Today it stopped raining for awhile – and the sun came out. In our backyard, all kinds of plants are starting to bloom. The jade tree or crassula argentea – or crassula ovata – that Michele got from her mother's front door stoop:

A hybrid cymbidium we got from somewhere,

And almost all our fruit trees.

The area where we live is part of the Town of Portola Valley but, because the roads are so narrow and sub-standard, the town will not maintain them. So we have a private maintenance district that is run by a Homeowners Club that is supported in part by the residents and by an allowance from the Town.

Last weekend, we cleared an old trail to the next road over. So, when the sun came out, Michele and I went for a walk on the newly opened trail.

Past all kinds of mushrooms that I am sure are deadly,

the giant wake robin or trillium chloropetalum or, as Michele calls them, just trillium,

and – of course, because it is February – there are acacias everywhere.

And vibrant moss on everything including the benches.

Finally, at the top of the trail, is a view of Stanford and Palo Alto.