Winter at the Salton Sea

The dawning of day brings to the Salton Sea a beauty only reflected by a jewel that sits in the middle of an otherwise dry and cracked desert basin. 

   

The sea occupies the lowest portion of a structural basin called the Salton Trough, a seismically active valley that lies at the southern end of the San Andreas Fault and marks the northern extent of the Gulf of California Rift Zone.  Millions of years ago this area all lay below the waters of the ocean.  Throughout its 10,000-year life span, Lake Cahuilla, which since 1905 has been known as The Salton Sea, has had a tough existence.  The meandering Colorado River changed course numerous times over the centuries filling the Salton Sink area.  Then silt would build up on the Colorado closing the flow into the Salton Sink.  The lake would over years dry up till the next flood.  The lasted being in around 1904.  The Salton Sea is California's largest lake.  It is the 3rd largest saline lake in the nation.  Its surface elevation is 227 feet below sea level.  The average depth is 29.9 feet, its deepest is about 50 feet.  The Sea is approximately 35 miles long and at it widest about 15 miles.  It sits surround by San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains to the west, the Orocopia Mountains to the north, and the Chocolate Mountains to the east.

During the 60's and 70's the popularity of the Salton Sea for recreation and fishing was at its highest.  Due to the drying of the Sea the salinity is increasing to levels that will soon no longer support wildlife which the sea and surrounding area is rich with.  So begins the controversy over the sea.  Should it be allowed to die a natural death as it has over thousands of years or should the government step in and try to save the Sea.

Many come to this area and are blind to the beauty that is here.  They only see dying fish, birds and a brown murky water.  But as in all things natural there is a beauty to be found when the mind is open to see it.  Let me share with you the beauty I see at the Salton Sea.  

 

The shores of the sea are full of textures and patterns.     

 

The Sea itself full of colour and reflections.
  

As the twilight begins the pastels immerge.

Soon the monster and maiden of the Sea will only be dark figures.   

 

With every passing moment as the sun is setting to the west
I always look to the east and south over the sea
as the pinks and purples come aglow.
   

 

Never turning your back to any direction as the colour is all around you.
To the north where the mountains seem to meet the Sea the clouds always create a brush stroke of beauty to add to the scene.  

As the moon rises casting a light of beauty so ends our day at the sea.   

I hope you enjoyed the beauty of the sea as I enjoy it during the few winter months we spend here.  We have been coming to this area for over 20 years now.  I don’t have everyday internet access while here so my blogs and visits will be few. 

Wishing those with cold winter months the bright rays of the sun to warm your soul…

Till Then..

Good Morning…  Good Afternoon…  Good Night…

Whatever it is to you.......

Photos & Words
by

Here I Am/Carrie

So Much to Share and So Little Time

How the time has past and my back is on the mend.  I want to thank all my wonderful friends here who have sent healing thoughts and patiently waited for my return.  I have missed all of you.  I still have to restrict my time here on the computer or the pain will return at night just when I am trying to sleep.  I have now managed a few nights without discomfort or medication.  But my days are filled again with catching up on over 2 weeks of lost time in getting my work done here. 

I went way over board this Christmas.  Decoration to the hilt, baking and putting on a party.  I over lifted, squatted, stretched, spent hours at the kitchen sink and ran up and down the stairs far to many times for my body which is out of shape from to much time sitting at the computer.  My body finally had to tell me, that’s it, stop all movement and no sitting at the computer.  So I listened and really relaxed for the 1st time in a long time after seeing the doctor and being told no lifting. 

What a wonderful feeling to just let go of all the work and take it slow.  The world did not end….  I am now restricted to any lifting till I get a CT scan which here in Canada may take 3 months.  I am learning to ask for help from hubby and he has been great.  Since I do feel better I tend to do a few too many things already. 

The Party was a great success and everyone enjoyed the food, Christmas baking, but most of all they always love the decorations.

  

 

There came many quiet times as we spent the rest of Christmas and New Years at home alone.

I took this series of photos from my deck with my zoom on my little camera, when hubby was in the field checking on some wildlife action going on there.

I have always wanted to do the black and white effect.  Well I got a bit carried away in playing around with this set of photos. 

I am really happy with the results and will frame these, I think they will go well on the log house walls.  Thank you all my photography friends for displaying your work so that I am inspired to try new things.

With Christmas over and the decorations all taken down it was time to start packing to head south for the winter.

  

My spare room is the dump station where everything that is being packed gets moved to.  As we bought a house down there last year, I have a lot more stuff to take.

  

Then there are those days when the outside beckons to go for a walk.  Something I hadn’t done for almost 2 weeks.  Unfortunately I was confined to only the ploughed driveway.  Snowshoeing and cross country skiing were out of the question with my back.

 

All the little jobs that now had to get done.  The last of my tomatoes from the greenhouse.  There were still some red ones and some green ones left.  I also had 5 gallons of rhubarb wine I made that had to be bottle.  When combining 2 freezers into one, there were bags of fruit and berries found. 

  

I dump blueberry’s, red currants and rhubarb in on big jelly making container and made what I call a very berry mix jam.  Hubby is pitting all these frozen sour cherries  that I will can and make more jam.

  

A bald eagle was spotted one morning in our field a very rare sight at our place.  Seems something was dead in the field next to the creek.  That’s what hubby had gone down to check.  He found the remnants of a coyote.  We’d had 2 hunting in our field for 2 days prior.  Normally we only see one at a time.  So I do believe they needed thinning.  What killed it we have no idea.

  

But soon their were tracks all around where the dead coyote was.  This track is a bobcat or lynx.

As you can see by all the tracks the birds and many other animals feasted on the dead coyote.

These photo really capture why I love it so much here in the winter.

We have a very long driveway that has to be kept ploughed.  Going up this hill can sometime be very tricky.  But let me tell you it is also one of the best sledding down it.  Couldn’t do that this year as well.  ) :

It truly has been beautiful the amount of winter we were able to enjoy here.  This is the other end of our driveway were it heads out to the main road.

Santa was extra good to us this Christmas.  We got a newer truck to replace our old 87 Ford Ranger, it’s still running, but it was time for a little extra comfort.  Santa thought a nice 2007 Toyota 4 door Tacoma TRD would be just right for our lifestyle.  Thanks Santa I love it and can’t wait to drive south with more comfort and room.

 

Ha.. Bet you thought we were down south in this photo.  Look in the window and you will see our field covered in snow reflected in the window.  Just after Christmas it hit +4c after a week of –20c.  That’s sun tanning weather for us here at the ranch on a sunny day on our deck.

So that ends life here at the ranch for this winter.  We are heading south in less the a week.  I will only have internet access thru the library while down at the Salton Sea in California.  This year I remembered to bring the inverter so I can plug into my car while parked at the library so will have a bit more time on my laptop to get things done while there.  I am presently using a friends huge old monitor as the screen went on my laptop.  Once down south I will have to buy a small fIat screen or maybe a new computer.  I have some older blogs from spaces pre scheduled to post that will be showing up on both my blogs about Salton Sea and life down there.  I hope to get some new ones out as well.  It is so time to end this as my neck is very sore from all the typing and it is now 2am.

I hope to get by and see as many of you as I can before we head south. 

Wishing everyone
a
Good Morning…  Good Afternoon…  Good Night…
What ever it is to you. 

Photo and Words
by
Here I Am/Carrie