Looking up at the stars

The Lick Observatory is located on Mount Hamilton, approximately 4200 feet above San Jose, California. The Observatory, owned by the University of California, was built in 1888 and was the first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory in the world. The Observatory was soon home to a 36" refracting telescope, the largest in the world for over a century. The fifth moon of Jupiter was discovered through the telescope in 1892 more than 200 years since Galileo discovered the first four. 

the 36-inch dome

The "town" of Mount Hamilton, which at one time included a cafe,
post office, houses for researchers, and a school for their kids.

South San Francisco Bay in the distance

The Observatory is open to the public most of the year, but you only get to look through the telescope on a special tour. As if booking tickets to a rock concert, I logged onto the ticket system one minute after sales began and managed to get two tickets for the end of June. The first eight dates had already sold out! We headed up the windy road to Mount Hamilton and ate our dinner overlooking San Jose and South San Francisco Bay. Our tour started at 6:30 pm and would last over five hours as we learned about the telescopes, life at the observatory, the eccentric man behind the place. And last but definitely not least, we got to look at the stars. 

In addition to the 36 inch, the Observatory is also home to four active telescopes and two historical ones. The Shane 3-meter telescope is the main workhorse of the observatory. The telescope is booked every night for the next 18 months! The 3-meter is a reflecting telescope, meaning it uses a mirror to generate an image rather than lenses like the Giant Refractor. The mirror was a test blank made by Corning Labs, the makers of Pyrex, and was acquired by UC for a song at $50,000 in the 1950s. They promptly insured it for $2 million! The 3-meter is used for adaptive optics and for determining the chemical composition of stars. It also has a laser that detects the distortion in the atmosphere that makes stars twinkle. It is lovely to see a twinkling star, but for astronomers that results in a blurry image. By correcting for the distortion, they can get a clear image of the star and make precise measurements. 

The 3-meter reflecting telescope

The opening of the dome spins to where it is needed; the green
carriage is the old elevator used to get to the top of the dome.

Circumambulating the dome

The other telescope we learned about is the automated planet finder. This is a relatively new telescope at Lick that works on its own every night to try to find planets that could support life. Astronomers tell it which stars to look at and the telescope measures the velocity changes in the star's movements, indicating that a planet could be pulling on it. 

home of the automated planet finder

The whole place was made possible by James Lick, who made the largest scientific donation in history - $700,000 or $1.2 billion in today's money. Lick made his early money as a piano maker in the U.S. and South America, but his fortune ballooned when we arrived in San Francisco months before gold was found at Sutter's Mill. He became a real estate tycoon in San Francisco and seemingly started the escalation of Bay Area home prices that continues today. Lick was somewhat of a curmudgeon but wanted to leave a legacy in the Bay Area before he died. His original plan was to build gigantic statues of himself and his parents at the mouth of the Golden Gate. Some friends dissuaded him, suggesting the statues would be targets in times of war. His second scheme to build the largest pyramid on Earth at 4th and Market in downtown San Francisco was also shot down. Finally, some science friends suggested he build the largest observatory ever built and that seemed to satisfy his need for grandness. Lick died before the Observatory was fully operational, but his body was buried beneath the Great Refractor before the floor was installed. Soon after, the telescope saw first light and the rest is history. 

James Lick, the man with the money

It was a really fabulous night for looking at the stars. The staff opened the dome and the cold air came rushing in. It is no wonder they do not do public tours in the winter! The staff then proceeded to move the telescope to the first viewing location entirely by hand. The telescope is balanced perfectly and allows them to move the 57-foot long, 25,000 pound telescope like it is a piece of plastic. It was spectacular. The floor of the dome can move up and down, but the State of California won't certify it for use with visitors so we had to use a portable staircase to look through the telescope. When the dome was built, the floor was moved by water power. After a bit of searching, the staff focused in on a binary star. It looked about like you would expect...two stars. :) The second item was the M5 cluster, which was beautiful. It was inspiring to be looking through a telescope that has made many discoveries and advanced the field of astronomy by leaps and bounds over the last century. If you ever get a chance, I would highly recommend a visit. We were a bit sleep deprived at work on Monday but it was totally worth it!

Early summer outings

It is easy to forget that summer is here when you work on or near the ocean in much of northern California. "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" is a pretty apt description of the temperature differential between inland locales and the coast. This year, June Gloom has been in full swing thanks to the heavy fog that blankets the coast most days. Pete has been wearing a rain coat when he bikes to work in the mornings because the fog is so thick and wet. The fog tends to burn off by midday, giving way to warm summer days. The garden seems to be thriving in the morning fog and afternoon sun rotation, with the plants seemingly doubling in size between the time I leave Monday morning and return home Thursday night. 

Our new hive of bees is also benefiting from the rapid vegetation growth all around. They were a little slow to find the nectar and pollen sources, but in our hive check today we saw quite a bit more pollen stores than we had seen a couple weeks ago. We have not been super impressed with this batch of bees. They are, by far, the laziest hive of bees we have had, so it is nice to see that the girls are actually starting to put up some food stores and generally figuring out how to be industrious bees.

a bit of capped honey at the top of the frame
and some capped brood in the middle

The conditions this year have also been good for an infrequent bloomer at the UCSC arboretum. The puya is a native to the Andes Mountains in South America. It is in the bromeliad family and is the only species that grows in the ground instead of on other plants. The plants tend to bloom only once in their lifetime and can take up to ten years to bloom. The plant is about 6 feet tall and the flower spike is another 4-5 feet tall. It is a pretty impressive plant. The color of the blooms is also incredibly beautiful and like nothing else I have ever seen. The arboretum is also a great place for watching (and getting buzzed by) hummingbirds, and they did not disappoint that day. 

 Pete's favorite - the California quail

Anna's hummingbird

Last weekend we headed out for another camping trip in the Wish 5. The Los Padres National Forest is a vast stretch of public land that stretches from Monterey to Ventura. We've spend a lot of time on the western side of the forest along Big Sur, but have not explored the eastern side of the range much at all. Some friends pointed us in the direction of some good campsites and we were off. The eastern side of the coastal range is significantly warmer than the western side, so we were quite happy to find a camp site close to a small creek with lots of shade and some good swimming holes. There are some neat rock formations in the area that seem to be of a similar origin to the rocks at Pinnacles National Park where we hiked earlier in the spring. The camping spots in the area are all unimproved so we had to bring in everything we needed for a couple of days. We have a new list of improvements to make the Wish a better platform for that kind of camping. Given the demand for improved sites nearby, this place will be a good option for future trips close to home.

 there were at least five different kinds of dragonflies - so lovely!

lots of mating pairs too

and an otherworldly molt from the nymph stage

bouldery Santa Lucia Creek

cool sycamore trees in improbable locations

yucca blooms

there were tons of clarkia blooming everywhere

We had to ford this stream - a first for the Wish 5

By the time we finished hiking around on the rocks, the temperature was rocketing towards 100 degrees. We started our drive home and stopped at the Mission San Antonio de Padua, the third mission established by the Spanish Franciscan order as they moved their way north through California in the late 1700s. This is one of the few missions where no town grew up around it. The closest sizable town is about 30 miles away. As a result, the Mission has been struggling to stay in existence since the early 1900s.

Father Junipera Serra, founder of the California Missions

I had never seen this before - the cattle brands for
many of the Missions. Notice any similarities between the Mission
San Diego brand (upper left) and the San Diego Padres logo?

Spring wildflowers and other local jaunts

Try as we might, we have not been as good at getting out and exploring since we've been back in California. There is a long list of reasons - illness, injuries, little vacation time at the new job, adjusting to living in different places for half the week - but one of the most challenging has been competing with the other nine-ish million people in the greater Bay Area who seem to also want to explore the great outdoors on the weekends. In NZ we would often make plans a couple weeks in advance (longer for holiday weekends), but it seems like here we need to be making reservations six or more months in advance. Sigh. 

Despite those limitations with camping, we have been getting out nearly every weekend to hike and explore some familiar and not-so-familiar local spots. 

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An early bloomer (January) in the Santa Cruz Mountains – fetid adder’s tongue

--> Witch’s butter—a gelatinous fungus—that is a big fan of the wet winter

--> A rainy day view of the full-to-the-brim Loch Lomond—Santa Cruz’s water supply

The redwoods were also happy with the wet winter. These 

are the two types of cones on redwoods; the larger, female 

cone is on the left; the smaller, male cone is on the right. It 

is amazing these giant trees start from such small beginnings.

  

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The Santa Cruz sandhills are a fragmented habitat near our house that are home to many endemic (not found anywhere else) species of plants. Once a year, our favorite county park hosts tours into the sandhills, which are off limits the rest of the year. There is some sandhill habitat in other parks that we can access, but this tract has been protected for much longer and has a more diverse assemblage of plants. 

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sandhill habitat - this used to be under the ocean!

--> lupins were just starting to bloom
(see below for super lupin bloom)

Ben Lomond wallflower -

this endangered plant is extremely rare, only growing 

in a 9 x 5 mile swath in the sandhills. Development and fire 

suppression have been the demise of this species. It takes 

two to three years for the plant to flower and seed, 

making it more susceptible to changes in its habitat.

The sandhill poppy is an ecotype of the California poppy.

The sandhill poppy is a more yellow version of the state's

--> official flower, and the foliage at the base has a blue tint.

The Ben Lomond spineflower is another endangered 

sandhill species. The spineflower is more abundant than 

the wallflower, but because of its habitat specificity, 

it is also very rare. It is one of my favorites.

A couple weeks after our sandhill hike, we headed over to Pinnacles National Park for another wildflower hike. I managed to get us a camping reservation four months ago, but could only get us a spot for Friday night. They have some walk-up sites that you can get the day of, but when I inquired about them the ranger told me I would need to be standing in line at 6:30 am for the 9:30 am opening. Needless to say, we only stayed one night. 

--> I like to visit the Pinnacles every year for the diverse assemblage of wildflowers, the impressive geology, and the chance to see a California condor in the wild. We missed out on the last one this year, but the other two we got in spades. This was our first time heading into the Pinnacles from the east side of the park. The west side is closer to our house, but the campground is on the east side. It was a nice change of scenery and we got to explore some new trails, which was great. We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday and went for a hike along the river. We had lots of company from lizards, ticks and poison oak, but no humans. It was forecast to be near 100 degrees in the high peaks the next day, so we got an early start on the trail to maximize our cool weather hiking and avoid the crowds of people on the trail. We made it to the top in time for second breakfast and were back at the car shortly after lunch. 

California Poppy

Bitterroot

Chinese Houses

Gray Mule Ears

An old acorn woodpecker cache. Some of the acorns were sprouting!

Butterfly Mariposa Lily

Silver Puffs

Heading up towards the high peaks rock formations

Jewel Flower - a new species for us

Volcanic rock formations look otherworldly in the surrounding habitat.

Western fence lizard

Our view for second breakfast 

Crinkled Onion

The work that went into making the trails through this

landscape is remarkable. There are a number of tunnels in 

the park because there wasn't anywhere else for the trail to go. 

The outflow from the Bear Gulch Dam and Reservoir

The flowers are continuing to bloom at our local parks too. Last weekend we were treated to a "super bloom" of lupins at Quail Hollow. Today we explored the trails at the Glenwood Open Space Preserve and found a few new species there too. It is fun to see spring bloom throughout the different habitats that are in close proximity to our house. 

Lupin bloom

Pink mallow

The beautiful globe lily

We've also had a few non-wildflower related jaunts nearby, including some beach time and city time. We're lucky to live so close to a diversity of outings!

sunset at Pajaro Dunes

Golden Gate Park

Wilder Ranch goat

Seals on a pocket beach