lion's tail / wild dagga
Leonotis leonurus
Lamiaciae

I saw several of these around the neighborhood, but I don't even know where to begin looking up what it is. It looks like something from S. Africa.

ps 09/09/09 - We walked this evening and I couldn't believe that these were STILL blooming all around town, in September!!! Even if it's a non-native, I can see why anybody would like to have it in their garden.

pss 04/18/10 - Now that I know better, the comment from September may be the START of the bloom, not necessarily still blooming.

pss 07/29/10 - Hmm... I see this blooming around town right now. Can it really bloom all year long?

pss 11/07/10 - Thanks to Sue in the comments below, I now have an ID for this unknown. I've added the common name, scientific name, and embedded links above. I believe it's a non-native from South Africa, but since I've only seen them in gardens I don't count it as a wildflower.

happy wanderer ~ 01/31/09 ~ Pacific Grove

happy wanderer / purple vine lilac
Hardenbergia violacea

Fabaceae

This is in our neighbor's yard and I have no idea what it is. If she wasn't so aloof, I'd ask her.

ps 02/18/10 - Thanks to visiting a friend today who's renovating her garden, I discovered that this is called "happy wanderer" which was enough to search on google. Previously I labeled it "unknown purple flowering bush."

golden wattle ~ 01/31/09 ~ Pacific Grove

golden wattle / acacia tree
Acacia longifolia
Fabaceae

Finally found what this is! I'm thinking this might be the same bright yellow one sees on massive trees along Hwy 1 between Watsonville and Aptos this time of year. Having spent 9 years in Ohio, it strikes me that January "should be" too early to see spring yellows.

blossom ~ 01/31/09 ~ Pacific Grove

blossom

Prunus sp.
Rosaceae

rainbow from home

Jacks Peak County Park
January 3, 2009

This fire hydrant seemed oddly placed out in the middle of nowhere down a recently cleared path.

fly agaric
Amanita muscaria var. flavivolvata
more information

Many Amanita are known to be highly toxic. That's why it fascinates me to find them in the woods often with tiny nibble marks on them. What eats them?

ps 09/27/10 - I originally had this posted as an unknown amanita. I finally got around to looking up embedded links and correcting the ID. For a great blog post, check out Kirkstall Creatures Great and Small.