet or that it would be dark soon. Up I went until I was even with the old barn.

I had searched for the trail because I had wanted a photo of the hills after visiting the Mac Superstore as I was wandering around behind the buildings on that side of Los Osos Valley Road,  someone in the Target shopping center told me the best place to photograph those hills was from the trail that started behind Home Depot. I did get several photos of the hills that night, but they all included Home Depot, as this one did, because the place I was standing was only as high as the old barn.

It was very muddy, and dark was coming on fast, and I knew I had no business trying to go high that night. I promised myself I would come back during daylight someday and hit the trail. Meanwhile, I barely made it down because the mud I had accumulated on the bottom of my shoes was about two inches thick. It took some ingenuity to get them cleaned up so I could get back in the car to drive home.

I had never known much about Froom Ranch, so I decided to do a bit of research online. There wasn't much information but I  did find this much. John R. Froom first came to San Luis Obispo in 1886. He worked on this 5,000-acre ranch, which was then owned by a Mr. L. Nelson. Later Mr. Froom leased it and started a dairy farm which did well. Mrs. Froom somehow received the ranch in 1904. Mr. Froom was a great supporter of his adopted city of San Luis Obispo.

Later on the ranch was purchased by Alex and Phyllis Madonna, who built the Madonna Inn San Luis Obispo is famous for. The Madonnas have also done much for their city, and as I write this, Phyllis, who survived Alex after his death in 2004, is still active in civic service. In 2013 she was named San Luis Obispo County by the Chamber of Commerce in addition to the many other awards she had already received.  She is still very active in supporting the Women's Shelter Program of San Luis Obispo County. You can read more about the Madonnas here. 

As far as I know, the ranch is now under the management or ownership of the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo. It appears the historic buildings themselves remain on private property, since there are signs posted to that effect around them.

When I took this photo yesterday, it was also near sundown, but it was at least dry. You will notice that the hills are already starting to turn brown because there has been no  rain recently.

Related articles

• San Luis Obispo's Iconic Fremont Theater
• Night Over the Abandoned Sunny Acres Detention Facility, San Luis Obispo, California
• A Whimsical Sculpture in San Luis Obsipo

The Birds, the Bees, and the Flowers on the Snead/Rambouillet Trail

Revisiting the Snead/Rambouillet Trail

I previously walked this trail on March 18, but at that time I didn't know its name. Evidently the official trail entrances are on Snead and Rambouillet, but I entered on Oxen near Brahma. If you walk across the street from the sign toward the tree on the other side and then turn left on the sidewalk, you will almost immediately see the entrance to the trail on the right. I showed you the entrance in Surprised by a Hidden Trail on March 19. You see stairs leading from the sidewalk down to the trail.

Last week it was dusk when I walked and I didn't have much time to explore. Today I walked in late afternoon while the sun was bright. As one walks down the steps into the forested open space, the first thing one notices at this time of year is the display of colorful wildflowers on either side of the stairs.

I wasn't the only once to notice all those flowers. You could hear them almost before you could see them because the bees were very busy gathering pollen. I caught this one on a clover blossom. They were also doing the rounds of the vetch, but I didn't see many on the lupines and poppies, which were also abundant.

The birds were also quite active. I could hear the woodpeckers in the trees, but I couldn't see any. I did see lots of scrub jays like this one. They didn't seem eager to be captured by my  camera, but I finally found one who decided to show off a bit instead of playing hide and seek in the branches.

Open Space to Explore Nature is Important for Children

As I walked, I couldn't help but regret the suburb of Los Angeles I grew up in didn't have any wild places where kids could walk to a place nearby to explore nature. We had a park with a playground, a tennis court, a cement slab where we could skate, some ball fields, and some trees. There were no "wild" areas to explore. There were no creeks or ponds where one could see ducks and catch tadpoles.

The children lucky enough to live in the neighborhoods around these trails have all of that. Here are a couple of ducks that were resting in the shadows beside the creek. I also saw tiny tadpoles in another park of the creek, but they were too small to photograph.

The ground squirrels I saw wouldn't pose for me, either, but I saw them. They would dive into a nearby hole before I could even see them clearly. Nevertheless I did my best to catch them on camera, and when I got home I found there was one who did not manage to escape my zoom lens. It's not a very clear shot, but it proves I saw him.

 Nature's Playground: Activities, Crafts, and Games to Encourage Children to Get Outdoors

If you'd like to encourage your children to explore nature, one of these books might be a good place to get some inspiration. 

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 Sharing the Joy of Nature: Nature Activities for All Ages Sharing Nature®: Nature Awareness Activities for All Ages How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature

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Do you have any wild places children near you can explore within walking distance of their homes? What sort of wildlife do you see most where you live?