I can’t believe I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life and, until yesterday, had never been to the Poppy Reserve. I suppose it’s like so many other things with me – generally if it’s a crowd-generating tourist-oriented activity, my tendency is to run, screaming, in the opposite direction. I have to admit that when we arrived, the crowd of cars waiting to get past the tollbooth gave me doubts. But it was clear to see the crowds were headed one way (the easy way!), and uphill, in the opposite direction, were several nearly-empty hiking trails. So off we went.

It turned out to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. It was like so many of my favorites all wrapped up into one: flowers, California, the desert, solitude, and the color orange.

Other things I’ve been doing lately:

  • Looking forward to another visit to Yosemite in June.
  • Working working working, putting my mad taxonomy skillz to use.
  • Dreaming of vacations, now that I actually have a decent vacation benefit. Three at the top of my list are Portland (August, I hope), Austin, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
  • Watching Heroes on Netflix. I consider it educational – it’s helping me brush up on my Japanese. Oh, and I might just have a little bit of a crush on Masi Oka. Maybe.

And things I *haven’t* been doing:

  • Making anything. No knitting, no sewing, no crocheting. Bupkis.
  • Reading very many blogs. At least not nearly as much as I used to. Having a real job seriously cuts into my web surfing time.
  • Buying shoes. Something about living in a teeny tiny space has really made me want to go as minimal as possible. I think the not-making-anything problem also is influenced by this – I don’t want stuff to have to deal with. Although I must admit that plans are in the works for another pair of Keen Calistogas, ideally in Rum Raisin or Flamingo. I’m being *selectively* minimalist!
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