Nature At Mary's Place

When Mary went away for a weekend a while ago, the guy who boards his horses there offered to feed her dogs, so I said I would come and play with the dogs and take care of Kitty, the cat. 

Mary lives on top of a steep hill and has a gorgeous view of the canyon from her house. I forgot my camera on Saturday, but I brought it on Sunday. And left it in the Jeep!  

I saw it as I drove away, and decided to just take some nature pictures.  Mary lives deeper in the canyon and a bit higher and nature there is completely different from where I live. Her hillsides are very steep and covered in scrub oak, with some pines mixed in.

As I climbed up on a rocky slope to take some pictures of the canyon spread out below, I saw these round balls attached to a scrub oak. I was happy to know that they occur after wasps lay their eggs on a tree branch, but annoyed with myself, again, because I didn't remember the details, ack old age......

I found an amazing number and variety of galls on Google Images. These resemble those on Mary's trees.

There are many answers on Google, as these growths, called galls, are more common than I realized. They occur on many different types of trees and are caused by various insects from wasps to mites. They are a reaction from the tree's hormones to the eggs laid on its branches. I'm quoting here: "The galls have a long and complex development that takes two or more years. The inhabitants gain their nutrients from the inner gall tissue. The adults emerge in the spring." I wondered how they get out of there and found a couple of answers, including that the gall falls and breaks, but nothing to completely satisfy my curiousity. 

I also came away from that rocky hillside with this picture of Sugarloaf mountain.

Mary boards two horses and I couldn't leave without saying hello to them.

Neither was thrilled to see me.

Driving down the final hill, I had to stop and take a picture of these rocks that I've never noticed before. In every picture you see here, where the hillside is cleared of weeds, that's Mary's doing. She has worked so hard and done such an amazing job this summer. She really deserved to get away for a few days to relax while visiting a good friend. 

After I leave Mary's house, I drive for a while on a rather long road that leads to all these mailboxes by the main road through the canyon. I took my header picture one day while I waited for Mary there. I'm so glad you like it. 

Finally, to answer a question or two, the road from my house to the main road is short, which is good because the way these dirt roads get in the winter, the less you have to drive on them the better. I only have one neighbor and I can't see her house from mine. Oh, and these guys are my neighbors too:

Samson and Faith Say:

Have a great new week everyone!