sky lupine ~ 05/08/10 ~ Fort Ord

sky lupine
Lupinus nanus
Fabaceae

There was a very impressive showing of sky lupine at Fort Ord. Wow! It smelled really nice, according to my hubby since a cold has taken out my sniffer. I liked how they appeared straight down from above; you'd almost never guess what it was. I couldn't believe the white one we found. I wonder how often that happens. CalPhotos has a picture of a white sky lupine, too. It was a challenge to take non-fuzzy flower pictures in the afternoon wind, but the lighting was amazing! These pics make me think of late-summer, due to the low lighting angle, but we all know lupines here in CA are definitely a spring bloomer and the grass turns bright yellow come June. Compare the density of the lupine to last year May 6, 2009 at the same location, and I thought that was the year of the lupine. Nope.

sky lupine & rose clover ~ 05/02/10 ~ Fort Ord

sky lupine & rose clover
Lupinus nanus & Trifolium hirtum
Fabaceae (for both plants)

I was a little disappointed to learn the rose clover is invasive. No wonder I couldn't find it in any of my wildflower books.

Of course, the sky lupine is a native. There are 27 species of lupine in Monterey County. I have a ton of pics of various lupine. I haven't delved into lupine ID yet, so those posts will have to wait.

I really like this picture.

sky lupine ~ 05/06/09 ~ Fort Ord

sky lupine
Lupinus nanus
Fabaceae

2009 is the year of lupine varieties! I've seen them everywhere and seemingly lasting very late when other plants have dried up.

Interesting to note, 2008 was the year of the poppies. Orange was everywhere you looked, even in sidewalk cracks, behind dumpters in town, and all along the country roads.

sky lupine ~ 04/08/09 ~ Garland Ranch

sky lupine
Lupinus nanus
Fabaceae

In 2006, we had hoped to see these blooming in time for our wedding, but there was too much rain that year and the season may have been delayed.

sky lupine ~ 03/14/09 ~ Fort Ord

sky lupine

Lupinus nanus
Fabaceae

The sky lupine was just starting to show up. I think I only saw 2 or 3 lupine plants during my hike. Little did I know at the time that 2009 would be the year of the lupine in the Monterey area.