Fallbrook Art Center Field Trip

Our first field trip of this Fall was to Fallbrook, for a beautiful and inspiring show titled "Art of the Earth," and then across the street to the Gem and Mineral Society. Art Center Director Mary Perhacs gave our small group an informative tour of the many pieces on display in their ever-changing gallery and explained how each artist used materials from the earth (soil, rock, oil, etc.) to create the art. The kids enjoyed getting up close to the artwork, which included delicate and strong ceramics, paintings, stonecarving, glass, and even a marionette puppet. A favorite piece was a ceramic sculpture that survived last year's Fallbrook fires and gained interesting new texture in the high heat.

The kids loved the glow-in-the-dark display at the Gem and Mineral Society, along with learning which gems and minerals have been found in the local area. After our visits downtown, we met at Live Oak Park for a picnic under the oaks.

Santa Margarita River Reserve Hike

On Friday February 15 our group enjoyed a beautiful naturalist-guided hike at the Santa Margarita River Reserve near Fallbrook. This well-protected area, on property owned and managed by SDSU, includes the only fully free-flowing river in Southern California.

A gorgeous day and an enthusiastic guide, Dave, greeted us at the gate. We began our hike along the Stone Creek trail with a lesson on identifying poison oak [and an explanation that even if you can identify the plant by its leaves, there are many ways the plant can elude detection]. We also marvelled at the variety of wild things including wild cucumber and various sages and we identified signs of wildlife [listened to bird calls and woodpecking, examined coyote scat, compared dog footprints to wildlife footprints, and learned about the differences between moss and lichen]. We climbed up out of the creek bed into an area of chapparal and then ended the hike with a brisk run through an old orange grove.