orange unhinged

today

was a good day.

xobb

p.s. Am posting more photos on my facebook page as the mood strikes, so you can cheggit out here. It was JUST so heavenly out there. wow.

2 wildflowers I'd never seen before at Hite Cove

 

California Indian pink, Silene californica.

Total stunner in the wild.

If it's in the sun, it fairly screams with bright orange-red pigment.

Awesome!

Calochortus albus, white globe lily.

Almost walked right past it: subtle in the shady grass.

I don't think I'd ever seen it in person, before,

but when my eyes alit, my brain said "Calochortus albus."

And, wonder of all wonders, it was right! Sweet.

Well, to be honest, my brain said Calochortus alba,

but that's what the Interweb is for.

I'm pretty sure I'd never seen EITHER of these on that trail before, so that was very exciting. Maybe 'cause I'm usually feeling like I've hit peak-spring-mit-Kamera by mid-to-late March vs. now, mid-April.

So, have any of you seen species recently you've not seen before? Or had the experience of seeing a species for the first time but knowing exactly what it was 'cause of quality time spent with field guides?

Do tell.

In the meantime, I'll be working on a Mumday follow-up post where I identify all the Mumday wildflower species for you (and struggling with a random iPhoto problem that's cropped up and is BUGGIN').

=)

bb

P.S. Any other guesses on last week's quiz?

Spring wildflower Mumday (somebody went hiking at Hite Cove...)

  

bb

THE shot I wanted at Hite Cove, and the joys of digital photography...

         
So, rather than bury the lead, here's the shot of the field of flowers I really wanted while at Hite Cove.

Relevance of "the joy of digital photography" lead? It's photo # 275 for that day. If It'd stopped 2 minutes earlier, I would never have gotten the sea-o-flowers shot I wanted.

Lesson?

Just. Keep. Shooting.

California poppies and blue-eyed gilia.

Two orange and purple shots. Lovely to see in person. Hard to capture on film.

The beautiful and elegant prairie star, my guess, Lithophragma parviflorum.

A wacky shooting star. Love this thing.

Last shot for today: looking out of my window, waiting for the light to change, on the drive home.

biobabbler

some "best of" Hite Cove photos, few words...

    
People have been searching for Hite Cove trail or flower shots, probably looking for inspiration to get out, so here's some favorites from last Sunday. =)

This hiker jokingly asked if I wanted them to model, to break the monotony of all the flowers and I laughed. Then they passed me, and I thought, What the heck? He's taking a photo, she's gazing happily. Typical scene, that day. Like all the pictures, it looks better if you click on it.

Blue dicks, Dichelostemma capitatum, punctuating the orange with lovely hits of purple. Later I'll post pictures of the bud of same, which is a lovely, moody, dark thing.

My favorite wildflower when I was a kid. Still nuts about them. Shooting stars, Dodecatheon spp. Based on the habitat, I'd guess it's Dodecatheon hendersonii, but again, this is a Q&D guess.

Face to face...

Stunner.

And, last but not least, the California state flower:

Again, click on above for pollen-acious detail. I don't know why seeing the pollen grains makes me so happy, but it does.

Have you ventured out, yet? Do tell.

biobabbler