Spring wildflowers and other local jaunts

Try as we might, we have not been as good at getting out and exploring since we've been back in California. There is a long list of reasons - illness, injuries, little vacation time at the new job, adjusting to living in different places for half the week - but one of the most challenging has been competing with the other nine-ish million people in the greater Bay Area who seem to also want to explore the great outdoors on the weekends. In NZ we would often make plans a couple weeks in advance (longer for holiday weekends), but it seems like here we need to be making reservations six or more months in advance. Sigh. 

Despite those limitations with camping, we have been getting out nearly every weekend to hike and explore some familiar and not-so-familiar local spots. 

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An early bloomer (January) in the Santa Cruz Mountains – fetid adder’s tongue

--> Witch’s butter—a gelatinous fungus—that is a big fan of the wet winter

--> A rainy day view of the full-to-the-brim Loch Lomond—Santa Cruz’s water supply

The redwoods were also happy with the wet winter. These 

are the two types of cones on redwoods; the larger, female 

cone is on the left; the smaller, male cone is on the right. It 

is amazing these giant trees start from such small beginnings.

  

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The Santa Cruz sandhills are a fragmented habitat near our house that are home to many endemic (not found anywhere else) species of plants. Once a year, our favorite county park hosts tours into the sandhills, which are off limits the rest of the year. There is some sandhill habitat in other parks that we can access, but this tract has been protected for much longer and has a more diverse assemblage of plants. 

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sandhill habitat - this used to be under the ocean!

--> lupins were just starting to bloom
(see below for super lupin bloom)

Ben Lomond wallflower -

this endangered plant is extremely rare, only growing 

in a 9 x 5 mile swath in the sandhills. Development and fire 

suppression have been the demise of this species. It takes 

two to three years for the plant to flower and seed, 

making it more susceptible to changes in its habitat.

The sandhill poppy is an ecotype of the California poppy.

The sandhill poppy is a more yellow version of the state's

--> official flower, and the foliage at the base has a blue tint.

The Ben Lomond spineflower is another endangered 

sandhill species. The spineflower is more abundant than 

the wallflower, but because of its habitat specificity, 

it is also very rare. It is one of my favorites.

A couple weeks after our sandhill hike, we headed over to Pinnacles National Park for another wildflower hike. I managed to get us a camping reservation four months ago, but could only get us a spot for Friday night. They have some walk-up sites that you can get the day of, but when I inquired about them the ranger told me I would need to be standing in line at 6:30 am for the 9:30 am opening. Needless to say, we only stayed one night. 

--> I like to visit the Pinnacles every year for the diverse assemblage of wildflowers, the impressive geology, and the chance to see a California condor in the wild. We missed out on the last one this year, but the other two we got in spades. This was our first time heading into the Pinnacles from the east side of the park. The west side is closer to our house, but the campground is on the east side. It was a nice change of scenery and we got to explore some new trails, which was great. We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday and went for a hike along the river. We had lots of company from lizards, ticks and poison oak, but no humans. It was forecast to be near 100 degrees in the high peaks the next day, so we got an early start on the trail to maximize our cool weather hiking and avoid the crowds of people on the trail. We made it to the top in time for second breakfast and were back at the car shortly after lunch. 

California Poppy

Bitterroot

Chinese Houses

Gray Mule Ears

An old acorn woodpecker cache. Some of the acorns were sprouting!

Butterfly Mariposa Lily

Silver Puffs

Heading up towards the high peaks rock formations

Jewel Flower - a new species for us

Volcanic rock formations look otherworldly in the surrounding habitat.

Western fence lizard

Our view for second breakfast 

Crinkled Onion

The work that went into making the trails through this

landscape is remarkable. There are a number of tunnels in 

the park because there wasn't anywhere else for the trail to go. 

The outflow from the Bear Gulch Dam and Reservoir

The flowers are continuing to bloom at our local parks too. Last weekend we were treated to a "super bloom" of lupins at Quail Hollow. Today we explored the trails at the Glenwood Open Space Preserve and found a few new species there too. It is fun to see spring bloom throughout the different habitats that are in close proximity to our house. 

Lupin bloom

Pink mallow

The beautiful globe lily

We've also had a few non-wildflower related jaunts nearby, including some beach time and city time. We're lucky to live so close to a diversity of outings!

sunset at Pajaro Dunes

Golden Gate Park

Wilder Ranch goat

Seals on a pocket beach