Week of Wildflowers – Blue

Blue includes purplish blue, and perhaps bluish purple. Some of these you may have seen previously on the blog, because blue flowers are my favorite. 

My favorite penstemon – this only appears as “Foothill Penstemon” in my four books, but that can’t be true at 7000-9000′.
Blue Lips
Fivespot, still in bloom if you climb toward Timber Gap (last week, anyway!)
Nightshade – don’t know the particular variety
More penstemon, because I have it.

Okay, all the Ls line up here:

Languid Ladies, AKA Sierra Bluebells
Larkspur
Lupine
May I remind you again how much I adore this penstemon?
A variety of Bro-dee-uh (spelled brodiaea or some such reckless combo of vowels)
These are butterflies, not flowers. Why aren’t they called “flutterbys”?
These aren’t in Mineral King but are along the road at about 5000 feet (near the Wolverton gate/helipad). I include them here in case someone knows what these are. They do not exist in any of my books (or my neighbors’ books either.)

Week of Wildflowers – Red

Reddish is a more accurate term for today’s Mineral King wildflowers. I am including orange and pinkish flowers too. Someone pointed out to me once that red is very uncommon in nature. It is used for accents rather than in large amounts.

Here are some oranges:

Much brighter orange in person than this anemic photo – I never noticed it before this year and have no idea what its name is.
Western Wallflower is a tricky one – sometimes it is orange, sometimes it is yellow.
This is a lichen, not a flower. The color was irresistible! (It might be a little smaller than a quarter, in case you were thinking of pouring some Cap’n Crunch into it.)

Now, reds.

Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush again
Penstemon, Goldenbeard penstemon, or California fuchsia? Beats me, it is striking. (You know you want to laugh at that. . .)
Crimson Columbine
More of the striking penstemon.

Pinks are sort of red, red plus white. They certainly don’t belong with white, blue, or yellow.

Elephant Head
Another penstemon, called “Pride of the Mountains”
Heather or Laurel? I’m going with Red Heather (ignore the phlox in the background – they already had their turn.)
I don’t know this delicate little pinkish thing that resembles manzanita but is very low to the ground.
Have I ever seen this before? It seems to be everywhere this year. I think it will turn into a berry.
Thistle
Shooting Star – often more purplish than pinkish, sometimes named “Jeffrey”
Pussy-paws. They have never been so tall!

 

Week of Wildflowers – Yellow

As I was thinking about a week of wildflowers (Mineral King wildflowers, specifically), it occurred to me that all the flowers can be categorized with the same colors I use for painting – white, yellow, blues and reds. (orange, pink, and purple pose a bit of a challenge – just work with me here. . .)

Here are eight yellow wildflowers I found recently in Mineral King:

Groundsel
Cinquefoil? Not shiny, so I don’t think it is cinquefoil. Yellow flowers and I don’t really understand one another very well.
Sulphur flower – this is new to me this year. Probably just blew past it in all the previous years.
Meadow Hosakia is also new to me this year. It’s been right there in my favorite book all along, but I disregarded it.
Monkey flower, actually “seepspring monkey flower”.
Western Wallflower (who comes up with these names??)
Dandelions qualify as wildflowers in Mineral King; what you do with them in your own yard is your own business.
I don’t know – another ubiquitous tiny yellow flower
Why is a yellow flower named “Violet”? (I just work here, but inquiring minds need to know.)

Week of Wildflowers – White

I’m able to spend lots of time in Mineral King this month. While hiking, I think. Sometimes I think about the blog, and the idea of a week of wildflowers came to me. Today, white! I’m doing my best to look at white flowers and learn some new names. Several blog readers have told me that they love white flowers, so out of respect for you, I will try to stop ignoring them. Here are 17 for you to enjoy: (there are more than 17 out there along the trails but I probably ignored them.)

Dandelion puff
Elderberry
Not sure – sort of looks like Pennyroyal, but I forgot to scratch and sniff
Cow parsnip
Wild Geranium
I don’t know and can’t find in any of my 4 books!
Morning glory (not the kind that plagues the farmers down the hill)
Rein Orchis (weird, I know)
Pennyroyal, for sure
Knotweed? Sort of looks like it, but not exactly and wasn’t growing in a wet area.
Phlox – sometimes these are lavender.
Mariposa Lily (pay no attention to the tiny yellows here)
Thimbleberry
Yarrow

Naked Buckwheat
Don’t know and can’t find – it is exactly the sort of white flower that I usually just pass by as if it is just another grass or leaf.

These might be Baby’s Breath. Who knew they existed outside of florists’ shops?

Mineral King Water and Wildflowers

I know, Mineral King is supposed to be the topic on Fridays, but I have so many photos to show you that I’m breaking my policy. Can’t get fired . . . 

Crystal Creek where the trail crosses
Crystal Creek below the trail crossing
Indian paintbrush
Mariposa Lily, a non-boring white flower
The Pussy Paws are tall this year. Because they aren’t lying on the dirt, I was able to smell them, and they are STRONG. Who knew??
The lupine is a little faded this year.
My favorite penstemmon – I don’t ever remember seeing it in Mineral King before!
Fiesta Flower, I think. . .
Trail Guy along the Nature Trail that ought to be called the “Wildflower Walk” (thanks, Melissa!)
The larkspur are thick, but their color is weak

Rein Orchis is the weirdest name. It is an odd shaped white flower.
The ground is polka-dotted with Sierra Star Tulip.
Inside one of the most charming cabins (not mine, which is also charming).
Red-breasted Sap-sucker – never heard of it, never seen one before.
What is this unknown white flower? If I didn’t ignore them in all my flower books, I might know.

California Artist’s 1st Mineral King Hike This Season

The Central California Artist, ahem, that would be me, finally had a bit of time in Mineral King and hiked to White Chief with Trail Guy and a new friend named Jessica.

The artist is sore, and she isn’t happy about it.

The artist is happy to have gone to White Chief, and happy to have spent time with Trail Guy and their new friend.

The artist will now shut up and show you the photos. There will be many.

No bridge across Spring Creek, too scary to cross where the bridge belongs.

We cross below the normal place, where the creek spreads out into 3 manageable sections.
Great flowers along the trail, including these larkspur.
First view of White Chief canyon of the season – no flowers, since it hasn’t been snow-free very long.
Surround Sound in water!
Trail Guy is inspecting one of the sink holes.
Here it is from higher up. Two other people are curious. 
We were snow free until the end of the middle section of the trail. This is where we turned back.
There were fingers of running water where green has begun.
I was reluctant to leave the surround sound of the water.
There were several obstacles in addition to the missing bridge.

These brave and strong Park employees went for it at the bridge crossing.

It’s Friday, Let’s Talk About Mineral King

Fridays are for Mineral King on my blog, but sometimes every day is for Mineral King. There isn’t a lot happening with my art business right now that you will find interesting (other than the one-day drawing workshop tomorrow at Arts Visalia; call 559-739-0905 to see if any spaces remain).

So, let’s continue our photo excursion in and around Mineral King, while the trails are inaccessible due to swollen streams and deep snow.

One of the things we always do is check the water level at the bridge.

 

I try to stop taking the same photos over and over, but each time I am sure it is the best it has ever looked.

We look at Sawtooth and think about the amount of snow and how quickly it is melting. Neither one of us has any desire to climb it. We were speculating that Monarch Lake may be accessible via the old trail sooner than other lakes, because the old trail is south-facing.

We pay attention to water flowing in places that it normally isn’t. Or perhaps it is, but we are usually out on trails instead of poking around non-trail areas.

We discovered some itty-bitty wildflowers that we’ve never seen before. Too small to see; too small to name. Perhaps Captain Obvious would have named these Blue Dots or Blue Spots.

We have gone to Crystal Creek several times. It was roaring down the trail over Memorial Weekend, so we did some trail rescue. The water level rose again, so we had to do a bit more waterology and redirect the water off the trail again. (Did the same at Chihuahua also, just above the old pack station, which runs colder than Crystal. This is not scientific, just a report from my bare feet.)

I didn’t have to get in the water to fix the flow from Spring Creek down the trail, so I’m not sure of the relative temperature on that one. See? 57 going on 12!

Sometimes trails have obstacles that we can navigate over or around.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Or, don’t be sorry for what you have lost; instead, be grateful you had it. Or, be flexible, because it is better to bend than to break. Go with the flow. Bloom where you are planted. Et cetera. . . 

When Mineral King Trails Aren’t Accessible

Happy Birthday, Rachelle! May this be the year of new lungs. . .

What do you do when the trails in Mineral King aren’t accessible?

You walk the trails as far as you can. This was heading to Spring Creek, where the water is still too high for maintenance guys to put the bridge in yet. These folks were exclaiming over the snow and the water; I was mucking about in the water, mud and rocks, diverting water off the trail. (I’m 57, going on 12).

This is Spring Creek, taken from as close as I dared get. This is the same creek in my drawing titled “Hard Water”, but that was from the bridge. I’m sure you must be able to tell it is the same creek. . .

Hard Water, pencil drawing of Spring Creek

We also went looking for things, like Five Spot wildflowers. Trail Guy had noticed large swaths of them from the road by the Tar Gap parking lot, so away we went, off trail, in search of these special little guys.

First, we found Blue Lips.

Blue Lips wildflowers must have been named by Captain Obvious.
See? Blue lips.

Looks like a nothing burger of white dandruff on the ground from here. Or, if you are a Heidi fan, it looks like the Alps.

Captain Obvious, on his wild naming spree, must have been delighted to discover these Five Spots.

Once again, this is getting to be too long. To be continued tomorrow. . .

Remember, there is a one day drawing workshop at Arts Visalia on Saturday. You may contact them at (559)739-0905 to register.

Sights along the Mineral King Road

This is how “the potholes” were running recently. It is wonderful to see all the water!

This is how Sawtooth looked on the way up the hill. (That’s flannel bush in the foreground).

This is an unnamed drainage, coming down from Empire, about 2 miles below the Mineral King Valley. Every possible drainage is flowing.

This is looking back down the road through what remains of the avalanche by the Sawtooth parking lot.

Finally, this is how it looked out the back door of our cabin. The woodpile is accessible, so I was able to swing an axe and even a hatchet. Making kindling isn’t nearly as satisfying as splitting wood for the stove, but sometimes a woman’s gotta do what she’s gotta do.

Samson isn’t dead. He was sleeping in my studio, and I took this photo in case you missed him or wanted to see the spots on his belly.