Tucked into the coastal range 40 miles southeast of here, is a valley that fits my description of near perfection.  The road which travels its length is five miles long. There are few buildings of any kind. Geographers would describe the countryside as oak/savanna. Only the fence lines tell you that the land has been claimed.  On a good year of decent pasturage, you’re apt to see some cattle and maybe men on horseback responsible for their well being.

Even its name Canada (pronounced canyada) Larga has a sweet resonance.  “Canada” has a number of meanings:  valley, glen, cattle trail.  Take your pick.  “Larga is more specific, meaning long (or tall in another dimension).

The valley was part of a 6,658 acre Mexican land grant known as Canada Larga 0 Verde. Turning off highway 33 (one road to Ojai) onto Canada Larga Road you see your first bit of early California history – a 7-foor-high remnant of a rubble wall which was part of the aqueduct that once carried water seven miles from the Ventura River down to the the mission San Buenaventura where it satisfied the needs of the 350 inhabitants for their gardens and pastures.  The waterworks were built by the Chumash Indians under the instruction from the padres sometime between 1785 and the early 1800s.  What’s left of the ruins is protected behind a chain link fence.

Not much remains of the nearby Canada Larga Creek in late spring but a sluggish flow full of clots and streamers of algae.  By the bridge, the creek runs beneath a steep slope of near white rock.

What interested us was the old, rather disreputable blue gum eucalyptus (actually several trees in various stages of decline).  Ignoring the heaps of shed bark caught between branches, our focus was on a Red-tailed Hawk’s nest with a full-grown young standing at its edge with an adult nearby.  Nobody appeared happy with their presence.  The Cassin’s Kingbird with their nest in the same tree voiced their raucous objections, while a pair of Bullock’s Orioles, with their nest in a smaller euc behind, went about their business of carrying food to their young.

I sat in the shade of a walnut orchard where ground doves were seen earlier and watched the activity.  Getting back into the car, with windows down, we proceeded slowly up the narrow road stopping where there appeared to be activity.  Birding along the Canada Larga Road is a challenge as the pullouts are infrequent and hardly adequate and the occasional cars and trucks often travel at a high speed.

Barbwire fences make good perches and we were almost always in sight of a Western Kingbird, a low-slung bird with a yellow belly who would frequently leave its perch to grab something appetizing.  One stop was warranted by a phainopepla calling from the upper branches of a half-dead walnut tree.

My eyes were on the yellow mustard growing along the fence where last year I had seen a dazzling Lazuli Bunting amongst the yellow flowers.  Plenty of mustard this spring but no bunting.  Further up the road everyone (but me) saw a smallish bird sitting on a rusty water tank.  The bird turned out to be a blue grosbeak – one of the target birds of the trip.  And best yet, it appeared to have food in its mouth.  With young to raise, the pair should be around for a while.

Now I could indulge myself with the scenery and days later, at the computer, I would struggle for words adequate to describe what I was seeing.  Maybe I should let it go and simply say that this landscape made me superbly happy.

Was it the contours and shapes of the hills, the close and distant views, the colors and always the possibility of an eagle?.  You’re not going to be slammed by the brilliance of spring wildflowers.  The muted tones of late spring reach a deeper place.  Russets, pale beige grass, drifts of mustard reach up into gray chaparral with lavender undertones.  A gifted Landscape Architect couldn’t do it as well.

Far to the northeast beyond the rounded hills, gave a glimpse of the higher mountains with their irregular profile.  A fresh breeze filled my lungs and lifted hair away from my face.  Two kingbirds flew close to a Raven’s tail.  My birding friend called it a “teaching lesson.”

The road ended at a horse ranch.  Now we were on level ground where we could rest in the shade of live oaks and sycamores with the bubbling songs of House Wrens surrounding us.

We planned on picnicking at a park along the Ventura River where we could count on Yellow Warblers singing in the sycamores and swallows with their small, bright voices sieving up insects over the water.

But I could only think about how nice it would be to set up my cot and roll out my bed roll under the edge of one of the oaks in the Canada Larga valley on a gentle slope with a view in all directions – perfect for night coming on with the changing colors.  I could imagine crickets chirping in the dry grass and a small owl hooting nearby.  Once darkness was complete I would observe stars undimmed by city lights and listen to a night wind rustling the oak leaves, bringing me far off scents.

The next blog will be about the same distance northwest to another favorite spot.  I’m on a roll!