Tag Archives: wildflowers

Spring Potrero Mutilated, San Marcos Foothills Preserve

Restoration travesty (January 2023) “Paths are human; they are the traces of our relationships.” —Robert Macfarlane  Channel Islands Restoration, her purported protector, deflowered the virgin. A screaming outrage. A grotesque violation. This was not restoration. This was mutilation. I met … Continue reading

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The Elusive and Fleeting Fire Poppy

I found the fire poppies once more, trailless along a tributary fork of a coastal creek high in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Five years had past since my last sighting. I think the fire poppy, Papaver californicum, may be among … Continue reading

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Wild Iris Bloom, Santa Ynez Mountains

The wild iris are abloom now in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This particular flush shown may be the best bloom in many years, coming after the Thomas Fire of 2017 cleared the way, and a month after the torrential record-setting … Continue reading

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Wind Poppy (Papaver heterophyllum)

Rancho Nuevo Canyon, Dick Smith Wilderness (Early May, 2012) “It is possible to be indifferent to flowers—possible but not very likely. Psychiatrists regard a patient’s indifference to flowers as a symptom of depression. It seems that by the time the … Continue reading

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Baby Blue Eyes Wildflower

A single baby blue eyes now blooming in the folds of the Santa Ynez Mountains, standing tall and strong though alone, maintaining proper social distancing from family and friends in the background, beneath a blue spot of sky above. Happy … Continue reading

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