Behold the canyon named for the Earls of Ellesmere, in storybook-illustrator light.
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| 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.
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Live oak, Quercus agrifolia
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Salix exigua, sandbar or narrow-leaf willow, bursting with fuzz.
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| Lemonade berry, Rhus integrifola |
Below: Oenothera speciosa, Mexican evening primrose, and passenger.
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| caterpillar phacelia |
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| Seep monkey-flowers, Erythranthe guttata |
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| An ex-turkey vulture; maybe a juvenile. Eerily decomposed head.... |
2023 has been a banner year for dudleya:
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Clarkia doing the spring thing
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