Continuing Signs of Spring

 

Granddaughter Avienda and daughter Ruth came for a visit.

Here is Avi in the "Go inside" Tree.

And here is Ruth going in.

On Wednesday, February 17, we headed to Stinson Beach for a long walk next to the ocean.

Looking south we could see Sutro Tower in San Francisco.

Here are two seagulls on the beach - a mature one on the left and a juvenile on the right.

We saw quite a few whole crabs like this one washed up on the beach.

And quite a few holy rocks like this one.

Godwits on the beach

Godwits flying

    I find it increasingly interesting that spring doesn't officially begin until the spring equinox on or about March 21 when there are so many evidences of spring bursting all around us. It almost feels like the solstices and equinoxes should mark the middle of the seasons rather than the beginning, especially spring. Every day we see more flowers blooming, leaf buds opening and lots of new growth.

These daffodils and lavender are a gift from a park aid who picked them in her yard in Tomales Bay. 

We have kept them on the table in our tent and the cool Marin County air has kept them fresh looking for almost two weeks now. Daffodils are of course a domestic harbinger of spring.

This tree in bloom in the campground looks a bit out of place in the Redwood Forest.

The son of Samuel P Taylor apparently had a house in the area that is now the campground that included an orchard and other non native plants, some of which continue to thrive here. I'm not real sure what this tree is, but perhaps some kind of cherry.

    My favorite harbinger of spring in the Redwood forest continues to be the beautiful trilliums. I really can't ever get enough of them. When we left Eureka the end of June last year I really thought it would be a long time before I'd see them again, but I am delighted to have them greet me once again further south. To Rob, and most people I guess, they all look alike, but I am delighted with each new one I see and the ones I pass that I have seen before. I think we may just be at the beginning of the trillium blooming season, so trillium pictures will continue to be a part of my blog.

Here is one with some morning dew showing.

Here is a group of trilliums with just one in bloom. I'm not sure whether the others are going to bloom or not, but I am checking them daily as they are along the trail I walk each morning

Here is one starting to turn a pink/purple color which they do as they begin to wilt - still pretty, but I feel kind of sad to say good bye to this one. These little trillium blossoms seem that they may not last as long as the larger ones I am more familiar with in Humboldt County.

But even though the first bloomers may be fading, more are just beginning to appear, 

like this one unfolding.

Here is my hand behind one to give a size perspective.

This cluster of trilliums are just about to open their blossoms. They are much bigger than the others I have seen and I am eager to see them open - This picture was taken yesterday morning about a quarter mile from our campsite and it hadn't changed much by this morning.

    I was talking to Cecilia, one of the rangers, about the trilliums in the park and she said that what she looks for to tell her spring is coming are the little yellow wood violets. She said they grow in great profusion along the trail I walk each morning so I have been on the lookout for them.

The first wood violet of spring 2021.

This little beauty is not growing along that trail, but right next to the road going up to the Orchard Hill Campsites. I was delighted to spot it yesterday. It appears to be a lone plant.

A group of blooming Fetid Adders Tongue.

Most of the time I pass these the flowers are hanging down so they aren't always very visible.

I'm pretty sure this is Milkmaids, a flower that is very prolific in some areas of the park.

As I walked along Pioneer Tree Trail one morning this week I kept seeing lots of these leaves that I hadn't noticed before. I used the iNaturalist phone App and learned they were probably Hounds Tongue.

Later on the trail in an area that gets morning sun I saw them blooming and confirmed that they are Hounds Tongue. We should be seeing lots of these blue/purple blossoms soon.

Hounds Tongue up close

These leaves reminded me of Big Leaf Maple, but iNaturalist identified them as probably Hogs Weed.

We'll be able to confirm that when they shoot up with their tall blooming stalks.

Blossoms on a Bay Laurel Tree. 

These blossoms caught me off guard, but of course there has to be some sort of flower for the trees to produce the acorn like nuts that dropped all over the place in the fall.

I'm pretty sure these leaf buds are Buckeye

A Buckeye (I think) leaf bud up close.

This picture doesn't look like much, but I had to share it. 

What looks like sticks poking up from the ground are poison oak - I could make out tiny, very cute, leaves of three budding out on the ends of these "sticks."

    I learned when I was around 13 what poison oak looked like when it was dormant after I got a horrible case of poison oak after crawling around in the manzanita and other brush during Christmas vacation on our property near Grass Valley where I grew up. We were never allowed to explore like that in the summer because of the potential of rattlesnakes, but winter seemed safe - not so! It was the second time in my life that I missed going back to school after vacation because of a bad case of poison oak. I remember the winter experience involved my eyes swollen shut and having to get an injection of some kind to tame the horrible rash. The other time I missed school because of poison oak was the first week of second grade after I made sand pies with poison oak leaves in the backyard sand box - I learned then what the poison oak leaves of three looked like. Now I know what new emerging poison oak leaves look like - pretty, but don't touch.

Here is a fern unfurling.  This process has a special name, but I don't remember it.

This particular fern looked like it would look like the picture below.

One of the many different kinds of ferns in the park. This one reminds me of the Bracken ferns near where I grew up, but I think it has a different name.

I want to call this Lady Finger fern, but I'm really not sure that's right.

iNaturalist said this fern might be Licorice Fern.

It might be the same as the little ferns growing all over the rocks and trees, or might not, but I'm pretty sure it's not a Sword Fern, which are the most prevalent ferns in the park.

A Sword Fern.

Many of the Sword Ferns are in various stages of drying out - I think because of long months of very little precipitation. I did notice today for the first time new growth coming up from the base of several of these ferns - will be interesting to watch as spring progresses.

One of the many varieties of fungi in the park - I think this may be Golden Waxy Cap

Another form of Waxy Caps

I think this pretty red "Toad Stool" is either Cherry Red Waxy Cap or Vermillion Wax Cap.

Can't leave out the Redwoods!

This is a view looking up the entrance into the Pioneer Tree.

    On Monday, February 22, we traveled to Colfax for Rob's dentist appointment in Auburn on Tuesday. The tooth he broke in July had to be pulled in November and now he's getting a bridge to replace it, so multiple dentist appointments. It may seem far to go for our dental and medical appointments, but it's a good excuse to visit Ruth and Avi and grandchild Chris and their wife Alana. 

This is a very dormant looking Japanese Plum Tree in the front yard of the Colfax house. I remember it blooming sometime in February so was surprised to see no blossoms yet - until we looked closer.

The single blossom we saw on the plum tree.

Looking up into the Almond Tree in front of the Colfax house on Monday we saw no blossoms, but on Tuesday morning before we left we saw a few near the top.

A closer view of a few blossoms.

We'll be back in Colfax this coming Monday and I look forward to seeing the transformation in these trees.

Some daffodils blooming in Colfax - they started in January and there are still many more to bloom

A daphne in the "Secret Garden" in Colfax with tight little purple buds.

Avi looking like she's taking off to fly from her trampoline.

    We continue to enjoy our assigned and unassigned host duties at Samuel P Taylor State Park. The only real "assigned" duties we have are selling shower tokens and doing a once a day campground check. We also volunteered to lock the day use bathrooms when the Park Host left in December and won't be replaced until April. Starting next week we will finally be selling fire wood, which is what everybody thinks is the primary job of a camp host. The park has not had a contract for wood delivery for the past year and a half, but that changes March 1. The campers will sure be happy to buy wood here, and we'll be happy to provide it. We get requests every day, and the ones I feel sorry for are the folks in the bike and hike site who really don't have a means to go get the wood at the nearby towns. And of course we assign ourselves "Trail Patrol," minor Trail Maintenance and sweeping.

 

Notice the debris on the sides of the camp entrance road?

For the past two days we have been sweeping the edges - the results look pretty good to us, but most people will never notice - that's OK.

Rob cleared all the branches off this tree that fell across the Cross Marin multi-use trail this morning, about a half mile up stream from us. The main tree is around 16" in diameter, so too big for his brush saw, but at least now people can easily step over it or get their bicycles over it until maintenance staff can deal with it, hopefully tomorrow.

Avi with Elsie when she came to visit last week

Straus looking like Straus. 

Actually in real life, he looks fluffier than this.

Elsie and Straus in their usual perch.