August walk to Oak Grove

I promised some photos of my place. So, we are going for a walk-a-bout.
As many of you know, DH and I live on the farm his family homesteaded in the early 1900's.
When DH inherited the place, he was trying to find some way for the property to pay it's own taxes. It had to be something he could work around the Beekeeping Business he was in with his Dad.
After trying dry farming oat hay in the late '80's, we decided to grow Monterrey Pine trees for the choose and cut market. I started the pumpkin patch at first for therapy, but then because I was bored, I expanded to doing field trips for kids.
I am no longer able to grow the pumpkins on site, but we still have people expecting them, so we buy from local farmers.
But this is still our private time at the farm. I usually bring a stick and a squirt gun with me on my walks. I guess I need Batman's utility belt. LOL!
Most people think it's too hot out here this time of the year. They are right. It gets hot. You won't see much around that is still green, unless it's getting water. The big oaks are going into drought mode. The sage and the buckwheat are too. This is an extremely dry year. I noticed that the Native walnut is dropping it's nuts a month early this year. I don't expect very many acorns either.
I took this walk in the yesterday evening.
Photo of my intrepid companion, Spirit, who has to scratch before he can join me for our walk.

We are going to take this dirt road, across the seasonally dry creek bed.
You can see mostly dry fields to the center and the left and a new couple of sections of Pines that DH planted in the last year or two, on your far right. The low growing grayish green plant is what DH calls Dove weed. Don't know why, but the doves do seem to like it.
In the far distance you can see the hills that separate us from the City of Murrieta.
The small hill is covered with native brush. A lot of wild things live on that hill. I am headed south right now if it helps some of you.

Spirit likes to race ahead and wait for me in the shade. He's telling me to hurry up. Still in the creek. LOL!

The pines, and dove weed are right in front of us. I don't know what the plant to left is. My guess is that it's a survivor. LOL! Spirit is telling me to hurry up!

My hip is hurting, so Spirit is coming back to check on me.

We are walking parallel to the creek which is now taking us in a south westerly direction. That little white speck in the middle is Spirit. He knows I don't have much trouble on relatively flat ground, so he raced ahead. Now he is waiting. : )
We are headed towards that mass of green in the distance.

Walking past the farm pond. Although these days, we're filling it with water for the wild ones. It keeps them away from my house and my pets!
Since there has been a lot of new housing development (before the market died), a lot of birds and other animals had to find new places to live. We have red winged blackbirds, and sometimes we get migrating ducks. We get way too many egrets and an occasional Heron. Hawks, live here too. This year we found a pair of burrowing owls in our near vicinity. More on another thread about that.
We have a lot of coyotes, fox, and I've seen a cougar here on a couple of occasions. We have 'possums, and raccoons, pack rats, and all kinds of other beasties.
We've tried to intrude as little as possible and increase the habitat.
Those are tule reeds and wild tobacco brush. The water is hard to see from this side of the creek. That's to protect the wild ones from the two footeds.
LOL!

Further down I see an ant hill in the road.

Doing the red ant Quick step, I stop for a quick look and photo.

Looking back at the farm pond.

Bird and bunny tracks on the dusty road.

Bird (type unknown), perched near top of Native Walnut tree.

Two birds in a native walnut tree.

A photo of more of the native walnut. Notice the water faucet there. Good place for a drink of dry water! LOL!
Usually keep a container with water there, but don't want stagnant water there this year.

Close up of the native walnut so you can see the walnuts are already going yellow on the tree.

View of Grandmother Oak ahead, and pine trees on the left. That empty triangle is often used for parking for private parties or overflow parking on those ocassions when we host bigger events.

My dog Peanut joins us, by crossing the footbridge that crosses the creek near the native walnut. The Scouts built it as one of their projects.
Also a good place for me to take a short break before continuing on our walk.

Now that we've had a little break we'll continue on our walk. Peanut has to stop and scratch. Spirit is waiting under the shade of Grandmother Oak who is ahead and on the left.

Photo of the pines as I walk by.

Getting closer to Grandmother Oak.

Getting closer, almost there. Gma Oak is that big green tree in the center of this photo.

Bunnies must have been having a party here. One SW print too! LOL!

The natural opening to get under Gma Oak's canopy. I was getting pretty hot. We have a drinking fountain at this entrance. It has a tendency to geyser! LOL!
Am very glad to have dry water to drink.

Usually you can't see the sky from under here, but this year, this tree didn't make many new leaves, and some of the older ones are dropping off. Here we finally are at the very entrance to Gma Oak.

This was a favorite stop for kids on a fieldtrip. They used to call her the tree house sometimes, because she so captured their imaginations. We try to limit visitation, because she does get tired.
Seriously, since the crazy person with the axe hacked away at her a few years ago, we are just as happy not to be open year round.
This is where you enter G.ma Oaks embrace.

Entrance faces north, and I am proceeding in a clockwise direction around the trunk.

When my kids outgrew this airplane teeter totter, it ended up inside the G.ma Oak to entertain the toddlers, we have a couple of swings too. Am going to try to talk DH into making the one that looks like the horse.

There's an old fashioned tire swing. We have logs and bring in bales of straw for grown ups to rest on while their kids play.
No one is allowed to climb the tree.
I used to have a construction safety net that the kids were allowed to climb on, but I had to take it down when it deteriorated. Would love to find another one. It was like being in the worlds biggest hammock. Loved watching all the different birds in the canopy.

Two headed dog tree! LOL!
This is a heart that has been repeatedly carved in the tree. To me this oak tree is the heart of our farm. I don't know for sure when it was originally carved, but it will eventually scar over.
Next to it you used to be able to read the letters SOS that someone carved in it. You can no longer read them, but it's only taken 30 years for them to heal over.
Something to think about.

Dappled sunlight as I look back the way I just came from.

The lower portion under the canopy, while looking from the original entry point.
DH and I figure that occassionally it floods as high as this tree in this location.

Between Gma Oak, there is a dirt road, and a picnic area, complete with water, a smoker type BBQ, several picnic tables (we did a lot of field trips for kids!), a fire ring, and up by G.ma Oak we even have power out lets. Right now, it needs to be mowed, and we should check over the tables to make sure no one has carved their initials in them. We also have covered trash containers.
Just past the picnic tables is the Root oak and then our portion of dried up Sweetwater Creek. The Root Oak is to the right of this photo.

I like the Root Oak because she has some exposed roots, and she collects water in the center of her trunk where it branches out. One of my favorite places on the farm.

More picnic tables.

The road circles Gma Oak and splits off into a couple of lanes. You can see some young oak trees in amongst the pines. We won't replant pines where the Oaks grow.

Some of those oaks have gotten pretty tall in the last few years. I guess the water really helped. LOL! Prolly getting rid of the Nubian goats helped more.

Fire ring in picnic area.

View toward the north of the picnic area.

Another view, with the Root Oak on the left, and G.Ma Oak on the right. Again looking north.

Another side of Gma Oak.