Summertime in California, Rivenrock Gardens cactus nursery

Summertime on California's Central Coast!

(By Phil and June Colclough Copyright Misty River Music Ltd 1982)

A song for Ireland

Walking all the day
By tall towers where falcons build their nests
Silver-winged they fly
They know the call of freedom in their breasts
Saw Black Head against the sky
With twisted rocks that run down to the sea

Living on your western shore
Saw summer sunsets, asked for more
I stood by your Atlantic sea
And sang a song for Ireland

Drinking all the day
In old pubs where fiddlers love to play
Saw one touch the bow
And he played a reel which seemed so grand and gay
We stood on Dingle Beach and cast
In wild foam we found Atlantic bass

Talking all the day
With true friends who try to make you stay
Telling jokes and news
And singing songs to pass the time away
We watched the Galway salmon run
Like silver darting, dancing in the sun

Dreaming in the night
I saw a land where no-one had to fight
But waking in your dawn
I saw you crying in the morning light
While lying where the falcons fly
They twist and turn all in your air-blue sky

A gull in flight on California's Central Coast.

The Central Coast of California has many secret beach spots.
Rocky secluded beaches where the sea lions haul themselves
from the water to bask in the sun.
The weather is often cool, breezy and foggy even in midsummer.
When the rest of the nation roils in baking heat,
the Central Coast is a refuge from the teeming overheated masses
of humanity sweltering in their cities.

California Brown Pelicans in flight on California's Central Coast.
California's Brown Pelicans were quite near extinction in the 60's and 70's.
The abolition of the use of DDT caused a gradual renewal of their numbers,
and now they are a plentiful bird. They are often seen in the V shaped formations,
skimming low over the water, looking for their fishy food sources.

A Westerly breeze on California's Central Coast.
This photo was taken in 68 degree weather on a lightly overcast foggy day
with a fresh breeze coming off the ocean.
Twenty miles inland the weather was in the high 80's.
The Central Coast is a good spot to come and cool off during heat waves.

Trichocerus pachanoi, and yucca behind the pretty 'Naked Ladies' Amyrillus plants which come in bloom here in summer.

California 'blue-belly' lizard, these little feisty fellows get really active in the summer. They are very colorful with blue bands on the belly. These lizards can be caught with a noose made from a long piece of grass stem. When captured they can be laid onto their backs, and their tummies rubbed with a finger tip. They will grasp with their tiny claws onto the finger rubbing their belly, but they will quickly cease resisting, and close their eyes and fall into a short-lived 'trance'. In this condition one can walk around with the lizard sleeping soundly on your hand. Note the bands of yellow on the inner thigh, and the highly reflective throat scales.

Here is a baby night snake, Hypsiglena torquata. I found this little fellow while working in the cactus garden. These snakes are lizard eaters. For more information on these unusual snakes go to Yahooligans animals, and kingsnake.com.

A yellow flower, tinged with red, from an Opuntia. Cactus put out such nice flowers in Spring and summer. Note the young grasshopper peeking around the stamens inside the flower. Also notice the flecks of pollin on the petals, the bees really love the cactus blooms.

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