We Remembered a Friend with Twin Pines in December, and Celebrate 170 Years of Golden History Today

January 24, 1848, a hard working man named James Marshall looked down into the cold waters of the South Fork of the American River running through the mill race at Coloma, and the story of the pretty little valley was destined to change once again.

Seventy years ago a huge Centennial celebration was held and a stamp was issued showing what became a rather well known scene with the mill and two pines which grew close by, and very close to each other, so close that they almost seem to be grown together, perhaps they are. I have gathered together here several images I have found showing the trees, and the mill at its original site, which at this time is sometimes in, sometimes out of the riverbed.

Visitors at that large centennial celebration in 1948 lined up  at the Coloma post office to send out first day of issue letters to those family and friends they could think of. These are very popular collectibles now, and a lot of the covers have the two trees and mill on them.

I have a couple of postcards that show the lines of happy people waiting to mail their choice of first day covers.  There were many choices, some even hand painted!

There are several postcards you can still find that have copies of lithographs of the mill that show the two pine trees.

Those pines grace the cover of history books:

 They even get gilded and stamped onto coins for the local event!

The replica of Sutter's Mill at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma has recently been relocated from near to the Grange Hall and Bayne Road Bridge to much closer to the spot where the mill actually stood in 1848.  Park Superintendent Barry Smith had been considering planting Ponderosa pines to replicate the old lithographs. In the spring last year we lost a dear friend, Tony Angi. Tony had many ties to Coloma, Lotus, Garden Valley, the Divide, and many, many friends.

Our good friend Dick, and Tony's very good friend Paul asked the Ranger if we could plant trees in Tony's honor, and everyone discovered he was on the same page! We all got called to meet in Coloma on Friday, December 1st, at 2:00 p.m. What a beautiful day it was! I was able to drive down Bayne Road past a beautiful two story farmhouse with a wrap around porch which Tony designed and which sits almost directly across from the gold discovery site.

On December 1, 2017 we who could (retired folk, mainly, Rich had to work) gathered at the park and Ranger Barry introduced himself and there were quite a few staff there, and although we had brought shovels and some even wore gloves (good guy, David!) we found they had already very carefully planted the trees.

After he was introduced, Paul entertained us with his stories of his friendship with Tony, which went back forty years, to when Tony had first come to Lotus. I think Paul looks like what I used to call "a miner 49er" when I was a little girl.

The photo below is of Kathy, Tony's wife, and Dick, his good friend and associate.

The Ranger had an amusing story about the golden shovels that we each used to add a scoop full of fertilizer to the trees. They were forgotten in a closet at the park but were perfect for this ceremony,
with the mill's outline stenciled on each one.

Above Tony's son addresses us and below Craig helps a little one with her scoop.

The photographer Cheryl below finally is in a shot herself. She is fiancé to Craig, above.

Pam, wife of Dick, puts muscle into her gardening, she excels at zumba and golf, so she can shovel with the best of them!

Oh, and yes, I was there too. I was trying to show off the mill on my shovel.

And finally, below, here we all are, Tony's friends and family, and we will be checking on his trees, because most of us live close by, and if any of us are still around for the 200th year celebration perhaps we can mail a new stamp with an image of Tony's trees.

Poppies are a Sign it's Spring in California

Tina here.

Here at our home in Kelsey we have been waiting for our poppies to bloom. A couple of weeks ago we could see color starting, but then horrendous storms with pounding rain have hit a couple of times, winds at 50 miles per hour, even hail visited. The poppies retreated and it seems they may not come back. This is our 20th spring, and I think there was only one when we had no poppies.



These photos from March are of the rolling hills that surround Interstate 5, along the Ridge Route in Southern California. It is so unbelievably beautiful I can hardly stand it. I want to be there!

Two gorgeous examples of my two favorite colors, orange and green, with a such-a-perfect-blue-it-must-be-magic sky thrown in.



Honk, honk! Hey you drivers! Look up! You don't want to miss this! California Gold at its best! The Golden State is dressing herself up for Easter!

If you have a place nearby you where poppies bloom, such as off Highway 49 in the Gold Country, go for a drive, take a picnic along perhaps, and go looking for a florescent glowing hillside. One hint of how to find good places: they are usually south facing and very often will be near rivers or a body of water.



March Can't Decide If It's A Lion Or A Lamb

Good morning, Tina here.


Well, it has been March for a week now. We have had just about every kind of weather you can have in that week, except for sunbathing weather.


We've had thunder, lightning, hail, torrential rains, 40 mile plus winds, popcorn snow, dry snow, wet snow, those large snowflakes that almost cover the ground themselves, frosted fields, rainbows, and shiver-inducing layers of fog. Oh, and clear, crisp blue skies. All in the same week. I think Mother Nature is just about worn out.


We haven't had any disasters here on our property, but our near neighbors lost one of their beautiful oak trees in their sheep pasture. Our driveway runs by it, and it was one of my favorites because it had a big burl down fairly low on its trunk. It came down in January, and will remain as it is until the weather is less liquid and the ground firms up around it.

It always amazes me that a little ball of roots could have held that gigantic leafy canopy for years. You can see a small section of the burl below just to the right of the roots. Farewell silent giant.

Another loss close to home was the Bell Store in Coloma. It was literally gone with the wind. I am just sick about it. 

I guess this gives us a better view of Mount Murphy now, no bricks to block it from us. I wrote a post on this old store a few years back, lots of history there.

(Click here to go back and revisit that post, if you'd like.)

Enough about the disruption caused by our weather, I would sure enjoy some calm, serene, quiet layers of snow.

Below is an old real photo post card (RPPC) of snow in Columbia, which Heidi can tell you is near Sonora where she lives.

I can hear the squeak and feel the squish of the snow under my boots. I think to myself, if it snowed in Columbia. . .  I bet Placerville got some!

Yep, here we are, looking down Main Street toward the Raffles Hotel in the right corner. A bit busier than in Columbia on its snow day.

Well, here I am at the end of the post. I started with absolutely no ideas, and I guess I went here and there, rather like being blown about by the blustery March winds. Hope you held on to your hat!

Lovely California Christmas Postcards Sending Greetings!

Good morning, Tina here.


As a California girl who has lived in the Northern California Sierra foothills for close to sixty years, I have always celebrated Christmas while enjoying the winter weather here. It can be warm and clear, perfect for a game of football on the lawn; rainy and blustery, best viewed from the fireside next to the sparkling Christmas tree; snowy and sharp, an expansion of white to rush through on a sled; foggy and mysterious, hiding views of our river below off and on with wisps of creeping misty coolness; or crisp and frosted, iced puddles calling to children's boots everywhere.


California vintage Christmas postcards usually celebrate our weather from the Southern California point of view, which is warm and citrus scented, colorfully flowered, and with a backdrop of lightly frosted mountains. Sounds good to me!

When winds are howling 'round your doors and frost is creaking through the floors,
just pack your grip, for nature stores a wealth for you on other shores;
Her sunny smiles await you here with all the Golden West holds dear.

The wide, warm west sends greeting, for the best of Christmas Cheer,
May the coming year be one of gold, like the orange pictured here.

Old King Cole is a cranky old soul, because he can't live out here,
for we're warmed with sunshine - don't need any coal, for Christmas or Happy New Year.

Snow capped mountains and orange grove. When I was a very little girl we lived in one of those orange groves with mountain views.

Palm trees and poinsettias. This postcard below reminds me of Santa Monica and the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.

Date and fan palms on Palisade Drive. We painted our home a beautiful mellow green which was called Palisades Park, I love green houses and it seemed such a perfect California color choice!

Poinsettias at Christmas. The bracts which form the "flowers" only turn red when the days are short. I have a poinsettia which lives in the dining room in winter. It doesn't get a lot of light in there and will show us a bit of red by Christmas most years.

Private garden in what mansion? I will take that for my Christmas present!

Some California sunshine from 'neath her skies of blue. How I would love to stick my nose into those orange blossoms!

Our garden in midwinter. In our Kelsey winter garden we do get a rose to bloom once in a while. My son has a single blossom on his little pear tree, a little bit of nature's Christmas decorating.

California Christmas Greetings from Gold Country. Merry Christmas to all!

Pretty Christmas Window Displays In Downtown Sonora

Lori and I went for a walk downtown after dinner on Thanksgiving night.
I thought I'd share the photos I snapped with my phone of some of the pretty shop windows.
This one was my favorite, hands down:

I do not remember which shops most of them were, so I will add names in later on, if I can get back down there and write them down!
This one was so pretty in blue with snowflakes and snowmen:

Here are two more nice one with trees and lights in red and white and plenty of sparkle!

And this one is Antiques, Etc. - now of COURSE I remember that one!

 Close up on those gorgeous ceramic trees that I love so much:

 Sorry this one is dark, The Candy Vault:

How's this next one for "cuteness factor"?
A pretty kitty in the window at Downtown Shoes:

I'll leave you with one last picture:

This kitty (in another window) was NOT ready for his close-up.
He just wanted to sleep, and that was it.

Lounge Chair Road Trip No. 17: Inverness, California

Good morning. Tina here.

It seems like every time I need to write a post and it is hot, I want to go on a road trip to the coast.
Today is the same.

We are going to Inverness, where they have celebrated the 4th of July in style. This is a mad race from the seventies, below.

The boat below is grounded forever.

They may not be usable any more, but what fun to wade nearby and maybe have a picnic.

Nice cool sand for Fido's paws.

Or we could choose a shady grove for our picnic. And maybe a nap?

In its heyday, this little hamlet was a great place to spend the summer. Darling cottages and shingled hotels dotted the hillsides. Most of these lovely dwellings are still here. Little winding roadways sneak through the tree roots and climb up to find the refreshing breezes and views of Drakes Bay.

Highland Lodge looks like a cozy place to stay, the scent of eucalyptus and pine floating to us in the fog. Ahhh, fog, doesn't that sound nice and cool on a day like today, where it is supposed to be over 100 degrees in the foothills? I think Inverness will have highs in the sixties. I am so there!

Above, my favorite, Manka's Inverness Lodge, lost to fire. I still grieve. The little newer cabins we stayed in are still there, but our upstairs honeymoon room, the sweet inglenook at the entrance where we would have breakfast, and the amazing restaurant with its windows in the treetops are all gone.

The store and post office building above (also shown in the 4th of July race earlier in this post) still stand and have housed various businesses. It is the iconic spot that greets you when you first hit town.

I think I will pull out my old DVD of the movie "The Fog" which was filmed (partially) in Inverness. As a strange coincidence that movie came out in 1980, which was when my husband and I stayed in Inverness on our honeymoon. I am ready to be scared, just so I can imagine that creeping, cooling, darkening fog and cool off a bit. How about you?