"...I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils." ~ William Wordsworth, 1804

Another weekend, another Miata roadtrip--this time the other direction.  We drove east this week, with the SAMOA Miatas, up into the Sierra Nevada foothills, into the Gold Country.  Spring has been a wet one this year, and everything is still kelly-green. 

From the valley, into the hills...

and from the oaks...

into the pines...

...and on to Daffodil Hill, near Volcano, California.  Daffodil Hill is a hillside farm that has been planted with hundreds of thousands of daffodil bulbs over the years.  We've never been able to see it during peak-bloom-time, but we made it this year---

And onward, down into Volcano, population 85, for lunch...

...as Rosie waits at home and re-arranges the studio for me...

"The goal of road trip enthusiasts is to experience the culture, nature and history of the route, and to celebrate the open road." ~ Wickipedia

Road Trip Season is baaaack, and we're planning to enjoy a lot of time and country and scenery this year.  We're members of the Sacramento Area Miata Owners Club (SAMOA), and the Lincoln Hills Sports Car Club, and will make as many of their road trips as possible.  And we've got several trips of our own on the wish-list.

Last Saturday, the Miata Club met in Davis for a drive through the hills to the Napa Valley, the Sonoma Valley, and on to Bodega Bay for lunch.  We haven't taken the hard top off our car yet, but it was still a great run, and the weather was beautiful--

Second Miata from right, with a mask...

Through the hills...

Into the Napa Valley...

Winery...

Row upon row of wine grapes...

And finally, Crab Louie at Inn of the Tides in Bodega Bay!

"Where's my Crab Louie?"





"Let's go out in the backyard and play!" ~ Van, circa 1954

We played hide-and-seek, flashlight tag, and chase-the-dog.  We made mud-pies in the flower beds and sand castles in the sand-box.  We ran in the sprinkler, jumped out of the swing, and had "meetings" in the fort.  We even slept out in the backyard on a quilt one summer night.

My little brother was probably about 4 when he asked me to play with him for the last time.  He soon had his own friends and didn't want to play with a big sister.  But I never stopped wanting "to play" in my own backyard.

Throughout my life, I've lived in a lot of places--Texas, Alabama, California, Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska, some of them more than once.  And most places I've lived have had some kind of backyard, if you leave out the dorms at Texas Tech and a couple of apartments along the way.  My biggest backyard was in Oregon--2.5 acres.  My house here in Sun City, in northern California, has the smallest, but I love it so...

And now that winter appears to be finally over (except for this little cold front coming in tomorrow to dump a couple more inches of snow in the Sierra), I've been playing in the backyard this week--

                                 ...with my drumcarder...

                                 ...making batts for spinning...

But spinning is another story.   For now, Rosie and I will just sit and watch the birds...out in my backyard...