Sutter Buttes

The Sutter Buttes, sometimes referred to as the smallest mountain range in the country rise out of the flat Sacramento valley about sixty miles north of Sacramento.  These mountains are privately owned.  They are visible from Sacramento on clear days and from I5 as you travel along with caravans of big trucks to Oregon.  The third time I planned a hike to the buttes it did not storm.  Twice before last weekend I had arranged to hike the buttes with friends.  Those weekends produced some of the strongest storms of the year on those dates.  This time the weather turned out perfect.  We hiked for six hours up to the top of one peak.  Had lunch and hiked back down.  It is a steep hike and when we returned to the cars I was sure I would not be able to walk on Sunday.  However I took Aleve and my legs were fine the next day.  

The snow-covered mountain in the photo on the right is Mt. Lassen,  another mountain I want to hike to the top.  The first time I went to hike it the wind blew so hard the rain was almost horizontal.  Well not quite but it rained a lot.  The next time it was June and the temperature 

was about 85f.

Spring

We have been doing spring for a while and I was waiting until the midwest temp moved above zero to post these photos.

Trees all over look like cotton candy, pink or white.  There were no pink ones on my walk.  I have several different routes to walk now that I'm a little more acquainted with my neighborhood.  I can walk around two drainage ponds that serve as stops along the migration routes for ducks and geese.  At the small one there are a number of very brown jack rabbits.  I was afraid they had been displaced by the high water but if they were they are back.  Several kinds of ducks are swimming around each time I pass.

Not everyone likes these trees due to allergies.  I like them even though they dry out my contacts.  I've had my windows open all day for the last two weekends and after the next rain I'm going to put my outdoor table and chairs on the balcony.   The tree and fountain are in front of a Bel Air supermarket in Yuba City, CA.