The weather here was suitable for hiking in the chaparral yesterday, and I
came across a nice display of some late season wildflowers. The first one is
Hooker's Evening Primrose:
<https://picasaweb.google.com/117647316926309333001/PicasaPhotoAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCJSmwLq4kMOzJQ#5668903424822030722>
These plants get to be as much as 2 meters tall, much like Bridger's Evening
Primrose in the Utah canyon country but with a smaller flower. The second
wildflower is Sandyseed Clammyweed:
<https://picasaweb.google.com/117647316926309333001/PicasaPhotoAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCJSmwLq4kMOzJQ#5668903561492863506>
Don't ask me where these common names come from. We have another one out here
called Texas Frog Fruit, which I have yet to see.
While sorting through earlier photos of the area I was in, I came across
this one of an Edith's Checkerspot butterfly that I took back in March of this
year:
<https://picasaweb.google.com/117647316926309333001/PicasaPhotoAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCJSmwLq4kMOzJQ#5668903701843277618>
It was hanging around an area of Wright's Deer Vetch. It stood still long
enogh for me to get the camera settings just right.
Yesterday did have one great surprise: I rounded the corner of a wash and
about 150 meters ahead of me was an adult Mountain Lion. I've never seen one
in the wild before. I immediately froze and slowly reached for the camera, but
by the time I had it in place he had ducked into a thicket of Mesquite, Jojoba,
Wolfberry, and cactus. So, I found a suitable blind downwind of him behind a
large boulder in the shade of a cliff, with the telephoto zoom in place. After
two hours I ran out of shade and had to leave, but in the meantime the cactus
wrens raised a ruckus as he moved about in the thicket.
From the profusion of tracks it was obvious that the thicket is his home,
so there may be other opportunities to photograph him if I get there early
enough in the morning.
Chris
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