“I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do. I feel as if this tree knows everything I ever think of when I sit here. When I come back to it, I never have to remind it of anything; I begin just where I left off.” – Willa Cather, “O Pioneers!”
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Highlands Park in the city of Clearlake is a nugget worth seeking out.
Located at 14365 Lakeshore Drive on one acre, it overlooks beautiful Clear Lake.
Here, you can sit amongst the oak trees and picnic, fish or ruminate.
Like all natural spots, no two days are ever the same. It's true here, near the oaks on the lake, for sure.
Our lake and the surrounding hills and valleys are host to hundreds of species of birds – it's a bird-watcher's paradise.
We have such a prodigious amount and variety of bird life that the National Audubon Society has designated Clear Lake as an “Important Bird Area.”
The UC Cooperative Extension, which houses a great store of information about our lake, suggests visiting the Web site, www.ebird.com , to learn about the birds that visit or live year-round.
This Web site combines information on bird life from the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
It is common to view the prehistoric-looking American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) on Clear Lake, as well as a variety of ducks and birds of prey.
In winter the lake hosts a myriad of ruddy ducks and buffleheads, and even eared grebes have been spotted here.
It's easy to enjoy nature’s shows. The obvious: spring extravaganzas when she paints every available spot in showy pastels, summer’s swaying golden hillsides and fall’s variety show of ruby, yellow and orange foliage.
A Lake County winter puts on a subtle, but no less resplendent show, if one looks carefully.
A winter walk is to be savored, taken slowly and with concentration.
Nature is contradictory in that she becalms and energizes a person at the same time. While walking at an unhurried pace a multitude of minutia will reveal themselves – free gifts.
Take time to peer down to the wet banks of the lake, to “read” who’s been here before.
Some wood ducks glide out from the dried tule reeds and present a study in grace and perfection with their rippling reflections on the waters.
The evidence of visiting skunk or raccoon in the form of tracks is imprinted in the soil at the shoreline, offering proof of busy comings-and-goings here on Clear Lake.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.