Ah, yes... Pastel colors, beds of grass, painted eggs. Since childhood, these have all meant one thing. No, not Easter. Norouz! Err.. that's Iranian New Year for the uninitiated. Each year (duh) as the Vernal Equinox rounds the corner on the calendar, the world marks the first day of Spring, and a few million of us call it the first of the year, as well. I guess that means I'm half pagan or something.

Of course, instead of celebrating by getting blitzed, making resolutions that won't last more than a week, and getting more blitz, tradition calls on us to put out the hafsin, which consists of a display of wheat grass and garlic, among other bizarre things. Hey, man, don't ask me - it has something to do with fertility. The other tradition is to go out somewhere, usually to a park. Luckily, that coincides with my habit of regularly striding through the more pastoral parts of this here Valley, like the Rancho San Antonio preserve and Deer Hollow Farm that are oft subject to these pictorials. Unfortunately, the place was too crowded - probably more damn Eye-ranians or something...But the piggies sure were cute.

So with Trideev in tow, I high-tailed it to nearby Stevens Creek Reservoir, where I shoehorned the Heavenly Honda (notice the divine light shining upon it) into the last free parking space, about an inch from this big chunk of equipment. Little did I know I had like a mile between me and that Saturn, but that bike rack scared me, it did!

Unlike the drinking water that comes out of it, the reservoir is damn pretty. The trail going up from there is a sight as well, and while it's primarily uphill, it's got a very consistent pitch and a lot of nice shady spots to cool off in. Once at the top you get some pretty nice views...

Along the way, there's some interesting microflora - I don't know if that's a real word, but dammit, I'm going to put all that kawledge to use and put a couple of Latin roots together. If you click and enlarge it, you might be amazed to know that these flowers are no bigger than the head of a thumbtack. There's a range of environments along the way - like the chapparal of the picture with the railing way above, or the cool, nearly canopied forest that Trideev is finding himself lost in. Hiking through this stuff is part of my get-in-shape plan, which, as you can tell by this picture, I seriously need. ;)

Alas, at the end of the day, it's always time to go back to the stucco suburbia that is home... Besides, we need to leave all the pigs and ducks and whatnot alone - Spring is mating season, right?