The Way Back...

 After enjoying the butterflies and cool air by Gilson Creek for a while, I headed back toward Oakland Camp.  My last two photos while still in the wet zone were the Horsetail (above) and the Stickseed (below).  This particular species of Horsetail is locally known by many as Common Scouring Rush, Equisetum hyemale.  The Sierra Stickseed, Hackelia nervosa, is a wild relative of Forget-me-not.  The Family Boraginaceae includes the Fiddleneck which should be arriving soon in this area.  It's already blooming and beyond at the lower elevations.

 St least two members of the Pea family, Fabaceae, are blooming around Oakland Camp.  The Sulphur-flowered Pea, Lathyrus sulphureus, is generally the larger plant and its flowers stand out from a distance.  The Jepson's Pea, Lathyrus jepsonii, (for some reason four photos further down!), is closer to the ground and usually blends in better with the surrounding vegetation.

 An other member of the Pea family, the Long-stalked Clover, Trifolium logipes, always brings back memories of trips to Table Mountain where there are a number of different species of Trifolium.  On this particular day, I spotted only one specimen and that was pure accident as I was walking through an area that was nearly all brown - dead oak leaves, dead grasses, etc., from last winter.  How did this one get here?  Maybe a bird on a long flight dropped a seed.

 This Meadow Foam, Limnanthes montana, is one of the few species of Limnanthes that is not endangered.  Some species around Chico are threatened by proposed developments.  Some things never change.

 This photo of Checker Bloom, Sidalcea glaucescens, shows nicely how the flowers bloom in a sequence from tip to base, over a period of months.  The stems will sometimes climb upward, but more often they remain prostrate and mingle with surrounding vegetation.  To get a good photo I often feel I have to move a few things out of the way.  I don't think that's cheating as much as using Photoshop, but I could be wrong.

 Here's that Jepson's Pea that got out of order.

 Finally, just as I was leaving Oakland Camp I spotted a beautiful patch of Scarlet Fritillary, Fritillaria recurva, in perfect lighting.  I thought I had solved the problem of noise and got my best photo of this plant ever - that is, until I saw my friend Spencer's more perfect one that evening.  Check it out at Spencer Dykstra Photography.  Click on Expressions Blog and enjoy.