Flowers, Trees and Prayer Flags

 

Last week I took you to the Spirit Guides exhibition at the Sonoma Botanical Garden. Most of the colorful sculptures are displayed along the California Oaks Trail where a California Native Garden had also been created. But this botanical garden had so much more to offer.

The California Oaks Trail leads right into the "heart" of the garden which is focused on plants from Asia. As soon as you enter the Asian part, you find yourself in beautiful wooded areas with lots of shade and you feel a drop in temperature which is very welcome on those warm and hot summer days.

We were extremely lucky that the Emmenopterys henryi tree, native to China, was in bloom. We first only saw its display of creamy-white leaves.

But getting closer, we noticed the actual flowers. This tree is very rare and near-threatened in the wild. While it may produce a few flowers some years, a big bloom like this one is unusual. The last time that this tree bloomed "bigly" was in 2022. The creamy-white flowers have a sweet jasmine-like scent.

Being in an Asian garden, you would expect an arched bridge.

Beautiful art sculptures of birds could be found in the dense foliage.

I especially liked the base of this tree, a Père David's Maple (Acer davidii).

The pictures you see today are actually from two visits to the botanical garden, because a week after I was there with Liz, I took the Geek there as well. The two of us walked a little bit further than I did with Liz, and we decided to take the short, but steep climb to the summit. 

We had to go through this beautiful conifer tunnel.

There is a prayer flag display at the summit. When I was here the very first time - 2010 or 2011, when it was still called Quarryhill Garden - the prayer flags had already been here, and some of them showed their age.

It's a beautiful quiet spot, and thankfully there was a bench where the Geek and I took a short rest and enjoyed the beautiful view over the Valley of the Moon. Right across from us is Jack London State Historic Park, another favorite place of mine.

Back in the woods I was delighted by all the beautiful flowers and berries.

Some kind of magnolia (there wasn't a sign and I wasn't able to find out what kind of magnolia this is),

a viburnum, I think, maybe Viburnum dilatatum, but I'm not sure,

and Fringed Pink (Dianthus superbus).

Then we discovered something very interesting, and I think Erika aka BioArtGal will like this. A tree nest for honeybees!

Aren't these flowers beautiful? I have no idea what exactly they are, so Liz and I decided to call them "tall water lilies".

Of course, there were "normal" water lilies as well. When Liz and I were there they covered the pond, but a week later they were all gone. I guess they have become too invasive and the garden staff had decided to remove them.

Above the lower pond we saw Himalayan Gloxinia (Incarvillea arguta) and if you look closely, you can see an Anna's Hummingbird in the lower left corner - I blends into the green of the foliage behind it. There were so many hummingbirds flitting around this flower.

One flower that shouldn't be missed in an Asian garden is the Japanese Anemone (Eriocapitella x hybrida). They are stunning, but can get quite invasive. However, they do fit into this kind of garden.

These are my flower faces for Nicole's Friday Face Off today.

At the Lake Again

 

We're having a bit of a weird summer this year. Our average highs are 8 degrees lower than last summer, thanks to a persistent low pressure in the upper atmosphere which has strengthened the marine layer, a blanket of cool, moist air. It results in morning fog that finally burns off by afternoon. This pattern has kept onshore flow steady and temperatures down. 

And I love it.

Last week I went to the lake early, hoping for some wildlife sightings that are usually more frequent in this kind of gloomy weather. I had just gotten out of my car in the parking lot when I was greeted by the call of a Red shouldered hawk. I scanned the trees and finally found him/her, well hidden near the top of the tree.

A lone fisherman took advantage of the overcast day as well.

I decided to take the Fisherman's Trail which skirts the western shore of the lake. There was a breeze rustling in the leaves of the Cottonwood - a lovely whispering sound.

The lake was very still, but I could always hear the loud calling of the Canada Geese who were congregating on the more open part of the lake.

While I was trying to identify a bush by its fruit, there suddenly was a whoosh and the hawk was landing on a branch in the trees behind the bush. Look at that beautiful guy!

Some of the Armenian Blackberries were flowering while others had already developed fruit. They were lining the path, ready to be picked.

There were willows and California wild grape (Vitis californica).

The reflections in the lake were truly amazing.

Further on I saw these dried grasses - I have no idea what they are, but I think they simply look lovely.

Then I left the Fisherman's Trail and walked along one of my very favorite little paths. Not many people walk here, maybe because in some places the path is very narrow and dry grasses grwo into it. Unfortunately I had forgotten my tick repellent, so I crammed the legs of my pants in my hiking socks. I'm really not keen on ticks (apart from those who feasted on a Western fence lizard before).

Poison Oak is found here as well, just as "popular" as ticks. Beautiful to look at, but stay away from it if you don't want a terribly itching and burning rash.

Dead trees overgrown with lichen and moss, probably offering a splendid habitat for all kinds of insects and tiny critters.

The trail then flattened out...

... and I had reached the top of the slope, a very favorite spot of mine. And look who was already waiting for me, sitting on a bare branch.

I had been following his/her call all the way up.

S/he wasn't alone. Not too far from the picnic area (and a world away) I saw a family of Black-tailed deer.

Here's a short video of the two fawns, and if you listen carefully you should be able to hear the call of the Red shouldered hawk.

Toward the end of my walk I saw these two California ground squirrels near the picnic site, having their second breakfast.

It was such a pleasant day that I sat next to the lake with my journal. The sun finally came out when I packed up and left for home.

It was such a wonderful morning.

Morning Hike in the Laguna

 

After I had been to Crane Creek on Wednesday, I decided to hike in the Laguna Wetlands Preserve on Friday morning. Thursday had been a hot day with temperatures in the lower 90s, but Friday was a bit cooler. I decided to go early since the Laguna has a lot of open spaces without much shade and it tends to get quite hot.

This is a premier bird watching area and when I was getting out of my car, I was greeted by a Brewer's Blackbird who loudly announced my arrival.

Only a few minutes later a Red-winged Blackbird landed on another "Boundary Trail" post and I saw a  Song Sparrow on a fence post (I think; I have a hard time identifying sparrows). I heard Red-shouldered Hawks but wasn't able to take a picture, instead I captured this majestic Turkey Vulture.

I started my walk looking for wildflowers, but in contrast to Crane Creek two days before, I didn't see any native wildflowers. This is a completely different terrain, very wet in the winter and extremely dry in the summer. 

Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), a non-native noxious weed, but so far not on the invasive plants list - yet. It's beautiful.

Common Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), an edible root plant. I have many of them in my garden. 

Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus), non-native as well, that forms pretty clumps in the meadow.

Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) on the left, which is potentially invasive and, of course, non-native. On the right is Wall or Foxtail Barley (Hordeum murinum), non-native as well, and I have seen it in some places really taking over the space. Fortunately so far it behaves here.

My favorites are the remains of Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota), they are so fragile and beautiful. Very soon the new ones will come up - it's a great pollinator plant.

The oak gall (on the left) is an abnormal plant growth found on foliage and twigs of many species of oak trees. They are produced by small oak gall wasps. Adults lay eggs in expanding tree buds and leaves in the spring, the larvae then feed, pupate and emerge from the gall as adult wasps. These galls do not cause significant damage to trees. The plant on the right is a different story. This is non-native Curly Dock (Rumex crispus), an edible weed that is found in many open areas of the Laguna. It matures to a rusty red in late summer and fall - maybe that color gave it its botanical name, it does look rather "crisp" in the fall.

Very soon I turned to the left, one of my favorite trails in the Preserve.

It didn't take long until I reached one of the creeks. Signs of the wet winter were everywhere, but the water of the usually flooded area in winter has already receded a lot.

This female Mallard enjoyed hanging out on this tree stump, her companion not far away.

I always love the Laguna de Santa Rosa with its many trees that are reflected in the water. The seasonal bridge wasn't in place yet. In winter many many Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons and Cattle Egrets roost here, but this time I only saw one Green Heron taking off.

This is where I usually cross over to the meadow. Good thing I was wearing my hiking boots!

So close to the meadow there are many birdhouses put up in this area. 

The meadow is called Meadowlark Field, but so far I have only heard the Western Meadowlark here, but have never seen it. Apart from the beautiful trail I showed you above, this is my favorite part of the Preserve. There are some beautiful oaks standing here, but most of the trail through the meadow is in full sun.

I often stop at the tree above and sit at the picnic table, writing in my journal or just day dreaming. There are not that many people who walk this part of the trail.

Of course, the Laguna is not short on crooked and dead trees.

Look who was hanging out on this dead trunk in the photo above!

And there's another one!

On my way back to the parking lot I saw some California Poppies - finally some native wildflowers! They do pop with their happy, feel-good color.

Since this is for T Tuesday over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth I need to provide a drink. We already saw some birds in this post and I will finish it with one - one of my bird mugs that is my morning coffee mug. I love my coffee with lots of milk - my black coffee-days are long over. The roses are from my garden, "Sheila's Delight". And if you're wondering about the vase - it's a wine bottle that my wine maker friend cut down to serve as a vase. Recycling at its best.