I do love the season of autumn; but for right now I’m finding comfort in memories of last spring, a season of hope and optimism, when wildflowers sprang up all around and I was able to go out to the Phoenix Park vernal ponds in between rain showers to breathe the fresh air and practice my macro photography skills with […]
When I made this year’s first trip to Phoenix Park last week I was hoping to see a lot of wildflowers after all the rain storms we’ve had. I was a little surprised that the various pools didn’t seem to be overflowing, although I know that only the earliest flowers are blooming right now. All in all, it was a […]
The arrival of spring is a slow process with a number of stages along the way — especially in a place like the Phoenix Park vernal pools. I wanted to have a look around after the rain cleared just to check in for the first time this year. It will be awhile before the flowers start popping up, but it’s […]
The Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is one of my favorite birds, and not only because these small flycatchers feast on all sorts of pesky flying insects! They are easy to recognize, and I’ve gotten pretty good at capturing them with my camera as they sit perched near the end of tree branches waiting for a meal to pass by. Catching […]
The vernal pools appear dry, but the wildflowers are popping up everywhere. On my visit the other day, I saw mostly purple Vetch, yellow Hawkbit, and White Hyacinth. But as I continued to look, I also spotted Vernal Pool Goldfields, Little Quaking Grass, Checkerbloom, Valley Tassels, and even Downingia. The signs of life are definitely there to see, if you […]
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, […]
I’ve been shooting an awful lot of spring wildflowers lately — but I figure that since they won’t be around much longer, I’d better appreciate them while I can. I’ve been learning to recognize quite a few of them by sight and to name them as I hike past. Hopefully at least some of this knowledge with stick with me […]
