The morning sun was already bearing down at 8 AM today as I paid a visit to the vernal pools at Phoenix Park in Fair Oaks. Not surprisingly, all of the visible water is long gone, along with those briefly blooming beauties like the downingia, goldfields, and fivespot. Walking the mile-long circuit, I saw tons of purple vetch and hawkbit, and a handful of persistent checkermallow. The rattlesnake grass also seems to be taking over — though I saw no trace of any actual snakes this morning!

I’d love to learn the name of these reddish-purple flowers — anybody know??

I contented myself with trying to “chase” bees as they busied themselves among the wildflowers (not too much success yet!) and pointing my camera at the painted lady that landed in front of me on the trail. I knew the fallen log beside the path should be a prime spot to find a fence lizard sunning itself — and yep, there it was! All in all, not a bad morning walk.