Splendor in the grass

The Tule Ranch held an open house today. Part of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, it's not usually open to visitors, and the article in the Davis Enterprise promised wildflowers and birds and lots of native grassland. I wasn't disappointed.

There were docent-led walks available, but I ignored them and just wandered off on my own to the west of the visitors' reception area toward masses of goldfields and tidy tips carpeting the fields. Sat in the midst of them, sketched a small green plant or two, and took some photos, but mostly just sat, listening to the wind and watching the flowers bob their yellow heads. Coast range sharp and blue in the distance, clouds moving slowly across the sky.

On the drive into the ranch, I stopped to watch a huge flock of geese (don't know what kind) circle over a field then slowly settle back down. Closer to the road, I spotted two large, long-legged birds with extraordinarily long, thin, curved bills. Looked them up in the bird book when I got home: aptly (though unimaginatively) named long-billed curlews.

I spent about two hours out there and came away feeling happy and peaceful; a mini-retreat for the senses and the spirit.