Archive for Wildflowers
On the Hunt for Early Wildflowers in the Bay Area
POST Volunteer Judy Kramer of Earth Witness Photography went to capture the early wildflower blooms at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. Here are some beautiful images of what she found. Thank you for sharing these with us, Judy!
Trillium at Windy Hill
The Giant Trillium is one of the early spring flowers growing under the oak trees in the hills. A member of the lily family, it has the characteristic three petals and three leaves. Another name for it is Wake Robin, implying that it “wakes the robins,” who are traditionally considered the harbingers of spring. It can be seen on many shady trails through March.
Dirca Bush
Dirca Blossom
Western Leatherwood–commonly called Dirca because of its scientific name, Dirca occidentalis–grows only in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although it is no longer common in our area, you can see it in bloom right now at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley. I took these photos about a third of the way up the Hamm’s Gulch Trail.
Spotted at Rancho San Vicente: Bay Checkerspot Butterfly
By Gordon Clark, Conservation Project Manager
To quote expert Stu Weiss, “Any day you see a Bay checkerspot butterfly is a pretty fine day.” Stu Weiss is a serpentine grassland scientist with Creekside Center for Earth Observation, and he, along with his colleague Christal Niederer, Ben Solvesky and Mike Thomas of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chris Wilmers, a mountain lion expert at UC-Santa Cruz, Jon Christensen of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford and fellow POSTies Marc Landgraf and Sky Bintliff had the great fortune of spotting a Bay Checkerspot male, freshly emerged. Here are some photos from their butterfly safari:
Bay Checkerspot Butterfly (c) Stu Weiss
The group at the summit (c) POST
Have you had the good fortune to spot endangered or threatened critters? If so, tell us about it! You can read more about the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly here.
Sunday Hike: Almaden Valley Kiwanis at Rancho San Vicente
By Daphne Muehle, Senior Major Gifts Officer
Recently I met up with Martha Kelley and the Almaden Valley Kiwanis on POST-protected Rancho San Vicente. It was such a beautiful day—warm with a cool, light breeze.
After introductions and a preview of the day’s hike, we set off for the high-point on RSV. Along the way, we saw over a dozen varieties of wildflowers in full spring bloom, including: California poppy, morning glory, owl’s clover, blue dicks and cream cup. The colors were fantastic—bright oranges, hearty blues and brilliant yellows—all mixed together on a background of greens from the native grasses (although the grasses had that hint of gold, letting us all know that summer colors and heat were not far away).
Blue Dicks (c) Bill Buckley
Everyone from the Kiwanis group and their family and friends were gracious and interested in the natural surroundings. With the help of Todd and Cindy, and Bill and Gail, we spotted yellow and brown spiders, a four-foot gopher snake, and holes in the ground where we imagined many of these creatures lived. I’m just glad more of them didn’t make an appearance! I would rather look up and see the birds to tell you the truth, and we did see five American white pelicans flying in formation!
Todd and Cindy (c) Bill Buckley
Every time I asked our group to listen to nature, we were interrupted by the sounds of man. First it was an ambulance siren in the Valley, then a helicopter flying overhead. These sounds emphasized how close we were to urban development. RSV is on the edge of the city, and now that it’s protected it will offer recreational opportunities close to home. Luckily, we were met with pure silence when we reached the top of the hill, about a mile and a half from where we started. Plus we saw the breathtaking views of Calero reservoir from the top. Nothing beats this view in my opinion.
As we hiked down from the hill, we looked toward Almaden Valley and were reminded what a treat it is to have this open space. I hope these folks I met and others in Almaden Valley will become POST donors (and you too, if you haven’t already) as it takes a community to save a world-class resource like Rancho San Vicente.
View of Almaden Valley (c) Bill Buckley
And if you’re interested in getting a group together and going on a hike, just send me an email: dmuehle at openspacetrust.org
POST
Jeff Powers
Paul Ringgold
Meghan Scanlon
post4laura
