Fiddlenecks and Tidy Tips

This morning my friend K and I went to Crane Creek Regional Park. She had never been there, so we thought it was time for her to get aquainted with this little gem.

When we drove over the hill we saw the morning fog hanging over the plain in front of the Coastal Range. So we hurried to park the car and walk up the hill to get a good view of the fog. There was already considerably less of the marine layer when we arrived at the top. I apologize for the following photo, it's very pixelated, but I love this dead tree and the fog next to it with the Coastal Range peeking through it.

All the yellow you can see here are wildflowers - Tidy Tips (Layia chrysanthemoides). It was so different from the last time when I hiked here and had hoped to see wildflowers - this time there were so many more.

The other yellow wildflower is Yellowbeak Owl's Clover (Triphysaria versicolor).

We were so early that the California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), our state flower, hadn't opened its flowers and still looked like little pointed hats. The Sky Lupines (Lupinus nanus), however, were "fully awake" and delighted with their beautiful color. They are often found in the same location as California Poppies.

The native oaks were flowering as well. I actually wasn't sure whether "flowering" is the correct term, but after talking with a botanist I can say with confidence that, yes, the oaks were flowering. What you see here are the male flowers; the female ones are much closer to the leaves and we weren't able to see them.

The oaks were covered with lichen - the one on the trunk and branches is Sunburst lichen. The hanging lichen (the right photo below) is often mistaken for Spanish Moss which does not grow in California since our climate is not humid enough. This is California Lace Lichen (Ramalina menziesii), and believe it or not, it's our State Lichen. California is the first state to recognize a lichen as a state symbol.

Crane Creek Park has many old oaks that I never tire to look at. Such beautiful, majestic trees. Even when they die, park management leaves them in place as part of the habitat. I love that this area is left to nature's ways. 

Well, not completely. Cows certainly don't really fit in this picture, however, they are in the park for about six months each year. Their grazing is a low key way of fire management. There are about 20 cows in the park and they can roam the entire area. This practice has been in place for many years now and it has worked well. I have never seen any severe damage anywhere in the park; new plantings of native trees and shrubs usually get protection for the first few years when they are still vulnerable to curious cows who might like to try the fresh growth. The cows are docile and used to humans; K's dog though was a bit scared of them and only was ready to proceed after she saw that I passed the cows without any incident. I have always had a soft spot for cows; I have loved them since I was a little girl - after all, I'm a (big animal) veterinarian's daughter!

There were more wildflowers - Popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys nothofulvus), Fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia) and Blue Dicks (Dipterostemon capitatus). What a wonderful outcome of our wet winter!

My regular hike took much longer today - K and I were stopping over and over again admiring all the flowers and being in awe of the trees. This is such a wonderful place where I always feel I can breathe more easily (not today though, since allergies this spring are awful). It speaks to my heart and my soul.

We were very lucky to see and hear many birds - Red-shouldered Hawk, Western Bluebird, Acorn Woodpeckers, California Thrasher, Turkey Vulture, Scrub Jay and California Quail. I'm pretty sure I forgot a few.

This is my favorite tree - you already saw it in an earlier post. Every time I see it I take a picture of it, and I swear it's always different.

By the end of our hike, the California Poppies had finally opened up.

I think the trees and some of the flowers like the Fiddleneck are fitting for Rain's prompt "twisted" this week - what do you think?

My dinner today for Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date is tortellini with caramelized onions, mushrooms and spinach. This was the first time that I had made this delicious dish.