Coyote Lake Spring
I had an assignment in the Bay Area and on the way home I wanted to explore Henry W. Coe State Park. Unfortunately the annual backcountry weekend was limited to only a few hundred permit holders, and I didn’t realize a permit was needed even just to drive through, so I looked for somewhere else to play.
I passed by an artichoke field in San Martin. I love artichokes! (With butter, not mayo)
I found the lovely Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park, and I got the last campsite! I was surprised to see feral hogs right in the campground. These were actually in a streambed.
A yellow-billed magpie gathered craneflies for her young ‘uns.
I found some wildflowers I hadn’t seen before, as well as some cool ones I was familiar with, such as this miner’s lettuce.
Fairy lanterns, also known as globe lilies ( Calochortus albus ) were numerous and fascinating.
I had to pry one open to see inside! Yellowish lupines were also common.
I took most of these photos on the road that led to the Gilroy Hot Springs, which apparently is out of commission. There was very little traffic and a joy to explore in the early evening and the next morning.
Even the little flowers of the non-native vetch added welcome color.
Vetch
The small blooms of this non-native flower were also photo-worthy.
English plantain 
I saw two male common mergansers hanging out with a female, but before I could get a better photo a cluster of cyclists came shouting up the road, scaring them off. Then yelled at me for parking in “the middle of the road” when I was actually safely on MY side, and nobody was behind me because it was a dead end road. I was steamed! Took me awhile to get back my good vibe.
Just walking on the road brought up little treasures that I hadn’t noticed while driving, even slowly.
Resurrection fern 
Santa Clara Valley Dudleya 
I’m not sure what type of rock this was, but the patterns were amazing. And the Santa Clara dudleya loved it.
Imbricate phacelia 
Wild morning glory 
Wild morning glory closeup 
Poison oak 
Elegant Brodia 
California buckeye 
Lichen 
Ithuriel’s Spear 
Elegant Brodia
Sticky monkeyflower 
An oak tree grows over barbed wire
White blue-eyed Mary
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Malibu Wildflowers
The Woolsey Fire devastated the hillsides of Malibu last year, but fires bring out wildflowers, and the hillsides in and around Newton Canyon were filled with the lovely Phacelia grandiflora, painting the hills a lovely purple.
Fires release minerals back into the soil, and often in the Spring after a fire the area is lush with greenery and flowers. Some flowers, such as the fire poppy, only bloom after the heat of the flames awaken the seeds. I was not lucky enough to see any of those.
Joshua Tree Wildflowers
First of all, apologies for not posting this sooner. I visited this area in mid-March this year. I understand Joshua Tree National Park still has plenty of nice flowers blooming at the north entrance and other areas – albeit different ones.
Pinnacles National Park
Flowers have been blooming all over California for a couple of months, and despite the end of the rainy season, they are still going strong. Early blooms go to seed and mid- to late-season blooms replace them.
These are among the early bloomers at Pinnacles National Park. The Fremont’s star lily is in the same toxic family as the death camas, which is what I thought it was at first. The park has a nice wildflower guide on its website which set me straight. This visit was on April 15, so the landscape will look different now.
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