Arvin wildflowers Day 1

फूल खिलते रहेंगे दुनिया में

रोज़ निकलेगी बात फूलों की

Flowers will continue to bloom in this world forever….

Each day folks will marvel at the flowers…….

Saturday there was rain in town and snow forecast for the mountains. After the morning visit to the almond grove I was still restless. I didn’t want to spend the day at home. I had heard from patients that wild flowers were appearing in the nearby mountains. I asked my mom if she would like to come for a drive with us. Lately she has not been wanting to leave home but surprisingly yesterday she nodded yes. We set out around 10 am.

Rural Kern county in the beginning of spring is uniquely beautiful. There are intermittent showers and snow at elevations.The farmlands are tilled, new crops are sown, some crops are rising from the soil, the citrus groves are busy with harvesting,  the grapevines are still bare but if you go close you can see tender foliage making its appearance. The cows are grazing in the lush meadows. The almond groves are in blossom for a couple of weeks. As if this is not enough, the rolling hills get a carpet of colorful wildflowers. We spent over 2 hours soaking in the magnificent display.

There was one gorge that was particularly spectacular and I wanted to walk into it. My husband wasn’t ready for that. He wanted us to just enjoy it from far away from the road. It was just too inviting for my soul. I kept walking and looking back at him and calling him over a dozen times. But no. He was not  going to buy into it this time. Oh well. I was sad but I decided I will go alone. As I went deeper and deeper it was getting more and more beautiful. Actually stunning is the word ! One hill was completely covered by yellow flowers and facing it another hill had the purple ones. I took pictures of the scenery and one selfie. Just then I saw a young couple walking from a distance. As they were getting closer the lady shouted “ are you waiting for us to take your picture?” Of course I was and I was not going to pretend otherwise. She came closer and exclaimed “ Are you Madhavi ?”. As soon as I confirmed  she said “ I am Connie,Sonia’s friend”( Sonia is my friend/ colleague who accompanied me to Pine Lake Flat last weekend). What are the chances of meeting someone in that isolated place, who knows you and who offers to take your pictures happily? Not just taking a picture or two but suggesting poses and different locations for the pictures? I could feel God’s hand to send her there at that moment. 

I returned the favor, took some pictures of her with her husband and took leave of them. But not before making a plan with her that we would return again tomorrow with Sonia and more friends because this place was just too gorgeous for them to miss out on !

Back to the car we drove on further up the mountains to Tehachapi. There were intermittent snow flurries and the mountains surrounding the town were coated by the snowfall. We stopped for lunch at our favorite German bakery. A hot shrimp and clam chowder soup was just perfect for me in that weather. After that refreshing lunch we took a drive around the lanes of the town. As we did that, quite accidentally we came across an open public ground that offered unhindered views of the snow covered mountains. Despite the piercing chill and continues flurries I got some pictures before getting on the road back home. 

What a day it had been!! 

Saree is another mulberry silk with kantha embroidery, this time in multi color floral design.