Elsmere Canyon Idyll

Behold the canyon named for the Earls of Ellesmere, in storybook-illustrator light. 

My guess is this must be Harding grass, Phalaris aquatica, non-native, naturalized in the Spanish pasture mix. Lovely, anyway.

A fair mead, a gladsome glade, an enchanted glen... Elsmere Canyon was cursed by the black oil that seeps in its sands and oozes from its cliffs, to be invaded and industrialized by 19th and 20th century petro-extractors. In the 21st century it has been subjected to ordeal by fire. All the more wonderful to see it this weekend, looking like a scene from Arthurian romance. 

Elsmere Canyon History by Stan Walker

Live oak, Quercus agrifolia

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Salix exigua, sandbar or narrow-leaf willow, bursting with fuzz.

Lemonade berry, Rhus integrifola

Below: Oenothera speciosa, Mexican evening primrose, and passenger.

caterpillar phacelia

Seep monkey-flowers, Erythranthe guttata

An ex-turkey vulture; maybe a juvenile. Eerily decomposed head....

2023 has been a banner year for dudleya:

Clarkia doing the spring thing

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Shoot it in Griffith Park

A tree's a tree. A mountain's a mountain...shoot it in Griffith Park.

- Old Hollywood Lore

Red poppies

Lemonade berry in full, juicy berry. Rhus integrifolia

A California striped racer having a nap

Griffith Park has never been more iconically beautiful than it is right now. The clear views, the greenery, the diffused light, and the  scents of spring in all the native habitats made an intoxicating hike. Enjoy these publicity photos of Hollywood's backyard, in June Gloom Superbloom 2023. 

Red penstemon and golden monkeyflowers

Big-pod ceanothus with a fine view of Glendale

Heteromeles arbutifolia: toyon in glad flower. 

Laurel sumac putting on the red frills.

Dudleya 

California black walnut, Juglans californica

 

Giant wild rye running rye-ot: Leymus condensatus

 

Silverpuffs; Uropappus lindleyi

Exploring an overgrown thicket: holly-leaf cherry, elderflower, draped with wild cucumber vines... 

and well hidden in the undergrowth, I made out a distinctive blue-green leaf pattern. I realized I'd discovered one of Griffith Park's rarest wonders: a Nevins barberry. I love notching an elusive Nevins, the unicorns of the CFP. I often re-hunt and re-visit individuals once I've clocked them, season after season, and help them along with weeding, clearing smothering brush, etc.

Mahonia nevinii