let the fiddle serenade you, find a shady place to lay

This is what I saw yesterday when I took off on a 12-mile run in the morning.

I'd been arguing with myself about bringing along a cell phone, just because I wanted to take pictures. But I don't like having anything with me when I run.

Nobody ever comes this way.

So it would be a very inconvenient place to die. Well, it would probably be less convenient to break your leg or get snakebit.

Anyway, starting out... I live on the opposite side of a smallish lake from this point. This is about 2 miles in:

Here's a shot from mile 3 that shows the entire little community:

At mile 4, it starts to get pretty steep:

This is almost, but not quite, at the top of the highest neighboring peak:

View from the top, looking south:

View from the top, looking north into the vast stretches of nothingness in California. I think the elevation here would be something over 4000 feet.

It has been a strange year with the weather. Although we do get a good bit of snow in winter, it still hasn't hit the normal summer temperatures that usually peak in the 90s. As a result, the normal bloom of spring wildflowers (which should be long dead by now) has been really confused.

By the way... those last two things, whatever they are, smell really good.

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