One forty three out. Partly cloudy, small clouds, lots of
them. It’s quite warm. The high
temperature was 77. Doesn’t sound as warm as it felt.
One fifty five, 12 minutes to the west end of the park. Lots
of stop lights.
I’ve come to the west end to search for Antennaria, again.
Morning glory, field bind weed, Convolvulus arvensis, is in
bloom on the edge of the park.
Convolvulus arvensis,
morning glory, bind weed
I climbed over the little embankment with some difficulty,
and came out by Purshia tridentata, antelope bitterbrush. I thought I was
looking at flowers and that was odd because I had recorded flowers a long time
ago. When I got the photos into the computer I saw that they were fruit.
Purshia tridentata,
antelope bitter brush
I walked around the P. tridentata to get a better photo of
it and came upon Opuntia fragilis, prickly pear cactus with blossoms on it.
I sat to photography the C. arvensis, the P. tridentata and
the Opuntia fragilis flowers. I got prickly pear needles on the back of my left
hand, some how. Not at all pleasant, difficult to remove. I fantasized a lone
horseman thrown from his horse into a patch of prickly pear and decided not to
dwell on that.
I got most of the stickers. There was one, small and
invisible to me, in my thumb that I couldn’t get but somehow it went away.
I saw a pretty green fly feeding on the O. fragilis but
didn’t even attempt a photo. I didn’t want any more accidents while struggling
for position.
I’ve set the f. stop to 8 for the bright sun and it seems to
be the right thing to do. I can see a little better in the monitor, not much.
Good depth of field on the side images of O. fragilis at f.8.
Opuntia fragilis,
prickly pear cactus
I took a cloud photo, seated by O. fragilis. There were more
clouds earlier.
Landscape, clouds
I was not close to the circular patch of Eriogonum
umbellatum. It was blazing yellow in the sun. A lemon yellow bonfire.
I walked a loop around the west end of the park. Up as far
as the U shaped basalt outcrop where I find the little parasite. No sign of
them … again.
I was trying to find the place were I found the Antennaria,
earlier in the year. I’m sure I got there but I still can’t find Antennaria. I
look for them everywhere I go.
There are two north side trails from the west end. I walked
the trail that is farthest north. About half way to the basalt outcrop I picked
an Eriogonum, I thought was still in bud, with unusual foliage, a circle of
cauline leaves half way up the flower stalk.
I was surprised to find flowers among the buds when I got
the images into the computer.
I need to check again for basal leaves, none came with the
stalk I picked. [I felt over heated and generally uncomfortable and was
impatient.]
Eriogonum species
I saw a mustard across the little alleyway at the west end
of the park and photographed it. I suppose it was just a different
configuration of Sisymbrium altissimum, Jim Hill mustard. I photographed a more
typical S. altissimum later for comparison but the comparison failed.
Back at the car at two forty. On the way to the east end of
the park to look for buds or blossoms on Toxicondendron radicans, poison ivy.
Two forty five. I forgot to check the Holodiscus discolor,
ocean spray at the west end for blossoms. I feel very tired, too hot and not at
all enthusiastic about this task, today.
There is a H. discolor near the east end of the park and one
west of north pond. I’ll check one of them. I’ll check the T. radicans and
circumnavigate north pond, trying to find the patch of unidentified red stemmed
yellow flowers I’ve seen west of north pond.
The foliage of T. radicans is extremely luxurious, some
leaves very large. No sign of flower stalks rising above the foliage, yet. I
was about to say there were no mosquitoes today when one came to look me over.
Maybe it was a male, having discovered that I was not a flower it went away.
The water from the recent week of rain is gone from south
pond.
No sign of the two Madia
on the east end of the main trail. The milkweed buds, Asclepias speciosa, showy
mildewed, are unchanged. There is a little color showing. No petals showing.
The scrawny little Philadelphus lewisii, mock orange, beside
the main trail is blossoming.
A nice butterfly in the middle of the trail. It didn’t wait
for me to get it together for a photograph. It had the colors but not the
conformation of monarchs. I used to know the name, but I don’t have it at the
moment.
The Sambucus nigra, elderberry is still in bloom. I see the
H. discolor in the distance. It’s still looking brown. I’ll be closer soon. I
remember that there were some white blossoms among the brown buds in the past. [I
was near it and forgot to check for flowers.]
No sign of the red stemmed yellow flower patch. I took a locator
photo from the place I thought I saw them to compare to a 2012 photo. I could
see the willows of south pond in the distance. [The photos seem to compare.]
I looked back at the photos from my walks in 2012. The patch
was in bloom May 29, 2012. It was past bloom and bearing fruit June 20, 2012.
There was new growth and new blossoms June 26, 2012.
18 May 31, 2016
Landscape locator
photo, looking for unidentified red stemmed yellow flower patch, 2016
19 May 29, 2012
Photo of red stemmed
yellow flower patch, 2012. I seem to have found the right place, no sign of the
patch in 2016.
I haven’t been looking in quite the right place. I’m by the
next outcrop north. The patch I’m looking for was east of the outcrop south of
me in the photo. The tall slender curly dock, Rumex crispus, in the photo is at
the south end of the linear patch. I remember noticing a similar Rumex crispus
on the 2016 walk.
June 20, 2012 – from my notes on this walk
“I checked the unidentified red-stemmed yellow flower. The
blossoms were gone. The foliage looked like red wire. I photographed a stem
with seed-pods.”
20 June 20, 2012 foliage
like wire
21 June 20, 2012 seed
pods
June 26, 2012 – from my notes on this walk
“The unidentified red-stem yellow-flower plant grows rather
like a hedge row on the mudflat. There is a new plant at its base that sprawls.
I wonder if the sprawling ‘limbs’ will rise later like Lomatium macrocarpum.”
22 June 26, 2012,
hedge row look, the distinctive R. crispus at the end, large north pond willow
in the distance.
23 June 26, 2012, new
plant developing
24-25 June 26, 2012,
new flowers
No sign of the Castilleja tenuis, thin paintbrush, among the
mudflat species.
No sign of the Psilocarphus
oregonus, Oregon
wooly heads. Burke says they occur in the dried beds of vernal ponds. I saw
them along side the main trail, near the junction of the north access trail,
not in a wet area.
I picked a tiny fruiting flower stalk that might have been a
grass and might have been a forb. There was a patch of them just east of the
last shrub west of north pond.
I wanted very much to photograph it. I dropped the damned
thing, trying to manipulate the audio recorder and couldn’t find it.
Three twenty three, in the car, ready to reverse route. One
hour twenty eight minutes walking the park.
I did lots of walking, little photographing, 40 plus images.
I found a couple of flowers in bloom and checked a few others for blossoming.
Three forty one, parked at home.
May is done with. After I process the photos.
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