Hillside walk, 25 March 2019
The peak of spring is here. Never have I seen so many flowers so widespread. For example, the strigose lotus (Acmispon strigosus) is in massed carpets of many thousand on the mid north hillside, and it extends all the way to the top of the north hillside. It's also blooming in other places, such as Canyon 8.
Currently we have all five species of lupine in bloom, in greater quantities that I've ever seen on the hillsides. For example, stinging lupine (Lupinus hirsutissimus) is in many places, not just a few, across the north hillside. Collar lupine (Lupinus truncatus) has major massed stands on the north hillside and upper Canyon 4.
A plant that I've not seen blooming for several years is bitter cress (Cardamine oligosperma). Previous observations were in Canyon 3, but this year it's mainly in Canyon 5.
Unfortunately the spring bloom is greatly subdued by the thick grasses, such as ripgut brome. In many places the grass is as high as my mid thigh, and sometimes up to my waist. This makes walking very slow, requiring care to obtain a good foothold in many instances.
