Looking for Wildflowers

 

California Buttercup - Ranunculus californicus

After all the rain we have had so far (we are still not done), California is going to have an abundance of wildflowers, just a little bit later than usual because it also has been colder than the years before. Today I had a low energy morning due to not having slept well last night, and finally I decided to drive out to Crane Creek and see whether there are already any wildflowers. This beautiful park is only a 25 minute drive from my house and one of my favorite places to go when I need a mood booster.

There weren't that many wildflowers yet, but what I love about this park is the many big native trees you can find here. There was water in the creeks and the sound of low bubbling water was my companion the entire time.

Then I discovered the first California poppies, Eschscholzia californica - my all time favorites. We have many native flowers and plants, but nothing comes close to the happiness of these orange flowers. No wonder it's our state flower.

More trees, mainly native oaks, some of them dying or decaying. No matter what shape they're in, they are true stunners.

And more water - the last time I was here, we didn't have that much water in the creeks. After all these dry years it was wonderful to see all this moisture.

The California Buckeye, Aesculus californica, has already completely leafed out and on some of the trees I could see the beginning of the bloom "candles" - just a few short weeks and they will be in their full glory.

Another beautiful native oak. Aren't these trees amazing?

The "fairy hair" that you can see in many of these old trees is often mistaken for Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides). Spanish Moss does NOT grow in California; it requires a humid climate and can only be found in the Carribean and the Southern US. What we see here is Lace Lichen (Ramalina menziesii). It is so common that it has been designated the California State Lichen.

Close to this beautiful oak I found California Saxifrage (Saxifrage californica), a shy little flower that seems to prefer shadier locations.

Another beautiful view - I take this trail every time I'm here because I love this so much.

The last tree before the parking lot (and the first, if you're just starting out).

For my drink that I need in order to qualify for Bleubeard and Elizbeth's T Tuesday I have another one of the German beers from our Advent calendar. "Erlkönig" is a beer from Bavaria; however, "Erlkönig" is also a poem by the great German poet and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a poem I have known since I was a child when I still wasn't aware how incredibly sad it is. Sad and very beautiful.

Here is a pretty good translation of the poem (Franz Schubert wrote the music to it):

The Erlking

English Translation © Richard Wigmore

Who rides so late through the night and wind?

It is the father with his child.

He has the boy in his arms;

he holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

‘My son, why do you hide your face in fear?’

‘Father, can you not see the Erlking?

The Erlking with his crown and tail?’

‘My son, it is a streak of mist.’

‘Sweet child, come with me.

I’ll play wonderful games with you.

Many a pretty flower grows on the shore;

my mother has many a golden robe.’

‘Father, father, do you not hear

what the Erlking softly promises me?’

‘Calm, be calm, my child:

the wind is rustling in the withered leaves.’

‘Won’t you come with me, my fine lad?

My daughters shall wait upon you;

my daughters lead the nightly dance,

and will rock you, and dance, and sing you to sleep.’

‘Father, father, can you not see

Erlking’s daughters there in the darkness?’

‘My son, my son, I can see clearly:

it is the old grey willows gleaming.’

‘I love you, your fair form allures me,

and if you don’t come willingly, I’ll use force.’

‘Father, father, now he’s seizing me!

The Erlking has hurt me!’

The father shudders, he rides swiftly,

he holds the moaning child in his arms;

with one last effort he reaches home;

the child lay dead in his arms.

Translation by Richard Wigmore

First published by Gollancz and reprinted in the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition