The highway 140 corridor (west of Yosemite NP) 3 days ago:
Snow!
Green, but no flowers visible...
The same hill as above, 2 years and 10 days ago:
Color above doesn't come across well, but it was awesome.
Yup, things are a bit slower this year than 2009.
And I don't expect it to be as insanely amazing this year as "The Year of the Poppy," but variation in seasonal timing and precipitation, etc., always benefits some species, so you never know who will be the wildflower stars from year to year.
Other gratuitous shots from 2009, just 'cause. =)
A pretty good representation of the habitat type ( including foothill pine, Pinus sabiniana).
The nuttiest hillside I was on that year. Seriously retina burning.
Hm, the color in the photo above got really washed out (the bigger version vibrates!), but I love this photo 'cause it's like pointillism, and I like the watercolor-like washes from white to orange.
Did 2 reports in high school on George Seurat, so pointillism is ever emblazoned on my brain.
To be honest I manipulated the situation so I could do 1 report twice: once in French for French class, once in English for English class, but don't tell--yikes! =) I like to think of it as early evidence of strategic thinking....
To be honest I manipulated the situation so I could do 1 report twice: once in French for French class, once in English for English class, but don't tell--yikes! =) I like to think of it as early evidence of strategic thinking....
So apparently simple yet so enchanting... (sigh)
I am SO looking forward to what this unusual spring
(huge snow in late March) will bring us.
(huge snow in late March) will bring us.
Who will the wildflower stars be?!?
In the mean time, I think the redbud is starting...
(This is from April 21st, last year )
....so if you're a fan and nearby, I'd made plans
to get out soon, if I were you!
to get out soon, if I were you!
In the meantime, I'll be nursing my ankle to better health, and looking for a photography place to clean my camera up properly, so it's ready for spring.
Sweet!
xobb
Beautiful photos! I think Spring will be a little later this year, but I hope we get a good poppy show. Our motorcycle friends and we are going up 49 to 140 to have a picnic and see the Merced River so high. Should be scenic.
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds like a great plan--supposed to be 75 degrees here tomorrow, so it should be awesome! =)
ReplyDeleteI'm making a wild guess that it will be the lupines that will go crazy this year. Something about the hard big seed needing two serious years of rain, rain, rain.
ReplyDeleteooh, I like that you're guessing. I thought post-posting that I should have asked folks what they thought might happen. Super curious and great idea re: rationale! =)
ReplyDeleteactually, just before you posted, I'd been going through photos of last year's spring bloom - for professional reasons, yah, yah - and there were a lot of yellows. I'm ready for a blue spring. And I saw 2 turkeys the same morning you posted your turkeys. I think it's fascinating that we live so far away but still have some of the same California rhythms. It's really neat reading about it. Are the treefrogs still screaming up a storm up there?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your link to Sue's blog. I follow her already, but I have a hard time tracking/commenting on her posts since she uses WordPress. I loved reading about her trip to NZ.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple photos that look very similar to your 3rd pic above. Initially I thought they were CA poppies, but after some examination, I decided the yellow color in my pics were due to fiddlenecks.
I envy your redbuds. We don't have them here on the central coast.
Btw, were you wearing high heals in the grass? Hope your ankle fees better soon!
=) That's too funny. JUST last night as I hopped out of my truck (about 7 pm) I noticed "Wow, the frogs are really goin'!" Yup. Speaking of blues, a new flower species I saw blooming yesterday was a glorious bush lupine blooming like a MAD thing. SO beautiful and exactly when was it gearing up? Didn't notice it ever and now it's a show stopper.
ReplyDelete