Anyhoo, last Sunday, we ventured out to the Plateau for a short hike on the Vernal Pool trail. What a gorgeous Goldilocks fall day - neither too hot nor too cold. The recent rain bender seemed to have triggered some premature greening along the trail.
10/24/10 Dried seedheads of Splendid Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus splendens). Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Long-Stemmed Buckwheat (Eriogonum elongatum var. elongatum). Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia).
10/24/10 Unseasonal greening along the Vernal Pool Trail. May not last if the rain peters out this winter.
10/24/10 Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Slender Tarweed (Hemizonia fasciculata), still blooming along the Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Gil on the Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Some really past-their-prime San Diego Button Celery (Eryngium aristulatum var. parishii).
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Remnants of Alkali Mallow (Malvella leprosa) at the center of the boardwalk. Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Debris on rock in the main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Alkali Mallow (Malvella leprosa). Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium). Main vernal pool.
10/24/10 Slender Tarweed (Hemizonia fasciculata). Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Acorns on Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii). Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Acorns on Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii). Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmannii). Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). Vernal Pool Trail. A deciduous shrub/vine that's common below 5,000 ft. throughout Southern California. Leaves are turning a beautiful red hue before shedding. You don't want to accidentally touch or fall into this one. Nasty.
10/24/10 Tarantula (Aphonopelmus reversum). My favorite arachnid. Vernal Pool Trail.
10/24/10 Unidentified Moth. Vernal Pool Trail.
The National Weather Service may say its going to be a La Nina Pattern this year but Farmer's Almanac says we will have above average rainfall during the winter --- not the spring though. They predicted we would have cool summer and that was right! :D Anyway, great photos -- looks like a great trail! Up in the Mount Diablo area all the tarantula males are looking for mates!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thanks for the tip - I've got to get a copy of the Farmer's Almanac. Sounds like their predictions are right on!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photographs, I've enjoyed seeing how the vernal pool changes over the seasons. The Englemann oak is impressive, I'm not sure I've ever seen one in person. It has very round acorns compared to our oak species here.
ReplyDeleteI admit I almost gasped when I saw that poison oak :P We've had so much of it here, and there's an area of the orchard where it's being very persistent. We leave it be in the wild areas as it's a good habitat plant, but hate accidentally bumping into it in the garden. It is our most spectacular fall color here though!
Love the tarantula! Of course, I wouldn't want it too close, but what a perfect photo for Halloween!
ReplyDeleteClare, the Engelmann Oak is a rarity. Although there are scattered populations in the San Gabriel Mountains and in the Peninsular ranges, the bulk of them can be found in central San Diego County and here on the Santa Rosa Plateau. As for poison oak, we also have them on our property and have not yet decided whether or not we should attempt to remove them. In the meantime, we are enjoying their fall colors from a great distance.
ReplyDeleteTown Mouse, I wasn't thinking of Halloween when I took the tarantula's picture. But now that you mention it...
Isn't that landscape amazing! I was ever so surprised to see an Oak tree in those surroundings - I never thought they could cope with those conditions. As for that poison oak - we don't have things like that thankfully but it sure has some spectacular autumnal foliage.
ReplyDeleteRosie, oak trees are quite resilient and are mainstays in the California landscape. We have everything from the shrubbier Scrub oaks to our majestic ginormous Black oaks. Poison oak is not a true oak, but the leaves bear a close resemblance.
ReplyDeleteI love the frozen waves of dried grasses in the pools, though I'm sure there's still some movement when the wind blows through there. Moving north through San Diego County has been the gold-spotted oak borer, which seems to prey most on the read oak species--including the black oak. I hope your areas are spared or that they figure out a control before the beast takes out your trees! I think word is that 15,000 to 17,000 trees in Cleveland National Forest alone have been killed already. Pretty scary thought for Halloween.
ReplyDeleteJames, the oak borer portends something scary for our native oaks. I've never heard of it before, so thanks for the heads up. We're literally adjacent to the Cleveland NF (OC-Riverside line), so not a comforting thought. Not only are our precious natives threatened by destructive pests, but also our ag & backyard crops. We're constantly monitoring for things like the Glass-winged sharpshooter on the grape vines, the Mediterranean Olive fly, the citrus leaf miner, and now the latest pest du jour, the Asian citrus psyllid. It's like Pandora's box gone wild.
ReplyDelete