Natural History Wanderings

I’ve taken two hikes at Calero County park in the past few days, and both were wonderful. Sunday involved the Figueroa and Serpentine Loop trails, which had very good numbers of the current common bloomers: poppies, blue-eyed grass, blue dicks, fiddlenecks, checkerbloom, buttercups, miniature lupine and occasional gatherings of mule’s ears (among others.) Of note, there is a gorgeous display of goldfields, birds-eye gilia, poppies and a few others along the Serpentine trail, at a point looking out over the reservoir.

Today’s hike left from the Canada del Oro parking lot and went around the Bald Peaks trail loop. In the chaparral, large areas of black sage are just getting started, as are golden yarrow (and actual yarrow is just starting to bloom too, not just in the chaparral.) The grasslands are full of flowers, especially along the trailsides, but here the grass is also so lush and tall that it often dominates (although there are also some rather pretty, if likely non-native, grasses out there too.) In the upper reaches, poppies dot the hillsides, there are some nice dense swaths of Linanthus, lupine and popcorn flowers, and a satisfying mixed variety of others all along the way. If you don’t feel like going far from the parking lot, just walking a bit up the Longwall Canyon or Little Llagas Creek trails provide nice displays of lupine, Viola, buttercups and small groups of owl’s clover.