Tree-visiting at Mission La Purísima

Fountains and olive trees. Olive oil was one source of mission income back in the day.

Rather than trying to visit my Rocky Mountain Junipers between rainstorms, I'm reporting on some trees I saw at Mission La Purísima in California several weeks ago. It was a lovely spring day and the plants were lush, having been drenched in torrential rains earlier this year.

By far the most common tree was the Coastal (or California) Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia. The old ones were magnificent with their spreading sinuous branches.

Young oak already beginning to curve, with barrel—for olive oil or maybe wine?

On one oak, I found a thriving colony of California's state lichen—Ramalina menziesii or Lace Lichen. It was designated in 2016 by then-Governor Jerry Brown, making California the first state to have a state lichen. How cool is that?!

Some call it "California Spanish Moss".

Beneath the great oaks were healthy thickets of Poison Oak (no relation). If you don't know this plant, it causes a terribly-itchy skin rash. But along the trail, someone had kindly trimmed it back, making a wall of sorts.

In all my time in California, I don't remember seeing this much poison oak!

Now one more tree ... this one for Pat, of Squirrelbasket fame and host of our monthly gathering of tree-followers. It is what we (on the west side of the pond) call sycamore, Platanus racemosa.

"Our" sycamore's leaves and bark, courtesy J. Maughn via Flickr.

After parking my field assistant and van in the shade, I visited the mission itself, as I have many times. Its historical role is complicated. It was one factor in eradication of traditional Chumash (indigenous) culture. Yet at the same time, Catholicism was strongly embraced and became well-established. “I don’t harbor bitterness because I consider God my spoils of war ... I have my Catholicism.” said Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto, whose great-grandmother survived the Chumash rebellion. (For a lengthy and thought-provoking account, see "The Chumash rebellion of 1824 illustrates the changing conversation surrounding life at California's missions". Santa Maria Sun, March 2018.)

For me, heathen that I am, there was no conflict when I entered the cool quiet space of the mission. The thick adobe walls and simple decor seemed to insulate and protect me from the crazy world outside, and offered a chance for secular contemplation.

Mission La Purísima was established in 1787, rebuilt in its present location after a large earthquake in 1812, secularized in 1834, and was in ruins by the 1930s. It was reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, an amazing project and fascinating story.

The park is in La Cañada de los Berros (watercress canyon) very close to the town of Lompoc, yet it feels remote. It's a beautiful and peaceful place to visit—except perhaps in April when group after group of local fourth-graders tours the grounds (as I did, MANY years ago). As a bonus there are about 25 miles of trails, and dogs are allowed on leash.