Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold. / Her early leaf's a flower;/ But only so an hour. / Then leaf subsides to leaf. / So Eden sank to grief, / So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay. -- Robert Frost

There is a show going on just north of Ventura that you don't want to miss. It is, quite simply, breathtaking.

Naturalists say this is one of the best years ever for wildflowers. But you don't have to drive to Gorman or Anza-Borrego to find them. Just take a leisurely drive up Canada Larga Road off Highway 33. Along this meandering, pastoral road is a dazzling display of wild mustard that covers the hills like a carpet of molten gold.

A good friend and I took a drive back there the other day and pulled over to a turnout just to drink in the scenery and listen to the quiet. Sometimes it's good to take some time out of our busy lives to stop and look at the mustard.

Local lore says that Father Junipero Serra himself brought the mustard seed from Spain and planted it to mark the trails leading to his missions. The sunny yellow blooms cover the coastline this time of year from San Diego to Sonoma, where a Napa Valley Mustard Festival is held annually.

But wild mustard's bloom time is short. So go up and take a look. Nothing gold can stay.

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