2015 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[Maggi Young]

Robert - what are the  shaped  things floating on the lake?

[Hoy]

Interesting to see your winter weather, Robert!

You have more snow and colder weather than I have at the moment

I have not been out at all today although it is 10C, it is dense fog and rain

I agree with Gabriela regarding ferns in winter. Fortunately I can grow several winter green ones!


My wife's car has studs in the tyres she uses all winter although we have little snow. Such tyres are effective on ice. My car has winter tyres without studs but I have snow socks  (for the tyres!) ready in the car.

Some annuals grow in winter here also - we call them winter annuals. Most are common "weed" which use every opportunity to sprout and grow.

[Hoy]

Robert - what are the  shaped  things floating on the lake?

Maggi, it is for the small boats used on the lake in summer.

[Maggi Young]

Maggi, it is for the small boats used on the lake in summer.

 Thank you,  I see that now - I thought of mooring docks but wasn't sure of the scale.

[Robert]

Interesting to see your winter weather, Robert!

You have more snow and colder weather than I have at the moment

I have not been out at all today although it is 10C, it is dense fog and rain

I agree with Gabriela regarding ferns in winter. Fortunately I can grow several winter green ones!


My wife's car has studs in the tyres she uses all winter although we have little snow. Such tyres are effective on ice. My car has winter tyres without studs but I have snow socks  (for the tyres!) ready in the car.

Some annuals grow in winter here also - we call them winter annuals. Most are common "weed" which use every opportunity to sprout and grow.

Trond,

Studded tires are not permitted in California. The claim is that they destroy the surface of the road. Chains are permitted and they definitely destroy the surface of the road. Government regulations.    In eastern Washington where my brother lives studded tires are permitted. They get freezing rain. Studded tires are the only way to survive when caught in freezing rain while driving. I remember driving in Portland, Oregon and getting caught in a freezing rain storm. Everyone was driving 1 km/hr. Good idea! However when the freeway banked at a turn, all of the cars slid to the lowest side of the freeway. What a mess! The same thing happens with parked cars if the surface is not level (at least in eastern Washington). Folks go in for work and come out at the end of the day and find all the cars jammed together where the storm drain is located.

We are having a rainy day here too. The rain has not amounted to much and we are slowly falling behind average to-date totals. It has warmed to 49 F (9 C) today, however it is expected to turn colder again with lower snow levels. We have had 190 mm of precipitation so far this rainfall year. 240 mm is about average to-date.

[Hoy]

Robert, here studs are allowed from about mid October to mid April - depending of where you are - and a lot of cars have them.

Speaking of snow and ice - here is a picture I just got from a friend, taken 43 years ago! When winters were white

[Robert]

Trond,

Looks like a good amount of snow!

We used to get snow every winter here at the farm and I even remember snow in the Sacramento Valley. This does not happen any more. Last year we only had about 25 mm of snow, but then it was drought. Maybe it is still drought. The weather pattern is clearly different this winter, but we are steadily falling farther and farther behind average precipitation to-date. There has been plenty of overcast and clouds but not much falls.

[Robert]

Pine Hill Preserve

Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Weather: Clear
Temperature, High: 48 F (9 C), Low: 24 F (-4 C)

I had a few hours at the end of the day and decided to check on a section of the Pine Hill Preserve to see if I could find Ceanothus roderickii. The Pine Hill Preserve is located about 10 minutes from our farm and protects many rare and endemic plants. Ceanothus roderickii is one of our El Dorado County endemics.



There has been a considerable amount of development in this area so it is very fortunate that some fairly large tracts of land have been set aside to protect some very rare endemic plants.

Because of residential housing development I had some difficulty finding a new access to one of the tracts of land. I finally parked at the end of a dead end road that butted up to the preserve. I thought that I might have some difficult finding Ceanothus roderickii, however I left the truck, walked across a small ravine and found all the C. roderickii that I ever would want to look at.



Ceanothus rederrickii is named after the well known California Native Plant authority, Wayne Roderick. Being wintertime there were no flowers of coarse, however come spring they will bloom with white, to white flushed pale blue flowers.



This part of the preserve is covered in the typical low elevation chaparral. Baccharis pilularis ssp. consanguinea blooms in the late autumn and quickly sets fluffy white seed heads.



White Leaf Manzanita, Arctostaphylos viscida, is a common resident of our local chaparral plant community. The trunk and lower branches are very attractive. I have been researching a few new sites to visit this coming spring. The Mount Diablo area has 13 taxa of Arctostaphylos, all different from the species found locally. 7 different species of Calochortus!  ..... and much more.  I am looking forward to some outings in this area. 



A typical scene, dry branches with Rhamnus ilicifolia and Ceanothus roderickii.

[Robert]

A nice little natural "rock garden' scene, Salvia sonomensis with Ceanothus roderickii.



I was extremely pleased to find some large colonies of Wyethia bolanderi. Most of the sites that I am familiar with are on private land and at risk. Wyethia reticulata is our El Dorado County endemic of this genus. I found them growing in another part of the preserve.



A view looking south and the encroaching development.



I attempted to bushwhack my way through the chaparral to the top of a hill where I thought that I might have an excellent view of the Crystal Range and the Sierra Crest. It was slow going and the sun was setting, so instead, I took this photograph looking west towards the Central Valley and Mount Diablo in the coastal mountains. On a clear day it is visible, however there was far too much mist in the air this day.

This wraps-up this year. I am very much looking forward to an exciting new year with new plants and locations to check on.

[Hoy]

Hi Robert,

Yet another very exiting outing! But you have dated it March?

The Ceanothus looks very good, even in winter.

[Robert]

Hi Robert,

Yet another very exiting outing! But you have dated it March?

The Ceanothus looks very good, even in winter.

Aaahh yes!  It should read December. 

I guess I am getting ahead of myself.

I am already planning some outings for this coming spring. First I have one project I need to finish up, then I can get going on some new trips, hopefully a little father from the farm.

I have only explored the southern coastal mountains once and that was 40 years ago. I am hoping to make at least 2, maybe 3 outings to the Mount Diablo area, the most northern limit of the southern coastal mountains. Many of the species are completely different from those found in the Sierra Nevada. Pinus coulteri reaches its northern range limit at Mount Diablo. In addition, there are many species of Calochortus, Ceanothus, Acrtostaphylos, as well as some choice endemics, that grow in this area. The prospects seem excellent and I certainly hope that I can make the journey this coming season.

Maybe in the next week I can check on our local endemics, Ione Manzanita, as well as the 2 Aprium Hill Eriogonums.

There is much to do now and I have considerable enthusiasm. We will see how it all goes.

[Hoy]

Looking forward to your new adventures, Robert!

The days are too short here now to get far, at least on working days. I have looked for plants in the darkness with torchlight though but then it was spring

[Robert]

Trond,

I am quite eager to get out but the weather has been terrible i.e. finally normal or average. The snowline for the most part has been just up the mountain a bit. Snow and icy roads keep me from the higher terrain.

Here at the farm even when it is not raining, it has been cloudy and cool. During the day it has been mostly 7 C or less for high temperatures and below freezing at night when it is not raining. Not bad weather to get out in, however I have been bogged down dealing with my father's estate. I am getting close to having everything done.....then I can get started on some very interesting projects.

We are below average to-date for precipitation, however the garden is a mess - mud, seeping and oozing water, morning frost (muddy partly frozen soil    ) - nothing is going on. It is a good time to contemplate the bones of the garden - structure, placement, and flow. When things dry out a bit I can move a few things (plants, rocks, etc.) and of coarse plant new things out - always. 

[Gabriela]

The manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) are on my top of 'regrets list' - I wish would be possible to grow them here, and I wonder why there are not cultivated more where possible?
Terrific structure and colours!

[Robert]

The manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) are on my top of 'regrets list' - I wish would be possible to grow them here, and I wonder why there are not cultivated more where possible?
Terrific structure and colours!

Gabriela,

It seems very understandable that Acrtostaphylos would be top or near the top of your "regrets list". Many of the species are endemic to California. In addition, many of the endemic species also have very specialized habitats. Despite this, many grow well in the garden, at least here in interior California.

I agree, many of the species, and hybrids for that matter, are very attractive garden plants. It appears, for the most part, that the Mediterranean climate California species are cultivated mostly in California. If this is true, it seems unfortunate as southern Europe, southern Australia, etc. would be places where they would grow well and be appreciated for their beauty, drought tolerance, and ease of culture in similar climatic conditions.

All of the species and hybrids that I grow in the garden here have survived the drought without any detrimental effects. Most I never irrigate during the summer dry season. Many are tolerant of limited irrigation without any harm. This gives me a degree of flexibility when planting other types of plants near them.

Of coarse, there are other species, such as Arctostaphylos alpina, that grow in climates far different than most climatic situations here in California. A. alpina seems a beautiful species. I have yet to give it a try here. Maybe you have grown it?