Tag Archives: wildflowers

Scalebud Revisited

Posted on April 23, 2014 by | Leave a comment
Anisocoma acaulis

Anisocoma acaulis

Still blooming!

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Golden Brodiaea, Pretty Face

Posted on April 14, 2014 by | Leave a comment
Triteleia ixioides - April 10, 2014

Triteleia ixioides – April 10, 2014

 

Even at a distance smiling
in a cheerful crowd.
I see your face.

 

 

Perhaps the most photogenic wildflower, the Golden Brodiaea or Pretty Face begs to be looked upon, straight down, a flat plane of cheerful faces with a fixed focal length looking up without a care in the world. Their bloom is plentiful this spring, showing above our short feed making one last growth spurt, one last gasp before turning and heading out early. At a distance in the green, the clusters appear to be single yellowish flowers, indistinct lush splotches dotting north and east slopes in the low clay and the granite draws. Each cluster much the same, yet uniquely different in bloom and detail, I seem to photograph them every spring.

 

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White Mariposa Tulip

Posted on April 13, 2014 by | Leave a comment
Calochortus venustus - April 10, 2014

Calochortus venustus – April 10, 2014

 

Calochortus venustus - April 10, 2014

Calochortus venustus – April 10, 2014

 

 

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Kaweah Brodiaea 2014

Posted on April 12, 2014 by | 7 comments
Brodiaea Insignis - April 11, 2014

Brodiaea Insignis – April 11, 2014

With drought conditions, the rare and endangered Kaweah Brodiaea bloom is early and rather difficult to find this year. Go HERE for the history of the Kaweah Brodiaea on this ranch or follow the tags below.

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APRIL 2014

Posted on April 11, 2014 by | Leave a comment

IMG_3154

 

In dry times, the gods retreat
to the granite, forsake the clay
and its inhabitants to fashion

spring upon the open slopes
with skiffs of blooming dots
à la Monet—above the dust

rising between green fading
and leaves curling red, it’s not
quite heaven, but enough.

 

 

Claude Monet - 1840-1926 courtesy Wikipedia

Claude Monet – 1840-1926
courtesy Wikipedia

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ALL THE POETRY

Posted on March 24, 2014 by | Leave a comment
Anisocoma acaulis

Anisocoma acaulis

 

All the poetry
out of dark closets
spread like dandelion seed

on a gust, pages floating
to fertile landings
in the disturbed ground

to take root, unfold
each bud into a blaze
of flowers, and so on.

 

 

anisocoma-acaulis

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More Scalebud

Posted on March 20, 2014 by | 1 comment
Anisocoma acaulis - May 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis – March 20, 2014

Midday, while changing my irrigation water, I checked on the Scalebud. No pastel yellow patch, only orangish Pincushions that always look the same. On my way back, I investigated to find that most of the flat flowers that I photographed two days ago Scalebud were gone, only to be replaced with more buds. Not hard to figure how this wildflower got its name.

Anisocoma acaulis - May 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis – Marach 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis - May 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis – March 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis - May 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis – March 20, 2014

Nor why it’s of the same family as dandelions, ASTERACEAE.

Anisocoma acaulis - May 20, 2014

Anisocoma acaulis – March 20, 2014

With such a short bloom period, I may have missed these interesting wildflowers for years.

 

anisocoma-acaulis

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Scalebud Anisocoma acaulis

Posted on March 19, 2014 by | 2 comments

Native: an animal or plant indigenous to a place

Dry Creek - March 18, 2014

Dry Creek – March 18, 2014

I began photographing wildflowers to enhance my sense of place, this ranch and this canyon. With no botanical background and able only to identify a handful of the most common flowers, I have since learned many names online Calflora and from a growing library at home. The more I photographed, the more I found that I’d never seen before. Over the years, we’ve documented them within this blog wildflowers.

Dry Creek - March 18, 2014

Dry Creek – March 18, 2014

Not a colorful year for wildflowers, I was surprised, while setting my irrigation water yesterday, to pass a pastel-yellow family of Scalebud Anisocoma acaulis on a sandy, south-facing slope, well-off the easement road to Terminus Dam.

I get excited when I find a wildflower I’ve never seen before, so much so, that I have to take several shots while running through the F-stops on my macro lens to insure that I may get one in focus. My thanks to Neal Kramer for identifying this one for me.

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Flower Friday – Purple Chinese Houses

Posted on March 7, 2014 by | 3 comments
Greasy Creek, 4.17.11

Greasy Creek, 4.17.11

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February 2014

Posted on February 5, 2014 by | 2 comments

IMG_7081

Dust becoming unsettled again, we are still feeding despite last week’s half-inch rain, season totals less than 2 inches at all locations on the ranch. Though I haven’t gotten on my knees to search for cotyledons, there is no noticeable germination of new grass, our high temperatures in the low-60s. Our top layer of dust and dirt is deep due to the drought and appears to have absorbed the last rain quickly, perhaps leaving seeds without sufficient moisture to complete germination. I don’t know, I’ve never seen our grass wait until February to germinate.

IMG_7084

Up and down the mountain with hay a week before the rain, we noticed Blue Lupine blooming weakly in the bluffs above Lake Kaweah. At the same location, Phacelia or Scorpionweed below. It seems some wildflowers have already given-up on spring. Not a good sign. BBC coming today, chance of rain tomorrow, this is a roller coaster ride.

IMG_7086

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