One day my cousin Glenna, her husband Duane, Ken and I went sea kayaking up the Elkhorn Slough. It was fun, but difficult since we were fighting either wind or the current most of the time. It was exciting to see seals, otters, pelicans, and other sea birds at such a close range. The otters would pop up near the kayaks (it is against the law to paddle near them, but if they came near us, it was a different story!). (photo by a bystander)
Bells Station, CA 9-28-03 This plant has pretty yellow flowers and wicked brown thorns. We had stopped at a pullout on the state highway east of Gilroy to eat breakfast on the road. I was so busy going through my wildflower books that I did not even notice that a CA Highway Patrol officer had stopped to ask my husband if everything was OK! He probably wondered what I was doing squatting along the side of the road with a wildflower book and a journal in my hands! Talk about "tunnel vision!" :) Yellow Star Thistle is toxic to horses and causes nigropallidal encephalomalacia or chewing disease. (story)
Montara, CA 9-28-03 I found that many of the plants in California are like the mountain men of old --- they are tough, hairy, and stinky! I was looking up this plant in my Peterson's West Coast Wildflower Guide, when I smelled the leaves. They had a very rank odor, so it didn't take long to identify it as Vinegar Weed. It is a member of the Mint Family. The lavender flowers are very pretty.
