Living in Los Angeles, but having spent the majority of our lives elsewhere, we often long to see real seasons. That aspect has been rough. However, the week of Christmas tide brought rains and colder weather, desperately needed for our parched lands. But the mountains taunted us as we could see snow upon their peaks so the day after the New Year, we stuffed ourselves into our station wagon (and I say stuffed because my oldest is now 6ft -182.88cm) and set out to a mountain trail that we hoped would provide a bit of a winter scene and a needed respite from the city (and also to avoid all the Los Angelenos heading to the ski resorts).
The Devils's Punch Bowl, as it is called, did not disappoint. It was gorgeous. An hour and a half from Los Angeles, this gem of a park is within the the Angeles National Forest on the northern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains, near Pearblossom, California. We did the whole hike, all 7.4mi. (11.91km). It was long, but our three billy-goats (a.k.a. my three boys) rocked it, despite the cold and the ice we encountered. My middle and youngest made snow angels (until they got too cold) and even my oldest,felt the tug of nature's childish ways as we spied him writing his name several times in the snow.
Then, at the end, when we were punch drunk tired and spent, we met two beautiful owls who seemed to make everything feel blessed and perfect. They live at the park's nature center. Both were raised by humans, so they could not be returned to the wild. It was getting dark and my fingers were close to frozen so none of my photos of this sweet barn owl, named Ruth, came out perfect, but I love her sweet majestic beauty. And one thing I have learned in the past year is that sometimes "technically" flawed photos are just as beautiful as clean crisp ones, so I have included her here as well.
And finally, can I start (and finish) a 365 project? Or even a 52 week one? I guess I won't ever know unless I try. xoxo
