Wandering Wednesday -

 

We had a surprise holiday on Monday, as my DH had forgotten he had President's Day off from work. New company, new rules I guess? I was feeling somewhat up for a hike so we tried a nearby place that looked fairly easy, Glenwood Open Space Preserve. It was a really gorgeous day, and the trail wasn't too messed up from the recent deluge. Some of the other parks have closed trails that got wrecked. But Scotts Valley didn't get quite as much rain, and the soil is very sandy, so it reacts very differently.

I was quite taken by the giant stalks of dried Fuller's Teasel, they make such an amazing noise.

The flower heads were used to card wool back before carding combs, that's how tough they are.

Except for the Teasel, I didn't spot any plants that were new to me, just old familiars like this Pacific Hound's Tongue, which we have a lot of on our own street. Such a cheery flower, and that vibrant blue-purple is always a welcome sight.

At the very end of the trail was what looked like an old water catchment, it had a concrete base and some old pipes. Who knows why it's still there? 

It was a 2.5 mile hike, mostly exposed, so not a good hot summer day hike for me, we'll be back to check out some of the other trails available here.