Fresh Greens and Sunsets

Among the fresh greens cropping up trailside in Aliso & Woods is this one. Is it wild carrot, or poison hemlock?

Here's a look at the underside

Wild carrot is also called Queen Anne's lace and apparently she has hairy legs. It's hard to tell from this picture, but I'm leaning towards hemlock. What do you think?

As we head into January, shedding the old year, looking forward to the new, nature all around us is doing the same. Remnants of last year's caterpillar phacelia's flowers, now dry and brittle, stand a colorless backdrop to the fresh green leaves renewing the landscape. 

The glorious winter sunsets cast their warm color on the foothills exposing their crevices, painting the sky with a radiance that alights the soul.

Fall at Aliso & Woods

The beautiful fall colors could be seen in all their glory this week. The afternoon sun casting its brilliance on the amber leaves with the blue sky contrasting behind seemed a match made in heaven for the good of the soul. Another week or two and the leaves will have turned brown and the trees bare. 

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) AKA Christmas Berry

A lone coyote in the distance - it is common to see wildlife like this coyote as well as deer in Aliso & Woods.

A Great Blue Heron. They eat small animals, not just fish.