2018 - Robert's botantical adventures in Northern California

[Hoy]

Same species flowering here now Trond. Not long till spring flowers really show themselves, especially in woodland. It seems strange that California plants seem to enjoy a long spring/summer season. Our spring flowers soon go over and summer is here before you know it.

ian, I thought you were ahead of us?

 -- the summer has gone before you knew it was there

[Hoy]

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The first sighting of a Blue this year. It did not stick around long enough for me to identify it, but it was very sweet to see away.
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I love the blues (blåvinger = blue wings) although they are small. We have a lot of species but I can't recognize them, at least not in the field. It is still too early for them here.

[ian mcdonald]

Trond, in the open areas our wild flowers are still slow to show themselves but in sheltered woodland they are earlier. They flower before the trees come into leaf. It has been a cold winter and wild plants are probably a week or two behind "normal." Robert, I will try to get some more pictures of butterflies this year. We don,t get as wide a range of species as the south of England, up here.

[Robert]

I was up on Peavine Ridge today, 5,146 feet (1,569 meters). The Sierra Nevada snow pack is melting quickly now. Even though it snowed 6-7 days ago, the snow at this elevation has already melted. High temperatures have been running 72 to 74 F (22.2 to 23.3 C) for the last three days on the crest of the ridge.



Some of the early wildflowers are starting to bloom on the crest of the ridge. Here and there one can find open flowers on Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia.



Sanicula tuberosa is also coming into bloom. It is uncanny how some species at this elevation bloom at the same time when grown in the Sacramento Valley near sea level. In our Sacramento garden, Sanicula tuberosa is at the same stage of development. The same is true for the high elevation forms of Primula (Dodecatheon) hebdersonii.



A tiny bit of moisture is trickling into the area now and there is some instability cumulus over the higher terrain of the Sierra Nevada. The forecast is for more moisture to work its way into the area (in this case a cut-off low). Thunderstorms are in the forecast for the Sierra Nevada starting on Wednesday – Thursday and continuing through the weekend. By this weekend there may be enough instability and moisture for thunderstorms in the Sacramento Valley.



The main objective today was to see how high, in elevation, I could drive into the mountains. The road became blocked by snow at 6,050 feet (1,844 meters). With a 4x4 truck I could have made much more progress.

[Robert]

3 generations of thermometers.

In the center is my old mercury maximum-minimum thermometer. It is about 35 years old and is still accurate. I continually compare its temperatures with several extremely accurate mercury thermometers I always carry with me on my current project.

On the left, is an old (over 10 years old) Taylor 1441 digital maximum-minimum thermometer with a 7-day maximum-minimum memory. It too is surprisingly accurate.

On the right is a new temperature/relative humidity data recorder. There are all types of temperature data recorder available these days. This model is fairly simplistic but quite adequate for the current project. It is durable enough to be left at high elevation sites all winter and accurate within the parameters of the project. It is very easy to configure, however configuring it to specific situations requires experience. To ovoid spurious readings, proper deployment is essential. The sensor is very sensitive; never deploy one as in this photographed!



This is another example of a temperature data logger.



This is not my design, one of my data loggers, or a method of deployment I use, but it is a clever way to mount the type of data logger as seen in the previous photograph. I data recorder pictured most likely is accessed using Bluetooth technology. Since it is not my instrument, it was not my business to check and find out.

Now that the snow is melting at the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, I will be busy finding suitable sites for the other data loggers. This is not as easy as one might think and will take me some time to work out. Anyway, I am hoping to have time for a half day outing Saturday or Sunday.

Until next time…..

[Leucogenes]

Hi Robert

As always, I'm fascinated by the pictures from your garden and the California wilderness.

Two native I find particularly beautiful. 1. Mimulus kelloggii...what a beautiful color with the dark heart.

2. Mimulus pictum...an incredibly fantastic drawing and combination of colours.

Both species have been completely unknown to me so far. I'll have to investigate further, and I'll try to get some seeds from it. I'm very impressed.

Thanks for the great pictures.
Thomas

[Robert]

Hi Leucogenes,

I agree, our California native Mimulus species are fantastic plants. These days everything and anything is available on the Internet, however I question the veracity of some of the things offered out there. Mimulus pictum is available from Ginny Hunt, Seedhunt. She is 100% reliable and I indorse her product completely.

More good news (I hope). Many of our local Mimulus species are in my intraspecific breeding program (i.e. garden worthy seed lines without plundering wild seed stocks – too often wild seed stock does not preform well in garden situations – too often a rare species such as Mimulus pictum is plundered in the wild by folks with an avaricious nature, at least this is too often true here in California). When I have some useful seed lines available, I will be offering them in the public domain (i.e. the SRGC seed exchange). If you need (or want) more detailed information regarding my seed, I can provide information in the late summer and autumn. Mimulus kelloggii will not be available this autumn, however it looks like I will have a good crop of third generation Mimulus bicolor. I admit it is still a work in progress, however I do not mind offering some seed through the seed exchange this autumn.

[Robert]

Today, I was able to work my way up to the 6,652 foot level on the upper reaches of Peavine Ridge. There is still 20 cm (about 8 inches) of snow on the ground, but it will melt quickly. It was 68 F (20 C) at 1:45 p.m.! Mid-ridge along the crest, 5,146 feet (1,569 meters), it was 79 F (26.1 C), the highest temperature I have recorded to date at this site. Morning lows have been very mild, above freezing.

The weather forecast is for a cut-off low to move into the area over the next few days. By Saturday, fresh snow may fall.



Looking southeast up the canyon of the South Fork of the American River, the remaining snow on the Sierra crest can be seen.



Lower down along the Peavine Ridge crest, the high elevation forms of Primula (Dodecatheon) hendersonii are starting into bloom.

It will not be long now and I will be exploring the high terrain of the western slope of the Crystal Range.

[Robert]

More photographs from my excursion to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This view of the Crystal Range was taken at 5,952 feet (1,814 meters). At this elevation the forest is more or less free of snow except in shady and sheltered locations (see text under next photograph). Early blooming species such as a Ribes roezlii will be blooming soon.



I wanted to see how close I could get to the Van Vleck area.  I was stopped by snow at 5,713 feet (1,741 meters). I wish that I had driven the Subaru. With it, I could have easily gone much further.

I heard many croaking frogs at the other end of the lake by did not have time to investigate. Most likely, they were Pacific Treefrogs, Hyla regilla, a very common species in this part of California. There is a slight chance they might have been one of the two rare species of Yellow-legged Frogs.

I also spotted my first adult Mayfly (Order Ephermeroptera) of season at this lake.



The high peaks are calling out to me with the Siren’s call. I think Sunday’s outing will be into this high snow bound country. There will not be much in the way of blooming plants (most likely none), however I enjoy the quietude and adventure of snowshoeing over the snow.

[Robert]

Today was my lucky day! 

Not only did I find out that the road to Poho Ridge had been repaired, but also a few hours opened up for me to check things out. The only road to Poho Ridge had been washed out for over a year.



I will make a brief report on this quick outing later, but first a sampling of some of the plants seen.

Lupinus naunus



Cliff walls with Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus



Moist ledges with Mimulus guttatus



Viola lobata ssp. lobata

[Robert]

Silene laciniata ssp. californica



Iris hartwegii ssp. hartwegii

Tomorrow I still plan on visiting the high country. There will be plenty of snow on the ground and maybe more snow falling. I plan on going rain (snow) or shine. 

[hamparstum]

Hi Robert, with those treasures popping up, no wonder! I would have ants in my pants! Do you grow any of the Mimulus in your garden? Also the very beautiful Silene?. I greatly look forward to your outings. This season looks very promising in spite of crazy temperature oscillations. In many ways is like hearing from friends...good omens. Arturo

[Robert]

Hi Arturo,

At this moment, I am getting ready to take off for the upper portion of Peavine Ridge. Most of the sites I will be visiting will be above 6,500 feet elevation (1,981 meters). Running into a snowstorm this time of year at this elevation is not unusual. Right now it is overcast, so anything is possible. There will still be plenty of snow on the ground from this past winter. Snow or no snow, I am looking forward to this outing.    (a bit of a play on words.    )

Siliene laciniata ssp. californica is easy-to-grow in our Sacramento "rock garden". Under cultivation, and with irrigation, they bloom for us, off and on, all summer into the autumn. We also grow a number of different forms of Mimulus aurantiacus. This species is xeric and does not do well with irrigation during the summer. It actually likes to be bone dry during the summer. Mimulus guttatus is the complete opposite. It is a complete water hog. They are blooming in the ditch, right now, in front of the farm property. Come summer they will dry up and die. I have kept them going during the summer with irrigation, however now I just grow them as annuals. They are so colorful and easy-to-grow as an annual. Gathering seed each season is easy too.

I'll report on Poho Ridge as I can. Hopefully I will have success today too. Time to go now. 

[Robert]

I scheduled the morning of 29 April to investigate the snow conditions on the upper portion of Peavine Ridge, El Dorado County, California (6,800 feet, 2,073 meters). I am fascinated by early spring conditions in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. Activity returns quickly to the mountains as the snow melts, the days lengthen, and temperatures begin to rise.



When the snow first melts the ground often seems barren, however if one looks closely many perennials, bulbs, and annual species can be seen emerging and coming into rapid growth.

The animals too are awaken from their hibernation or starting to return from their winter hideouts at lower elevations. Despite overcast skies and cool temperatures (36 to 37 F, 2.2 to 2.8 C) there were many birds and they were very active. Dark-eyed Juncos were the most plentiful, however there were also many small flocks of Steller’s Jays, Mountain Chickadees, and American Robins. Red-breasted Nuthatches and Mountain Quail were also very active.



The winter snow is melting quickly and the runoff is cascading down the slopes in seasonal and perennial streams.



The ghostly white trunks of Quacking Aspen, Populus tremuloides, are striking against the gray and white landscape of early spring.



As the snow melts, the remains of last year’s growth is often apparent. The flattened, dry and brown fronds of Bracken Fern, Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens, are a frequent sight after the snow melts in the Sierra Nevada.

[Robert]

In some areas the snow has completely melted. This site of granodiorite boulders and Pinemat Manzanita, Arctostaphylos nevadensis, will sprout soon with many bulbs, annuals, and small perennial plant species coming up between the Manzanita and boulders.



Pinemat Manzanita, Arctostaphylos nevadensis is such an attractive species. This species has been a bit difficult to get established in our Sacramento garden, however I believe I finally have a strain that is tolerant of our valley climatic conditions.



Spring is arriving in the high country. The catkins of Mountain Alder, Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia are open now. A cluster of female flowers can be seen in this photograph just to the right and behind the open catkins. It will not be long now and the leaves will be emerging.



Other early to emerge deciduous species are also starting into growth. Many Ribes species (pictured) start growth and bloom very early in the spring.



After a pleasant hike over the snow, as well as some open snow free ground to follow, I finally arrived at my intended destination, the Lyons Creek Trailhead. Typical for this time of year, much of the area was flooded with snowmelt.