Filoli Mansion and Gardens

The Filoli Mansion is located in Woodside just 30 miles south of San Francisco. It's a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and one of the finest remaining estates of the 20th century. It's open to the public; the entrance fee is only $15 and that gives you access to the gardens, mansion, gift shop and cafe. 

The mansion was built in 1915 for Mr. and Mrs. Bourn, a prominent San Franciscan family. In 1937 it was purchased by the Roth family, a wealthy shipping family from San Francisco, who eventually donated the estate to the National Trust.  You can join a guided tour of the grounds and mansion or just stroll around on your own. The day I chose to go was filled with bright sunshine and brilliant blue skies.

There's much to see and admire on this property and the gardens change with the seasons. Apparently, the color schemes change yearly and festivals are held periodically throughout the year, too. The following photos are mainly from the gardens. 

The welcome sign...

A view of the front entrance to the mansion...

Looking up at the ornate ceiling of the portico...

A view of the mansion from the lower terrace...

A fountain at the retail nursery...

Inside the Garden House...

The view of the Garden Shop and clock tower...

The door leading to the Sunken Garden...

A tribute to the woman who nurtured the gardens and donated the estate...

Views of the Sunken Garden and Reflecting Pond...

One of the many walkways...

Inside the Walled Garden...

The Wedding Place...

A passageway from the Walled Garden...

The Sunken Garden with the clock tower in the distance...

The color scheme this year seemed to include lots of orange...

The swimming pool - no, it's not heated...

A row of trees outside the Walled Garden...

The High Place - the highest point on the property. Those columns are actually ballast from salvaged ships...

Gardners doing what they do...

The patio at the cafe, which by the way serves delicious food...

A majestic oak tree - there are many on the property...

If you'd like to see photos from the interior of the mansion, I've posted those in my Instagrid feed. Do you know how Filoli got its name? It's from the first two letters from the key words of Bourn's credo, "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life." Words we could all live by!

Happy New Year 2012

Wishing you a wonderful new year

filled with frequent visits

in nature!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Briones Regional Park, CA

Last week I went hiking in Briones Regional Park along with some family members. We were all in desperate need of some post-Thanksgiving Day exercise. The weather was a bit crisp but as we made our way up the trail to the crest of the hills, the fog started to give way to warm sunshine. The trees were still decorated with their pretty autumn leaves. Briones is a wonderful park; it's so close to home, and even though it's surrounded by cities and housing developments, in just a short time, you feel as if you're lost in quiet nature.

Here's what the East Bay Regional Park Website has to say about this special place:

With its rolling, grassy hills and secluded, shady canyons, Briones is a secret wilderness surrounded by the towns of central Contra Costa County. Although the park is close to Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord, and Martinez, there are peaks within it from which you can see only park and watershed lands for miles in every direction.

From Briones Peak, the highest point in the park, there are panoramic views of Mount Diablo and the Diablo Valley to the east, the Sacramento River and Delta to the north, the East Bay hills and Mt. Tamalpais to the west, and Las Trampas Regional Wilderness to the south.

So, want to see what we saw?

Off we go...

Fog...

Our trail...

Mt. Diablo in the distance...

Autumn colors...

California blue skies...

A grove of young oaks...

That's Mt. Diablo off in the distance again...

I can't wait to go back and explore some of the other trails. For more information on this park, click HERE.

Autumn's Beginnings

Autumn arrived a bit later than usual here in northern California, but it did arrive! Last weekend I took a photo stroll around the local AT&T business park near my home. The grounds are always beautiful, no matter what time of year, but my favorite time for a visit is right now when the trees are displaying their finest fall coloring. Come take a quick peek and enjoy a taste of my favorite season...

Don't you love autumn and all its vibrantly gorgeous colors?

Click HERE to visit last year's images.