Posts Tagged ‘Gateway Rock Ridge’
First Outing of the New Year
“Gateway Rock” at the top. Sabine and I gave the rock feature that name because it looks like two parallel walls leading into a castle or fancy residence. Large patches of low-growing buckbrush are found to the right of “Uncle Pete” tree.
The first buds appearing on gold star (Crocidium multicaule)
In spite of the dry winter we’ve been having, I haven’t gotten out much. I’ve been focusing on getting back to doing artwork rather than on botany the last few months, so this is my first post for quite a while. But today was another sunny day—although rather chilly—so Sabine, Ingrid and her darling poodle Bogy, and I headed over to the Hills Creek Reservoir area, one of our favorites any time of year. As always, we stopped along the cliffs that line the west side of the reservoir. This is one of the earliest spots to find blooming Crocidium multicaule. We’ve seen an amazing show of it here the last couple of years as a result of the wet springs (see Hills Creek Reservoir, take 2). While we didn’t really expect to find any blooming on the second week of January, we did manage to see some small plants of these little annuals. Those growing right by the pavement seemed to be farther along and even had a few buds. Their lovely yellow flowers may well start to show up here in February. Read the rest of this entry »