California (coast) live oak (Q. agrifolia) flowers, pollinated and ready to become acorns over the course of the summer. I have mentioned that where I live near Morro Bay it is generally quite cool, with highs in the 60s pretty much year round, and thick morning and evening fogs, while just 20 miles inland at Atascadero or Paso Robles it gets colder in winter and cooks at 100+ in the summer. In between is San Luis Obispo, just beyond the curtain of fog that so often shrouds the coast, but with enough coastal influence to keep from overheating. In other words, just about perfect.
Which is why no one can afford to live there.
But back to the flowers. To me this is what it's all about. These inconspicuous flowers - so inconspicuous that 99.4% of the visitors to this park wouldn't even recognize them as such - are more beautiful in my eyes than any rose or lily. Because to me - and to the Chumash people long before me - these flowers represent the promise of this:
Which reminds me of a little known fact. Most American Indian tribal names mean "The People" in each given language. In contrast Chumash, loosely translated, means "People of the dented skulls."
OK, I made that up.
I get to this park quite often. I will be tracking the development of these acorns over the course of the summer. And eating them in autumn.
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