A Walk Through Descanso Gardens

Come along with me on a walk through the Descanso Gardens located in La Canada Flintridge approximately 13 miles north of Los Angeles. The gardens encompass 160 acres, and has the largest collection of camellias in the United States, a 5 acre Rosarium or rose garden, a Japanese Garden, a bird sanctuary, streams, ponds, California native oak woodlands and native plants, flowering fruit trees and a rideable miniature railroad.

This area was once the home of the Tongva Indians or ‘people of the earth’. In 1542, the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Pacific Expedition claimed the land on behalf of Spain. Four hundred years later, Elias Manchester Boddy bought the land and soon thereafter developed it into the gardens you can visit today. At the outbreak of World War II, Boddy purchased the camellia collections of the Yoshimura family and the Uyematsa family when the Japanese were sent to internment camps. With that turn of world events, which was tragic for those families, the plants from their nurseries became Descanso Gardens’ first signature collection. The families benefited from the sale and the plants were not lost. In 1953 Los Angeles County purchased the gardens.

The beautiful Japanese Garden was designed by Eijiro Nunokawa, and the teahouse was designed by the well known San Marino, California architect ‘Whit’ Smith. These photos were taken on trips in April and May. You can go to the gardens’ website to see what is blooming each month: https://www.descansogardens.org/visit/whats-in-bloom/

Let’s take the walk.

The red bridge in the Japanese Garden.

The peaceful Zen Garden is carefully groomed.

A stone Japanese pagoda.

Tea House designed by ‘Whit’ Smith.

Polished river rocks set as aggregate.

Craftsman hummingbird lantern.

A look at the turtles below.

Lots of turtles.

Native California Live Oak woodlands.

Colossal bird nest sculpture surrounded by yellow Billybuttons.

Flowering tree.

Enjoying the day.

Babies in bloom.

Vista at the gardens.

Fancy tulips.

Tulips of all colors.

These look like they are from outer space.

The Mulberry Pond.

Pink and white variegated Camellias.

Camellia japonica ‘Hagoromo’ in pale pink.

Camellia Japonica ‘Yukibotan’ peony form flower.

J. Camellia ‘C.M.Hovey’ in deep carmine

Camellia Japonica ‘Monjisu’Red.

Camellia Japonica ‘Variabilis’ white Peony form.

‘Panache’ camellias.

Yesterday Today and Tomorrow plant.

This looks like an Impressionist painting.

The gardens even has Lilacs. Hope you enjoyed the walk.

Super Bloom: California Poppies & Other Wildflowers

Because of the ample spring rain in California, this year is a super bloom for wildflowers. A super bloom occurs only once in ten years. There are many places to see the wildflower blooms. Poppies are nearing the end of their bloom season, but wildflowers in California bloom according to elevation and how far north they are. So if you miss the poppies don’t cry, peak season for wildflower blooms in the High Sierras is in June and July and starts mid-July for Mount Shasta.

The photos below were taken in the Antelope Valley Reserve. Although the poppy bloom has already reached its peak, according to an April 13th posting on the Reserve site, the poppies are still blooming and the bloom is expected to last through the end of April. A Trip Savvy post on April 18th, entitled: Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve confirms the poppies are still in bloom in Antelope Valley and gives driving directions and other tips. Another website Desert USA has a great page: Southern California Wildflower Reports where people post photos of wildflowers with dated reports of the areas they have visited. By the way, someone posted on this site on April 19th that the wildflowers are still blooming in the Antelope Valley Reserve and in addition to poppies, grape soda lupine (which smells like grape soda) are in bloom. I think I’ll go and drink some, I mean see some. Another person on this site posted on April 19th that many wildflowers are in bloom on the Cistern Trail at Malibu Creek State Park . (Malibu Creek State Park is known in LA as the site where MASH was filmed from 1972-83, when the site was part of 20th Century Fox studios.) So if you’re in the area and in the mood for nostalgia and flowers take a hike there (but be advised, the bridge that you walk on to the MASH set is currently washed out and you have to walk through downed trees to get to the set.)

For peak season wildflower blooms in California according to month and location see: California Big Dream and if you can’t see them, the photos on all these sites are great and you can experience them without getting sweaty.

My husband says, “It’s Dorthy, with the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow and The Cowardly Lion, but I’m not sure. Photo credit: Alex Backus

Poppy field with a wagon train of cars. Photo credit: Alex Backus

Poppy field and shadows. Photo credit: Alex Backus

The fields go on forever. Photo credit: Alex Backus

Uploaded by Alex Backus on 2019-04-20.

An Insider's Look at the Rose Parade Up Close

The floats for the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA are made with 18 million flowers. There was a record breaking nine floats this year that earned the certification California Grown for the Rose Parade. Yeah California. We were in the crowd by the Rose Bowl, where some of the floats are made, and saw Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, presenting awards for floats using California grown flowers. She also received an award for promoting California Grown flowers. This presentation was made in the huge crowd watching as workers put the last flowers on floats before the parade.

The flowers are attached to the floats by volunteers. Every cut flower has it’s own vial of water to keep it fresh, and each float must be covered in flowers, petals, seeds, leaves, stems or vegetable material. The UPS float won the sweepstakes award for being the most beautiful and it featured Olive the Ostrich, reading a book. Olive’s head, neck and legs were adorned with 30,000 pink Mizuky carnations and her plumes were made with 40,000 white Dendrobian orchids. The flowers, creativity and whimsy displayed on the floats are amazing. This year there were 46 floats. Bands come from all over the world and there were 21 marching bands. There were 18 equestrian units with many beautiful horses including wild Palomino Mustangs, Clydesdale and miniatures.

The Rose Parade in Pasadena kicks off the New Year. Hardy enthusiasts sleep outside on the parade route, and this year it was cold. That, of course, is accompanied by marshmallow wars between those driving down the route and those sleeping out. You are best advised to take an old car that you won’t mind getting covered with marshmallows and silly string. And don’t think we are just talking about the outside of the car. You will probably get a few tacos with shaving cream on your windshield too; hopefully you won’t get one on the inside of your car. It’s a lot of fun, especially when the crowd counts down to New Year.

Olive the Ostrich won the Sweepstakes Award for the most beautiful float. Look at those legs!

Olive’s plumes were made of 10,000 white Dendrobian Orchids. Wow!

Finishing touches placed on floats by the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Blue Diamond’s float promoting Almond Milk. Love the bees.

Those bees are still working.

Cal Poly’s “Far Out Frequencies” wins Extraordinaire Award.

The 24 Hour Fitness float had people in a gym exercising in it.

The American Armenian float depicts the whistling Chanting Stones: Karahunj which predate Stonehenge.

Trader Joe’s won the Crown City Innovator Award.

Looks like fun to me.

Taiwan by China Airlines won the International Award.

Taiwan…the flowers, colors and costumes and face painting were amazing.

“A Carousel of Experience” won the Queen Trophy for most outstanding presentation of roses. Fun.

A family of elephants taking selfies by N.W. Mutual.

N.W. Mutual float, “Spend Your Life Living” won the Bob Hope Humor Award.

Big Bear was the Golden State Winner.

The theme was “Play-Repeat-Rest”.

Dole won the Wrigley Legacy Award.

The theme was “Rhythm of Paradise”. It was gorgeous.

“How to Train Your Dragon.”

Toothless and Light Fury’s first date and Astrid and Hiccup.

Astrid and Hiccup with a two headed dragon.

I love the bumps on Meatlug. Very cute.

This float used over 5,000 roses, 8,000 carnations & thousands of orchids and mums.

“How to Train Your Dragon” won the Showmanship Award. I loved it.

Glass Vase in a Glass House

Near the SoMa ( South of Main) district in Little Rock Arkansas, sits a stunning house.  It was built in two pieces by the architectural students at the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and then transported and assembled on a lot near downtown Little Rock.  The style of this house was influenced by the International Style of architecture made famous in the 1932 MoMA exhibition by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson.  Other notable architects that built in the International Style were: Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Richard Neutra.  That style uses mass produced un-ornamented materials and features rectilinear facades where flat surfaces alternate with glass.  Steel supports are sometimes used on the exterior and concrete is a preferred material. 

This house on Commerce Street, incorporates a lot of glass throughout.  It does not have concrete floors, they are beautiful golden hardwood floors, but it's kitchen counters are concrete slabs.  They are beautiful and sleek, as is the whole kitchen, which is done in white and stainless.  It even has a mini fridge that is lit with a glass door and fully stocked.  I loved the magnetic knife strip which also holds gourmet salts.  The house has an open plan for the front room, dining room, and kitchen.  It is like staying in a museum.  It is filled with beautifully designed furniture, pieces of sculpture, a TV monitor with LED neon colored light strips mounted behind it that change color, and even a MoMA glass vase with a floral arrangement in it.  Here's the link to purchase the MoMA Ribbon Vase...see photos below: (purchase here)

This house is available as an Airbnb.  Here's the link:  https://abnb.me/OFTv37FmBP

This MoMA Square Ribbon Vase is designed by Peter Hewett. (purchase here)

The facade of the Commerce St. house at night.

Here's the stunning entrance.

The front patio sits to the right of the entrance.

Here's the veiw as you walk through the front door.

Need to know the time?  The wall of clock is in the entry way.  Cool table too.

The living room facing windows to the street. 

The chairs are like an Airstream.  See the little sculpture behind.

Here's a closer look...a little bronze.

You don't have to watch TV... you can just watch the lights change.

This enclosed porch is off the first bedroom.

This is the view looking toward the front door.  Notice the round air ducts.

The paintings are done in primary colors.

And are charming.

These pendants hang over the dining table with the MoMA vase.

This is a side view of the MoMA Ribbon Vase on the dining table.

This animated fish sculpture sits in the window.

He has a hammer head.

This is a magnetic knife rack which also houses different gourmet salts.

The sink in the bathroom is hewn out of a solid piece of stone.

The shower head is a waterfall.

The bookcase in the 2nd bedroom has many art objects and other visually interesting accents.

I love the red chairs off the back patio.

This is the view from the back gate.

Everything is so artistically done.  So long Little Rock house.  It was a wonderful visit.

Long Island and Manhattan

Everything was starting to bloom on a recent trip to Long Island, New York.  The scenery was dotted with the white blooms of dogwood.  Despite all of us coming in on 4 different airlines and into two different airports everything went without a hitch.  We picked up a rental car and headed to our vacation home in Saint James Long Island, a picturesque village that time forgot on the north shore of Long Island.  The old homes were beautiful and the scenery in the bay was astounding.  After an incredible Italian dinner that evening, cooked by my mother-in-law, we headed out in the morning to the end of the island past all of the farms and fruit stands on Route 25, past Nikola Tesla's old laboratory, to Greenport.  Greenport is an old whaling village that was established in 1640 by colonists from New Haven.  It was the first permanent European settlement in New York.  The first stop was to have seafood in Claudio's, the oldest continuously family-owned restaurant in the United States. Then walking through Greenport we saw tree peonies.  The blooms are bigger than your hand and absolutely beautiful.  We stopped at the produce stands on the way home for fresh asparagus and spinach.

Our own home for the week was on three acres and adjacent a Quaker's meeting house from the 1800"s.  The property had lots of flowers starting to bloom and trees.  Even the grass was full of tiny 'Johnny Jump Ups.'  Well no trip to Long Island is complete without a trip to the city.  The Long Island Rail Road brought  us to Penn Station and from there we took a cab to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) then we walked through Central Park and saw the Egyptian exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Are you ready for the ride? Well, here we go.

Claudio's in Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island.

 Parrot tulips make their debut in Grenport.

Pink & yellow tulips pop their heads up too.

Can you believe the size of these blooms?

We inquired within.  We were told they are called tree peonies.

There were fuchsia tree peonies too the size of dinner plates.

They were truly amazing.

Back in St. James the lilac bush was blooming.

The smell was intoxicating.

Reeds rustled along Head of the Harbor.

The vacation home had strong maples and straight Black Locust trees, which has the hardest wood next to hickory.  

Next to the two sisters was a large maple.

Next to the maple was a dogwood tree in bloom.

A maple leaf.

Dogwood blossoms.

There was also a Japanese maple.

Here is a red Japanese maple leaf.

A bumble bee is busy on Red Deadnettle (Lamium Purpureum).

Tiny Johnny Jump ups dotted the grass.

In violet and in white.

Greater Periwinkles (Vinca Major).  Periwinkle is my favorite color.

Decorative leaf of the tree below.

These two Adirondack chairs invite you to take a rest under the spreading branches of this tree before the trip to the city.

This is the MOMA Degas exbibit.  Here we are guys

and dolls.

Wow, here is Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh.

Oh oh, who's feeding Doby?

Look there's a Four Square house (my favorite style of houses) in Edvard Munch's painting!

I love the colors in this Klimt portrait.

Well, that's our walk through the MOMA. 

On to Central Park.

It's a beautiful day in the park.

Here we are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fountains, birds, people, and the steps.

We have entered the Egyptian exhibit.

People were actually laid inside of these.

This one looks very Roman.

Look at all the detail.

These are very large.

It is like walking back through antiquity.

Look at the simplicity of line.

Very fine metal jewelry.

Rings on her fingers, and rings on her toes.

Unbelievable.

The Met is closing.  It is time to go or it will be 'Night at the Museum'.

We'll walk through Central Park again.

Go over the bridge.

This is the eighteen acre lake in Central Park.

Now we are at the edge of the city.  We'll take the train home.  Hope you enjoyed the trip.

The Wildflowers of Maine and Longfellow's Garden

Come along on a virtual walk across the rocks by Cape Elizabeth Light also called Two Lights Lighthouse, located just south of Portland, Maine.  Then visit the garden at Longfellow's family home in the heart of downtown Portland. We'll wend our way south and pass The Bush compound, sitting on a little finger of land called Walker's Point in Kinnenunkport.  And finally, it will look as if we have stepped into Andrew Wyeth's Easterly paining as we catch a glimpse of the Nubble Lighthouse on Cape Neddick, Maine.  As we go, you will see wildflowers along the coast and garden flowers in Longfellow's garden.  Are you ready?

Cape Elizabeth Light or Two Lights Lighthouse has kept an eye on the ships at sea since Oct.1828.

It's a beautiful drive southeast from Portland Maine to Cape Elizabeth.  (See the "Oh my word don't crash the car" video on the FLORISTINYOU profile page on Instagram.)

The Cost Guard web site tells us Pres. John Quincy Adams appointed Elisha Jordan as the first 'keeper' of the lighthouse in 1828.  Wow.

Only the Eastern Tower of the two lighthouses at Cape Elizabeth is still active.

You can walk out and overlook the ocean.

Or climb all along the rocks on the eastern side.

You will see the windswept wildflowers growing above the rocks.

To your left it drops down to the bay under the Eastern Lighthouse tower.

A breeze  is blowing and it smells salty like the ocean.

Canadian geese are on their way south for the winter.

Lichen and ferns grow at the base of the rocks.

"Chicory" or Chichorium Intybus grows here too.

You have a good view from the ocean from here.

And of the Eastern Tower.

You will find the "Eastern daisy fleabane" (Erigeron annuus.) (Sounds like Lord of the Rings)

"Butter and Eggs" or "Yellow Toadflax." Careful, its agressive.

White stalks are bending in the breeze.

Winter is coming.

The thistle is hanging his head.

It is the end of Indian Summer.

You will also see the "Beach Rose" bushes. (Rosa Rugosa.)  (Sounds like Harry Potter.) 

The flowers have 5 petals notched at the ends.

These are Beach Rose rose hips.

You can see the leaves are the same as the Beach Rose leaves.

Old iron rings are anchored in rock blocks.

They are a reminder of the past.

Note the "gingerbread trim" along the roof line.  The flag waves in the breeze as we head back to Portland.

This is the family home of Henry Wadwsorth Longfellow.

It was built by his grandfather, General Peleg Wadsworth.

This home was designed in the neoclassic style and was the first all brick building built in Portland.  It was built in 1785-1786.  It sat on an acre and one half and included a large garden and fruit trees.  Henry's sister, Anne, gave the Wadsworth Longfellow home to the Maine Historical Society in 1901.  By 1924 the garden needed some attention and an architect was commissioned for that purpose.

The garden is a Colonial Revival garden, designed by Myron Lamb in the 1920's.

Many of the plants are the same as those in Myron Lamb's sketches.

A lavender viola peeks its head out of a planter.

This fire red Dahlia is a show stopper.

The garden had a hydrangea bush with enormous powder blue flowers.

Here is another lovely lavender bloom.

There were a lot of purples, lavender and blue flowers there.

Close-by at New England University, Portland campus, this angel hoovers over head.

She is suspended in the air, not far from the tombstones.  She is benevolent.  See her heart.

Her heart is the same color as these brilliant berries on a nearby tree.  Good-by Portland.  It is time to drive down the coast.

You see the same rocky coast in Kennebunkport.

This is the Bush family compound.  It is exquisite and juts out into the ocean.

Further south is the Nubble Lighthouse.

Built in 1879 to protect mariners from the "Savage Rock."

It does look like an Andrew Wyeth painting.  In fact, the Voyager spacecraft carries a picture of the Nubble Lighthouse on board.

By the way, Andrew Wyeth actually did live in the Tenants Harbor Lighthouse and had his studio inside the base of the bell tower.

Wildflowers of the Alpine Loop

Above Sundance, in the Utah mountains, the Alpine Loop is a scenic byway that is a wonderland of native wildflowers.  On a map it's shown as Route 92. It winds around the mountains in the Uinta National Forest, down past Timpanogos National Monument and Caves. The Alpine Loop has switchbacks through 27 miles, with the summit at an elevation of 8,000 feet.  

As you are going up Route 189, you can rent inner-tubes, and float down the Provo River.  Be prepared to paddle a lot with your arms.  It is cold and there are branches and rocks to avoid, so it is not for the faint of heart.  But we saw horses, and a wild turkey at the river edge, and ducks, and had a wild time.

The road is open between late May and late October.  There are campgrounds available along the Alpine Loop.  The Timpooneke Campground lies at 7, 400 feet amid fir, spruce and aspen trees, or 'Quakies' as my father called them.  The campground manager told us the other morning as she was walking through the site, she felt hot breath on her back and turned to find a moose behind her.  A stream runs through the camp and there is a nearby beaver pond.  It is cold at night.  Here is a good TRICK: Fill your nalgene bottle with boiling water and put it in the foot of your sleeping bag.  It will help keep you warmer until morning.

The Alpine Loop is laced with ferns and wildflowers.  Take a little drive and then walk among the wildflowers with us.  Are you ready?

Wow, it's like a really big dandelion. Western Salsify Tragopogon dubius.  

The forest is like an immense art museum.  The colors used by Alexander Calder in his hanging mobiles, Gerrit Rietveld in his designs, and Piet Mondrian in his paintings set the background to make this giant 'dandelion' look surreal.  See the 'do' of the pink thistle below.

The Utah Thistle Cirsium neomexicanum reminded me of Andy Warhol's hair.

As you climb in elevation you enter a forest of 'Quakies'.

The forest floor is blanketed in thousands of lacy ferns...

Like this Bracken Fern: Dennstaedtiaceae (fern)  Pteridiumaquilinum, variety: pubescens.

The aspen bark is a great study in black & white  contrasts.

Can you ID this?

This looks like Woolly Mullein:   Verbascumthapsus.

These tall curling brown stalks rise above the ferns.

This is Horse-Nettle, a member of mint family. 

The yellow flowers may be Saw Groundsel Senecio serra.

This looks like Whorled Buckwheat.

Sticky Geranium Geranium viscosissimum.

I was fascinated by the delicate magenta veins of the tiny sticky Geranium.

The Nootka Rose  dressed in fuschia, has 5 pink petals.

Here's a grouping of Sticky Geraniums.

This looks like Western Coneflower Rudbeckia occidentalis.

A tiny bug is enjoying this yellow beauty.

Cow Parsnip Heracleum lanatum, is like fireworks at night.

As we drove into Utah, we witnessed fireworks shooting up against the black sky all along the foothills of the mountains on the Wasatch Front.  There were thousand of explosions.  It seemed magical.  Then we realized it was the 24th of July, Pioneer Day,  the day the pioneers entered the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847 .

Here are lots of tiny white wildflower...

Getting ready to bloom on a stalk.

Showy Goldeneye Viguiera Multiflora dot the side of the trails in August.

Black Twinberrys are peeking out from behind their red 'fan' bracts. 

They look cute.  They'd make a great pair of ear-rings, but don't eat them, as they are toxic.

This ant was having a picnic on a trumpeted flower.

Richardson's Geranium  is like the Sticky Geranium, only white.

These pink & green spiky pods are curious.

Filfoil Yarrow Achillea millefolium is a petite fragrant wildflower.

Pacific Aster Aster ascendens peek out between grass blades.  Their petals look like lavender eye lashes.

This looks like landscaping grass you pay a lot of money for in LA.

Can you ID this lovely lavender wildflower?

The Quaking Aspen leaves always tremor in the breeze.

My favorite color...

Another blue wildflower.

And here we go...

Into the woods...

And through the trees.

And into a field of clover.

This white flower looks like Flaxflower Linanthastrum nuttallii.

The Red Baneberry plant and berry are poisonous.

Curley Gumweed Grindelia squarrosa.

Lichen spreads across on a bolder.

The Monkshood Aconitum columbianum top looks like the garb of a medieval monk.

Other names for Aconitum include: Queen of all Poisons, and Wolf's Bane.  It is thought that the poison derived from this plant was used on the tips of arrows to kill wolves.  The Greeks poisoned the tips of their arrows with Aconitum, and arrow tips poisoned with it have been used by different groups of native populations to kill ibex, bear, and whales.  The Roman poet Oped in his epic poem, Metamorphoses, tells that Wolf's Bane came from the mouths of Cerberus.  Cerberus, as Oped tells it, was the three headed guard dog whose work it was to guard the gates of Hell.  The myth tells that some of it's saliva fell on the ground, and from where it fell the poisonous plant Aconitum grew, that grows amid the rocks.  Maybe Cerberus was a cousin to Fluffy, the three headed dog in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, except legend tells that one of Cerberus' heads was that of a lion, another a wolf, and the last a dog's head.  Well I'm relieved I only took a picture of it, pretty as it is, and didn't touch it.

This is the view to the top.

The view to the left.

And to the right.

Country road.

As you can see, it had started to get dark by now.  We had foil dinners.  They were delicious and only a tiny bit burnt with corn on the cob steamed in the husks.  The girls slept by the creek, except one lucky one who found the car warm.  As I lay on the hard packed ground, regretting I hadn't patched my good sleeping pad, I was grateful for the warmth of the boiling water in the nalgene bottle.  I kept wishing I had put mending my good Camp 7 down bag on the to-do list, but it with its whirlwind of down were sitting in the garage in a plastic bag.  I wished I had a to-do list.  But breakfast was coming soon with eggs, pancakes, maple syrup and butter, bacon and a fire. Oh yeah, a big fire.

Take me home...

Well, we had packed our gear and had headed down the mountain.  First we headed up until the road turned into a dirt road, and then we headed down to the entrance of the Timpanogus Cave.

Sunflowers at the side of the road...

Waved goodbye.

After leaving the cave, the road was lined with sunflowers, waist high.  Their smiling faces were saying goodbye to us and hello to those they greet as they stand, guardians to the mouth of the canyon.

I will always remember the wonder of the Alpine Loop.

The Grotto Trail - Santa Monica Mountains

                                                                                   Photo Credits: Elizabeth Pruett

Are you in LA for the weekend and want "to boldly go where [you’ve never] gone before?"  Try hiking the Grotto Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains.  It winds through the hills above Malibu. The Circle X Ranch is the jumping off point.

The trail wends its way down to the West Fork of the Arroyo Sequit.  In the spring, there are lots of lavender wild flowers and butterflies.  Maybe they should have called it The Lavender Trail.  It has a Mediterranean ecosystem, and the landscape is dotted with coastal sage scrub, mixed chaparral, and as you get down to the Grotto, ferns.  Go early in the morning. The trail gets hot later in the day, and remember, it is a reverse hike.  You climb an elevation of 500 feet up from the bottom of the trail as you come back.  With the drought, there is little or no water in the Grotto now, but it’s still a beautiful hike.  We didn’t know, we didn’t make it to the end of the trail, as someone, rolled off the trail into a ‘briar patch’ of scrub brush. That’s what you get for ‘walking on the edge.’  So, don’t be like me, and walk on the inside edge of the trail.

Circle X Ranch is 5.4 miles up Yerba Buena Road from Malibu.  Yerba Buena comes into PCH, just west of where Neptune’s Nest Restaurant is on Pacific Coast Highway.  You can also come in from the valley by taking Kanan Road off the 101.  Look for the sign for Circle X Ranch.  The address is: 12896 Yerba Buena Road, Malibu.

P.S. Watch out  Itchy & Scratchy, there's Poison Oak there, so wear long pants and shirts. Remember the rhyme, "Leaves of three, let it be."

Well, pack some snacks, bring a water bottle and jump into your car.  Here we go.

Circle X Ranch sits below Exchange Peak.

Looking out to the left as you walk down from the ranch house ranger building.

 Monarch butterflies fly around the wildflowers.

Twin trees provide refreshing shade.

Oh! Could these be the Ents?  See their arms waving.  They may begin to walk.

Make a wish with the lovely lavender Wishbone Bush.

Here's a closer look.

See the bee gathering his pollen.

Lush grass and the trail wending its way over the hills.

The trail continues past the trees.

Grass covers a little rise.

The hill behind is peeking over.

A lichen covered crooked twig.

Sign to the Grotto Trail surrounded by lavender flowers and grass.

Looking back...

around the bend.

This is the trail heading home.

Look at this little guy taking in the sun.

The day can't be complete...

Without a trip...

To the beach.

Malibu at the end of the day.