The Holler is surrounded by thousands of acres of pristine, reserved-riparian backcountry habitat. One such nearby preserve is the 737 acre Wilderness Gardens that we visit often for hiking and picnicking.
(Please click to enlarge).
The area was home to Luiseno Indians for thousands of years and grinding stones can be found with a careful eye. Today the preserve is located between the present day Pala and Pauma Indian Reservations.
Settlers moved into the area in the 1800’s, and a grist mill was built in 1881.
In the 1950’s, the publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News bought the property and filled it with flowers and gardens, including 1000 Camellia trees, his wife’s favorite flower.
The ponds were created by damming the creek to provide irrigation for his gardens.
The preserve has returned mostly to it’s natural state, but the ponds remain and are filled with beautiful, nesting, aquatic birds, some quite exotic.
The first ducklings have hatched!
Beautiful evidence of the old gardens remain.
Soon the nesting bird’s broods will be hatching, and it is always a thrill to see the fluffy hatchlings venture out for their first pond swim. I’ll try and get you some snaps!
Cheers to you from the always peaceful and quite Zen-like, Wilderness Gardens Preserve.
Year: 2014
A Holler Homecoming~
There are the flutterbyes flying. (Please click to enlarge)
Bees buzzin, flowers bloomin.
The Holler hummers,
are happy we’re home!
The drought has broken and the rain is falling.
Hawks are courting,
and looking for nests!
Where ever we roam, there’s no place like home!
And cheers to you from all the Holler happy critters, including us~
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Palacio de Santa Catalina~
The Palacio in Old San Juan is the oldest continuously occupied executive mansion in the New World. Construction started in 1533. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is currently occupied by the Governor of Puerto Rico and his family. (Please click to enlarge).
The Palacio is built on a prime ocean view spot in Old San Juan and is surrounded by La Forteleza or the old fort walls.
The stunning interiors are like stepping into old Spain.
The gardens are tropical with fruit, vegetables and flowers in abundance. Fountains and tile mosaics abound.
The views are simply spectacular.
Adjoining the residence, is El Hospital, la Cofradía de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, built in 1556 and currently run by catholic nursing nuns for elderly patients.
I wouldn’t want to be a poltician, but I would love to stay in this house! Saludos a usted!
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Encanta la Ciudad Vieja de San Juan~
Love the Old City of San Juan Puerto Rico!
It reminds me of an old walled European city.
But with larger American cars,
that mess up photos! Laughing…..
Old San Juan was founded in 1506 by Spain and some of the old buildings, need to be rennovated, which would be so much fun to do!
Others are meticulously well maintained.
When I come home everything looks beige by comparison.
Don’t you love such creative use of color?
Hope the vibrant architecture of beautiful Old San Juan cheers your day!
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Dr. Cats Knoke: The Feral Cat Herder~
Jim speaks CAT big time. Cats are naturally attracted to him. They must know how much he likes them. For some people, herding feral cats might be problematic, not Jim, and the old city of San Juan is loaded with feral cats.
Check out Jim herding San Juan’s feral cats! There was no food of any sort involved here. Just Jim, AKA, Dr. Cats Knoke~~
He meows at them and they come running, even the wild Fishing Cat at The San Diego Zoo does this.
Sweethearts aren’t they?
Jim’s pretty sweet too, at least the cats, and I think so.
Before you become profoundly depressed at the prospect of all these cats without homes, take heart. You know I couldn’t leave you (or Jim for that matter) hanging. I had to find out. What is the story about all of these homeless kitty-cats? They are being cared for by a marvelous group of volunteers who call themselves appropriately enough, “Save a Gato!” http://www.saveagato.org or email at SAVEAGATOPR@gmail.com
We visited them at their center in Old San Juan.
Check it out.
Save a Gato’s Mission Statement is, “Save a Gato is dedicated to giving the street cats of Old San Juan a chance at a better life. Using TNR (trap, neuter, return) methods, ‘Save a Gato’ manages a feral cat colony. Cats in the colony are trapped, neutered, and then returned to their territory where volunteers provide them with regular food, medical care and shelter. Young kittens who can be socialized, as well as friendly adults, can be adopted to good homes.”
So if you wanted to adopt a cat, think of “Save A Gato.” They will ship your kitty to you. They accept donations as well. All neutering is paid for by Save a Gato.
Besides this colony, there are other feral cat colonies in Old San Juan, about every block, some homeowner has cat food and water on their doorstep.
There are cat lovers in Old San Juan.
Our hotel has two feral cats in residence. Still there is no way around it, a street kitty is a very sad sight!
My thanks and gratitude go to “Save A Gato” and all the cat lovers in Old San Juan. Cheers to you from the beautiful, friendly, feral-cats of Old San Juan.
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Los Hermosos Arcos de San Juan Puerto Rico~
Entrance to our hotel, El Convento, originally a Carmelite convent built by Spain in 1646.
Evening, central Courtyard Hotel El Convento.
Central Courtyard, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena. Puerto Rico was founded by the Spanish in 1521 and is full of stunning, historic-buildings. (Click to enlarge).
More views of the Instituto Cultura…….
Front facade Instituto de Cultura.
La Fortaleza (Governors Mansion). This is the oldest, continuously occupied governors mansion in the Americas. We toured inside and I will post photos for you soon! It is a gorgeous, stunningly-situated, old mansion and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
El Palacio Rojo. (Now Administrative Offices).
Museo De Las Americas.
Typical tourist shop, Calle Fortaleza in the glorious old-buildings of historic San Juan.
Cheers to you from the very old, y muy hermoso, San Juan!
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Life’s A Beach~
At least in the Caribbean it is! Please click to enlarge and check out the beautiful beaches of San Juan Puerto Rico~
And St Croix…..
I grew up by the ocean, and get alarmed sometimes at the risks some people take. Look closely in the above shot for the two people standing on the rocks…YIKES!
And last, but surely not least, Tortola!
I know it is important to stay out of the sun, but this man’s castle seemed a bit pinched. Still, a man’s beach-castle is never the less his castle and nothing to be trifled with, besides, maybe this was for his kid? I didn’t see the kid though……
Laughing and sending sun, sand, and silliness, your way from the sunny (but buggy) Caribbean! Even paradise ain’t perfect after all, and I have the no-see-um bites to prove it! Cheers and sunshine to you~
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Rikki Tikki Tavi….
is alive and well on St Croix!
And so is his buddy Gus the Gecko!
St Croix is beautiful on the empty north shore except for the geckos, mongoose, iguanas and crabs. My kinda folks! You remember Rudyard’s Rikki?
He saved his human family from the evil cobra Nagaina!
Well Rikki is living under our bungalow, protecting us, and he is cute as a button!
Beautiful tropical flowers are everywhere!
The only thing they don’t have here is speedy WiFi, so please excuse me for not being able to follow and comment on your blogs as much as I would like too! 
Check out my office though, it does have some distinct benefits….
Cheers to you from swinging St Croix!
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Ride, Ride Like the Wind: Puerto Rican Style!
Puerto Rico is so beautiful! Please click to enlarge!
The waves aren’t big by Hawaiian or West Coast standards but there is still plenty of fun under the Puerto Rican sun!
The colors are ethereal!
Plus the water is warm and the wind stiff so the conditions are perfect!
Crystal waters, blue skies and white sand beaches~
You can ride with the wind!
Or just float
There is nothing to stop you from going for a flight……unless of course, like me, you’d rather take some photos and keep your tooties on the sand and in the sea!!
Pease excuse my inability to stay on top of your posts, there are way too many distractions here! Next stop, St. Croix, but until then cheers to you from Puerto Rico and hope all is going very well with you!
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Butterfly in a Winter Wood~
We are in the air and on the move. If all goes well, my next post will be from sunny San Juan Puerto Rico! I will not be able to post, or comment on your wonderful posts for the next few days. But once we settle in, I hope to be back and blogging at least some of the time. Meanwhile I leave you with these holler butterflies and hopes that all is well with you!
They seemed to come suddenly on happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in a winter wood~ Edith Wharton
Painted Lady (Please click to enlarge).
The butterfly, a cabbage white,
(his honest idiocy of flight)
will never now, it is too late,
master the art of flying straight~ Robert Evans
Cabbage White
Butterflies are flowers that fly and all but sing~ Robert Frost
Black Veined Tiger
I do not know if I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man~ Chaung Tzu
Tiger Swallow Tail
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has to go through to achieve that beauty~ Maya Angelou
Happiness is a butterfly which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp~ Ponce Denis Ecouchard Lebrun
I ask only to be free. The butterflies are free~ Charles Dickens
The Holler is unseasonably warm and there are still flutterbyes here! May the sight of the butterflies warm your day! Sending you cheers and well wishes as we travel! Talk to soon from exotic islands!
