Friday, April 9, 2010

wild california ~ the carrizo plain


"Welcome to the Carrizo Plain National Monument; a powerful yet peaceful landscape of sky and earth in a pattern seen nowhere else. As you explore this living museum, remember the closer you look, the more you see."
Goodwin Education Center
California Valley, California





a friend of mine called and said "hey flower child, how was it?"
(for anyone new here we have been following the wildflower bloom here in California),
i could only say one word to her,

E P I C

i hope these pictures say more...









































































we were giddy, the flowers in the Carrizo were impossibly pretty, there were carpets of them everywhere. we gasped, we sighed, we were without words. we drove and drove and looked and looked before taking out our cameras.

my husband said it was like we were drunk on the sight and scent of wildflowers. we sat in a lake of Phacelia (the purple one), we layed on our stomachs in meadows of Owl's clover (the pink one), we mostly looked in quiet reverence.


that's when the critters start appearing too, meadowlarks, and larksparrows, kangaroo rats and the san joaquin antelope ground squirrel (such a big name for a tiny little guy, they are pictured above). we saw pronghorn antelope and raptors. those were too far away for any photos, the deer pictured were out side of the monument.



there were many discoveries that we couldn't identify. we'll look them up later. in the meantime, i'm ending with my favorite flower (i began this post with it too), that i've called
Wachiwi, which is Sioux for "dancer" or "dancing girl." i wonder what the Native Americans, the Chumash, the Yokuts and others that used to inhabit this area would have called it. maybe smilingwavingfriendlylookstowardsthesundancinggirl.


But i always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.
~Vincent Van Gogh


thank you for coming along.

♥ lori




52 comments:

  1. I can smell them... and I know God.
    This was so beautiful, so peaceful and so "you"

    Thank you!

    PS: I'm thinking of investing in a new camera, which one do you use, which would you recommend?

    Hugs,
    Lola xx

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  2. thank you my friend. i know you you do ♥
    i took most of these with my film camera a Canon EOS-IN, with a 200-400mm lens. some were shot with a digital Leica D-Lux 2. i'm hoping to get a Canon SLR before too long!
    love, lori

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  3. EPIC - what a perfect description Lori. Unfathomable. Breathtaking. Glorious. It's been a treat. Thanks for letting us tag along.
    Lyn

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  4. Oh My! What spectacular sights! Thank you Lori; we are all in AWE!

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  5. jeez i miss you when your blog is quiet. regarding you and the fluffy weiners, be my guest. you make me laugh out loud everytime.

    i will come back to read this post and ooooh and awwwh at the wildflowers when i can linger. meanwhile: ♥

    love love
    kj

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  6. Be still my heart. More, Lori, more! I can never get enough of wildflowers, especially when they are so beautifully photographed. The angles, the colors, the compositions, oh my. I can feel the sunshine, and oh how warm it is. How I envy you and Chuck, bloom chasers. I heard the poppies are in peak over in Antelope Valley next weekend....

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  7. Good morning Lori :)

    Wow Wow Wow!!!
    I've got goose bumps... this post is absolutely beautiful. What a magical land. I've never seen anything like what you have shown here.
    I want to roll about in the flowers and I'm gald that you and Chuck did, so you could share it with us.
    It's amazing.

    I have a couple of Canon SLRs, that I don't use anymore as I find it too expensive to get the films developed (these days I share a digital)... anyway what I'm trying to say here is that no matter what the camera it is the eye of the holder that creates the shot.

    It's you Lori that creates these awesome images and your camera is merely a tool like a paint brush.
    No doubt there are differences in the qualitiy of the tools, but it's you who creates these amazing images.

    Thank you for sharing your view of your world.
    It's always beautiful. xxx

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  8. This post was really breathtaking , Lori! I just stopped, looked quietly with amazed eyes because each photograph is surprising in colors, shapes, beauty, magic and inspiration. Thank you so much for this, my soul was charged with so many emotions!!
    Love to you,

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  9. They look like Cosmos. Heavenly, as the name suggests. xx♥

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  10. thank you for this beautiful feast
    xx
    julie

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  11. How beautiful! I made the very first one my desktop picture--let me know if tha'''s not okay.

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  12. Lyn, I'm really glad you enjoyed, it is my pleasure! I really appreciate your kindwords.

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    Rosaria, thank you. It is an aweinspiring sight indeed!

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    kj, haha, i laughed too. that photo makes me everytime. thank you for being so nice to me, i'm glad you liked my photos too. even if there are no fluffy weiner ones.

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    Bella, thank you dear friend! I am most appreciative of your words. We've yet to go to Antelope Valley, but i think we'll have to sometime, it's the crowds we like to avoid.

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    Robyn,
    thank you
    thank you
    thank you


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    Mina, that's just how i feel too, emotional. It is a spiritual place, full of so much natural beauty, i thank you for your always kind words.

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    Natalie,
    cosmos are one of my favorite flowers i plant every year here at home. But i like wildflowers best.

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    Julie,
    thank you kindly, I very much appreciate your generous comment.

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    Snowbrush,
    Thank you for the best compliment there is. I am honored that you liked a photo I took. Thank you for letting me know. I appreciate it (and you made my day.)

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  13. absolutely fabulous!!
    beeeeeeeee uuuu ti-ful

    You need to get yourselves over here for September to enjoy our show!!!!!

    xxxx

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  14. Beautiful beautiful pictures! WOW

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  15. Lori, that was a most fabulous experience for me looking at these wonderful sights - its made my day. I also feel drunk on the sensation of it all and I am only looking at the pics. It must be too marvellous for words. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. " I am honored that you liked a photo I took."

    I actually liked several, and tried out three before I decided on the first one I tried. It's the kind of place I love to be. I'm up in Eugene, and it's not like that here, but the treeless places aren't too far east.

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  17. Amazing pictures - just wonderful to see.

    I am also contemplating a new camera, want a small SLR and am thinking of a Canon. I hope my pictures come out half as beautiful as yours!!

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  18. EPIC - Enormous Panoramic I(eye)bursting Colourfest!!!

    wow wow wow

    Thank you xxx

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  19. Awesome Awesome Awesome! ♥ What a pleasure to come to your blog!!!
    :)))))) Thank you for sharing all those pieces of art with us!

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  20. my dearest lori, no weiner photos? ha! i beg to differ. what about that landscape shot with the purple-blue flowers in the foreground and that straight-up thingy at the horizen? how could you try to pretend i am the only one with mild pornography (or anatomy maybe) on my blog?!! :) :)

    lori, i have to say these wildflowers are orgasmic. oh dear, but really, i mean it. i can only imagine what it feels like to see such an expanse. i am not religious in any traditional sense, but it strikes me that god or the goddess had to create such beauty.

    you and your blog have moved into its own place in my senses and heart. there is no rent and i am willing to cook for you and chuck and owen and hannah sometimes.

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  21. Janet,
    i've planted the "seed" in Chuck. now i'm crossing fingers!

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    Miranda,
    thanks!

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    Pam,
    thank you, i really appreciate your comment, it is hard for me to find the right words to describe it. the sight, the smell, the colors~amazing!

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    Snowbrush,
    thanks, i hope you can get to those treeless places someday soon.

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    Mim,
    thank you. The small point and shoots are so amazing now, i think you can get wonderful photos with them, and i love Canon.

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    Val! how clever! yes it was all those things. wish you could see it.

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    hbfg,
    thanks so much, that's what we were saying, the flowers were each a mini masterpiece.

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    kj,
    that straight up purple thingy is my husband. heehee. he thought he looked like a worm in that photo. now i've heard everything!!
    being there really could make you religious.
    your comment makes me smile. thank you.

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    Kavita,
    I KNOW! love that place.

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  22. that's chuck? ah aha hahahahahha!
    (clears throat) ahahahhhhahahha!

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  23. Oh, Lori, that is magnificent! There's no greater artist to me than nature! Those colors - how can they be so perfect?!? I am awed and refreshed! Thank you, sweet friend!! Love, Silke

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  24. Oh Lori..wonderful..beautiful...what stunning photographs....

    we want to make it out but we are waiting for Teddy so we can all go and bring a picnic....

    did it smell like bubble gum..i always think the lupine do...

    sending love to you

    kary
    xxx

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  25. yes kj. :) silly. :)

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    Silke, i am amazed too, isn't it inspirational? you really can't improve on mother nature! thank you for your always lovely comment.

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    Kary,
    i think your right! it's the sweetest smell there is, all the scents, they really can't be captured in a bottle. You'll have so much fun with Teddy on a picnic, it sounds perfect!

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    Tina,
    you must have a great show where you are too? i'd love to see.

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  26. Amazing beauty there. Wow. And to think I've driven past that area just west of it on 101 taking my son to UCSB for spring quarter. Now you've put that place on my map. Thank you. Another wonder (hidden) of California.

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  27. Hi Dan,
    if you'd like you can read more about the Carrizo Plain here:
    http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bakersfield/Programs/carrizo.html

    We are about 20 minutes south of UCSB, it's a small world isn't it?

    I hope you get a chance to visit.

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  28. Oh my goodness how beautiful are all these places you get to see? Hand sewing you say? Show please do! I've got a machine that's making dust bunnies at the moment that when I'm all set up in the new abode should hopefully get a work out. Thanks for being one of those inspiring people that I'm trying to blog about :) xxx

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  29. Hello Lori

    these are EPIC
    a perfectly exuberant word for the stunning array of flowers and talent in the photography.

    I wonder what the word Carrizo means ...do you know...sounds like Italian sausage but I am sure it must means something pretty after viewing your wildflowers...

    To lie in a sea of wildflowers...how lovely...

    Happy days

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  30. Alexandra,
    i will, and i'm looking forward to your posts of sewn goodness too. i was so inspired by the video you showed...so amazing.
    thank you for such a kind thing to say.

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    Delwyn,
    thank you so much, what a lovely thing to say. Carrizo is spanish for grass. The Carrizo Plain is the largest single native grassland remaining in California.
    and the grass is so beautiful too. ( i included two photos!).

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  31. Frablous! (My fav word since seeing 'Alice'). Wonderful post and wonderful shots.
    I have a canon 400D SLR and am very pleased with it, if that helps.

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  32. Hi Lori..glad you got to see Teddy

    thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave the kind words

    always good to see you, my friend

    kary
    xxx
    p.s. besides la superica on miltpas..what mexican food restaurants do you like..we want to stop on our way to get Teddy
    :- )

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  33. All I can say is wow!
    Such an eye, such talent!
    Wish I found your blog alot earlier!
    You go Girl!
    Caroline

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  34. Cute picture

    I love summer flowers because I know that means the sun is out..

    My favourite is daisies, how little and white they are... loves.

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  35. So beautiful! And I love the Van Gogh quote!

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  36. How can EPIC seem like a bit of an understatement? Seriously Lori, these images are beautiful. Totally breathtaking!
    Such light and joy. Thanks for posting.
    xx

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  37. "But i always think that the best way to know God is to love many things."

    If this is true, then you must be an angel. Your love for nature and photography and animals and people resonates from your posts and bounces across the blogosphere.

    I love it.

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  38. Wow! Absolutely stunning! I just love your pictures and the wide open spaces of the Carrizo plain are just beckoning to me. Was there other wildflower hunters there, too? Or did you have it all to yourselves?

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  39. America is so incredibly beautiful! Gorgeous photos. This would be a remarkable show. Wow.

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  40. Hi dear,

    Thanks so much for visiting. Kary told me that you're coming up, but I won't be here!! I will be working in Chicago that weekend. The weekend before I am working in Boston, then driving up to Maine to open our little cottage. We will be there for four blissful days and finally get a chance to use our new stone fireplace (and we'll need it). Then on to work in Chicago. So we will miss you, darn it.

    I am trying to make it to Carrizo Plains this week before we leave for my talk in Napa. Hope this rain left some flowers standing and others still coming on.

    Keep in touch!! I love journeying with you guys.

    Love,

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  41. Those pictures are just fantastic. They are probably more beautiful than the flowers in real life. You are a great photographer.

    Come visit me.
    http://ivyandhaley.blogspot.com

    Ivy

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  42. Oh, when I saw your photos I was overwhelmed!
    It is such a treat to see what your eye captures! So beautiful! It's so amazing to be able to feel like I've traveled to these incredible places without leaving home. Many thanks...

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  43. Katherine,
    thank you for the information, i really appreciate it. I have my heart set on Canon's 5D but it's a little out of my price range at the moment.

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    Diane,
    THANK YOU!

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    Kary,

    Los Arroyos in Montecito is GOOD.it's on coast village road. theres' also Rose's cafe on the Mesa or Hayley (in santa barbara).
    so exciting, the time is almost here!

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    Caroline,
    many thanks! it's my pleasure, i'm so glad you've enjoyed.

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    Sammi,
    i love daisies too, there are so many varities here. these are spring flowers right now, by summer they will be long gone.

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    Diana, thank you!

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    Felix,

    thank you very much, wow what a kind comment! I am so glad you enjoyed. thank you.

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    ah Tracy,
    thank you dear. that is really really kind of you. seriously.

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    Aden,
    there were others, not many. i wonder if because its on the san andreas fault. we were always alone though, it's a big place. thank you.

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    Jennifer,
    that is what Chuck and i were saying we want to do a cross country trip, spend some time in the US. thank you so much.

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    Sharon,

    it all sounds lovely. Your trip/work/maine home. we'll meet another time i'm sure, we're not that far apart!
    Have a wonderful time!

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    Ivy,
    thank you very much.

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    Nan, your so welcome,it is my pleasure, i know just how you feel, I love to visit and learn about new places too. Thank you for your comment!

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  44. Can i be your sixth child? seriously! I love where you hang out and all that. Love dogs and kids. It's all good.... I'd be the quiet number 6!!

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  45. Super pictures. How can one resist making a song when passing through such beauty.

    Wonderful.

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  46. Lori, thank YOU for sharing.
    It is absolutely stunning & breathtaking. I would be speechless too and would be rolling here and there to absorb the beauty, hehehe...

    I've been very busy doing lots of things over here and have very little time online nowadays. Miss reading your entry.

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  47. I don't think I have ever before seen such beautiful photos. ............. very inspirational!!!!!
    I am still using the auto setting most of the time on my Canon 50 D . I am reading my way through the manual and learning stuff very slowly.

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  48. ....speechless...simply speechless

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  49. I think this is one of my all time favourite posts Lori

    Each time it takes my breath away.

    xx Robyn

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xoxo lori