Auburn Trails, Confluence Area, March 2019

The first spring weekend. Wildflowers aren't yet out in profusion but they will be in a week or two. I still caught some.


(Here are the fully sprung wildflowers last spring. I'm hoping this year outdoes last year.)




(Here and here is the Confluence area in the winter.)




(Here's the North Fork of the American River in autumn.)




(Here's the whole Central Valley in all four seasons.)


It struck me as odd today that these falls (so far as I know) have no name, since they are clearly the best falls. But maybe that's fitting.

Nasty Plants From Around the World: Meet the Croton

There are croton shrubs in various places but there is one in southeast Asia that produces an oil which causes a rash similar to poison ivy and causes tumors in mice; presumably humans too. And you thought poison oak was bad!

I ran across this friendly fellow while doing some research. It seems the oil responsible for all this horror (PMA) is useful as a tool in immunology research, since it makes your "worker-bee" immune cells fire the poison nets they use to kill bad guys. The structure is below, compared to the urushiol family of compounds found in poison oak. Those long ugly greasy side chains are likely helpful in adsorbing the compound to cell membranes. You know sometimes I really hate nature.


Above: PMA





Above: Urushiol

"This Was a Terrible Mistake"

From economist Dan Ariely on mountain climbing: "...if people were just trying to be happy, the moment they would get to the top, they would say, 'This was a terrible mistake. I'll never do it again. Instead, let me sit on a beach somewhere drinking mojitos.'"

The first time someone runs a difficult race or class of race, they generally have that reaction near or at the finish line. Then that night, they're looking for online running calendars to find the next one.

It must be said that the beauty if you go climbing in Latin America, mountains and same (or next) day beach mojitos are not mutually exclusive. You can get mojitos in Washington State and drink them on the beach but somehow it's not the same.

Below: two awesome beaches.
As an exercise, reason out on which a mojito is best consumed.