Thanks for your comments on my short post yesterday. I hoped someone would be able to help. I'm sure if there is a way, Annette will figure it out. I take this very seriously because being able to comment is how you make friends and that's what makes blogging so much fun for me.
Last week, hubby and I drove over to Stallion Springs and had a picnic lunch in a nice park. I made up three posts from that trip. I hope you will enjoy the very different landscape of that part of our mountains.
Last Thursday, we decided to drive to Stallion Springs, a community just west of town, with a well-known golf course and a lovely park with a small lake/or large pond. We picked up some tacos for a picnic lunch and set out.
As soon as you get to town, nature changes from desert mountains to a lush, green landscape with oaks, elms and other large trees. The fields in town were full of poppies, but I didn't see many after we drove further west. Nature changes so fast here, it is amazing.
A deserted old ranch, using ancient cop cars to advertise that it belongs to Boss Hog, whoever he was. Probably not the real one if there was such a man. The real Jack Palance had a ranch out here though, a lovely place that he treasured.
Beautiful horses were running around behind these fences, but hubby had another car close behind, so he couldn't stop or slow down. There are many horse ranches west of town, and they had great fences and entrance gates. TexWisGirl, I must go here alone some time and photograph them so you can see.
There is agriculture here, with both organic farms and those that are not. We saw farm workers in the fields, planting. All had their faces covered, some even with masks that looked like those you put on horses to protect them from flies. Hard work, for sure.
Fortunately, you can hire some of these guys to do your work for you. This time of year, our community borrows sheep from ranches down in the San Joaquin Valley. To help protect us from grass fires, all a sheep has to do is eat. In the spring they are all over the area, then they go back home and we're left with cattle and horses until next spring. 
There are a couple of vineyards here too that have thrived in recent years. I suggested to hubby that we should go on a wine tasting tour some day soon. He could taste and I could drive, since I can only drink beer these days.
A slightly different view of the valley.
Then we arrive at the covered bridge with the park on the other side.
What a nice change for us to see green grass, lush trees, and water.
