This is the time of year I'm glad I walk to the neighborhood mailbox during daylight. All the ghosts and other scary things I pass on the way are less intimidating in the light. I will show you some of them. By the time I walk home the sun is slowly fading. Below you see the ghosts who live across the street from me.
As you can see above, trees seem to attract a lot of ghosts. Even tiny ones. I never would have found this one had I not been trying to take pictures of the fruits of the sycamore tree. There's one of those right behind the ghost's head.
These ghosts are ready to scare little treat-or-treaters from the air.
This home has ghostly greeters with a little help from their friends.
Scared yet? I didn't think so. If you want to get scared, read this book by my friend Lori Moore. She tells some very chilling ghost stories in this book. Just right to read on a dark night in a haunted house. Or any night when you don't mind a few shivers down your spine. You can even read the Kindle verson in the dark.
Get yourself some spooky classical music to listen to while you read. Or just get it to play while the spooks approach your home on Halloween.
Witches, Etc.
I guess you can't have a Halloween night without a few witches flying around or hanging on trees, like this one. And one also would expect to see Jack-o-Lanterns and skeletons on the scene. Most of the grave that have sprung up in front yards aren't on my block. Thank goodness! They remind me I'm getting old.
Enjoy your Halloween, and be safe. Don't let the ghosts or anything else spoil your evening. And don't eat all the candy your kids bring home.
Not everyone considers it heavenly. It's not really an ugly tree. It just loves that God made it to bear seeds to reproduce itself and the Tree of Heaven does it with enthusiasm. A remarkable number of those seeds sprout and become new trees. Most of those trees aren't welcomed. They tend to move in and take over. If you try to chop down or cut off a small tree, it will multiply even more by producing a multitude of suckers.
What you see above are just a few branches hanging over a shed in the Templeton Community Garden. I'm afraid if someone doesn't so something soon, there will be a forest of Trees of Heaven. The babies are already popping up all over where they aren't wanted.
Here's an example. The fence you see below separates the Templeton Community Garden from the property around it. There is a majestic oak on the other side of that fence. Do you see what's growing under the oak and on both sides of it? Yep! That's a Tree of Heaven forest waiting to grow up. The Tree of Heaven seemingly can exist and grow without much sunlight, so the shade of the oak won't do much to thwart it. It hardly even needs soil.
The Tree of Heaven Is Far from Heavenly
For one thing, it smells. That's right. The base of the leaves have oil-bearing glands. If you rub them, you probably won't like the odor. The flowers have the same "fragrance."
The tree is also destructive. It can grow from a crack in a sidewalk and destroy the foundations of buildings. It is so invasive that it threatens native plants and agricultural crops. The seedling below is very close to the raised bed where the tomatoes are growing.
You don't want Tree of Heaven growing anywhere near your garden is because it has a toxin in its bark and leaves that will kill other plants around it. I wouldn't put the leaves in your compost pile.
These Videos Will Give You More Information
This video explains how to identify the Tree of Heaven, also known as ailanthus, Chinese sumac, and stinking sumac. It also suggests some ways of getting rid of even mature trees.
Here's how to kill this invasive tree.
Get the product used in the video above by clicking the ad below.
Are you an organic gardener? Here's an organic way to kill a Tree of Heaven. It just takes longer.
Get the product used in the video above by clicking the ad below.
What Does the Future Have in Store for This Raised Bed in the Community Garden?
We have seen how quickly Tree of Heaven can spread. We also know the toxins in its bark and leaves can kill surrounding plants. It would appear the Templeton Community Services District needs to pay more attention to the maintenance of this garden area. Not only does it play host to the Tree of Heaven, but we've seen in a previous post that poison oak is also growing just inside of its fence on the south side.
You Can See a Lot of Nature Just Sitting on a Park Bench
Many times we don't really notice what's right in front of us. When I was escaping my roofers' noises this week I found myself on this bench. I'm so blessed I can walk over here, though I didn't on this particular day. This is the bench upon which I sat.
This bench faces west toward the Salinas River, but the riverbed is dry now. On the other side of the river runs some railroad tracks and on the other side of those the 101 Freeway as it goes through Paso Robles. To the left of the bench is the end of the cul-de-sac and a fence dividing public land from the small farm across from it. That land is where I saw the goats after I left this bench to go home.
This Bench Offers a Dose of Wilderness Close to Civilization
One of the first things I saw was an Amtrak train heading south from the Paso Robles Station. It always passes the park, and you can almost set your clock by it if you pay attention. Normally I see it going toward the station, but I was earlier than usual on this day.
You can see beyond the train to the cars on the freeway. It's a divided freeway on this stretch. I was using a zoom lens, so that train and the freeway look much closer than they really are. You'd have to walk about two blocks through the park and across the riverbed and then a bit further to get to those train tracks. When you listen to the video you will hear the traffic, but I believe the train was gone by the time I made the video.
The Salinas River Trail
My bench sits near an entrance to the Salinas River Trail that goes through the park and past it for a couple of miles. If you look to the right of the bench, as I did to take this photo, you will see the trail. Quite often people are walking or biking there. Many people use the trail or the dry riverbed to walk their dogs.
The Video
As I sat on my bench, I made a video by pointing the camera from the right to the left to take in my view. I aimed it up, down, and sideways to take in the height of the tree near me. I narrate to tell you what I'm seeing and doing. I hope you enjoy it.
Still Views from My Bench
Below you see the path that leads to the riverbed, now dry. On the far right is the tree branch you saw in the video that bends all the way to the ground and looks like a little tree by itself. Between that and the path to the river you see a bed of poison oak with a red tinge. The oak is on the left and its branch extends all the way to the ground on the right. The path is steeper than it looks and one has to be careful not to slip -- especially when it's wet after one of our rare rains.
Here's a closer look at that poison oak beside the path to the river.
Here's the other side of the oak on the left side of the path.
Below is the rest of the oak and the rocks near the trail entrance near the road. On the far left you are seeing outside the park onto the private property where I saw the goats yesterday.
This is another perspective of the oak with a zoom and some dried poison hemlock stalks. Have you noticed how much poison lurks near the trails?
Here's a book that will help you identify and deal with poison oak if you happen to touch it. This book has the highest reviews of any I saw, and a great section on identifying these plants.
Below I put the poison oak right next to the oak branch so you can see the leaves clearly. There's part of a willow tree on the far left near the top.
Now You've Shared my Views from the Park Bench
Which did you like best? Did you learn anything from these photos? I feel very fortunate to be able to walk to this park when I need a dose of nature.
I Fled The Roofing Noise into the Beauty Not Far from Home
Yes, this is Day 3 of the roofing repairs. They were supposed to have finished, but obviously they haven't. But no more roofing photos today. There are more beautiful subjects. In the morning I mostly mostly did errands -- shopping, and getting gas. I stopped at home to see if maybe it would be quiet enough to eat lunch at home, but it wasn't, so off I went to Touch of Paso. The food was good, but it was much nosier than usual because of an unhappy toddler, so I didn't get the peace I was seeking. Off I went to the Paso Robles Library!
While at the library I checked the new book shelf and decided to check out one of the Express Books (due in seven days). It looked more interesting than the eBook I was reading. I was quite sleepy after that large lunch I ate and needed an author I know could keep me awake until I could go home, but not one that would keep me up late to finish the book. I chose Debbie Macomber's A Girl's Guide to Moving On. It's about a woman and her mother-in-law trying to help each other through divorces from their unfaithful husbands who had broken their hearts. I got the first seven chapters read before 4 pm, the time the roofers usually leave. I went home to see if the coast was clear. It wasn't. This is what I saw. (Sorry. I said no more photos of this.)
On the way home I took the long way to stop and get the mail. Before I got to the mailbox, I stopped to get a photo of one of my favorite oaks that lives near the corner of South River Road and Bridgegate.
Before I got to the mailbox I'd also stopped to snap some other trees that I don't normally see before sundown. When I finally saw the roofers wouldn't be leaving any time soon, I drove over to the park, planning to sit and read some more. However, I was still really sleepy and decided I needed to walk off some of that lunch.
The sky above the park was full of a mixture of fluffy and gray clouds. It was hard to stop snapping them, especially since they were framed with the park's magnificent trees. It's really hard to choose which photos to show you. I'll stick to sky and trees for now and show you the goats and the turkey vultures on another day. They were a surprise and an added bonus.
Even the walk did not cure my drowsiness. Only a complete night's sleep will take care of that. Since I saw that won't be happening tonight, I took a nap when I got home. With all those clouds I'm sure I missed a magnificent sunset, but a girl's got to sleep some time. That will happen after I get this blog posted.
My Reality Has to Go Beyond What I Can See on my Computer Screen
Sometimes when I have a lot of writing to get done, it's hard to remember a world beyond my office. Yes, my husband interrupts to ask me to find things or do computer tasks for him. The phone rings and sometimes I have to answer it. But when I'm alone in the house and no one enters my office door but me, it's easy to forget there is a world outside the house when I'm working inside.
Most of the day I'm happy to have the time for productive work. But when late afternoon rolls around, I get antsy. I look outside my office window and see the tree above. Something happens inside me that almost catapults me out the door. Maybe it's the knowledge that a gorgeous sunset is on the way and I need to photograph it.
Maybe it's hearing the train whistle and knowing it will soon be roaring on the other side of the river overlooking the park. Of course I need to take a picture.
Sometimes I take to the garden and pull a few weeds, prune, or deadhead a few flowers just to get out into the world beyond my walls. Sometimes I even discover something new that God planted, like these seedlings nestled among the weeds, behind the Lamb's Ears. I believe they are either borage or mullein, but I won't know for a while. They may even be clary sage. They all resemble each other at this stage. When I know for sure I'll know what to do with them. What I do know is that they aren't weeds.
I can do most of these activities without leaving my yard. All of them help me ground myself and connect to my Creator and the world around me.
When I'm Especially Restless I Need to Go Farther
That usually means I take a photo walk in Larry Moore Park like I did Saturday. I usually take these walks in late afternoon or early evening before dark. That's when I feel like I will jump out of my skin if I don't go somewhere outside.
This is a scene from my Saturday walk. Unfortunately, it was too dark to capture a photo of the bunny ahead of me on the trail. I came home from that walk better able to relax and get a good night's sleep.
Another easy walk is the Charolais Corridor Trail. I get a new perspective every time I walk the trail, depending on the season, the time of day, and who else is on the trail. I've been walking this trail since it opened a few years ago. This photo of the east entrance was taken on January 30, 2013 when the trail was still almost new. The trail begins on South River Road and ends on the western side across from the entrance to Larry Moore Park and the Salinas River Trail.
Sometimes it's the practical matters that make me leave my office -- those pesky doctor appointments, labs tests, or errands. I often choose the early evening to shop. That's what I did tonight to get out. These appointments and errands aren't as much fun as photo walks, but I can still find nature in the landscaping, and the sky is always above as I walk to and from my car and wherever I'm going.
A Dose of Nature Usually Settles My Restlessness
Those sunsets I see between my trees every night help a lot. The sky always helps me remember how big my universe it and how powerful the One who controls it. I feel much less confined after a healthy dose of sky. And I can see sky anywhere I go outside.
Where do you go when you get cabin fever and need to get out of the house?
I pray for the firemen and my friends too close to the fires for comfort. Some have had to evacuate but were able to return home. I've only had one fire get close enough for me to see from my yard this year, but it was minor, by the freeway, and put out before it could spread. Someone was dragging a chain and it sent sparks to the dry grass beside the freeway. It's good when a fire burns out or is put out.
I'm Burned Out
It's not so good when I burn out. There's simply too much going on here to pretend I can do it all. I'm remembering all the reasons I told myself not to sign up for another blogging challenge, but my self didn't listen. So here I am trying to do more than I can handle again. Tonight I'm going to revert to the blog requirement for City Daily Photo Bloggers. Post at least one photo from my city of Paso Robles.
Were I to try to do another post on an artist while in this burn-out-state it would not be fair to him. He's an artist I want to do a good job for. So I'll post another photo of day dying last night at Larry Moore Park. I took a much needed walk there last night to energize myself. I left during early dusk. I ended the walk when the sun was almost down. I took this photo near the end of the walk. I'm looking toward where the Salinas River would be if there were any water in it.
The Paso Robles Inn and Coffee Shop Are Local Landmarks
The Paso Robles Inn buildings are located on Spring Street across from City Park. They are difficult buildings to photograph as a unit without any parked cars or traffic getting in the way.
The Coffee Shop is the most distinctive because of its shape. (See final photo at end of post.) The Steakhouse is popular with locals and tourists alike because of its delicious food. We like to eat there on special occasions. Many locals hang out in the Cattleman's Lounge upstairs above the Steak House.
The Paso Robles Inn is often displays its NO VACANCY sign as it did on this busy Saturday night at dusk. That's the red sign at the right.
She's at the right side of the photo near the entrance to the inn lobby. She's been there since the Cow Parade ended last May. They auctioned off all the donated cows and Clarabelle Cow is now at the Paso Robles Inn as long as they both shall last. See the details and professional photos of Clarabelle and how she was created.
Here's my not-so-professional photo of Clarabelle in the middle of February 2017 after she'd been out in the rain a bit. It looks as though she's outgrowing her wine barrel coat. How can that happen? I guess she ate too many of those grapes.
Clarabelle Cow in Front of Paso Robles Inn
See the iconic Paso Robles Inn Coffee Shop below.
If you enjoyed these photos, why not pin this on Pinterest?
Photos On the Cuesta Grade between San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles
The last time we went to San Luis Obispo, we returned as the sun was beginning to set. The sunset was gorgeous. We watched the sky show all the way home. I only wish we'd washed the windshield before going up the grade.
