Notes from the field, essays, and observations.
A series of images of common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca :
The series goes clockwise from top left, and ends with the open flowers. The orange buds in the second image were a surprise. Perhaps the orange is the result of insect activity. The buds are initially green and turn pinkish. The five pinkish segments that wrap the flower are the petals (corolla).
You can see the pinkish corolla folded away from the flower in the fourth image (top right). The flower has five whitish cups of nectar, called hoods. In the fifth image (bottom right), the hoods emerge between the unfolding corolla segments in several buds. The stigma and anthers are at the center of the hoods. Each hood has a horn that points to the center disc. Some hoods have small insects. It’s a mysteriously complex flower. From all of this complexity, the eventual result is a big green pod of seeds and fluff.
Flowers from the woods and forest edges:
In clockwise order:
Blue-eyed grass is a tiny native iris:
There are a number of similar species in my area, I think this is Sisyrinchium angustifolium. it blooms every year in my yard, this year it has spread, there are two clumps. I’ve always enjoyed the seeing the compact columns of pollen before they explode. This year I’ve paid more attention to the style, a wispy filament in the center.
I set up to photograph the trio of flowers in the last image. The halictid bee flew in and browsed at the flower for a moment or two, a not-that-surprising visitor. Last year I photographed a syrphid fly in blue-eyed grass (link).
Sights from Horn Pond Mountain (it’s just a hill, really):
The flowers are:
Click an image to view a larger size.
Some of the many flowers I’ve seen in the last few weeks:
Starting at top left, the images are:
Three views of a flower I’ve loved for a long time:
It’s a shame the flowers are so short-lived. A single bloom lasts for a day or so, and a patch of them bloom for about a week.
Flowers and butterflies from the West Coast:
Starting at top left, the images are:
The Hite Cove trail is a wildflower hotspot (https://chapters.cnps.org/centralsierra/hite-cove-wildflowers/) outside of Yosemite Valley, on Rt 140 down the road from El Portal. I visited a bit late for the larger blooms of poppy and lupine. Incline Road is another productive spot for poppies, but my find there was the group of checkerspots. In my area, checkerspots fly a month or two later, but these have their first flight in April, from what I’ve read.
Views of the fall and the area around the fall:
Last week I visited Yosemite Valley at the time of year when the waterfalls are in full flow. The image at top left is the fall in the afternoon, seen from the other side of the valley. The fall is 600 feet high. At top right is the fall seen from a distance, at a pullout off Rt 120 on my way into Yosemite valley. The river at the bottom is the Merced. It’s a similar view to the well-known Tunnel view, but from a different angle and distance.
The bottom three images are from the area at the base of the falls in the morning. I was warned to wear rain gear – it was really wet with mist. The fungi were in a small hollow near the base of the fall. The water from the fall splits into three streams, the other images are from two of them.
Colorful spring blooms:
This set is Trout Lily, bluebells, and an abstract of wood poppy petals. The wood poppies have just started to bloom, trout lily were blooming in small numbers. Bluebells are plentiful, but I liked this group of buds best of the blooms I’ve seen so far.
I’m traveling in California at the moment. By the time I get back, the bluebells will be past bloom – I hope I’m back in time for more wood poppy.
A few of the flowers blooming in my area:
Clockwise from top left:
Nature Diary 
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