wildsouthland: Backbone Trail

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Santa Monica Mountains Wildflower Extravaganza

The Santa Monica Mountains are ablaze with wildflowers right now. The bloom this year is as spectacular as it has been in at least the past five years. Get yourself out there and see it before it's over. These pics are from the La Jolla Valley and the Backbone Trail.

Note: I've done my best at identification. If I've made any mistakes, please let me know so I can correct it.

Field of Lupine in the La Jolla Valley

Broadleaf Lupine

California Poppies

California Poppies in the La Jolla Valley

Wild Hyacinth (aka Blue Dicks)

Wild Sweet Pea

Beautiful Crimson Pitcher Sage

Bright Indian Paint Brush

Padre's Shooting Star

Collarless California Poppy

California Poppy with Lupine

Fringed Linanthus

Sacred Datura

Stinging Lupine

California Brittlebrush aka Bush Sunflower

Parry's Phacelia in La Jolla Canyon

Emory's Rock Daisy

Sticky Monkey Flower

Sticky Phacelia

Bladerpod

Catalina Mariposa Lily

Cardinal Catchfly

Fountain Grass

Chaparral Nightshade

About wildsouthland

wildsouthland, or at least the name, was inspired by the writings of John Muir. In 1877, Muir visited the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California and then wrote about his experience. In Steep Trails, a collection of Muir's letters, articles, and musing spanning a 29-year period, Muir speaks almost reverentially of the San Gabriels. Introducing unfamiliar readers to this iconic transverse range, Muir requests permission to "be allowed a word for wildness -- the wildness of this southland, pure and untamable as the sea." I don't profess to be a John Muir. I lack his eloquence, his colorful and evocative vocabulary, and his unique way of seeing the ordinary as sublime. But my goal, like Muir's, is to be allowed a word for wildness - the wildness of the southland and beyond. That may not always mean what you may immediately think it might. Sometimes it might mean a straight-up trail report. Other times, it might involve recounting an outdoor adventure. Still other times, it may mean wandering off path and simply using "wildness" as a platform for introspection and/or other ruminations. Whatever it means, I appreciate you visiting and hope that you find Wild Southland entertaining, informative, thought-provoking, unique, beautiful, and distinctive.