Still Wearin' The Green - But Begorrah, Today Was 90 Degrees F.

Last week we got a spit of rain, a quarter inch, in a cold storm. Foothill Chaparral (Spanish Pasture Mix, too, for that matter) rarely has roots deeper than 6-8." So that kind of storm, in the right week of Spring, might be just enough to power the bio-range over the Bump, to an efflorescence in May-June. [The Bump, might be an event like we got today, 90 degrees at noon. It's March.] We'll see soon what effect came of St. Paddy's sprinkle-blessing.

Below is the cholla cactus which was the sole plant left in this meadow after the fires/floods. I rescued it recently from a bizarre dumping/vandalism event involving a fluorescent light box tied to it with thick loops of wire. See it fairly obscured, in the middle of the other plants. Awesome.

I also spent time and sweat clearing an invasive weed episode out of the meadow below. It fills me with joy to see the CFP perking right along with deerweed, elderflower, sagebrush, and bear currants, as it should oughta. The oblong thicket is headed by a Nevins barberry, one of the rarest organisms in Creation. Its long arms are best spotted in the second picture, at the far left.

But was it BRIGHT today? Brighter than a soundstage; brighter than anything I've seen on Earth, ever. I think it must be because of the cleansing effect of the storm, combined with the chill auto-traffic lately (because of gas prices.) Below, holly-leaf cherries going bananas:

Linanthus californicus - prickly phlox!

Phacelia californica - scorpionweed!

Yerba santa  - Eriodictyon californicum!

It was so bright, I couldn't even focus my camera properly on the plants above, whatever they are. I just stood there, hat shielding my eyes, holding the phone at arms length, while I averted my bitter gaze from the scene like Duse playing Electra, and clicked blindly.