Watsonville, California is often associated with lush farmlands off Hwy 1 on the Pacific Coast. Here one can see miles and miles of farms growing fruits and veggies off all sorts. Strawberries, raspberries, apples, lettuce, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, tomatoes, and much more. At its core Watsonville is an agricultural community. But what is often overlooked is that being so close to the ocean, Watsonville also has miles of beautiful beaches. One of these beaches was our destination on a gorgeous fall October morning when my friends Padmini, Rose and I went on a road trip to Pajaro Dunes in Watsonville. Continue reading Walk on the Beach at Pajaro Dunes in Watsonville, California
Category Archives: Wanderlust California
Friday Fall Leaves
I hope you had a good week and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Today I would love to share a few photos I took of fall color in my garden. It seems almost overnight that the leaves in my garden turned color this week. Turmeric yellow, red, orange and brown leaves abound and are piling up on the floor. As many leaves are falling and have already fallen, my trees still have plenty of leaves still waiting to drop. All the leaves won’t drop until early January! Yup, we get three solid months of falling leaves 🍂🍂🍁🍂🍁. Continue reading Friday Fall Leaves
Friday Foothills. Hiking the South Bay Trails Spring, Summer and Fall
Happy Friday!
I hope you are enjoying autumn with its changing weather and falling leaves. Here in the Bay Area we have had a roller coaster of fall weather lately, heat waves with temps in the 90s, then a cooling down to the low 50s and 40s, then back up to pleasant 70s and 80s. The weather has been unpredictable to say the least. Most mornings however our temperatures are always in the cool and pleasant 50s, perfect time to get out in nature and go on a hike, a walk or a jog. Today I would like to share some of the photos I took on a few hikes I’ve been on the last few months. Friday Foothills is what I call this series of pics. I hope you like them. Continue reading Friday Foothills. Hiking the South Bay Trails Spring, Summer and Fall
Friday Fruits
Gosh, we are so fortunate to be living here surrounded by beautiful nature, amazing weather, lush green farms, and a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables available all year round. And in Santa Clara Valley we are even more fortunate to have the most fertile land available that it is no wonder that this area used to be called The Valley of Hearts Delight, especially given that this area was covered in fruit orchards before it became Silicon Valley. The new Silicon Valley hasn’t gotten away from its roots though, for every home in our area seems to have some fruit tree or another. I should know! Almost everyone I know has fruit trees in their garden. Continue reading Friday Fruits
Summer’s End and Fall Planting in our Veggie Patch
Summer’s End
by Thaddeus from Farmfreshtoyou.com
It’s evening after the heat of summer afternoon, and I am walking down the dusty gravel road that curves along the canal through the farm.
Beyond the canal our first planting of heirloom tomatoes has been disasembled.
The vines once supported by stakes and string that tower over six feet tall now lie on their sides in awkward lumps.
In the fallen tomatoes, I see a coyote who already sees me. We look at each other, both wondering what the other will do until we both keep going about our evening activities mindful that the other is still there.
Soon this field will be chopped and planted over to cover the crop and these tomato vines will be remembered only on my spreadsheet that tracks history by fields. Continue reading Summer’s End and Fall Planting in our Veggie Patch
Friday Flowers
Happy Friday!
My twins started school this week, which means my schedule has freed up and is more predictable now. The twins are seniors this year, I can’t believe it! One more year and then they are off to college. But I’m not going to delve on that right now as it does make me a little sad, but rather I’d like to share with you some happy pictures of a recent nursery trip I made to my favorite nursery Half Moon Bay Nursery in Half Moon Bay, California. Continue reading Friday Flowers
Rowing at Lexington Reservoir with the Los Gatos Rowing Club in the Santa Cruz Mountains
I love driving to any destination that takes me towards Lexington Reservoir on Hwy 17 and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Even after all these years of driving this road, the scenery here never seizes to amaze me. On any given day the mountains are gorgeous with clear blue skies or with the gentle mist of the Pacific Ocean Fog, the scenery is always awe-inspiring. So you can imagine what a smile I must have had every morning at 8am when I had to take my daughter Rani to a rowing class right off Hwy 17 😊. Continue reading Rowing at Lexington Reservoir with the Los Gatos Rowing Club in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Picnic in the Vineyard at Clos LaChance Winery in Morgan Hill, California
The scene was set for a beautiful day in the vineyards. Gorgeous weather with temperatures in the pleasant 70s, sunny with a gentle breeze, a winery with great wine, and friends who were all free to go together for a picnic in the vineyard. This was my perfect afternoon at Clos LaChance Winery in Morgan Hill in the South Bay. Continue reading Picnic in the Vineyard at Clos LaChance Winery in Morgan Hill, California
April and May in the Garden
Happy Saturday!
We are having glorious weather this week with warm sunny daytime temperatures in the 70s and morning temperatures in the cool 50s! Just perfect for our gardens to thrive. However it hasn’t been so predictably pleasant around here this spring. Back in April we had a strange heat wave with temperatures in the 90s! The garden didn’t know what was going on especially my roses, which had beautiful buds ready to open slowly and elegantly, but instead they all just burst into bloom almost overnight. Then a week later we had May showers, lots of it. What this meant for the roses is that the blooms got thrashed and soaked. Between the heat and the rain I had a very short spring rose season this year. Though the roses didn’t fair so well, other plants in the garden thrived and put on a spectacular bloom show. Here is a look at how my garden faired in April and May of this year. Continue reading April and May in the Garden
Gamble Garden Spring Tour 2019. Enter the Garden
Last week I met a few friends to attend the annual Spring Tour at Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, California. Every year The Gamble Garden in Old Palo Alto hosts a Spring Tour where five neighborhood gardens are chosen to show their artistic landscape creativity. A group of us garden aficionados – friends from all over the Bay Area meet each year to attend this event. This is the fourth year we got together to be part of this annual fundraiser where all proceeds from sales of tickets go towards the maintenance of the Gamble Garden. Continue reading Gamble Garden Spring Tour 2019. Enter the Garden
