After 15 consecutive days of solid work (and sitting), it was really good to get out on the Fire Followers SBBG trip on May 5th (especially with the leaders “extraordinaire” whose handouts are greatly appreciated). I have visited Highway 33 north of Ojai less than five times, and each time I go, I am struck by the beauty and wonderful flower displays. Some of the terrain reminds me a little of some seen in Namibia - where I described it in my “Scrapbook” site, as being drawn with a broad sweeping brush. However the vegetation is very different, where at the higher altitude, fir and pine are found that would never be seen in the higher areas of Namibia.

(Zaca Fire burned vegetation on west side of Highway 33 - May 5, 2008)

We visited areas that were at the limit of the Zaca burn, one of which was right next to Highway 33 - and were thus able to see before/after views of vegetation. In the burned areas, there were lots of interesting fire followers, and a number of plants that were re-sprouting. The most interesting charred skeleton was that of a Juniper. The slide show below includes photos of the burned areas as well as some of the flowers (I goofed on some of the Phacelia photos, and should try to find the time to go back.)

(Zaca Fire burned oak, re-sprouting - May 5, 2008)

This year must be a gilia year for me, where I was lucky to see three new species (for me) on Figueroa Mountain, and two new (three photographed) on Pine Mountain and another plant called “False Gilia”. One of the gilias seen on Monday seemed to be one of the gilia seen on Figueroa Mountain - Gilia ochroleuca subsp. bizonata. The reason I call it “Volcanic Gilia” is because it is the common name of the plant at these links:

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=3874
http://plants.usda.gov/

The second of the three gilias seen was Splendid Gilia, and the other id is a bit iffy. I don’t like to take plants from the field, but there are a few questions about some of the attempted ids of a few plants that could warrant another trip.

(Splendid Gilia, Pine Mountain - May 5, 2008)

Another interesting plant was Grass Blazingstar (Mentzelia gracilenta). It is also known as Slender Stickleaf. A number of plants in the Mentzelia genus are called stickleaf, because the leaves have hooked hairs that allow them to cling tightly to other surfaces.

I came across an article in a 1941 Desert Magazine about Mentzelia, with this about gracilenta: “Mentzelia gracilenta var. nttens (Mentzelia miens’) has very shiny, white or pinkish stems, and flowers about an inch across, the golden petals with reddish spots at base. It favors gravelly slopes and mesas in the Mojave desert, Owens valley, Nevada and Arizona.”

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/2095536/194106DesertMagazine1941June).

(Grass Blazingstar, Mentzelia gracilenta, Pine Mountain - May 5, 2008)

Slideshow - After clicking on the link below, click on the “i” in the middle of the screen to see picture titles.

• Zaca Fire Followers and Sprouters and others, May 5, 2008

“I don’t want to leave and go home”, said one of the trip participants after a wonderful, interesting SBBG trip to Figueroa Mountain. It is not an uncommon feeling after each trip to the mountain — which I have visited many times this year (along with other areas). This year has more free time and it is also a good time to visit outlying areas before the price of gasoline becomes prohibitive.

(Tufted Poppies, Sky Lupine - March 18, 2008)

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The Saturday trip to Santa Barbara Island was my second trip to that remote small rock of an island in the Channel. On the last trip (July 2007) I took my bulky bird lens — this time I wish I had not left it behind because of the extremely rich fauna. Santa Barbara Island is further from the mainland than the other islands, and seems to be affected by the weather more than the other islands. Rainy weather seems to be worse on this island. Thus flower viewing is only possible in the calmer months. Because of less than normal March rain this year and the usual higher winds further out to sea, the flowers dried out faster and there was not much to see. Hence it must be difficult to schedule a visit ahead of time to get the best of both the weather and the moisture.

(Baby Brown Pelicans - April 12, 2008)

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This year, as in 2002, I am taking my vacation in small chunks, usually a day at a time, visiting some of the magnificent areas in Santa Barbara county. In 2007 and 2006, I took short trips to San Francisco, camping along the way at some wonderful places - plus one or two day trips. The remaining years in-between were generally vacation-free, or spent on home repair.

(Anacapa chain of islands - March 31, 2008)

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This weekend I was able to get out on both Saturday and Sunday - no work requirements interfered. Unfortunately, my trip to Happy Canyon Road was not too fruitful because of a very strong wind.

A little beyond the shooting range, on a small promontory facing south-ish, there were many shooting stars and chocolate lilies. They were somewhat on the dry side because of the exposure to both sun and wind. I did not even try shooting the waving shooting stars, and got one semi-reasonable chocolate lily against the sky, where the skylight turned the chocolate color dark red.

(California Poppy - March 8, 2008)

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