Place: Weekend hike to Lake Miramar......

This weekend we visited Lake Miramar.......about 15 miles from home...
It has a dam and recreation opportunities......
As soon as we reached there, the overcast sky broke into drizzles...a much welcome relief in parched, fire-prone San Diego...
Trapped inside the car, I took this picture...rain drops on windshield, rarely we get to see..

As it stopped, we walked down to the lake shore...the tree branches were swaying..the waves were turbulent..

Nice wooden steps led to the shores...we saw a couple of turtles bobbing up and down..and some water fowls..

As we started hiking  the 5 mile loop trail encircling the lake, saw this group...especially my spouse was elated to see eight cheerful canines...

There are fishing groups, also kayakers.. 

Chaparral around the lake had come alive with colored blooms..monkey flower, mustard, deerweed and many more I don't recognize..

Saw some interesting stuffs...like, these pink clumps on reeds? Do you know what they are? Well, these are egg mass of apple snails inhabiting the lake...

And these spiked spheroids are turban galls..

These are another kind of galls...

All these leaf and stem galls are caused by aphids, to protect and provide food for their larvae..

As the pictures reflect, it was an refreshing and informative nature walk...

Don't forget to explore your surroundings...they have the unappreciated ability to de-stress and invigorate body, heart, soul..