This is what the ranch looks like now -- dry and hazy. Cool at night, teeming with birds. I managed to avoid hitting two tarantulas on the road while scattering bevies (?) of quail.

The dusk illuminates the chapparral, ready for some more rain.

Ho hum, another gorgeous sunset through the storm clouds.

Lichen on the manzanita branches. The color contrast of the red bark against the green leaves reminds me of the holidays.

A last flower on a dying plant.

This white oak grove is next to where the driveway comes off the main road.

Acorns and dead leaves strewn over the ground. A bountiful crop of healthy looking acorns.

Looking to my neighbor's ranch as the clouds move through. The indian summer hangs on.

A cascade of buckeyes on this tree as the sun sets.

Here's a penstemon right next to the house. A few final blooms are attracting hummingbirds.

The white oaks are beginning to lose their leaves. Dead leaves and acorns blanket the ground.

Not much pink, a more delicate palate, a sunset after a cloudy day. I pruned up that live oak a few years ago and now it shows up in my pictures from the back porch.

Here's a buckeye tree with most of its leaves gone. It will stand silvery and stark for the next six months.

The buckeyes are ready to burst out of their husks and fall to the ground.

A few last flowers found along a seam of dirt in the granite determined to bloom as the season ends.

This is one of the tallest manzanitas on the ranch. Sometimes a shrub, this one has grown to be a tree.

Something dug this hole in between visits. I wonder what could be living there. My guess is a ground squirrel, although this ground squirrel is more like a developer.

This bay tree is healthy and fragrant at this time of year. Small berries are forming at the end of branches.

This bull pine marks the border of our property. It height makes it landmark, visible from great distances. These lower elevation pines are not the prettiest or the most long lived, but they have a certain majesty, great cones and a wonderful scent.

A few flowers lingering on after the rest bloomed months ago. The pink-purple petals provide a striking contrast to the bright golden center.

The rain began on Sunday. I was standing outside talking to my neighbors who were making fun of my hat and it began to pour. My head stayed dry.

Manzanita berries provide early holiday color. Supposedly too tannic for human consumption without treatment. I haven't had the nerve to try one.

These mountain clematis seed pods look like bits of cotton.

This nest appears to be made from strands of mown grass. It's too big for a hummingbird.
The redbud tree is right by my back stairs. Some nests look thrown together, but this one resembles a finely crafted straw basket.