wildflowers in the forbidden sandhills

there is a rare habitat in the santa cruz mountains called the sandhills. the sand in these areas originated in the sierra nevada during the last glacial minimum when the smashed up remains of granite boulders made their way from the sierra nevada all the way to the coast. this sand is special because it is sharp, which makes it really good for things like concrete. the sand on our beaches today is very smooth, worn by the weather and the waves and does not make good concrete. these terraces of sharp sand were uplifted over time and left high and dry as sea level dropped to present day levels. they are also a treasure trove of marine fossils…most notably shark teeth! 

many of these sandhill areas in santa cruz county were mined and others turned into housing developments so very few swaths remain untouched. as people began to realize how rare and sensitive this habitat was, increasing protections were put into place. there is one active mining operation left in the county, which will be shut down at some threshold height above the aquifer. a few of the other remaining tracts of habitat have been acquired by the state or county and are now protected. quail hollow ranch county park is an unassuming and often overlooked gem a few miles from our house. pete is enamored with the park so we have been hiking there frequently the last few months. the network of trails takes you through a number of habitats in a relatively small amount of space. every april the sandhill habitat in quail hollow is opened to the public (well, 60 members of the public) for a guided tour. i took a tour four years ago and managed to get pete and i a spot on a tour this year.

the day was a bit drizzly, but that made for magnificent contrast of the wildflowers to the surrounding green foliage in the landscape. we had to navigate our way through the thickets of poison oak (i don’t react so i offered to help pete take off his shoes after our hike) before we got our reward of seeing the endemic ponderosa pines and various wildflowers of the sandhills. i feel really fortunate that the california department of fish and wildlife allows these forays once a year. we saw quite a few of the endemic species and many of them were in bloom. here are a few of the gems…

a petite stem with purple flowers...
sadly our guide could not remember it's name

he did enjoy the hike. except the poison oak part. 

sandhills poppy
(much more bluish than the California poppy)

spineflower

owl clover (not endemic)

santa cruz monkey flower

mini lupin

chinese houses

bird foot fern

ben lomond wallflower

ponderosa pine (endemic subspecies) being used
as a granary by acorn woodpeckers

wildflowers at Pinnacles National Park

my annual trip to the pinnacles somehow got pushed to the wayside the last two years, but i'm back on track! pete and i had a fabulous hike today into the high peaks, down through the oak meadows, and into the caves. some of the wildflowers were past their peak, but there were still SO many! here are a few of the gems...

the ever-lovely california poppy

wildflower-loving ground squirrel

tiny waterfall

balcony caves

obligatory shot to prove i was on the trip

tritileia

crinkled onion

wildflower-clad hillsides

bitter root

indian paintbrush

wind poppy

venus thistle

lovely hiking path lined with poppies

pete waiting for me to catch up

fiddleneck

weekend with Mama Foley

would you rather visit minnesota or arizona in february? me too. my mom was going to be in arizona visiting her aunt, so i decided to join them for a weekend. we had a great time exploring the area and catching up. 

hiking at white tanks - i loved all the cacti!

 

a collared lizard

petroglyphs

our (noisy) lunch companions

great aunt nola, mama foley, and me

Arboretum love

i LOVE the university's arboretum. it makes me so happy. especially this time of year when the australian and south african gardens are blooming with flowers that feel like they should be straight out of a dr. seuss book - eucalyptus, banksia, grevillea, and protea in all shapes and colors. and the hummingbirds are back in force, especially allen's hummingbird. and a beautiful, warm february day to stroll in the gardens...who could ask for more?!

century plant

mason bee hive

three types of eucalyptus blooms - from australia

(my favorite eucalyptus bloom - a bit fraggle rock-ish)

bottlebrush

four banksia species

two types of grevillea

and finally the south african contingent - starting with the proteas

and last but not least from the floral side, the seussical featherheads

and the faunal showstopper of them all...

allen's hummingbird. isn't he a handsome fellow?

the early spring bloom is here!

it is the first week of february and the early spring bloom is already here in central california! it is amazing what a little rain, some warmth, and a good dose of sunshine will do. i know it will get cold again and the rain will return (i hope!), but the last few days in the san lorenzo valley have been divine. and our bees know it too. 

i'm a naturalist nerd so i notice when things are blooming throughout the year, but i am paying much more attention now that we have a hive of ladies whose survival depends on the timing and duration of the pollen and nectar flows. mid-february is the time of year when hives starve in our area because they run out of honey stores and there isn't enough nectar out in the world to support the hive (note: an observant bee keeper should know when food supplies are getting limited and can feed the bees to get them through the winter). we have been so excited to see our ladies bringing in pollen by the pannier loads over the last two weeks, shoring up their supply of food. we were not sure where the bees were finding pollen at first, but the blooming trees have finally revealed themselves to us with increasing abundance. we are so lucky to live next to the river...while it means a flood risk to us in the winter, it means lots of flowering trees for the bees, especially early in the spring. 

bay laurel - the first time i've seen this tree bloom

acacia - i love those yellow puff balls

willow catkins

a couple more trees on the dry, sunny slopes of the sandhills (old marine terraces - complete with shark teeth fossils!) are also in bloom. these trees are about three miles as the bee flies from our house so they could definitely be using them, but are more likely to be foraging closer to home.

toyon (california holly)

manzanita (this bush was buzzing with bees)

all of these blooming trees mean a wealth of supply for our bees right now. they are filling their pollen bags to the brim and coming home with yellow socks too! 

lots of activity at the hive entrance as the foragers come back with their gold

pollen socks!

we checked on the ladies yesterday and they are indeed putting up lots of pollen and nectar in the frames and they still have lots of honey to keep them going when this early spring bloom fizzles out in a few weeks. go bees!