Hello, Friend!This morning I hiked Laurel Loop (started on Lower Laurel, to finish at the end of Willow), from 8:45-10:20 AM. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, with warm temperatures, a beautiful blue sky with few scattered clouds, and the sweet smell of mulefat perfuming the air.
(photo on left: view from Lower Laurel today, looking towards the Laguna Canyon Road)
It had been a while since my last visit to the Willow Staging area, and the land somehow "feels" different to me, as if it is fuller, a bit heavier, less dusty - perhaps due to the recent rain that we received this month?
As I was on somewhat of a schedule this morning, I could not take my usual four hours to minutely observe what was going on in the canyon. I did succeed, however, in obtaining a general overview of the loop, and noted a few of the more obvious changes, to share with you today.
It was absolutely fantastic to get out on the trails again. Here are a few of my observations, for the record:
1. The Lemonade Berries have lost their Zing! Bam! Punch! and most of the "slimy" coating has left, leaving only a nice coat of oak woodland dust to color the berries a darker hue of red (bordering red-black in some instances). Their tart, lemon taste has almost faded completely. Guess we'll have to wait until the next batch comes along...2. The fuschia-flowered gooseberry is just starting to leaf out on Lower Laurel, in the oak woodland portion. Exciting!
3. Toyon is in bloom in certain areas of Lower Laurel Trail. Take a look at these beauties!!!
4. I have a tradition of taking a photograph from this vantage point, of the California False Indigo and the surrounding plants/trail. You can observe the changes in the area in comparing this photo with the others, HERE.
The leaves of the False Indigo, especially their color loss/gain, was noted.
5. Speaking of color, Len Gardner recently mentioned the color of the Poison Oak at Aliso and Wood Canyons. He expressed his amazement at "the color in the poison oak leaves, which seems to be at a peak now. Even though poison oak starts to get color as early as June in some drought-stressed locations, most does not color up until this time of year. Right now, it's really very colorful." On Laurel Loop, the beautiful colors of green and red are also visible, especially in the oak woodlands.
As I mentioned in my earlier post today, I am excitedly awaiting your contributions to the blog! And I will be posting some art on the blog this next week. So, stay tuned!
Keeping it WILD,
Jennifer Wood
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