Right above the exposed fault line, as we began our trek on Lower Laurel, some really beautiful Sticky Monkey flowers in reddish hues were putting on a show for us. They beautifully contrasted with orange colored Monkey flowers to their right (not shown in photograph - click HERE for the Sticky Monkey Flower Photo Album).
The curly dock also was displaying more color today:
The black sage has been doing phenomenally well in pleasing the busy bees of the canyon with its countless blooms. Below is a photo of Lower Laurel Trail leading to the oak woodlands habitat.
Right around the area shown in the above photograph, we noticed a wonderful display of this rosemary flat top buckwheat, shown below. Not in full bloom yet.
One of the biggest highlights of today was the opportunity to photograph the California False Indigo's flowers that Len had mentioned in his last report.
Hiking up Lower Laurel, the view today was breathtaking. It was pretty hot, though, as we walked up - was in the 80s.
The bedstraw was nearing the end of its blooming period and ready to disperse into the wind with its seed.
The English plantain that Len had been reporting was a pleasure to photograph, although it is a non-native to the canyon.
And how fun is a Cheese plant? Very fun! :) (named after the fruit that looks like a wheel of cheese)
Some cinquefoil in bloom, with a happy visitor.
Juncus.
Chinese Houses:
Hedge Nettle:
The lemonade berries along Lower Laurel are not ripe yet - they remain their greyish-greenish-yellowish color, in contrast to the berries on Little Sycamore trail that are delightful! To each plant its own timing & its own reasoning, I guess...
The bush mallow is simply beautiful with its pinkish-lavender colored blossoms. The flowers act almost like little flags, indicating where the bush mallow, otherwise rather inconspicuous, is to be found on the slopes. I definitely noticed more bush mallows today than those I was previously familiar with.
The Indian Fringed Pink was also beautiful on Lower Laurel trail. The blue dicks have had their day; most (if not all) are shriveled up and dry. A few poppies line the trail here and there; the white sage, much less abundant in the canyon than the black sage, is showing off its beautiful white and yellow hued flowers. The deerweed continues on, and in many areas is still thriving, contrary to an earlier report (deerweed has been in bloom in the canyon since December!). The sycamore leaves are becoming larger and filling out the trees, taking up more space along the slopes, pushing us towards the outer edges of the trail. Some of the poison oak in the beginning parts of the oak woodland habitat of Lower Laurel is beginning to look very much like coast live oak leaves (although still remain grouped in threes) - I wonder if they are playing copycat - and why. The California Everlasting is becoming more fragrant now, much like it is on Mary's Trail.
That is the report, folks!
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