Went from Rios Canyon entrance to the gate of Montana Serena,gated community, and backed down, a bit, to the trail that goes uphill and NNW.
I finally found what I think is Ceanothus Cyaneus! I also came across a Ceanothus crassifolius.
There was a small meadow that lead me to some bunch grasses that I will have to identify later.
Met with Cathy, Mickey and Vicki for a walk around. I finally got to see some Chia at CER!
There are three species of poppies. Eschscholzia californica, Mexican poppies and fire poppies. I'll need to look for scientific names for the last two and update my observations.
I decided to get to CER via the Los Coches Rd, finding a gate behind a shopping complex. It was an uphill fire road where I made lots of observations including Mimulus aurantiacus (pale yellow and orange), M. puniceus, Castillejas affinis, Claytonia and many more. This included exploring a few small trails.
It seems, however, that I made all observations prior to getting to the second gate and, technically speaking, possibly outside of CER's boundaries, as the Google map indicates. I will have to verify if land acquisition might include this area.
It was none-the-less a greatly rewarding experience, as usual.
I decided to check on the status of a Paeonia I had spotted last year but had missed the bloom. Well, it had a bloom but it had been munched on by the time I could observe it.
There were lots of Cream Cups, mostly white or with very faint yellow markings except for one or two specimens.
It was also my first attempt at photographing butterflies and one bird. I'll have to find the technique for butterflies, as they seem so restless!
Clarkia delicata are not quite ready just yet. I found some weeds fairly close to the little stream by the Vitis grindiana.
