Many of my wildflower photos do not turn out as nice as I would like, but still capture some useful details of the plant’s features. This is particularly the case for flowers that I am seeing for the first time in a given season, and so aim to record their arrival time. This being one of our warmest winters on record, we may see many flowers blooming earlier than usual, as will be evident in this Book of Days, (though we do currently have a foot or three of snow forecasted in a few days). Today’s are the first wildflowers I’ve seen this season on the west shore, (excepting the Manzanita, which have a headstart, being bushes), substantially earlier than years past.
Stream Violet (Viola glabella) Because they bloom early season when insect pollinators may not be active, many violets have some cleistogamous flowers, which are self-pollinating and do not even open when they bloom.
Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis)
Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis, Ranunculaceae Family) This plant family has ‘unreduced’ floral characteristics; superior ovary and numerous spiraled stamens and pistils, which indicate it branched from the rest of the plant families early in the history of flowering plants. (per Michael Grafs’ Plants of the Tahoe Basin, the original source for most of my plant identifications and factoids)
I found a half dozen Northern Ficker (Calaptes auratus) feathers scattered here, which likely signals it’s demise. ‘Flicker bombs’ we call them. Not uncommon. The Flickers often feed on the ground, and maybe aren’t so attentive. I think Coopers Hawks or Goshawks probably get them.
This appears to be an old school traction device, made to clamp to a welted boot, with studs on the bottom for walking on icy trails. This could be quite old, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Not sure how the adjustment bolt worked out on the bottom, exposed to the ground. Maybe it was designed to seat in the crook of a boot heel. It rarely gets icy on our trails, except when they are heavily used and packed out during an extended period without new snow. Wouldn’t think there would have been enough traffic way up here to warrant? Greenhorn?
Looks like clamps designed to adjust and seat on a boot welt.
I spotted this big old log down across the creek skiing here a while back and figured it might make a good bridge early season. It’s broken but supported by a solid looking tree beneath. We’ll have to see how it feels
The handy new log crossing, just above the trail ford, which is currently impassible with out wading.
Wolf Lichen (or Staghorn as its locally known) (Letharia vulpina). Mountain driftwood like this gets all dessicated and becomes hard like wraught iron, giving the impression of great age.
Oddly branched Jeffery Pine and its Juniper neighbor, beneath the Striped Crag
Spotted this clog over five miles upcanyon. It looks like it is resting on snow, like there was already snow cover when it landed there. Did it like fall out of a plane or something? haha No, more likely someone was ski touring to the Sierra Club Hut another couple miles up, and somehow it fell out of their pack. Does this constitute a curious theme of odd footwear, with the rusted old boot cleat I found?