Natural History Wanderings

submitted by Spencer Westbrook

Tejon Ranch by Spencer Westbrook

Tejon Ranch Arvin area property (southeast of Bakersfield). I was delighted and surprised to find a very nice, health bloom of flower covering 100’s of acres on the hills right up to Hwy 223 (east of Arvin heading to Hwy 58). Large areas of popcorn flower, lupine, owl clover, and fiddleneck cover the area with beautiful patches of poppies mixed in. The property is off limits to the public, (I was on a Tejon Ranch Conservancy outing with about 25 other people) but the flowers extend right up to the shoulder of the road. There are some very nice displays of poppies further up the road where the road goes through cuts in the low hills.

Came back through Antelope Valley which looks bone dry. The hills around Quail Lake, (west end of the Valley) and the hills at Gorman are at least green but still to early to tell if a bloom will pop.

Tejon Ranch by
Spencer Westbrook

Spencer is the author of  A Guide to Wildflower Locations of Central and Southern California