habitat ~ 07/08/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

July 8, 2014

If you didn't know the date of this photograph, what season would you call this?  Maybe autumn with the deciduous buckeye trees?  Or typical CA summer?  No.  The season is drought.  Severe drought. Click to compare how this spot looked like back on April 22, 2014.  The National Weather Service recorded a temperature of 103°F by 2:37pm today, the hottest I've experienced in 3 months of my project.  It took a while to acclimate and figure out just how much water I really need to carry to be comfortable.  A wet shirt goes a long way in keeping cool.  Phew!

ps - 08/18/14 - I found Brent @ Breathing Treatment commentary about CA seasons to be relevant.

valley garter snake ~ 05/27/14 ~ Pinnacles

valley garter snake
Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi

(ssp. of common garter snake)

The very few remaining puddles along the Juniper Canyon Trail creek are tightly confined hot spots for butterflies, bees and wasps, and this smallish valley garter snake!  It seems any small amount of water or moisture is coveted by wildlife this extremely dry year.   The following local nature cam trappers have done a fine job documenting the variety of activity:

Camera Trap Codger: Bath Party

Nature of a Man:  Mono Grotto Lotto

Nature of a Man:  Exclusionary Principles

Nature of a Man:  Exclusionary Principles, Bird Edition

Nature of a Man:  The Daily Deluge
Camera Trapping Campus: Take Me to the Water

Check 'em out!

ps 11/23/14 - And another Nature of a Man:  Hoping for Springs Eternal

habitat ~ 04/29/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

April 29, 2014

The forecast from the National Weather Service was 95°F and increasing to over 100°F for the rest of the week.  This is April, right?  Oh my.  Here we go.  What I've been dreading.  Hot, hot, hot.  It hit a high of 92°F.  The heat drained me of energy and turned my stomach through the next day.  Do I really want to do this?  Crazily enough, yes.

Thankfully, there was about a half inch of rain from the previous Friday, which was enough to keep things from drying out, save for the creek along the butterfly highway that had already stopped running the previous week.  In fact, the grass had now grown tall enough that many of the colorful flowers were hidden from view.  This week seemed to show a shift in the dominant flower color from yellow to deep purple, from spring to the beginning of summer.  That was a quick transition.

It was a bit distracting looking for different kinds of butterflies when hundreds of painted ladies were moving through.  The ringlets and Saras were going gangbusters at over 40-50 individuals each.  I saw a couple new butterflies and skippers for the season and will post IDs soon... I hope.  I need a better way to track all my notes (handwritten and electronic) and photos.  It's starting to accumulate  from my multiple excursions in a way that's not easy to remember, let alone retrieve.  How do other people do it?

habitat ~ 04/22/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

 

 

Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

April 22, 2014

There may have been a tiny amount of precipitation overnight resulting in a rather chilly morning and forecasts for sunny skies by noon with wind gusts.  The wind is not ideal for butterfly watching and challenging, at best, for flower photos.  I went ahead with my plans once it hit 60°F mid-morning, because I was curious to see any changes in flora, greenery, and water in one week's time, for the second week in a row.  I want the experience to feel and observe first-hand the seasonal passage of time, something that's difficult to discern daily and easier to notice on a weekly basis.  Like I said before, Pinnacles is far enough away from home for me to really note the difference.  I've been intrigued by phenology ever since biobabbler mentioned the word 4 years ago on her blog.  I never knew it was a thing with an -ology name before.  I'm still brainstorming and following the proverbial path at my feet.  Plus, I love being outside this time of year.  It was a gorgeous, crystal clear day.

I gotta say, as someone who has been to Pinnacles 4 times this month alone, if you want to see CA spring wildflowers, visit the west side right now!  Do not pass go, do not wait a week, do it now.  The noticeable uptick in floral diversity and density compared to last week really impressed me.  The Juniper Canyon Trail is the showstopper.  In addition to the 2 weeks or more of blooming Johnny jump up, goldfields, lomatium, tufted poppy, CA poppy, buttercup, common monkeyflower, wallflower, cream cup, blue elderberry, blue dick, shooting star, delphiniums, Chinese houses, both blue and white fiesta flowers, woodland star, milkmaids, miner's lettuce, linanthus, saxifrage, and buck brush, the new appearances this week are Fremont's star lily, fiddlenecks, fringepods, phacelia, crinkled onion, tower mustard, stonecrops, and a pretty face relative.  Phew!  Plus, there are some unusual findings on the higher trails, like bitter root, but you've got to go find them yourself.  It's National Park Week, btw. 

I'm beginning to think this is the drought version of peak spring green, right here, right now.  At the 9 mile turn towards Pinnacles, the hills are already turning a reddish brown, which was not the case last week.  It remains relatively green closer to the park entrance.  Who knows if any additional rain will alter this seasonal shift.  The creek along my butterfly highway is no longer running, but there are a couple scummy puddles of water.  That was quick, only 8 weeks of moving water.

For all my Pinnacles temperature links on Nature ID (there are several, because it gets hot, hot, hot in the summer), I've used an online personal weather station, Pinnacles CA US on Weather Underground.  However, wunderground.com has recently updated its site, and my old links don't work quite right.  Grrr.  Paul has been encouraging me to use the National Weather Service.  As of 7:00 am, there was an 11°F current temperature difference between the two stations.  Wunderground matched what Paul said the reading was at his office a few hours later, but NWS still ran colder.  I kinda recall this discrepancy 5 years ago when I picked a station.  By Paul's description, the NWS station may be at a higher elevation.  I may resort to tossing a thermometer out in the shade when I arrive and take a second reading when I leave, use the Beaufort scale to estimate wind, and note sky conditions.  That's what I did for Sonja on both her moth and butterfly surveys.  I'll have to ask Art Shapiro how he handles his weather records when I take him out next month to one of his butterfly sites; he's quite proficient in meteorology and is likely versed in how to link the data to butterfly observations beyond the antecdotal.  Butterflies can be rather particular about weather (sounds like me), and more than any other -ists that I know (besides meteorologists, duh), lepidopterists watch the temperature, wind, and barometric pressure very closely.

Oh!  I saw 13 pale swallowtails, plus 2 more by Soledad.  That may be the most I've ever seen in a couple hours' time.  I also saw my first acmon of the year.

And, as a last note, I finally noticed the micro-trash confetti Easter egg signs in the bathroom.  I think they were there last week, but I wasn't paying attention (haha, scary thought when I go out to observe).  I hadn't given it much thought since it's not a part of my tradition, but I went to Toro County Park the day before and saw what a massive mess it creates.  Aren't there animals that like to pick up shiny objects?  I bet there are some well-decorated nests and middens all across CA now.

habitat ~ 04/15/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

 Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

April 15, 2014

Are you tired of Pinnacles, yet?  I'm not.  The flowers are really starting to get their groove on, particularly the tufted poppies compared to 1 week before.  I met up with Paul Johnson and his kids this visit.  He showed me moths, and I showed him my butterfly highway (pics 1 & 2), which I'm considering extending down another trail (pics 3 & 4).  This is nothing official; it's for my own amusement to help me learn the local butterflies.  The lesson I took away from our tips and tricks is that I haven't been looking for lepidopteran host plants, which are often quite small with the tiniest flowers.  There's plenty of detail up close, but it's only been in the last year or so that I've started to need reading glasses.  Ugh, I'm still adjusting to this new visual experience and getting older business.

The thing for me about Pinnacles is that it's different enough from home that I really notice the changes between visits.  I'll take any spring green I can get this drought year, and it's a very pleasant low-stress and low-traffic drive to get there.  Given Paul's office is on the east side (here and here) and I prefer the west side, we don't always see the same things or at the same time.  He told me that most visitors to the east would have no clue so many wildflowers are blooming right now on the west.  Interesting.  I'm curious to see how things progress. 

habitat ~ 04/10/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

April 10, 2014

I suggested to Ken @ Nature of a Man that we should start the "10th Day Club", because so far this year we've gone out to Stevens Creek on February 10, Midpen Preserve on March 10, and now Pinnacles on April 10.  There was some talk about meeting closer to Yosemite this spring, too.  So, maybe we'll get something arranged for Saturday, May 10 for CA nature bloggers?  Is there any interest?

This time we had Ken's CNPS friends, another Ken, Stella, Steven, and Joe in tow.  I had a lovely time and enjoyed observing how seriously curious native plant folks do their thing with jeweler's loupes and plant keys.  Their back and forth exchange of opinions was awesome!  Plus, they're proficient hikers.  I'll admit I was a little nervous about being able to keep up, both in terms of plants and hiking, because they came with a reputation.  They're no namby-pamby garden strolling group.  Fortunately, my 7 miles a day walk with weights rehab after my bike accident is paying off with better hiking stamina.  It's unfortunate so many nature lovers I know physically can't manage a decent hike; too many waited until after retirement to start the fun stuff and discovered their bodies refused to cooperate.  Gotta keep your body moving all along.  I still have a lot to learn and hope to retain my curiosity for a long time to come.  Considering I'm pretty shy about joining organized groups, I've really enjoyed these casual get-togethers to go places and appreciate nature.  Thanks, again, Ken!

It felt ever so slightly cooler at 88.0 °F and became somewhat hazy as the day wore on compared to 2 days before when the air remained crystal clear.  I've already been to Pinnacles 5 times this year, something I've never done before.  I love seeing the season progress, even if this year's extreme drought can hardly be called typical.  Compare this late dusting of spring green to the still swathed in winter reds and relatively bare February 25, 2014 visit.  Even at one month ago, the green was barely poking through on March 9, 2014.  There seems to be a ton of yellow flowers out right now, even dominating my favorite lilac, spring wildflowers' color co-chair.  Given the variety of flowers that have started blooming, I'm beginning to have hope for the coming months after a seemingly slow start.

habitat ~ 04/08/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

April 8, 2014

We planned to go the previous Friday while Andy was still on Spring Break, and I even invited a couple people to join us.  However, the weather had its own plans.  This was the second planned hike last week that was cancelled due to rain forecasts; the other was to Henry Coe with another blogger and his wife.  Yay, my rain curse has returned... I can't believe I'm even saying this.  Both mornings it was raining, but by the afternoons, sunny skies.  Who knows, even if there weren't butterflies and opened flowers, I think I would have enjoyed the overcast.  No matter, I went by myself this sunnier day to continue my butterfly quest.  I'm making good use of my $15 annual pass.  It's so cheap!

Other people seem to be more particular about inclement weather, whereas I'm a total heat wimp.  It started in jr. high when I was running track.  All of a sudden I got tunnel vision, my ears rang, I got really cold and dry, and the next thing I knew I was in the nurse's office with an ice pack on my neck.  Was that heat exhaustion?  Ever since, I often get sick to my stomach in extreme heat.  It's not pleasant.  The previous visit to the east side had me feeling faint at only 82.0 °F.  Ooof.  However, I think I'm starting to get acclimated.  With a new sun hat (necessary because my 15-year-old ripped at the brim just days before) and plenty of H2O, I surprised myself and found Pinnacles tolerable at 90.0 °F.  Eh, I know a marine biologist who gets horrible sea sickness, and she manages.  So, maybe I can be a butterfly gal who faints at the sight of butterflies?

The last three photos above are from a section of trail I've been calling the "butterfly highway" for the past 4 years.  I remember editing that particular post quite a bit.  I had an awful group experience shortly after I arrived back in CA, which I wrote about in detail and then deleted.  Given the chance, I tend to blab, but I've been trying to be more responsible and better about not airing dirty laundry in public.  I'm gingerly testing the waters again and so far have had encouraging encounters.  I honestly don't have a plan yet, except to follow the green-lined path at my feet.  I do know I'm having a good time, stretching my legs and brain in ways I haven't in years.  And, I'm grateful.

habitat ~ 03/26/14 ~ Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park

Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park

March 26, 2014

Here's another local gem we found while driving around, ostensibly in an attempt to find a restaurant that was actually open after our hike at Lewis Creek.  Since our stomachs insisted on being filled, we planned to return the next day.  Sure enough, plans?  Rain.  I guess I should be celebrating that my rain curse has returned.  Not to be deterred, Andy kindly served as my umbrella holder while I attempted to take pictures of flowers in the rain.

Ahwahnee Hills is less than 7 crow miles from and maybe 1000 feet lower in elevation than Lewis Creek.  It's a completely different type of habitat.  I appreciate the diversity.  Give a couple weeks, better lighting, and this place could offer great glamour shots for the spring months of any CA wall calendar.  Come to find out, Ahwahnee Hills only recently opened March 15, 2014 after 20 years of planning.  It's another public-private partnership, a trend I see more and more these days of little public money.  I had forgotten that federal parks closed temporarily last fall, including Yosemite, as this Sierra Star writer mentions in his review of Ahwahnee Hills.  I can totally see why people buy vacation property in the area.  It's a lovely place, even in the rain.

habitat ~ 03/25/14 ~ Lewis Creek Trail in the Sierra National Forest

Lewis Creek Trail

a National Recreation Trail in the Sierra National Forest
(more information here and here)

March 25, 2014

Without intending to be hip, we "unplugged" for Spring Break up at Bass Lake.  No phone, no internet, no tv.  I got recommendations in advance from fellow bloggers for Hite Cove Trail (more info) and Devils Peak, both in the Sierra National Forest... I think.  Good luck trying to find either one on a road map.  With the infinitely more famous neighbor Yosemite, I discovered information for places outside of the National Park boundaries to be thin on the ground.

So, we did the next best thing, we drove around until something looked interesting.  It's our way of quickly exploring a new-to-us area.  See that trail sign?  Yep, that's all the notice you'll get from Hwy 41 as it quickly heads to Yosemite.  Andy chose to stop here, because there were a couple other cars already parked and it was in the middle of the week during a season when most everything in the area is shut down until at least mid-April.  Hence, it must be a good stop, right?  

Yes, most definitely, yes.  I loved it!  Although, I think our timing was a little early to catch its full spring glory.  It's a casual hike along what I assume is Lewis Creek, under a startling variety of very tall trees, including the prettily-puzzled ponderosa pine.  There are a couple scenic waterfalls, too.  If it were a big water year, I'm sure the creek would be deafening.  One thing to note, for the two of us who are used to the grippier Monterey pine needles, the ponderosa pine needles are extremely slippery to walk on.  Mr. Sure-Footed Trail Runner slipped very hard on the needles over granite.  His elbow is going to hurt for a long time.  Other than that, we enjoyed our little hike very much, and I hope to return someday.

For future reference, I should tip my hand in the water of the tributary (2nd photo above), beacuse I read mention of possible warm springs here.  Say, does anyone know, at what point does a creek become classified as a river?

habitat ~ 03/09/14 ~ Pinnacles National Park - west

Pinnacles National Park - west entrance

March 09, 2014

I had in mind, again, to find a couple butterflies at Pinnacles.  Plus, I was curious to see this year's seasonal progression after a bit of rain.  Hey, at the very least, there is a small amount of running water on each side of the west entrance.  It feels like it's been forever since Andy and I hiked together, even though it's only been 3 weeks since our visit to Los Padres Dam.  He's been busy, stressed, and sick.  And I ended up talking his ear off.  I've never known a more patient man.  He's my rock.  Heavy sigh... I am weary.  I feel as if I am running out of borrowed time.  I have been searching hard, maybe too hard, for some of life's answers.  I wish it were as simple as finding butterflies.

ps 03/14/14 - I am reminded of a vivid dream I had shortly after my mentor Sonja died.  In it, I was running up hill and down dale, chasing after butterflies, loosing my breath, wildly swinging my net, with no success.  Then I heard her voice, "Slow down.  Be patient.  Pick a nice spot to sit.  One that you enjoy.  Wait.  The butterflies will come to you."  In the dream, I did as she told me, and sure enough before too long, butterflies were swarming all around me.  It's taken me a while, but I now recognize I may have had the answer all along.

habitat ~ 03/03/14 ~ Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

March 3, 2014

Fellow blogger Ken @ Nature of a Man and I met up at Purisima Creek to look for salamanders and whatever else we could find.  He's very familiar with the preserve and all its contents since it's closer to where he lives. Even though it's an easy 2 hour drive north along Hwy 1 for me, I had never been before.  We watched the weather pretty closely to maximize our sightings potential, but then we ended up deciding it didn't always have to be newt parades and ladybug parties, like last month.  The redwoods here are gorgeously dark and cool.  That lush flush of bright green soothes my parched soul.  I loved tromping all over, including in the creek.  As with rain, you try to stay dry, but once you slip and get wet, then it's a free for all.  I definitely want to return with Andy sometime.  Thank you, Ken, for sharing one of your favorite perennial creeks with me!  The specific IDs will be forthcoming. 

habitat ~ 02/21/14 ~ Hatton Canyon State Property

Hatton Canyon State Park Property
February 21, 2014

Heavy sigh... patience is a virtue I am frequently short on.  Whatever happened to the plans to pave a bike trail here?  Does anything ever get done anymore?  Seriously, I look around at every level of government and wonder how do we actually make progress?  How did they do it during so much turmoil in the 30's and 40's?  My uncle, the archetypal retired history teacher, talks all the time about how our current situation parallels that era.  I don't have an answer, mainly because there's so much I simply don't understand.  I'm putting all my faith in the people who claim they want to figure it out and get it done, i.e, elected officials.  Groan.

Where was I?  Oh, yeah... the best accounting of the bike path drama I could find is this July 23, 2008 Herald article hosted by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC).  Erg.  I'm totally guessing a handful of homeowners may be threatening a lawsuit that CA State Parks can ill afford, if it's not currently being battled out.  I'm not sure why I hold such a bad opinion of some local homeowners, but, in their defense, they're often unduly cowed by the cities they live in.  However, they already won in court while rejecting a Hwy 1 reroute through Hatton Canyon back in 1997.  I'm glad they saved the canyon, but the predicted result has been horrific highway gridlock, especially around the high school and during regular commuter hours.  My understanding is that as part of the agreement of land transfer from Caltrans to State Parks in 2001 (scroll halfway down page), the bike path legally has to be put in as a condition of not building the Hwy there.  Poor State Parks can't even provide an online description of Hatton Canyon after 13 years.  So, who has more rights, the homeowners with all their negativity towards change, who I might point out technically do not own Hatton Canyon, or the people of California?  Who has more money?

As a daily user of the extremely successful Rec Trail, I am totally for this new bike path.  Currently, there is no easy way to get from Monterey/PG to the Mouth of the Valley by bike or on foot without having to traverse busy sections of Hwy 1.  Andy and his Saturday morning, trail-running cohorts have tried several times to find a better route, with no success.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who would prefer biking to work or school through a beautiful wooded area, rather than sitting in stinky exhaust, standstill traffic.  Isn't that a good thing?  For every commuter bicyclist, there's gotta be one less car on the road.  I would think the surrounding homeowners would find they prefer reduced traffic congestion and a way to get from place to place without getting in the car themselves.  Maybe the problem lies in connecting the trail safely on the north end, closer to Hwy 68?

As it is, Hatton Canyon is being used as a personal dog pooping park with private trails to many backyards.  I'm wondering if someone with enough money wants to keep it that way, despite the total neglect otherwise.  Fortunately, I saw very little dog poop this time compared to the first time I visited Hatton Canyon.  I don't know if the new dog poop bag dispensers have anything to do with the improvement.  Who pays and supplies the bags?  The whole thing is ironic, because there's been so much vocal opposition to putting in a dog park in Carmel Valley.  Obviously, our area needs one.

I'd love to see some attention and management paid to this lovely spot.  There is so much potential!  Here's the Carmel Area State Parks General Plan from 2012 that looks interesting. As I was searching for information, I noticed the Big Sur Land Trust has quietly removed themselves since the last time I wrote about this.  Rana Creek has been involved, too.  Their work is distinctive, and I've seen them really grow as a company in the 11 years I've been in the area.  I personally think the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (MPRPD) would do an excellent job at balancing nature, access, and the neighbors at Hatton Canyon, but it's not their property to manage.  However, this kind of arrangement is not without precedent - the Morro Bay Golf Course is run by the San Luis Obispo County Parks on CA State Parks property.  If given my druthers, an agreement between MPRPD and CA State Parks could be a great solution.

Sigh... it's been difficult to find any information, so I honestly don't know what the current situation is.  I'm writing someone, TAMC or the District 5 County Supervisor Potter, to find out.  It's such a shame this lovely public land isn't being better utilized.

Some things to note on my pictures above...  It just occurred to me that the year-round crick of water is Hatton Creek, which provides a lush green that is hard to find right now during our severe drought.  Someone must be using this water, because there are pipes and manholes scattered throughout the property. Are the Hatton Canyon environmental lawsuits a facade for water rights?  I'm not serious, but nothing would surprise me anymore.  I'm including the oaks above, because I've neglected them in previous habitat posts.  And, the Monterey pines are looking sorry indeed with lots of dried up parts.  I'm looking forward to more rain.

ps 02/27/14 - I apologize if anyone's blog feed got messed up.  I edited this a gazillion times, because I kept finding biased errors in my assumptions.  I feel a sense of responsibility in getting my facts straight when expressing my opinions.  I'm sure there's a lot I don't understand.

Todd Muck, Deputy Executive Director of TAMC, kindly replied to my query and gave me permission to quote him on my blog.  He said, "Due to the opposition to converting the dirt service road into a paved bike path, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County's Board of Directors elected to not construct that portion of the project when we constructed the tunnel under Carmel Valley Road and the paved path to Rio Road.  The unpaved portion remains in TAMC's Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan as a potential future project, but there is no longer any funding dedicated to pursing the project."  He also pointed me in the direction of Victoria Beach, a Carmel City Council Member, who's organizing a citizens trails group.  Interesting.  I'll check it out.

habitat ~ 02/16/14 ~ Los Padres Dam

Los Padres Dam

February 16, 2014

The Los Padres Dam along the Carmel River is owned by California American Water (CalAm) and is one of several trailheads to the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest.  While it's a popular backpacking destination, I don't particularly have any desire to go myself: it's drier than I prefer; there are way too many mosquitoes, ticks, and poison oak; and quite frankly, some of the die-hard Big Sur folks make me a little nervous.  We've only ever done the Carmel River Trail for very enjoyable short day hikes.  I'll admit I'm woefully ignorant of the heated water politics surrounding the Carmel River, and it's always in the local news.  CalAm is currently removing the San Clemente Dam located downstream.

ps - Does anyone know what causes the orange colored seepage?  Iron bacteria?