April Trip to Davis: Bob's Bachelor Party

So this last weekend I drove up to Davis to attend my friend Bob's bachelor party.

Nope, no scandalous pictures here. I did win 100 dollars at Cache Creek, but I did not photograph that event.

I did take some pictures on the drive up and back down.

There were still some wildflowers blooming, mostly in southern California.


Monkeyflower near Newhall Pass.


A few poppies around the Grapevine.

Further north, the drought conditions become much more evident. It is only April, but the grass is very dry in central California. Things actually look significantly drier than they do in Malibu.


There were a few dead orchards, probably due to water being turned off or becoming too expensive.


There is still some water in Orestimba Creek but it won't last.

My friends Julie and Rene have planted native/drought resistant landscaping at their new house, and I gave them some plants a while back.


Those plants are still small but the poppies are blooming!

Spring Cabin Trip

Last weekend we went up to the cabin to celebrate my 30th birthday and hang out with friends.

Last Rain

Last Rain, originally uploaded by inyopfc.

This storm rolled out of the mountains on April 10th and dropped some rain around Santa Barbara and Ventura. Unless we are really lucky, this was probably the last rain California will see until next fall. I might not see any more rain fall on California in a long time...

Spring in California

It's been a short spring in Malibu this year, due to the relative lack of rainfall, but rains in February still brought out a lot of native flowers. In fact, as is the case with many drier than average years, the proportion of native to non-native herbaceous plans was actually higher than in a wet year. However, with the last two 'storms' being a bust, we are pretty much out of time to get more rain, and it's entirely possible that the next rain I see will be while driving to Vermont.

The following eight pictures are from Rocky Oaks near where I live:


Leptodactylon californicum flowers



dried out Salvia mellifera



new Ceanothus crassifolius pods



new Malosma laurina leaves



Solanum xantii flowers



Weird mushroom



Humping hawks



Post-humping hawks



There were lots of neat mushrooms this year but unfortunately, now that the rain stopped, we probably won't see many more.



Chanterelles found under an oak tree, somewhere in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Returning to the Internet

So I just got a new "netbook" laptop and am in the Agoura Hills library near Rocky Oaks. It works great, despite the slow library connection. The keyboard is small and takes some getting used to but this should be great for taking notes in grad school.

Soon I will have a zip drive and will be able to post pictures again. At the moment I can't get them off my computer at home.

There isn't really any new news, I'm still going to Vermont in July. I'm definitely really excited about it. Meanwhile I'll be vegetation mapping and working on restoration projects in the Santa Monica Mountains.