The five-year California drought was obliterated this winter as storm after storm pummeled the state. In our little hamlet of Felton, we had 96" of rain between October and April, with over half of that falling in January and February alone. That is more rain than we have had in the last five years COMBINED! Average is somewhere around 40". To say it was a little soggy over here would be an understatement. The old adage, "April showers bring May flowers" is a bit off on timing for central California, but the general premise holds: mega rain = mega flowers.
Pinnacles National Park is about 60 miles east of our house and one of my favorite hiking locales in the spring. It has a bit of everything - crazy rock formations, flowers, insects, and birds...even the chance to the spot a critically endangered California condor. Many of the flowers in the park are adapted for dry conditions so most years there is a wildflower bloom, but this year they were abundant and quite diverse. My hike was one big scavenger hunt! I won't post them all here, but every year I try to take a photo of every flower I see so I can compare across years. It isn't a perfect comparison because I don't go at the same time every year, but it is fun to see how the flowers change over time.
Pinnacles National Park is about 60 miles east of our house and one of my favorite hiking locales in the spring. It has a bit of everything - crazy rock formations, flowers, insects, and birds...even the chance to the spot a critically endangered California condor. Many of the flowers in the park are adapted for dry conditions so most years there is a wildflower bloom, but this year they were abundant and quite diverse. My hike was one big scavenger hunt! I won't post them all here, but every year I try to take a photo of every flower I see so I can compare across years. It isn't a perfect comparison because I don't go at the same time every year, but it is fun to see how the flowers change over time.
volcanic rock formations at the park
hiking through the otherworldly landscape
the "narrows"
johnny jump-ups
fiddlenecks
blue dicks
Chinese houses
wind poppy
wooley indian paintbrush
venus thistle
lance-leaved dudleya succulent
woodland star
lichens!
swallowtail (?) caterpillar munching on indian paintbrush
swallowtail butterfly
bug on yellow pincushion
western bluebird
western fence lizard
moth on yellow pincushion
stay tuned for the next installment of wildflowers...it will blow your mind!
