2016 - Robert's adventures in the Northern Sierra Nevada - California

[fermi de Sousa]

What good fortune to meet and get along with the site manager!
It must be your good nature, Robert!
We look forward to seeing the results of this new friendship,
cheers
fermi

[Hoy]

. . . . .
Needless to say I will be returning later in the season.

Until next time.

Needless to say I awaits your next outing here!

The cowbag clover was nice too!


Robert,

Have you ever been to Death Valley? Seems there is a great blooming there theses days.

[Robert]

Robert,

Have you ever been to Death Valley? Seems there is a great blooming there theses days.

Trond,

No, I have never been to Death Valley. I would love to visit this area. Any visit will have to be far in the future as things stand right now. I have seen photographs and videos of the wildflowers (during good years). Amazing! When there is even more rainfall some of the old, dry, lake beds fill with water and there is flooding. Seems a little hard to imagine in such a place as Death Valley.

[Robert]

We have had over 140 mm of rainfall the last few days and it appears we will be getting about the same or more in the next few days. I will most likely need to be creative with tomorrows outing. I looks like our part of California will get its March Miracle, as the El Nino rains have finally arrived. There is so much water that the flood gates had to be opened on Folsom Reservoir for the first time in 4 years. 

I took my mother (90 years old) to a fruit stand today to buy a berry pie (her favorite). We took the scenic route and I managed to take a few photographs - somehow despite the wind and rain.



Lupinus albifrons was in full bloom. The best display I have seen in years.



The best photograph I could do with Eschscholzia caespitosa. Thousands are blooming now on the canyon sides. It is awesome! 



The same with the Goldfield, Lasthenia californica.



Perched on top of large boulders were colonies of Blue Dicks, Dichelostemma capitatum. They looked great.



This is the bloom season for Buckbrush, Ceanothus cuneatus. They are quite common on the sunny canyon sides.

[Robert]

In shady areas Saxifraga californica was in bloom. My plants at the farm are blooming now too.



Also in shady areas were masses of Claytonia parviflora. When the tiny pink flowers are massed in large drifts it is amazingly beautiful.

Anyway, a few photographs on a blustery, drizzly, rainy day. We will see what tomorrow brings.

[Tim Ingram]

Robert - so good to hear of significant rains again in California. 'Our patience will achieve more than our force'. I do hope this marks a turning point of sorts and a little of a wake up call about the use of resources. Here we are having just too much rain so the weather really just puts us in our place!

[Hoy]

Glad to hear you have gotten your long awaited rain!

Hope nothing is seriously damaged in the stormy weather. The plants seem to flourish

[Robert]

The place (the farm) is a mess. At times there have been 80 km/hrs winds with higher gusts. The farm is on sloping terrain, but there is still water everywhere. More wind and rain is expected so clean-up will wait until the weather mellows a bit. This is "normal" winter-early spring weather and I am overjoyed with all the precipitation.

Up in the Sierra Nevada there has been an additional 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow with another 5 feet or more predicted. Having 15 - 20 feet (4.5 to 6 meters) on the ground this time of year is "normal". 40% of our water supply comes from snow melt in the spring and early summer. The reservoir at Sly Park (our local water source) is full now, with water spilling over the spill way. We haven seen this in over 4 years. All very good news. 

The garden will recover just fine from all of this, however some of the pollination projects (Rhododendrons) have been trashed by the high winds. I'll take the wind and the rain over drought - there is always next year to try again. 

[Gabriela]

All wildflowers pictures are beautiful at this time of year Robert, even if blurry 
The rains and snow are great for the region, as you said, there is next year for other things. I also heard from other people that this would be one of the best year to see the deserts blooming!

[Robert]

Gabriela,

Our local California native annuals are putting on a good show this spring. The high country most likely will be stunning! With a huge snow pack, June, July and August will be the time to endure the mosquitoes and enjoy the wildflowers in the High Sierra Nevada.

Today, despite some rain and dark skies, was a great day to be out. Even here at the lower elevations, and all the invasives, the wildflowers were great today. Whole hills sides of Eschscholzia caespitosa in bloom (and a lot more). Even with their flowers semi-closed they looked great. There is a lot for me to process so it will be a few days until I have a report.

Until then....

[Hoy]

Looking forward to your next posts, Robert!

With all this water the wildflower blooming should be quite a sight

Hopefully the damage isn't too bad. Seems you will get nice weather coming week

[Robert]

Looking forward to your next posts, Robert!

With all this water the wildflower blooming should be quite a sight

Hopefully the damage isn't too bad. Seems you will get nice weather coming week

Trond,

The weather has been quite stormy - it is right now too. The garden is a mess, however no major damage - just the usual stuff, broken branches, an unhappy plant here and there (flooded). I am pleased with the rain. We might even get average rainfall for the whole season. This will be a relief. 

[Robert]

Skunk Hollow

Salmon Falls - West

Thursday, 10 March 2016

Weather: Rain Showers
Temperature, High: 62 F (16.5 C),  Low: 52 F (11 C)



I started my journey at Skunk Hollow, 478 feet (146 meters). Skunk Hollow is a meadow-like depression where a small stream enters the South Fork of the American River. During the drought years the South Fork flowed past this site, however everything is now flooded by Folsom Lake (a Reservoir). When the reservoir is full, this June, this old site will be under 10 to 20 meters of water. Nearby, there are several trails to follow. The one of the western routes follows closed to the lake westward on its northern bank. I hike here frequently and it is a good place to see interesting scenes and plants.



As I began my journey, I was immediately greeted by the dazzling display of Castilleja foliolosa.



Sometimes I wish I had a camera that could capture the beauty of the wooly gray stems of this species. This is fascinating to observe with a hand lens and this attribute distinguishes it from all other Castilleja species in our area.



The trail immediately moves into the chaparral, dominated by dense thickets of Chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum. The yellow flowered annual Acmispon wrangelianus carpeted the trail side in many areas. This species is very similar to another local annual species, A. brachycarpus. A. brachycarpus has distinctly long calyx lobes, making identification of the two species easy.



The fern, Pellaea mucronata, was frequently seen on hot, dry, sunny, south facing slopes. Needless to say an extremely xeric species - very growable in the garden too.

[Robert]

Some of the steep slopes were carpeted with Foothill Poppy, Eschscholzia caespitosa. It was difficult for me to capture the drama of this scene. The area covered with blooming plants was 100 times anything I observed during the drought years.



Mixed with the Poppies were an assortment of other species in bloom, such as Blue Dicks, Dichelostemma capitatum. This combination was quite striking. This whole patch was growing on an extremely steep slope, borderline on being a cliff. Photography was challenging. 

Eschschlozia caespitosa is an annual species. It is distinct from another local species, E. lobbii, however it takes careful observation to distinguish the two species from each other, especially in the field.



In other areas there were pure stands of Blue Dicks, Dichelostemma capitatum growing in mass.



Back in the chaparral, Clematis lasiantha was getting ready to bloom. The pure white flowers are very showy as the vines scramble over the chaparral shrubbery. Later in the late summer and autumn the puffy seed heads are quite showy too.



Along the trail I spotted this butterfly. Its wings a bit banged-up.    Maybe all the wind and rain.

My main objective this day was to photograph various color forms of Salvia sonomensis. Very few were in bloom, most budded and ready though. A very good reason to return soon.

It is getting late for me, so I'll have to return to this project later...  to be continued... 

[Hoy]

Looking forward to the continuation

Castilleja foliolosa is a gem!