Pictures of the Indian Valley hike taken by Theresa Fisher and Dick Jordan are now on-line.
and Monday, Tuesday was just, Spring, Spring, Glorious Spring! And on our inaugural Spring College of Marin hike there not a cloud in the sky and only a few wisps of a breeze now and again.
Pacheco Ranch pond. We paused along the shore of this liliputian lake for a history lesson from Wendy about the family that sold part of its lands for the college campus. Then we veered off to the right and began ascending thorough a mixed forest of Bay, Oak and Madrone on the Waterfall Trail which loops uphill for another half mile or less, then drops back down to the Indian Valley Fire Road. Wildflowers were abundant along the trail, butterflies flitted by us, and vireos chattered away, unseen, in the tree tops.
y corner during Fall and Winter, were not to be seen. And unless we get April showers, the green, green hills of Marin will soon be fading into the yellow and brown tones of Summer.
and plopped down for lunch. A Red Breasted Sapsucker flew across the meadow and landed in a nearby tree for his mid-day meal of tasty bugs.
Ranch Trail. Along the way we had views eastward to San Francisco Bay and the hills beyond. Indian Warriors thronged under the madrone trees lining this section of the trail.
about heading home afterward to scarf up some home-made Limoncello (lemon-flavored sorbet). It's easy to make (click here for the recipe) if you have an ice cream maker (Dick uses a Ice Cream Bowl attachment that fits on his KitchenAid mixer).
The "Meandering in Marin on Tuesdays" blog was "born" with our hike in the Open Space lands surround Indian Valley College on March 25, 2008. 
The Marin Agricultural Land Trust's 12th Annual Ranches & Rolling Hills Landscape Art Show & Sale will take place at Druid's Hall in Nicasio on May 16th and 17th. (Click here for details on the show). You can preview some of the upcoming show's paintings at MALT's Facebook album.
Although Dick missed this hike, he offers this "interpretation" of the outing based information from Theresa Fisher and her hike pictures (which can be seen on the blog, or by clicking here to access the on-line photo album).
plummeting piscatorian snack out of mid-air and flew off with the Osprey in hot, vainless pursuit. (Although the I-J reported in December that a Bald Eagle was seen at Bon Tempe, it apparently did not make an encore appearance for this year's "Final Exam" hike).
The recent damp weather meant that Wendy was still able to round up Rough-Skinned and California Newts for
another "photo op" before the green hillside of Spring change to their Summer brown "clothes" and these litter critters no longer will come out to say "Howdy" when we hike in the Mt. Tam watershed.
the "Final Exam" feast, the photos show that it was another ample and tasty repast. Silvia is now on "Doggy Duty" again and wasn't able to go along on the hike, but came for lunch with her new puppy "Hettie". Jean wasn't able to make the walk either, but joined the group for the meal. (Wendy kindly brought Dick some of the dessert treats which he pronounced quite yummy).
We usually see a variety of native and exotic plants during our "Meandering in Marin" hikes. For more "plant meandering" outings in the county, check out the field trips (March 22nd through April 21) offered by the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. If you want to go on an "armchair plant hunt" using your computer, click here to see reports of plants recently spotted blooming in Marin.
Here's Wendy's outline for the hike: "Two loops combine to make an interesting hike. Last year we saw the first sky lupine, California pipevine and mist maiden as well as some late mushrooms. "
The other day, Dick posted an item on the blog about using GPS functions on cell phones while you're out hiking. On Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article about a portable birding guide for iPhone users. Called "IBird", it has images of birds, range maps, and audio recordings of bird songs and calls, and comes in an "Explorer Backyard" version (145 birds; $4.99) or a beefed-up "Explorer Plus" version (891 birds; $19.99). There are separate geographical versions ("North", "South", "Western", "Midwestern", and "Canada") for $9.99/each. (Wendy mentioned that she had been out hiking with someone who was able to play bird calls on his iPhone --- this was probably the application he used).
he posted speed limit on your way to a "Meandering" hike. But it has aimed a camera at an eagle nest along Highway 44 near Redding. According to San Francisco Chronicle outdoor writer, Tom Stienstra, the Bald Eagle pair on the nest have produced three eggs and that the little eaglets are expected to begin to hatch by this weekend. (Click here to access the "Eagle Cam").
During last week's hike in Blithedale Canyon, Theresa Fisher carried a little GPS gizmo and produced some neat mapping images of the hike. Those of us who carry cell phones on our "meanders" in Marin might be thinking "Hey, doesn't my phone have GPS built into it?".
Last June, Dick traveled around Southeast Alaska for two weeks. One of his stops was at Petersburg where he and his wife explored nearby LeConte Bay and Glacier with local marine biologist Barry Bracken.
Aubudon Canyon Ranch where we hiked on February 24th (click here for a recap of that outing), opens to the public for the season this coming Saturday, March 14th. The San Francisco Chronicle's Tom Stienstra writes about the bird preserve in his weekly "Outdoors Getaway" article in the Thursday, March 12th edition of the paper.
(Dick was down and out with a bout of bronchitis and missed the March 10th hike, but Theresa came through with the following write-up and several photos).
open area after about 15 minutes allowing the sun's rays to hit us. Some of us began to unzip jackets and push up sleeves. but they were still needed.
If you didn't turn to the back of the San Francisco Chronicle "Sporting Green" section on Thursday, March 5th, you missed Tom Stienstra's article "Go With The Flow" about hiking to the lakes in the Mount Tam watershed. When we hiked from Alpine Lake to Bon Tempe on December
16th, water levels in Alpine were still quite low, but a photo accompanying Stienstra's article shows water now rushing over the spillway. (Click here for information on MMWD reservoir levels as of March 1st).
We've previously suggested that if you aren't getting in enough hiking and nature "education" on our Tuesday "Meanders", you could go on an outing with the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, do a hike on Angel Island, or join the Marin County Open Space and Parks Department for a trek in Marin. (Of course, don't forget to sign up for the Spring "Meandering in Marin" hikes offered through the College of Marin if you haven't done so yet).
If you weren't on our February 24th Audubon Canyon hike, you missed Silvia's cleverly crafted song to fete Wendy on her recent birthday. If you were along, you might want to adapt this twist on "Hi Lili, Hi Lo" into a natal day tune for a friend or family member. Click here to view and print the lyrics from Silvia's version of this movie classic. (A little "tilted" to one side after riding around in Dick's day pack during our Phoenix Lake hike before he scanned it into his computer for uploading).
A quick look out the window at the rain pouring down from the sky Tuesday morning suggested that crawling back into bed rather than into our hiking duds would be the sensible thing to do. But by 9 am the sun was shining in most of Marin, luring ten of us out the door to meet up with Wendy at Deer Park.
except for a few errant drops of rain at the end of our lunch break and a few minutes of earnest showers during the ensuing thirty minutes, we once again had winter hiking weather karma and finished our outing an hour or so before thunderstorms replete with 
cannonades of thunder and hail hit Marin in mid-afternoon. (Click here if you're wondering about the effect of the last three weeks of rain on MMWD reservoir levels).
meadows. Buckeyes were leafing out. Water rushed down the many streams we crossed. (Click here for Wendy's list of flora and fauna spotted on this hike).
Lake. We were mostly "out of the woods" here and wind gusting up the south-facing slopes blew chill at times. We could see south towards Mount Tam and back west toward White's Hill, but low clouds blocked our view of those peaks.
side of the lake in greeting. The pale green hills reflected in the khaki-colored water as we sat down along the shore for our mid-day repast. Behind us the dark rustic home of the groundskeeper or foreman of the old Porteous Ranch looked over our shoulders toward the lake. A Black Phoebe flitted 
about trying to pick a lunch tasty insects out of thin air.
uphill in brief rain shower, water made its way downhill in the creek next to the road. Here and there was evidence of work being down to reduce the erosion of the hillsides.
the somewhat easier, wider path down the fire road, but the promise of spotting Baby Blue Eyes prompted us to descend on the narrow, and occasionally rocky, Junction Trail. Within a couple of minutes we saw the lovely little blue and white flower right next to the trail.
