Along the Shiloh Ridge Path (Northern California) Part I

I decided to take a hike through Shiloh Ridge County Park today to see how the wildflowers were blooming there... Shiloh Ridge is located just east of the little town of Windsor in Sonoma County, Northern California and it was one of the places that my wildflower identification class went about five years ago... 

Most of the hike goes uphill -- this is when I realized that five years makes more of a difference when one is talking about the five years between the ages of 50 and 55 rather than the same five years, say, between 40 and 45!

Take a walk with me, then, as we explore "Shiloh Ridge" a Sonoma County, Northern California park!

First off, we encounter these mimulus flowers -- a native wildflower also called "monkey tongue":

In a nearby meadow, we find the deep golden blossoms of "fiddlenecks" and purple and lavendar "serrated onion" flowers:

Deep in a shady glen we come upon this wonderfully magical-looking hollowed-out oak tree:

(J. R. R. Tolkein, eat your heart out! ;o) )

Near the hollowed-out oak on the side of the trail, we find this peace symbol made from stones... A stone at the top is marked "Minnie 1986-2006" with a "Sharpie" pen -- someone's beloved dog that used to love to hike this trail with her mistress/master?

Just beyond, a wonderful find: The blossoms of a "woodland starflower" -- a member of the coral-bell family!

Just a bit further on, in the shade of an oak tree on a sunny hill, another exquisite find: Blossoms of the native iris... delicate shades of lavendar on white...

We'll continue our hike of Shiloh Ridge in Part II... Don't miss it because there are so many other wonders of nature still to be seen! :o)