As I wrote about our recent trip to Tassajara Creek Regional Park, I have been limited recently in my ability to hike. I have only been to the parks mid-week when I have my very young daughter with me. So we aren't really hiking for distance as much as hiking to make close observations about the natural world around us. Today we went to Livermore's Sycamore Grove Park and we had a blast noticing the different wildflowers blooming and wading in the Arroyo del Valle.
I saw poppies, blue-eyed grass, checkerblooms, various species of lupine, vetch, and sweet peas; and I also saw baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii). I feel like I don't see baby blue eyes on the trails as much as I see all of those other wildflowers, so it was a real treat to see it blooming in such abundance. Sycamore Grove has plenty of longer hikes for people who want more rigorous exercise and longer routes; however it is really nice that it has something to offer even the youngest hikers! I hope that LARPD can keep this park open for a while longer. I was surprised at how busy it was midweek, and people were uneven about observing the rules of social distancing. The main paved trail is heavily used by both pedestrians and bikes, and it makes it hard to keep 6 feet of distance--the bikes kept cutting halfway between the walkers who were keeping to the sides of the road. Although I felt fine while we were under the bridge wading, I was actually a little nervous while we were on the paved trail. Despite the fact that this park was heavily used today, we still saw some impressive wildlife: right as we were arriving, we saw a hawk strike and kill a small rodent! Then, when we were returning to the car, we saw (presumably) the same hawk stalking its next victim. It made for an exciting arrival/departure! Edit: see below (past the first gallery) for some photos from a repeat visit that we made on the following day. Wednesday visit: Thursday visit:
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