Camissonia's Corner

A Total Lunar Eclipse, Manzanita Mania and did we somehow skip winter?

2012-01-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

We started the Fall season with some much-needed rains, brisk temperatures, and even some hurricane-forced Santa Ana winds here in SoCal. But for the past several weeks it's been bone dry, still windy at times, and downright warm. We went to my parents' house in San Dimas on Christmas day for Chinese hot pot, which had been planned about a month prior because we assumed it would be really, really cold so some nice, steaming hot soup would hit the spot. NOT!!! It was a 75F. Just not the same. Anyhoo, the hot pot was still great, but the warm weather seemed incongruent with the winter holiday season.

I've been taking it real easy after cervical spine surgery, but at least the camera is not off limits (just the heavier stuff, including the vacuum cleaner, mop & pail, so Gil has been forced to take over some of the house cleaning duties - heh, heh!). So here's a wrap up of what's been going on around the grounds for the past month.

To kick things off, we experienced an unusual phenomenon last month in the form of a total lunar eclipse, which was visible in our area at the crack of dawn on December 10th. I got up around 6am and managed to get a couple of reasonably clear shots before the moon disappeared behind the horizon. The next total lunar eclipse will not happen again until April of 2014.

12/10/11 View of a reddish-hued moon in a total eclipse from the front side of the house, just after 6am.

12/10/11 Getting lighter outside as the sun rises, but the moon is still visible.

1/5/12 View of wispy clouds at around 7am, outside the kitchen door.

1/5/11 I never get tired of cloud shots.

Despite the unseasonably warm weather, many of the manzanitas in the garden have begun to bloom, some quite prolifically, so the hummers and bees are out in force.

1/1/12 'La Panza' or Gray Manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola x A. stanfordiana bakeri). This one, which has the silvery-gray foliage of A. silvicola, is growing nicely under the shade of a very large 'San Gabriel' Fremontodendron next to the driveway.

1/1/12 Paradise Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pajaroensis). I love the bronzy-red new foliage and the extremely long-lasting blooms of this floriferous manzanita. We have two 4' shrubs growing along a walkway at the front entry of the house.

1/1/12 Another shot of Paradise Manzanita, in full bloom, along the gravel walkway.

1/6/12 'Sentinel' Manzanita (Arctostaphylos densiflora selection).

1/1/12 Island Manzanita (Arctostaphylos insularis). I planted this one in 2008, and it hasn't grown very much (it's just under 3' right now). However, this year it's put forth more blooms than I've ever seen before. Endemic to Santa Cruz Island of the Channel Islands.

1/1/12 Ghostly Manzanita (Arctostaphylos silvicola).

1/1/12 A 5 ft. shrub of 'Austin Griffiths' Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita x A. densiflora).

1/6/12 'Ian Bush' Manzanita (hybrid, A. densiflora x A. pungens?). This one is forming into a nice hedge, about 4' x 4'.

1/1/12 Santa Cruz Manzanita (Arctostaphylos andersonii). This one's still a baby at 2' tall, but starting to produce more blooms. Endemic to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

1/1/12 Frazier Park Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca).

1/1/12 'Pacific Mist' Manzanita (a Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden introduction) on the right, and 'Ken Taylor' Manzanita (A. hookeri) on the left, under a young Monterey Cypress. After about 3 years, these two plants are starting to form into nice ground covers over a gentle slope.

1/1/12 'Dr. Hurd' Manzanita (A. manzanita), next to the pond.

1/1/12 From left to right: Julian or Cuyamaca Manzanita (A. patula var. platyphylla), Mexican or Pointleaf Manzanita (A. pungens), and Laguna Manzanita (A. glandulosa ssp. adamsii).

1/1/12 Glossyleaf Manzanita (A. nummularia). In the past, I've had no luck planting this manzanita in the ground, so I decided to try potting one after buying a one gallon from the RSABG fall plant sale last November. The species hails from the Ft. Bragg area in Northern California, so needs moderate water and some shade. I potted it in a blend of cactus soil and azalea planting mix and have it in the herb garden, which only gets about 3 hours of direct sunlight this time of year. So far, so good...

And for a few non-manzanita happenings in the garden:

1/1/12 'Ray Hartman' Ceanothus (another Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden intro). I see a lot of flower buds forming on many of the ceanothus plants, but this is the first one in bloom.

12/15/11 Beautiful red berries of a Toyon, aka 'Christmas Berry' (Heteromeles arbutifolia) we have growing next to the herb garden. These are native to the Santa Rosa Plateau. In fact, there are several super showy specimens in full bloom right now off Clinton Keith Road between the Bear Creek Fire Station and the La Cresta turnoff.

1/1/12 Chaparral Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus).

1/6/12 Las Pilitas Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), growing under one of the sycamores.

I started a project in the fall of 2010 to create a California native meadow/grassland. It's only 10' x 5' and enclosed by chicken wire to keep the bunnies out, but doing nicely so far. I've got Purple Needlegrass (Nasella pulchra or is it now Stipa pulchra?), which is a native bunchgrass found on the plateau., California Fescue (Festuca californica), Tufted Hairgrass (Deschampia caespitosa), Blue Grama Grass (Bouteloua gracilis), and Clustered Field Sedge (Carex praegracilis) growing here, along with Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), Padre's Shooting Star (Dodecatheon clevelandii), and seedlings of Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa), Goldfields (Lasthenia californica), Bird's Eye Gilia (Gilia tricolor), Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia bottae), and Owl's Clover (Castilleja exserta). Amazing what you can fit into a small area. I've been watering every couple days, though, to keep the seedlings going because of our recent lack of rain. Hoping for a cool, miniature wildflower show in the spring!

The leafless sycamores next to the driveway lend a nice Fall feel to the grounds, despite the balmy weather.

And last, but not least, some of our recent avian visitors:

12/13/11 Now that's one cute little Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata). He was hopping around near the back deck and then ended up on this rodent trap - yikes!!

12/24/11 White Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), under the bird feeder. Mix of both adults and first winter juveniles, which have the chestnut/gray crown strips.

12/11/11 Sharp-Shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) on the birdfeeder, and he wasn't there for the bird seed...

1/4/12 House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) on a Mutabilis China Rose.

Eastern Sierras: Rock Creek and Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop

2011-11-27T00:39:00.000-08:00

Day three of our summer vacation this past August took us to one of our fav locations in the Eastern Sierras: Rock Creek. The Eastern Sierra is generally one of the less travelled areas in CA (compared to Yosemite or Sequoia National Parks), but not on this trip. We unfortunately took our sweet time getting out of the gate that morning from Bishop and didn't get up to the road end at Mosquito Flat trailhead until 10am. Too late...parking lot was completely full, and we were sandwiched between a bunch of cars trying to do the same thing we were attempting to do (i.e. park). So, we headed back down Rock Creek Rd., and eventually found a parking spot about a half mile down. I was winded from the elevation, so we decided to just lunch and hang around the immediate area rather than hike back up the road to the trailhead. Despite the traffic issues, we enjoyed our time along Rock Creek and saw more than enough wildflowers to make it so very worth the while.

8/16/11 Rock Creek Road.

Rock Creek Road.

Squaw Currant (Ribes cereum). South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

Antelope Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata). South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

Phlox species. South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

Phlox species, about 1 mile before Mosquito Flat trailhead off of Rock Creek Rd.

8/16/11 Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum anrosaemifolium). South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground). Last time we brought Hana out here was in July of 2005 when she was 9 months old.

8/16/11 South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

Hana, staring at her own reflection. South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

Sulphur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum). South Fork of Rock Creek (day use area across road from Palisade Campground).

False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina stellata). Day use area across road from Palisade Campground.

Linear-leaf Paintbrush (Castilleja linearifolia). Day use area across road from Palisade Campground.

Stansbury's Phox (Phlox stansburyi). Day use area across road from Palisade Campground.

Mountain Pennyroyal (Monardella glauca). Rock Creek Rd.

Idaho Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium idahoense). Roadside seep off of Rock Creek Road.

Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia californica). Roadside seep off of Rock Creek Road between Rock Creek Resort and Pine Camp.

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). Rock Creek Rd.

Rock Creek Road.

Meadow Penstemon (Penstemon rydbergii). Rock Creek Road, between Rock Creek Resort and Pine Camp.

Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata). Rock Creek Road, between Rock Creek Resort and Pine Camp.

Bridge's Penstemon (Penstemon rostriflorus). Rock Creek Road.

Nude Buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum). Rock Creek Road.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Rock Creek Road.

Paintbrush (Castilleja sp.). Rock Creek Road.

Sierra Angelica (Angelica lineariloba). Rock Creek Road.

Rock Creek.

Giant Red/Streamside Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). Rock Creek.

Swamp Onion (Allium validum). Rock Creek.

Sticky Cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa). Rock Creek.

Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum). Rock Creek.

Mountain Pride Penstemon (Penstemon newberryi). Rock Creek.

Pussy Toes (Antennaria media). Rock Creek.

Rock Creek.

Female Boisduval's Blue? (Plebejus icarioides). Female can be all brown above or with varying amounts of blue. Rock Creek.

Female Boisduval's Blue? (Plebejus icarioides).

Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus leichtlinii). Rock Creek.

Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis). Rock Creek.

Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa). Rock Creek.

Timberline Phacelia (Phacelia hastata). Rock Creek.

Rock Creek Lake.

Sierra Rein Orchid (Platanthera leucostachys). Roadside seep off of Rock Creek Road.

Kelley's Tiger Lily (Lilium kelleyanum). Roadside seep off of Rock Creek Rd.

Sierra Gentian (Gentianopsis holopetala). Roadside seep off of Rock Creek Road.

Sierra Gentian (Gentianopsis holopetala).

Lupines & Paintbrushes in full bloom on a roadside seep off of Rock Creek Rd.

Sierra Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis). Rock Creek Road.

Prickly Poppy (Argemone munita). Lower elevation of Rock Creek Rd.

Bark of Jeffrey Pine. Lower elevation of Rock Creek Rd. enroute to junction with Hwy 395. It really does smell like vanilla and/or butterscotch!

Looks like a burn area, with lots of prickly poppies in bloom. Lower elevation of Rock Creek Rd.

The ubiquitous Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) growing at the base of a Jeffrey Pine. Lower elevation of Rock Creek Rd.

Hana & Gil checking under the canopy of a Jeffrey Pine. Rock Creek Rd.

View of Crowley Lake from Hwy 395N enroute to Mammoth Lakes.

Junction of Hwy. 395 and 203 to Mammoth Lakes.

Pussypaws (Calyptridium umbellatum). Mammoth Lakes Scenic Loop.

After our sojourn to Rock Creek, we checked into the Sierra Nevada Lodge on Old Mammoth Rd. in Mammoth Lakes. It's got quite a history, especially with Hollywood of yore. Anyhoo, the rates are reasonable, the comforter is down (very comfy), and pets are allowed. Awesome!

Gil & Hana, all tuckered out after the day's outings.

You're on Candid Motion Detector Camera...

2011-11-11T23:10:00.000-08:00

So back in October we set up the motion detector camera in the back patio to hopefully get a shot of whatever critter was going to town every night underneath the Butterfly Bush, littering the vicinity with twigs, cuttings from the scented geraniums, and (of all things) very large scat that looked suspiciously like dog poop (where'd it come from? Hana's dog run?!). Anyhoo, we're inclined to believe that these late-night machinations are the works of a very large rat. The resultant photographic evidence strongly suggests the possibility of rodent culpability. But it also sheds light on the fact that a plethora of critters are and have been traipsing through our back patio. Here's the pantheon:

Now, that looks like a rat, hightailing it around the pillar.

WTF is that? That thing to the left with roundish ears and whiskers looks too big to be rat, unless the urban legends are not freakin' legends...

Bunny!

California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum)

California Towhee (Melozone crissalis).

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). Ok, so what could be more awesome than a roadrunner running through your back patio? Just sayin.'

California Fuchsias - Red Hot Hotties in the Fall Garden

2011-11-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

No better harbinger of fall than the brilliant crimson flowers of Cal Fuchsias. These fantabulous natives were in peak bloom on our grounds in September. The hummingbirds were dive-bombing like there was no tomorrow...

9/5/11 Zauschneria (or Epilobium) californica 'UC Hybrid.'

9/5/11 Zauschneria (Epilobium) californica 'Ghostly Red.'

9/5/11 Catalina Island California Fuchsia (Zauschneria/Epilobium californica). A very tall (4-5'), upright Cal Fuchsia that is stunning in the landscape with it's greyish foliage and scarlet fall blooms. This one is 3 years old growing next to a 'Dr. Hurd' Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita).

9/5/11 Catalina Island California Fuchsia (Zauschneria/Epilobium californica).

9/5/11 'Uvas Canyon' California Fuchsia (Zauschneria/Epilobium californica).

9/5/11 Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) in full bloom, Konocti Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. elegans), St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum), Woolly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum), and 'Route 66 California Fuchsia.

9/5/11 'Route 66' California Fuchsia (a Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden intro).

Now on to other fall beauties:

10/14/11 'Eve Case' Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica).

10/14/11 'Aguirre' Turpentine Brush (Haplopappus laricifolia) and Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens).

10/14/11 Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). This one likes lots of water (so it's in my mountain meadow planter) & is very attractive to the hummers.

10/14/11 'Sunset' Monkeyflower.

10/14/11 Island Bristleweed (Hazardia detonsa). Native to the Channel Islands.

10/14/11 Scarlet Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis).

Eastern Sierras: Onion Valley & Independence

2011-10-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

I've been lagging for awhile now, in both my blog postings and also in perusing my fav bloggers' postings (although I've continued to post on Facebook, as the entries there don't take much effort and are generally short & sweet).

I've hit a bit of a rough patch lately due to health issues, but nothing insurmountable. No 'woe is me' BS, though, cuz life is good, life goes on, and there are a lot of other folks out there worse off than me. Never underestimate the power of love, family and prayer!

Now on to the next leg of our summer vacay in the Eastern Sierras, which I had intended to post over a month and a half ago. After hitting South Lake & Lake Sabrina from Bishop on August 14th, we headed up to Onion Valley (Independence region) the next day. The best time for summer wildflower viewing here is in July, so we were a tad late in the season, but the Mountain Larkspur, Sierra Angelica, Fireweed, and a few others were still in primo bloom. Here are the highlights of our excursion:

8/15/11 Onion Valley Road.

From the town of Independence off Hwy. 395, Onion Valley Rd. ascends about 5,000 feet to 9,200 feet to the parking area at the end of the road (about a 15-mile drive), where a Forest Service campground and several popular wilderness trailheads are located.

Elaine, Gil & I camped here back in July of 2000 - an amazingly beautiful setting surrounded by Aspens & pines, with the roar of Independence Creek in the backdrop and a view of several (we saw three) waterfalls cascading down from the surrounding peaks.

The only downside to that trip was our constant paranoia about the bears. We have a lot of experience desert camping and wouldn't bat an eye if we saw a rattlesnake, scorpion or Coyote. But bears?? We never saw no freakin' bears in Death Valley or the Mojave! Here in Onion Valley, however, it seemed that we were accosted by signs at turn and corner in the campground, warning us of the perils of not putting EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING EDIBLE OR THAT HAS AN IOTA OF FRAGRANCE TO IT far far away from your campsite, preferably in the next County, or at least in one of those supposedly impenetrable metal bear boxes. So after dinner, I remember we hastily threw all our food, utensils, toiletries, etc. into said bear lockers and then donned our impromptu hazmat suits to cleanse and purify our campsite before bedtime. Still uneasy though, we decided to tie a bunch of bear bells on a clothesline and rigged it around our tent as an early warning system in case a bear decided to encroach on our sleeping quarters. Last but not least, we collectively downed a couple bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon as a night cap to take the edge off our general edginess. Well, needless to say, the night passed without incident, but we woke up with raging migraines the next day. Moral of the story: when in bear country, just use common sense and the bear lockers as recommended, have fun, and don't spend the entire time obsessing about bears; most importantly, NEVAH EVAH BOOZE IT UP when camping out at high elevations!

Onion Valley Road.

Greenleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula). This manzanita carpets a large portion of the high montane chaparral along Onion Valley Road.

Greenleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula). Onion Valley Road.

Onion Valley Road.

Greenleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula). Onion Valley Road.

Per Sue Irwin's California's Eastern Sierra, A Visitor's Guide, "Onion Valley...offers a unique opportunity to see seven different pine species growing within a few miles of one another. Five species can be seen at the roadend in Onion Valley. Foxtail, limber, lodgepole and a few whitebark pines grow together in the campground; nearby, on the rocky slope traversed by the Kearsarge Pass Trail, stand some large Jeffrey Pines. Pinyon pine becomes the dominant conifer a short distance below Onion Valley, and a stand of ponderosa pine-unusual in the Eastern Sierra-thrives at Seven Pine Grove, located where Onion Valley Road crosses Independence Creek about eight miles below the roadend."

Monkshood (Aconitum columbianum).

Great Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata).

Corn Lily (Veratrum californicum).

Inyo Meadow Lupine (Lupinus pratensis var. pratensis).

Sierra Rein Orchid (Platanthera leuchostachys).

Gil & Hana surrounded by Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) next to Independence Creek.

Bear scat, down near the creek!!

Hana checking out a tree (probably smells like a bear's been there). Unfortunately, this shot also makes Gil look like an oddly-shaped satyr with a fluffy tail and two front paws...

Hana, cooling her paws in Independence Creek.

Independence Creek. That orange-hued splatter art on the rock is pretty cool, but I have to wonder, is it natural or man-made?

The ubiquitous Great Basin Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

Goat's Beard/Yellow Salsify (Tragopogon dubius).

Parking area at road end of Onion Valley Road. Onion Valley is named for the Swamp Onion (Allium vallidum), with it's beautiful magenta-hued flowers, which grows in abundance here. Oh, yeah, and den dere's da bears...a ranger once told us that if we decided to forgo the bear lockers and leave our foodstuffs and/or toiletries in our vehicle, we may as well leave the windows rolled down so they could just climb in and out at will - otherwise, these guys will readily tear out your windows or windshield to get to the goodies. And don't think they won't go after the beer in your cooler, either!

8/15/11 Gil and Hana in the backdrop of a nice stand of Sierra Angelica (Angelica liniariloba).

Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum).

Gil, trying to find his way into the Snow Survey shelter. If I weren't around, he'd probably try to break the padlock.

Wright's Buckwheat (Eriogonum wrightii). Lots of this buckwheat in bloom all along Onion Valley Road and up through the trailheads at the road end.

Corn Lilies a bit past their prime. The Mountain Larkspurs (Delphinium glaucum), however, were in full bloom with many towering at over 6' tall!

Corn Lilies (Veratrum californicum).

Tinker's Penny (Hypericum anagalloides).

Brewer's Fleabane (Erigeron brewerii).

Sierra Angelica (Angelica linearloba).

Got it...keep it wild. No problemo.

Hmmm...okay then! The intelligence quotient of these ursine critters is slightly perturbing...

Now, that's just patently freaky!

Blue Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana).

Mountain Gooseberry (Ribes montigenum). Kearsarge Pass trailhead.

Wyoming Paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia).

Hikers descending Kearsarge Pass trail.

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum).

Mountain Larkspur (Delphinium glaucum).

Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa).

Blue Mantle (Eriastrum densiflorum). Lower elevations of Onion Valley Road.

Fremont's Bushmallow (Malacothamnus fremontii). Lower elevations of Onion Valley Rd.

Prickly Poppy (Argemone munita). Lower elevations of Onion Valley Rd.

Bridge's Penstemon (Penstemon rostriflorus).

Bridge's Gilia? (Gilia leptalea). Lower elevations of Onion Valley Rd.

Lower elevation of Onion Valley Road, with Prickly Poppies (Argemone munita) in bloom.

On our way back from Onion Valley through Independence, we stopped by Mary Austin's home on 253 Market St. (corner of Webster of Main Streets). Mary Austin was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction, best know for her first book (1903) The Land of Little Rain, a collection of essays about the peoples, plants, and animals of the Eastern Sierras and arid desert regions of California.

Mary Austin's home. For years (our first visit here was in July 2000), the house has been closed to the public. It looks like there's been some renovation and I'm guessing it's under private ownership now, but I sure hope they'll open it up one day to visitors.

Hana, looking alert from the neighbor's poochies barking (probably at her).

Large willow tree at Mary Austin's home.

Mary Austin's home.

Post Office in Independence. You can tell this little town is patriotic!

Historic Inyo County Courthouse (built in 1869) in Independence, still in operation today.

Eastern Sierras: South Lake & Lake Sabrina

2011-08-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

We just returned from our summer vacation up in the Eastern Sierras today, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find the weather back home so unusually mild (low 80s). We were in Lone Pine yesterday, and it was 98F in the shade. Earlier in the morning we had driven up to Whitney Portal, which is only about a 25 minute drive from Lone Pine, and it was a comfy 62F. Wow. Our arctic weather-loving Akita, Hana, thought she had died and gone to heaven. What a difference a few thousand feet in elevation makes. The Eastern Sierras is not only a land of stark contrasts and stunning geologic features, but is also rich in human history and boasts an amazing diversity of flora & fauna. We've traveled extensively throughout this part of California over the years (a staple destination for our summer vacations) - so much so, that we would love to have our own little getaway log cabin out there up in the high country, preferably next to a creek under the canopy of Aspens, Jeffrey Pines and White Firs. Who knows, with the depressed state of real estate, we may actually find something affordable out there...

This year, we hit South Lake & Lake Sabrina (pronounced "sa-breye-nah" btw, which I just found out) in the Bishop area; Onion Valley (Independence region); Rock Creek; Mammoth Lakes; Lundy Canyon (just north of Lee Vining); Alabama Hills & Whitney Portal (Lone Pine region). The curse and blessing of digital photography is that I ended up taking about 1,500 photos. I kid you not. Anyhoo, I will be posting the highlights of our sojourns over the next few blog entries after I've sorted through the wheat and chaff of all these freaking photos.

First stop: South Lake and Lake Sabrina. A major watershed in the Eastern Sierras, the Bishop Creek drainage is comprised of the north, middle and south forks of Bishop Creek. Lake Sabrina (9,132') is located on the middle fork of Bishop Creek, while South Lake (9,755') is on the south fork. Needless to say, I spent most of my time birding and botanizing. Kudos to Gil & Hana for their eternal patience...

8/14/11 West Line St. (Hwy. 168). Heading west from the town of Bishop to Bishop Creek Canyon. Inyo National Forest, Inyo County, CA.

8/14/11 Wyoming or Long-leaved Paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Great Basin Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) next to Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum), both ubiquitous in the Eastern Sierras. Bishop Creek Rd., east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Sulfur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum). Bishop Creek Rd., east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Sierra Angelica/Soda Straw (Angelica lineariloba). South Lake.

8/14/11 Ranger's Buttons (Sphenosciadium capitellatum). South Lake.

8/14/11 Wyoming or Long-leaved Paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia) and Big/Great Basin Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Wax Currant (Ribes cereum). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Mountain Misery (Chamaebatiaria millefolium). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Dusty Maidens (Chaenactis douglasii var. douglasii). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Granite Gilia (Leptodactylon pungens). Bishop Creek Road, east of South Lake.

8/14/11 Great Red/Streamside Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). South fork, Bishop Creek.

8/14/11 Swamp Onion (Allium validum). South fork, Bishop Creek.

8/14/11 Owl's Claws (Hymenoxys hoopesii). South Lake.

8/14/11 Timberline Phacelia (Phacelia hastata ssp. compacta). South Lake.

8/14/11 Nuttall's Linanthus (Leptodactylon nuttallii). South Lake.

8/14/11 Mountain Pride Penstemon (Penstemon newberryi). South Lake.

8/14/11 South Lake. Sunny, clear & 62F.

8/14/11 Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). South Lake.

8/14/11 Lupine (still trying to ID this one). South Lake.

8/14/11 Brook Saxifrage (Saxifraga odontoloma). Roadside seep at South Lake.

8/14/11 American Dogwood (Cornus sericea). Across road from Weir Lake just before South Lake.

8/14/11 Alpine Goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata). South Lake.

8/14/11 Great Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), Ranger's Buttons (Sphenosciadium capitellatum), Mountain Pennyroyal (Monardella glauca).

8/14/11 Arnica species? South Lake.

8/14/11 View from South Lake.

8/14/11 Mountain Pennyroyal (Monardella glauca). South Lake.

8/14/11 Scarlet Penstemon (Penstemon rostriflorus). South Lake.

8/14/11 Great Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). South Lake.

8/14/11 Monkshood (Aconitum columbianum). South Lake (across road from Weir Lake).

8/14/11 Weir Lake,next to South Lake.

8/14/11 Glaucous Larkspur (Delphinium glaucum). South Lake.

8/14/11 Carpet Clover (Trifolium monanthum). South Lake. Flowers (1/2") are tiny!

8/14/11 Sierra Rein Orchid (Platanthera leucostachys). Roadside seep, South Lake.

8/14/11 Cool roots. South Lake.

8/14/11 Small-leaved Cream Bush (Holodiscus microphyllus). South Lake.

8/14/11 South Lake.

8/14/11 Hana & Gil,moseying back to the truck.

8/14/11 Underside of a Mountain Chickadee. South Lake.

8/14/11 Hooker's Evening Primrose (Oenothera elata ssp. hirsutissima). Bishop Creek Rd.

8/14/11 Enroute to Lake Sabrina.

8/14/11 Middle Fork, Bishop Creek.

8/14/11 Middle Fork, Bishop Creek (Lake Sabrina).

8/14/11 Interior Rose (Rosa woodsii). Lake Sabrina.

8/14/11 Showy Penstemon (Penstemon speciosus)? Lake Sabrina.

8/14/11 Lake Sabrina.

Look at that sapphire-blue water! Like Switzerland in Cali (oddly enough, there seem to be more Europeans around here than us natives).

8/14/11 False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina stellata). Lake Sabrina.

8/14/11 Heading back to Bishop from Lake Sabrina.

8/14/11 Piute Shoshone Cultural Center on W. Line Street in Bishop. Wasn't open when we stopped by, so just took some photos of the building's exterior.

8/14/11 One of the many murals painted on Bishop's buildings. This one was on the side wall of "Amigos" Mexican Restaurant on S. Main Street.

Treks on the Santa Rosa Plateau: Canchalaguas & Scarlet Monkeyflowers!

2011-08-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

The summer doldrums are definitely slowing down the pace of my blog postings. It hasn't been horrendously hot here in SoCal, but just enough to keep me from traipsing through the grounds and indiscriminately snapping shots of all the plants & critters within my visual range and with my usual gusto. Marine layer is wafting in tonight so I feel quite Zen, considering my earlier anxiety when a plume of smoke materialized around 5:30pm across the hill from our back patio. Momentarily scary, but our excellent fire crews snuffed it out within the hour. It's happened before, and it will undoubtedly happen again and again. Sigh...

8/6/11 FIRE! Luckily contained within an hour. Wonder what caused it...last one was due to someone mowing dry brush in hot & windy conditions. Common sense out the window...

Onto other adventures. Two weekends ago, we trekked out to the Plateau on a relatively cool morning (low 80s), and happened on some blooming plants along Vista Grande Trail and Waterline Road. The pantheon of floral splendor really dispels the myth that natives are generally dreary and out of commission during our hot & dry summer months here in SoCal.

7/24/11 Canchalagua (Zeltnera venusta). Vista Grande Trail, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. Next to Mariposa Lilies, one of my favorite wildflowers!

7/24/11 Canchalagua (Zeltnera venusta). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Rigid Hedge Nettle (Stachys ajugoides var. rigida). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Scarlet Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis). Creekside, Vista Grande Trail. Uncommon here - first time I've seen these on the Reserve.

7/24/11 Creek Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). Cross drainage on Waterline Road.

7/24/11 Southern Honeysuckle (Lonicera subspicata var. denudata).

7/24/11 Narrow-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Fragrant Everlasting (Pseudognaphalium beneolens). This plant definitely has an interesting scent (a love it or hate it kind of aroma). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Hooker's Evening Primrose (Oenothera elata ssp. hirsutissima). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Southern Skullcap (Scutellaria bolanderi ssp. austromontana). Cross drainage at Waterline Road.

7/24/11 Showy seedpods of Pomona Locoweed (Astragalus pomonensis). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Hollyleaf Redberry (Rhamnus ilicifolia). Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Wild Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum). Non-native, I think. Cross drainage at Waterline Road.

7/24/11 Squaw Bush (Rhus trilobata). No blooms or berries, but has nice foliage. Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 Vista Grande Trail.

7/24/11 California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum ssp. canum). Junction of Vista Grande Trail & Waterline Rd.

7/24/11 Ash-Throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens). Waterline Road.

7/24/11 Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) on Yellow Star Thistle (an invasive weed, btw). Cross-drainage at Waterline Road.

7/24/11 Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon). Vista Grande Trail.

Visitor Center at the Reserve.

California native plant-themed garden around the Visitor Center. Lots of Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) in bloom.

White sage (Salvia apiana).

Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum).

Water feature in the new area behind the visitor center.

7/24/11 Western Sycamore next to the new deck behind the visitor center.

Burn area behind the visitor center (from the 9/1/10 'Clinton' fire). Looks like Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis) is coming back in force.

More of the burn area.

And my favorite new display behind the visitor center.

Who's that Froggy in the Window?

2011-07-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since my last post - work, life and a multitude of other distractions were, needless to say 'distracting.'

So here we are, finally, in the throes of summer, replete with endless sunshine and muy caliente temps. Oddly enough, we are actually cooler than the Midwest, which of late has been transmogrified into Dante's Inferno...

The garden is now sporting some fab blooms from the more drought tolerant trees & shrubs, AND, the fruits on the 'Scarlet Robe' peach tree are ripening & delish. The highlight of the month, however, has to be the froggy in the window. Really. I was plunking away on the computer last Sunday around 9:30pm when I saw a tiny frog hopping up and down along the window ledge in front of me. What the.....? I didn't even recognize it as an amphibian at first - thought it was some ginormous moth or perchance even a rodent. But a frog? How in tarnation did it scale 3 feet of stuccoed wall to get up to the window?

7/17/11 Shot from the inside: here he is - all 1 1/2 inches of him...

Shot from the outside.

A slightly better view, courtesy of macro lens & Photo Shop. After perusing the field guides, I think he's a Pacific Tree Frog (Hyla regilla). His size, dark stripe through the eye, and ability to scale walls are indicative.

7/16/11 Vine Hill Clarkia 'White Form' (Clarkia imbricata).

7/16/11 California Goldenrod (Solidago californica) and Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis).

'Alpine' Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii). Got this one from Las Pilitas Nursery (hails from the town of Alpine in San Diego County).

7/18/11 California Quail. This fella was scouting for enemy raptors as his extended family feasted on birdseed under the nearby birdfeeder.

7/16/11 'Green Cloud' Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) next to an Italian Stone Pine. Native to Texas & Mexico. This beautiful shrub is a no-brainer in the Mediterranean/xerispcape landscape. Extremely drought tolerant once established.

7/16/11 Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplidifolia) & 'Coronation Gold' Yarrow adjacent to Thompson Seedless & Zinfandel grapes. Native Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina), California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), and Chaparral Mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus) in the backdrop.

7/16/11 'Las Pilitas' Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), growing under one of the AZ Sycamores.

7/16/11 'Scarlet Robe' Peach, in full fruit.

7/16/11 Fresh picked...

7/16/11 The potted and bare root fruit trees we planted this past winter (pluots, nectarines, Honey Crisp Apple, Comice Pear, Mission Fig, assorted citrus, blueberries & avocados) on the back slope seem to be taking.

7/4/11 Hana, surveying the horizon for her coyote boyfriends.

7/2/11 'Ken Taylor' Fremontodendron off the driveway. A more compact form (8' x 8') of our native Flannel Bush that works really well over a slope.

7/2/11 'Ken Taylor' Fremontodendron.

7/2/11 Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis). Love, love this smallish native desert tree. It goes deciduous in the winter, but come summer, rejuvenates with magnificent blooms, which the hummers imbibe on with gusto!

7/2/11 Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis).

7/2/11 'White Cloud' Chitalpa. A cross between our native Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) and the eastern Catalpa. We planted four of these trees along the driveway a couple years back. Very floriferous this season.

7/2/11 'White Cloud' Chitalpa next to a very young 'Dara's Gold' Fremontia.

What's up with the May grays & June gloom? Who cares, cuz it's all about that ginormous gopher snake...

2011-06-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

I don't get the weather...while the rest of the country seems to be in meteorological turmoil, we're stuck on cluck in a state of perpetual May grays & June gloom. Not that that's bad - I mean, foggy and overcast is not unusual this time of year, but the cooler than normal temps certainly is. We've had some afternoon clearings the last couple days, but I actually have the portable heater on right now as I'm typing this post - what's up with that? We're supposed to warm up into the 90s next week, but we shall see...

Now, on to the fun stuff. As usual, Hana was on the prowl today for all things four-legged (i.e., squirrels, bunnies, gophers & lizards) and two-legged (i.e., birds), so when she started lunging under the jade tree at the corner of the garage, I thought, well there she goes again after one of those darned lizards. What else would be lurking under that fleshy shrubbage? Anyhoo, not thinking much about it, and after Gil had maneuvered Hana away from the offending area, I grabbed a bag of bird seed to traipse off and refill the bird feeders. Just as I rounded the corner from the garage, however, I very, very abruptly came upon this visage and proceeded to screech out some rather choice 4-letter words:

6/19/11

Instead of a 4" lizard, Hana had flushed out a 4' snake. After my initial freak-out, I realized that there was no tell-tale rattle or triangular head on this guy to signify rattlesnake. In fact, this appeared to be a non-venomous Gopher Snake (exact species TBD), and anything that takes care of our gopher population is, in my book, a keeper! Unfortunately though, it looks like we'll now have to reenroll Hana in rattlesnake aversion training class. She went through the training about 3 years ago and is supposed to be wary of and avoid snakes in general. NOT!!!

A few more critters around the grounds:

6/15/11 Baby bunny on the back patio. The rabbit population is nothing short of phenomenal this year. So cute...but we've spent a small fortune buying chicken wire and Cridder Ridder to keep these guys from mowing down our plants.

A very tiny (Deer or Harvest?) mouse in one of the flower beds.

Now, onto the natives that have been blooming in the garden. The desert plants have, surprisingly, done well despite our overcast spring:

6/12/11 Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa).

6/3/11 Mojave Sandwort (Arenaria macradenia) and Gooseberry-leaf Globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossularifolia).

6/10/11 Gooseberry-leaf Globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossularifolia), Tufted Evening Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa ssp. marginata), and 'Blue Flame' Giant Purple Sage (Salvia pachyphylla).

6/10/11 Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri).

6/17/11 Mojave Sage (Salvia mohavensis).

6/3/11 Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri).

6/3/11 'Winnifred Gilman' Cleveland's Sage (Salvia clevelandii).

6/10/11 Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose (Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii).

6/10/11 Desert Columbine (Aquilegia shockleyi).

6/3/11 California Brodiaea (Brodiaea californica).

5/27/11 Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria).

6/3/11

5/30/11 Rose Snapdragon (Antirrhinum multiflorum).

5/30/11 Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), naturalized in the herb garden. The fruits are really, super tiny and tart-sweet in flavor.

5/16/11 Clarkias (C. amoena, C. rubicunda blasdalei, C. purpurea quadrivulnera, C. unguiculata), which have reseeded themselves in this wildflower bed for the past two seasons.

6/12/11 Botta's Clarkia/Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia bottae). Purchased the seeds from Larner's Seeds last year, and sowed them (along with Tidy Tips, Owl's Clover, and Birds Eye Gilia) in a new area I'm cultivating with native grasses (California Fescue, Purple Needlegrass, Clustered Field Sedge, & Eyebrow grass-Bouteloua gracilis).

6/17/11 Oak Titmouse.

6/17/11 Pink Monkeyflower, a cross between Mimulus lewisii and M. cardinalis. Requires regular water, but is much hardier than the straight Lewis's, which hails from higher elevations.

6/13/11 Pink Monkeyflower.

6/17/11 'Georgie Red' Monkeyflower.

6/12/11 'Sunset' Monkeyflower.

5/30/11 Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus). This one's native to our site.

5/23/11 'Red & Yellow #1' Monkeyflower.

6/17/11 Western Spiraea (Spiraea douglasii).

6/10/11 Hedge Nettle (Stachys bullata).

6/10/11 California Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia calycina 'Rocky Point').

5/23/11 Jeffrey's Shooting Star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi) growing with Stream Orchid (Epipactus gigantea) in a wine barrel.

5/23/11 Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum - native to the site), White Sage (Salvia apiana) and Cleveland's Sage (Salvia clevelandii) along the fenceline.

5/23/11 Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis).

5/23/11 Eaton's Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii).

6/3/11 Island Pink Yarrow (Achillea millefolium rosea).

Rats are hideous...unless you're a Kangaroo

2011-06-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just stating the obvious. There's nothing remotely pulchritudinous about a freakin' rat. But, for whatever reason (wacky weather? astrological anomalies? bad luck vibes from the train wreck otherwise known as Snooki?), we've had an infestation of rats in our fruit orchard this spring. Gil set out various devices, including one of those Havahart live animal traps, in hopes of catching some of those varmints, who would otherwise be nibbling on our ripening peaches, apricots & apples with reckless abandon.

So last Friday, when I tethered Hana out in front of the garage for some fresh air, she immediately bolted for the Havahart cage in the adjacent orchard and started attacking it with gusto. Woohoo! I thought. Must be a rat in there...yeah! So after struggling to remove Hana from the scene (Hana's a bantam weight for an Akita, but try sparring with a 70-lb. pooch with a one-track mind), I peered into the cage and saw...hmmm...well, yes, it was a rodent. But why did it look so, ah, kinda cute? Its tail was really long like a rat's, but not devoid of hair. In fact, there was a tuft of fur at the end of the tail (adorable), and it had really sweet, large, round doe-eyes, along with some disproportionately large hind legs. So I exclaimed to myself, "What the...? this ain't no 'rat' rat! This here's a Kangaroo Rat!" Btw, this was not our first encounter with a Kangaroo Rat on the property: we caught a fleeting glimpse of one via our critter cam whilst filming the marathon Bunny Palooza in the orchard last July: http://camissonia.blogspot.com/2010/08/smile-youre-on-critter-cam.html

Kangaroo Rats are native to California and the desert Southwest, and have adapted to their dry habitats by deriving all their water requirements from the various seeds that they consume. Anyhoo, since they eat seeds and not cultivated fruit, I inferred that they were not in cahoots with the other rat rats in decimating our fruit crop.

Initially, I was both excited and then mildly freaked out that this might be an endangered Stephen's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys stephensi). The Stephen's is endemic to the San Jacinto Valley (more than 35 miles from here) and has 5 toes on its hind legs, putting our captive critter out of ID contention. My trepidation with the Stephens was that, before we could get the sign-off from Riverside County to build our home back in 2004, we had to pay a hefty (for us anyways) $1,000/acre mitigation fee for this species because our property was in 'potential' (and I stress 'potential') Stephen's Kangaroo Rat habitat. I'm all for protecting endangered species, but I think we would have felt a little less pain forking over that fee if we knew of even ONE Stephens' ever being sighted around here. Moving on, I think the little guy we caught here is a Merriam Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys merriami). It's smallish, has 4 toes on its hind legs, and is considered the most widespread K-Rat in California. Oh, and yes- they do hop like kangaroos.

On the threshold of the exit hatch.

FREEDOM!

Spring Wildflowers at Box Canyon (Mecca Hills), Eastern Riverside County

2011-05-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Back in March, I had read some promising reports of fantastic wildflower displays in the Box Canyon/Mecca Hills area. As our days were getting longer and the mercury slowly but surely rising, we decided to head out to this lesser known gem of the California desert in early April to hopefully catch some blooms before they succumbed to the inevitable effects of heat and diminishing precipitation. Our last visit to Box Canyon was in 2007, so it's been a few years. For those unfamiliar with the Mecca Hills Wilderness, it's about 15 miles east of Indio and accessed from State Hwy. 195 (Box Canyon Rd.) off of I-10 just due south of Joshua Tree National Park.

4/3/11 En route to Box Canyon, we passed the hard-to-miss wind farm in the San Gorgonio Pass off of I-10 just east of Whitewater.

Just before the junction with SR 195, we pulled off the freeway to stretch our legs, and I trekked a short distance down to see what was blooming. Well, apparently, quite a lot:

Notch-leaved Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata).

4/3/11 Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus schottii).

Desert Star (Monoptilon bellioides). One of my favorite desert belly flowers (i.e., so small you have to get down on your belly to see them).

Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), a very common shrub in our desert regions and other habitats including coastal sage scrub.

Pencil Cholla (Opuntia ramosissima).

California Barrel Cactus (Ferrocactus cylindraceus).

California Fagonia (Fagonia laevis).

Bigelow's Monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovii).

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). A real hummingbird magnet when in bloom.

Rush Pea (Caesalpinia virgata).

Palo Verde (Cercidium floridum), surrounded by the yellow blooms of Brittlebush and Creosote Bush.

Ghost Flower (Mohavea confertiflora). One of the loveliest of desert flowers. They do seem ghostly because they are practically invisible until you come up on them, and then - wow!

Pale Face/Rock Hibiscus (Hibiscus denudatus). Looks slightly bedraggled, but I was really happy to get this shot as it was the first time I had run across one of these in the field.

Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris).

Arizona Lupine (Lupinus arizonicus). Very common in this part of the Colorado Desert. Hmm...Arizona & Colorado, and all here in California.

Sweetbush (Bebbia juncea).

Chia (not the pet) (Salvia columbariae). An annual that's native to our deserts, coastal sage scrub & chaparral. Smells super minty when you touch or brush against it. Chia seeds are edible.

Next, we headed up Highway 195 to Box Canyon in the Mecca Hills:

Common Phacelia (Phacelia distans). Meccacopia trailhead.

Bearded Cryptantha (Cryptantha barbigera). Meccacopia trailhead.

Whispering Bells (Emmenanthe penduliflora var. penduliflora). Meccacopia trailhead.

Narrow-leaved Cryptantha (Cryptantha angustifolia). Meccacopia trail.

Chuparosa (Justicia californica). Meccacopia trail.

More Ghost Flowers (Mohavea confertiflora). Meccacopia trailhead.

Strigose Lotus (Lotus strigosus). Meccacopia trailhead.

Palo Verde (Cercidium floridum). Meccacopia trailhead.

Hana, daydreaming of Alaska. Meccacopia trailhead.

Bigelow's Monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovii). Meccacopia trailhead.

Desert Five-Spot (Eremalche rotundifolia). Sandy wash across the road from the Meccacopia trailhead.

Bracted Blazing Star (Mentzelia involucrata). This blazing star bears a superficial resemblance to Ghost Flower, but it lacks the tell-tale maroon spots at the base of the petals, and is in the Stickleaf Family (Loasaceae), not the Figwort Family (Scrophulariaceae). Meccacopia trailhead.

Little Gold or Small-Flowered Poppy (Eschscholzia minutiflora). The name speaks for itself. Meccacopia trailhead.

Brandegea or Desert Star Vine (Brandegea bigelovii). A member of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). Meccacopia trail.

Desert Pincushion (Chaenactis fremontii). Meccacopia trailhead.

Mojave Ragwort (Senecio mohavensis). Meccacopia trailhead.

Desert Lavender (Hyptis emoryi). Sandy wash across the road from the Meccacopia trailhead. I have one of these aromatic shrubs growing in my garden at home. I've heard that it's not very cold tolerant, but it seems to be doing ok so far in our occasionally frosty & damp (for SoCal) winter microclimate.

Desert Dandelion (Malacothrix glabrata). In good years, this wildflower will carpet the desert floor in a spectacular show of yellow. Meccacopia trailhead.

Desert Woolly-Star (Eriastrum eremicum ssp. erimicum). Sandy wash across the road from the Meccacopia trailhead.

Smoke Tree (Psorothamnus spinosus). Wash across the road from the Meccacopia trailhead. From a distance, the gray-green foliage of this small tree resembles a puff of smoke arising from the desert floor.

Parish's Poppy (Eschscholzia parishii). Meccacopia trailhead. The color of this desert poppy is a soft yellow-orange, not the blazing orange of our State flower, the California Poppy (E. californica). Think Meyer Lemon vs. Satsuma Mandarin.

Emory's Rock Daisy (Perityle emoryi), with a few Desert Dandelions peeking through. Meccacopia trailhead.

Heartleaf Sun-cup (Camissonia cardiophylla ssp. cardiophylla). Meccacopia trailhead.

Female Phainopepla/Silky Flycatcher (Phainopepla nitens). Meccacopia trail.

Desert Mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum). Meccacopia trail. Silky Flycatchers are addicted to their berries.

Imagine that, our common House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), all the way out here in the desert. Meccacopia trail.

Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana). Shaver's Well.

Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana). Shaver's Well. The seedpods are edible. For centuries, mesquite meal has been a traditional staple food source for the Native American tribes of the desert.

Marker for Shaver's Well.

Bigelow's Monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovii). Shaver's Well.

Broad-leaf Gilia (Gilia latifolia). Shaver's Well.

Desert Plantain (Plantago ovata). Shaver's Well.

Little Desert Trumpet (Eriogonum trichopes). Shaver's Well.

Desert Sunflower (Geraea canescens). Shaver's Well.

Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis). At about 8" long, not a small lizard. He scuttled under a Smoke Tree as fast as lightening as I was approaching. I managed to get this slightly out-of-focus shot before he took off again.

Palo Verde (Cercidium floridum). Shaver's Well.

Leaving Shaver's Well, en route to Mecca. Palo Verdes were in full bloom all along Box Canyon Rd.

Here we are, coming up on the Salton Sea. Turnoff to Painted Canyon is on the right - that's a whole 'nother trip unto itself.

And in case you didn't know, the Coachella Valley, smack dab in the middle of desert, is home to acres upon acres upon acres of ag. Believe it or not, their top crop is table grapes.

Mecca!

POSTSCRIPT: and just for the heck of it, here are a few plants/blooms we encountered in the Mecca Hills back in February of 2005 that we didn't come across this time around (probably too late in the season):

2/6/05 Spanish Needles (Palafoxia arida). Wash across road from Little Box Canyon trailhead.

2/6/05 Desert Tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia). Meccacopia trailhead.

2/6/05 Bottlewasher (Camissonia boothii). Meccacopia trailhead.

2/6/05 Gravel Ghost (Atrichoseris platyphylla). Not in bloom, but that basal rosette of leaves is quite striking. Wash across road from Little Box Canyon trailhead.

2/6/05 Desert Sand Verbena (Abronia villosa). Wash west of Sheep Hole Oasis campground.

The Cutest Lizard of Them All...and April is Not the Cruelest Month

2011-05-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

I happen to like lizards, at least the ones that inhabit our area. Komodos & Monitors they are not...but they do eat insects, which I don't mind, especially if they are of the pesky kind. The more common denizens are the Granite Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus orcutti), Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), and a yet-to-be identified species of Whiptail (Aspidoscelis spp.) They are all lively and full of personality, with some doing their rote pushups on the deck & retaining walls, while others spar in endlessly ritualistic paso dobles with encroachers & rivals. While I think that all lizards have an inherent beauty - their patterns & colors can be quite fetching - my all-time favorite has to be the Coast Horned Lizard, aka "Horny Toads." Although their roundish flat bodies may emote toad, these itty bitty guys, ranging from around 2 1/2" to 6", are all lizard and just so damned cute. They range in most of California west of the deserts and typically inhabit open areas with loose, sandy soil, from the lowlands all the up to 8,000 ft. Their diet consists mainly of harvester ants. In the summer of 2001, before the house was built, I saw my first horned lizard along a dirt road cutting through the chaparral stand on the property. Hadn't seen one since, until just a few weeks ago when I spied an adorable little tyke scuttling along the driveway. Here he is, all 3 inches of him, the cutest of them all:

4/10/11 Coast Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum).

After the rain & frost tapered off last month, it's been mostly mild & sunny. However, we had some really blustery Santa Ana winds this weekend, so I had to restake a few plants, including the El Dorado Gold Fremontia (Flannelbushes are easily uprooted by wind) and all the felled inflorescences of Showy Penstemon. Other than that, the plants in the garden are doing swimmingly. Here are some views of the (mostly) natives in bloom right now.

4/17/11 Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata var. ledebourii). This one is growing under a persimmon tree in the kitchen herb garden, a bit shaded and also kept watered during our summer heat.

4/17/11 Western Vervain (Verbena lasiostachys).

4/16/11 Prickly Phlox (Leptodactylon californicum) to the left, and Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis) to the right.

4/16/11 "Powerline Pink" Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), along the fenceline under a Mexican Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana).

4/16/11 Western Wallflower (Erysimum capitatum).

4/16/11 Calico Monkeyflower (Mimulus pictus).

4/16/11 Prickly Phlox (Leptodactylon californicum), with a few Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis) peeking through. This shrub is about 3 years old, and stunning in full bloom. After the first year, I stopped watering it altogether - very drought tolerant. After the spring bloom, prickly phlox will go somewhat dormant and become nondescript until the next rains green it up again.

4/16/11 "Mountain Haze" Ceanothus.

4/16/11 Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis).

4/16/11 'Sunset Strain' Lewisia (Lewisia cotyledon), growing in a terra cotta pot.

'San Diego Sunrise' Monkeyflower (Diplacus clevelandii x puniceus).

5/1/11 'Santa Ana Cardinal' Coral Bells (Heuchera hybrid).

5/1/11 Bigleaf Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus). Native to moist, boggy areas in N. California. I've seen these growing streamside along Soda Creek in the Sonora Pass (Eastern Sierras), but the flowers were a light purple, not pink like these. This one is planted in a bed dedicated to mountain meadow/riparian plants that like their feet wet, including Western Spiraea (Spiraea douglasii), Scarlet Monkeflower (Mimulus cardinalis), California Coneflower (Rudbeckia californica), Western Blue Flag (Iris missouriensis), Slender Cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis), Sierra Penstemon (Penstemon heterodoxus), and Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). Hope it survives our SoCal heat come summer...

5/1/11 Mexican Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) with Desert Wild Grape (Vitis girdiana) growing along the fence. Gil did his ninja master arborist thing on the Elderberry this past winter and removed all the suckers & lower branches to keep it looking tidy with one main trunk & a nice open crown.

5/1/11 Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) and Parish's Stream Lupine (Lupinus latifolius parishii) in a planter on the north side of the house. Regular water and a partly shady spot is a must for these guys here in SW Riverside County.

5/1/11 Bush Anemone (Carpinteria californica). This one's about 4' tall and finally flowering after 2 years. The blooms are lightly fragrant.

5/1/11 Eaton's Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii).

5/1/11 I've dubbed this area along the fence line "Penstemon Patch" and "Sage Hill," respectively (all planted with Cal Natives). Starting from the bottom up: Showy Penstemon (Penstemon spectabilis), Eaton's Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii), and Scarlet Buglar (Penstemon centranthifolius); next, 'Figueroa,' 'Pt. Sal,' & 'Tilden Prostrate' Purple Sages (Salvia leucophylla), San Diego Sage (S. munzii), Brandegee's Sage (S. brandegeei), 'Winnifred Gilman' Sage (S. clevelandii), 'Alpine' Cleveland Sage (S. clevelandii), White Sage (S. apiana), and Salvia hybrids 'Celestial Blue,' 'Pozo Blue,' & 'Gracias.' At the very top is a large stand of Golden Yarrow (Eriophyllum confertiflorum), which are native to the site. A couple winters ago, I transplanted about a dozen of these from the adjacent chaparral, and they are now well-established & reseeding like crazy. Their bright yellow flowers contrast very nicely with the purple blooms of the sages.

5/1/11 Pink Fairyduster (Calliandria eriophylla). This desert native struggled for about 3 years (hates our cold, wettish, foggy winters here on the Plateau), but seems to be perking up finally.

5/1/11 Next to Desert Purple Sage (Salvia dorrii), Rose Sage or Mountain Desert Sage (S. pachyphylla) is one of my fav sages. This selection is called 'Blue Flame' and comes from High Country Gardens nursery in New Mexico. The flowers bracts are huge and an electric blue-purple!

5/1/11 Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata) in full bloom in the native wildflower bed.

5/1/11 Assorted Rockroses (Cistus) with Penstemon 'Margarita BOP' in the backdrop.

5/1/11 Another shot of the driveway, with clumps of Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) between the newly leafing Sycamores. 'Pink Butterflies' Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri) provide some colorful contrast on the right.

5/1/11 Natives mingling with drought-tolerant non-natives along the driveway: Wandflower (Gaura lindheimeri), 'Arizona Sun' Blanketflower (Gaillardia), 'De La Mina' Cedros Island Verbena, 'Dark Star' Ceanothus, and "Allen Chickering' Sage (S. clevelandii). There are also 4 young 'Morning Cloud' Chitalpas (a cross between Catalpa and our native Desert Willow Chilopsis linearis), which I hope will grow into nice floriferous shade trees in a few years.

5/1/11 Wallace's Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia fragrans). Love, love, love the smell of this plant when you brush against it (if you're crazy about chaparral, you'll understand).

5/1/11 Southern California Snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis). A plant of SoCal's higher elevations, this one appears to be doing fine down here at 2,000 ft.

And I know I've posted a gazillion pictures of these sparrows before, but they are real posers:

4/17/11 White Crowned Sparrow (Z0notrichia leucophrys).

4/16/11 Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus).

A Requiem for Baby Bunnies (RIP!!)

2011-04-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ok. Hana's a dog and, therefore, inclined to do doggie things, such as eyeing small mammals and birds like one of her hapless squeaky toys. Not quite as harmless as it sounds, especially if you know what she actually does to her squeaky toys. I am reluctantly squeamish to admit that in her lifetime, she's killed one squirrel, two gophers, and two house finches. The squirrel-gophercide episodes I can live with, but the house finch thing still befuddles me. Hana's prowess in bird hunting is formidably scary - more feline than canine, so thank goodness that her interest in birdies has waned considerably since the last "incident."

Hana is pretty much under constant supervision except when she's out in the dog run doing her duty, etc., etc. So what could go wrong in an enclosed dog run? Well, enter the scene a stupendously stupid mother rabbit. Not being judgmental here, but what kind of wild leporid would build her freaking nest in a DOG RUN of all places. You'd think that the tell-tale scent of doggie poop & urine would have been a major deterrent. Last Friday night, around 9:30pm, we noticed that Hana was MIA and so I went down to the dog run to see if she was hanging out there. Let me tell you, but then maybe I shouldn't: I found Hana behind a clump of geraniums along the wall looking super alert, tail wagging, and "guilty" at the same time when she saw me at the door - that's code for "Mom, I know I did something bad, but I couldn't help myself and, and I don't know why, but I'm totally beside myself with inexplicable excitement." Foregoing the unnecessary details, the final body count of baby rabbits in the dog run was eight. She found the nest under the geraniums and I'm just surprised that she hadn't noticed them earlier. The "happy" ending to this otherwise morbid and morose story is that we found two babies who had escaped their siblings' fate. Needless to say, Hana was banned from her own dog run until we could figure out how to save these little guys. After some cursory research on the web, I felt oddly relieved to find that there were tons of blogs, websites, and chats galore along the lines of "HELP! MY DOG/CAT ATTACKED A NEST OF BABY BUNNIES." Apparently, rabbits are not the brightest bulbs in the pantheon of wild critters. So, Hana is somewhat vindicated. Somewhat, being the operative word.

We rebuilt the nest with some barley hay and put the one baby we caught back into it, hoping that mom would return to nurse them. The second baby had initially disappeared under the shrubbage, but found its way back to the nest by the next morning. We wanted so badly to name them. But, they were never ours to keep, just to rescue.

A few interesting factoids about wild bunnies:
1) Mother rabbit only comes to the nest 2-3 times a day (usually early morning and dusk) to nurse her babies for 5-10 minutes (rabbit's milk is extremely rich & loaded with nutrients). They don't sit on the nest like birds would, to avoid attracting predators. OBVIOUSLY, that concept doesn't work too well if you build your nest in a dog run, for God's sake...

2)Unless mother rabbit is dead, always, always, put the babies back into the nest. Even if you handle the babies, mom won't be detracted by the human scent.

3)In about 4 weeks, when they reach 4-5", eyes are open, ears away from the head, and the little white stripe on their foreheads diminished, baby bunnies are ready to leave the nest. Thank the deuces that these babies looked on the verge of fledging, so to speak. By this morning, both babies were gone. We're happy and sad. Anyhoo, we just started letting Hana back into the dog run, but only with one of us there to watch her. We'll keep this up for the next few days until we're absolutely sure the babies are not coming back. Sniff. May they live long and prosper. As long as they don't eat anything growing in my garden.

Some informative websites about rescuing baby bunnies:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html
http://www.mybunny.org/info/newborn.htm
http://www.indianahrs.org/rabbit-care/wild-rabbits.aspx

4/16/11

Back in the reconstructed nest.

Speechless Saturday: SNOW in SoCal? In April?

2011-04-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's not unusual to get a bout of cold weather in Southern California in April, but in the 5 years we've lived in La Cresta, last night's dusting of snow was a first. Initially, I thought we had some accumulation of hail and/or heavy frost, but on closer examination of all the fluffy white powder on the plants, the grounds, etc., I had to conclude we got snowed on. At least I hope so. Frost happens up here, but it tends to look more icy than "powdery" and it's usually only on the ground (this stuff was on the plants, the fence posts, landscape lighting, etc.). So bwahahahahaaaaa!!!....was all I could emote as Gil & I reverted to kindergarten mode in our giddy exhilaration over this meteorological anomaly. By the time I took these pictures around 8:00am this morning, a lot of the snow had begun to melt off already...too bad we weren't up to see it coming down late last night.

4/9/11 Fence posts.

Veggie bed.

Back patio.

Deck on back patio.

Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea).

Logs next to the pond.

My poor tomatoes! Just transplanted them last weekend.

Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis).

Scallions & cilantro, basking in the frost.

California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa).

St. Francis with a patch of snow on his head. Hope that frock is keeping him warm...

Herb garden.

Frozen pot of Stone Crop (Sedum sempervirens).

Frozen pot of 'Sunset Strain' Bitter Root (Lewisia cotyledon).

Now for a comical interlude. As I was surveying the whitish landscape this morning, I noticed a little drama unfolding with some California Quail and a wannabe cholo bunny. So here's the wabbit staring down a couple of reposing quail.

Wabbit tries the "I'm in your face mo fo" kind of thing, but to no avail.

Then, for effect, he lunges at the meditative girl quail.

Alas, disgusted with the quail's blase response, Wabbit bounds off, a sore loser in this one-sided piss-off match.

All in all, a fun day.

Spring has sprung, despite the schizo weather.

2011-04-03T00:08:00.001-07:00

Okaaaay. Rain, rain, & then some more rain (so much for La Nina), frost, some days of record high temps, and now back to the proverbial norm. These are the meteorological vicissitudes this past winter-now spring season that have given a kick of joie de vivre to our LoCal SoCal weather wizards a la Fritz Coleman and Dallas Raines.

Lots of stuff blooming now, both native and in the garden.

3/12/11 Fuchsia-Flowered Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum).

3/12/11 Antelope Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata).

3/12/11 Sticky Cinquefoil (Potentilla glandulosa).

3/12/11 Island Tree Poppy (Dendromecon harfordii).

3/12/11 Pink-Flowered Currant (Ribes sanguineum glutinosum).

3/19/11 In the desert garden, Pink Fairyduster (Calliandra eriophylla).

3/19/11 Prickly Phlox (Leptodactylon californicum). This one's still a baby, along the fenceline.

3/19/11 Not sure what kind of lupine this is. There are a few of these growing on the slope off the driveway. Native or not? To be or not to be? Must break out the Jepson on this one.

3/19/11 California Peony (Paeonia californica). Native to the property. We have a dozen+ of these in the chaparral stand at the front entry.

3/19/11 Wild Cucumber (Marah macrocarpus). Another native to the property. Quite prolific, too, I must say...

3/20/11 White Desert Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa ssp. marginata). These beauties are oh so fragrant.

3/20/11 Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) and Parish's Stream Lupine (Lupinus latifolius parishii) in a planter along the north side of the house.

3/20/11 Pearly Everlasting (Gnaphalium californicum). These are ubiquitous on the property and make for great dried flower arrangements.

3/20/11 Beautiful Rockcress (Arabis pulchra gracilis).

3/20/11 A rainy day, the day before spring.

3/21/11 Weather was still dicey the next day (first day of spring), but that rainbow was a good sign.

3/21/11 And a baby bunny on the patio.

3/24/11 When you have to drag yourself out of bed at crack of dawn to go to work, it's worth it if you get to see this (view from Clinton Keith Rd.)

3/25/11 Rain and more rain.

3/27/11 'San Gabriel' Fremontodrendron.

3/27/11 Silver Dune Lupine (Lupinus chamissonis).

3/27/11 Beautiful new bronzy foliage of Paradise Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pajaroensis).

3/27/11 Western Bluebird (boy to the left, girl hiding behind the trunk of the Mexican Elderberry, on the right).

3/27/11 A drove of wabbits.

More wascally wabbits.

4/1/11 'Margarita BOP' Penstemon.

4/1/11 Sticky Phacelia (Phacelia viscida).

4/1/11 Red-Skinned Onion (Allium haematochiton). These have naturalized under the Konocti Manzanitas.

4/1/11 Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), in the herb garden.

4/1/11 One of the Ladies (Vanessa species) on Cedros Island Verbena 'De La Mina.'

4/1/11 Five Spot (Nemophila maculata).

4/1/11 Western Vervain (Verbena lasiostachys).

Bluebirds!

2011-03-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

In the five years we've lived here, I've only seen Western Bluebirds sporadically in the late winter/early spring months, usually perched on the fence around the neighbor's corral. This year is different though, as there seems to be an uptick in the Bluebird population here on our property. I've been keeping a bird list for the property and have sighted 60 species to date. Many are common (both year-round residents and returning migrants), while a few are one-timers, or rarely seen. In the Spring of 2007, there was a really bizarre but fantastic occurrence when dozens of Lazuli Buntings were descending on and around our bird feeders every single day for about a month. Since then? Not so much...

4/17/07 Lazuli Buntings (Passerina amoena) under one of the bird feeders (not a good shot as lighting was bad, but you get the picture). At times, there would be a couple dozen of these guys in a feeding frenzy with White-crowned sparrows, California Thrashers, House Finches, Black-headed Grosbeaks, etc. While Gil was having "Alfred Hitchcockesque" nightmares, I was in birder's heaven!

And now, I think this year will be the year of the Bluebird!

3/17/11 A male Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana), checking out a bird house along our fenceline. I installed this bird house almost 2 years ago but none of our avian visitors (even the ubiquitous house wrens) were remotely interested. That is, until now.

3/17/11 Thought this was kind of a funny-looking shot. Looks more like levitating than flying.

3/17/11 Here's the little lady checking out the potential digs.

3/18/11 This morning, the pair came back to visit the amenities around the bird house. Here's Mr. Bluebird inspecting the jacuzzi.

And here's the Mrs., with her 2 cents.

3/18/11 Perched on rebar.

What a cutie. I also put out some dried meal worms (from Armstrong Nursery) in a makeshift feeder nearby, hoping that it keep the bluebirds coming. They are still coming, but not for the worms. Maybe the dried stuff isn't as appealing as the live wiggly stuff.

3/18/11 A non-sequiter. I found this tiny, weathered old nest on the ground amongst some dried brush while weeding the trail off of the chaparral stand near the entry to the property. So delicate and only about 5" in diameter. I placed it in the inner branches of our now 8-ft. tall 'San Gabriel' Fremontodendron, just in case it can be reused by another birdie.