Be still, my heart

The mariposa blooms!  Little Shasta Meadows Botanical Area, Goosenest District, Klamath N.F., July 13, 2013.  And for more (fornicating beetles and martial cicadas), see LSMBA-Pt.III.

Still no sign of the lily in bloom

So we went back 10 days later.  Still no Greene's mariposa lily flower.  Yet, again, treated to a few surprises:

a monarch butterfly in the butterweed,

a field of harlequin calico flower in a drying mud puddle,

and lots of wild, white hyacinth (triteleia hyacinthina).

For more of what we saw on this trip to the Little Shasta Meadows Botanical Area, see LSMBA-Pt. II

Summering cranes and lively lomatiums

We visited the Little Shasta Meadows Botanical Area in the Goosenest District of Klamath National Forest to see the endemic Greene's mariposa lily, but alas! The lilies were only beginning to put up their flower stalk.

But!  We did see a pair of sandhill cranes and some lovely lomatiums gone to seed.

To see more of what we saw at the botanical area, go to LSMBA-Part I

Holy Snowflake, Batman!

Winter Solstice 2012.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Death in the afternoon

A neighbor alerted us to the fact that a mountain lion (most likely) made dinner on our property, below the house.  We had been watching this stately buck as the males drifted back in for rutting season.  Never again will his lips curl in lust, savoring the sexy smell of the estrus doe.

Falling in love

A long, warm autumn brought out the gold in Siskiyou County's white oak woodland.  I took some pix above Greenhorn Park during a morning walk.

  

Celebrating Pollinators

A couple of Klamath National Forest -ologist types organized a little walk-and-talk at Kangaroo Lake on plants and their pollinators this weekend.  Retired entomologist Dr. Stan Carlson let us peek at part of his collection of native butterflies, moths, flies, bees and other bugs, while a rep from the Klamath Bird Observatory talked about the importance of hummingbirds.  Three forest botanists (one retired) were on hand to help us identify the myriad of wildflowers in bloom in the fens and meadows around the lake. Some two dozen people took part in the activity on this spectacularly gorgeous day in Siskiyou County.  Thank you Sam, Marla, Danica, Julie, Stan and Janene for a great day!

Pitcher plants aka cobra plants (Darlingtonia californica) are native to the fens of high elevation serpentine habitats in Siskiyou County.