gathering juncus

new year. yesterday gathered juncus with marian and abe. ground is wet from the recent rains, so it pulled out easily. what a pleasure. the rainbow juncus has a wonderful brown. in some places the juncus is 12 feet long. we gather quickly, just before dark. i don't have my camera with me. it's wonderful to gather rather than photograph for a change. i love standing in the dry creek bed, love the feel of juncus, love the brown live oak leaves strewn over the rocks. i scan briefly around me to note where the poison oak is. poison oak is deciduous, and the leafless sticks/stems are pretty easy to overlook. in some areas, though, i've seen poison oak vines as thick as my wrist, winding their way up a sycamore or oak tree. i want to put juncus on the scanner, capture those modulations of brown . . . red tailed hawk flying outside the window, circling, greeting the new year, joining the blog. turns out cochinealrush is a music group. more emily dickinson groupies . . . the rains are coming. must put out the wildflower seeds on the hillside . . . poppy, penstemon, can't remember what else i gathered . . .