TimeOut

Walking in an Alpine Environment

 

A owl stared at us this morning, as we walked in the hills around Alpine, Calif. Alpine is about 35 miles east of San Diego, on the slopes or foothills leading to Laguna Mountain. 

The context: it was fishing for frogs or other small creatures in this creek. We would never have seen this owl if a local resident hadn't pointed it out to me. See how well camouflaged it is, against rocks and leaves?


The gray sky is due to a marine layer coming in off the ocean. This happens when warm air rises above the mountains where we are walking.



It's June already but the hills are still pretty green.



Housing around here is quite different compared to Mission Beach.



Thankfully gearheads are still allowed in this area. 



Maybe I should talk to Brent and Tami about a house or perhaps just an extra garage. 



This superb estate has three 2-car garages.



Since we don’t need dozens of rooms, I suppose this is more our style.



Attitudes are expressed a bit more directly in this neighborhood. You don't have to ask "What do you really think?"



While walking we saw horses, real and otherwise,



Goats,



Hogs,



Flowering plants (Pride of Madeira) on steroids!


More larger-than-life flowering plants,



A Sunbathing lizard on stacked rocks



(the wide shot)







This the Church of the Holy Angels but after inspection I thought they also could have named it the Church of the Holy Angles.



Yes, the vibes are a bit different here in the Olde West part of town.








As we walked down the main road towards our car, my wife spotted a butterfly on the bark spread along the roadside.



Not the whole butterfly, just its wings — What kind of eyes can see this on that?