Outings Coordinators in El Nino years require nerves of steel. We plan the outdoor hikes about a month in advance. What if it pours on the day in question? What if no one shows up? What if it doesn't rain for weeks before the hike and all the flowers wither and die? What if the weather gets too hot, too cold, too sunny, too windy? And, consider the detailed planning it took to get three cars full of yowling children (several slightly nauseated from the windy road) to meet eachother in the hills near Edgewood, to the perfect spot for a picnic and ready to meet our intrepid guide by the side of the road at the agreed-upon time?

Well, credit where it's due -- the outing coordinator contributed almost nothing to the unqualified success of this particular expedition. And yet, despite a Keystone Kops beginning, it ALL worked out.

We were not able to keep our caravan together; too many stops for air along the way. But we did finally meet up at what we later agreed was the only obvious spot. Had a lovely picnic on the side of the road, in the cool, but not frigid air. Met our guide, Norma Jean, at approximately the agreed-upon place at approximately the right time.

We walked Edgewood's lovely grounds for slightly more than an hour (the hike was extended by unanimous demand), singing "I'm Called Little Buttercup" to scare away any wildlife foolish enough to wander close. The birds, stayed hidden, of course, but sang with us. Norma Jean had carefully chosen our path earlier in the week to ensure that there was little to no poison oak anywhere nearby. Good thing too, because the kids were having too fine a time to stay rigidly on the path. We took some spills but no significant damage was done.

Some of the flowers we saw in profusion and learned about, but did NOT pick: Blow-wives, delphinium, California poppies, buttercups, blue-witch, poison oak, morning glories (two kinds), fairy lantern, soap plant, tidy tips, goldfields, and blue-eyed grass. The wind rippling through the grass made a lovely sight; though it did get a little chilly at times.

Norma Jean's twenty years of experience with and love of California's native wildflowers won the kids over to her, although she did have to scale back some of her discussions when the singing got too loud. It proved an educational experience for all -- the tripgoers learned about nature; Norma Jean, learned about being in nature with a gaggle of young girls. We all hope to return soon.