Pacheco State Park - 3/20 and 4/2/2021

Pacheco got off to a slow start this year. On March 20 (Equinox!) I went for the first time this year. Only a small portion of the wonderful, gnarly Oaks there were leafing out, when I expected them to be further along, and it was on the early side for flowers. It seemed to be a poor year for shooting stars there, not many at all, even in one spot where they often cover a large hillside. Interestingly, several species that are normally taller were pretty notably short this year - blue dicks and fiddlenecks - I'm guessing from lack of rain. But there were a satisfying number of both. Some poppies, but they were closed since it was chilly and very windy. A fairly large field of buttercups around ugly Pig Pond too. How I wish they'd manage those ponds for all of the wildlife other than the damn cows that rule the place. There should be herds of elk there, not cows.

Since it had rained a little the day before, mosses and lichens were still enlivened, forming such a wonderful skin over the oaks and stones. They don't seem to harm the trees, but I wonder if they provide any benefit? Dramatic clouds moved in, looked like it would rain again, but just a very brief sprinkle.

When I returned on 4/2, most of the Oaks were finally waking up, and there were a lot more flowers. The few shooting stars were mostly gone, and blue dicks fading, but there were a lot more poppies, and open this time, as well as large swaths of popcorn flowers and violets. There were patches of a very soft and relatively large lupine that I'm not familiar with, not quite yet blooming. Several other species not quite yet blooming too. It's not a year for dense carpets of flowers, but more scattered, and I have a lot of respect for anyone who blooms at all this year.

Posted on April 8, 2021 02:59 AM by newtpatrol newtpatrol

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