Desert Flowers and an Unexpected Sight at the End

I'm always looking for new (to me) flowers to put on my A Plant a Day blog. So when I took Desert Boy out to preschool last week, we went for a long walk/jog (a little training for a triathlon I might blog about soon). We had walked much of the same route two weeks earlier, but many of the flowers had changed. That's one of the challenges of finding all the plants in an areas--some aren't particularly visible for more than a week or two every few years.

The pink penstemon above is a common one, a young Palmer's penstemon (Penstemon palmeri), one of only two pink ones in the area. Even though it isn't new to me, I sure enjoy seeing it again!

 I went on a different road and climbed up on this rocky hillside, where I got a nice view of the valley and cloud-shrouded mountains on the other side.

 One of the many flower species on it were these dancing yellows, called nakedstem sunray (Enceliopsis nudicaulis). I enjoyed seeing them--they brightened the desert hillside so much!
They are just little bundles of sunshine.

 I saw this plant as I went skipping down the hill. It looks a bit like out of a Dr. Seuss book, but only a couple weeks earlier, it had nice little flowers on it that you can see on the Shockley's rockcress page.

 This tiny plant, only about 3 inches high, is called browneyes. It blooms more at night than the day, so I was glad it was overcast so I could see more of it blooming.

 I also found lots of Cryptantha, a genus in the Borage Family well represented in this area. From a distance it doesn't look too impressive.

 Close up, I was amazed at how many hairs protect each little white flower.

Our walk continued, with Desert Girl saying hi to the curious cows at the dairy, Henry wanting to chase after stray cats, and then to a fork in the road. I had a little time left before Desert Boy finished preschool, so we took the longer route.

 The playa that is usually dry was full of water, with some shrubs submerged. This wet spring has certainly been a nice change.

The flooded playa seemed a little boring, until I noticed something moving about on the other end:

Birds! An ibis, American avocets, and a couple ducks were probing for food. It was a wonderful treat to get to see them in an unexpected place.

A Walk Down the Channel

A couple weekends ago I walked down the overflow channel above town. During high water, the biggest creek from the nearby mountain range swells with snow melt, spilling over the diversion ditch. This year we have a high snow pack but due to the cold weather, the snow is slow coming off the mountain, and we're just at median stream flow levels. That means once it warms up, we're in for quite a flood.

Right now the water is still fairly clear, not washing down much dirt. Nevertheless, it's gradually rising, enough to inundate this western wallflower.

The top part of the overflow channel was lined with dense-growing willows, making the banks hard to traverse. My trusty dog Henry decided he'd rather ride back to town then go bush-whacking with me. I hoped there weren't any hungry mountain lions hanging out in the thick brush. I usually depend on Henry scaring them away, so I felt like I was really on an adventure without him.

As I got farther downstream, the water dwindled, sinking into the alluvium. The riparian vegetation changed to sagebrush shrubs gradually, although I still found willow thickets. I stopped looking over my shoulder quite so much as I got to more of the sagebrush!

The looming clouds over the mountains threatened more rain. I really enjoy overcast days like this, since we get so few.

Eventually the water dried up, less than one-third the way down the channel. It takes a lot of water to make it all the way down to town. Nevertheless, in the next couple weeks this dry streambed will transform into a raging river. It's exciting, but also scary, especially when you can hear those boulders rolling along the stream bottom due to the power of the water.

Part of my excuse for walking down the channel was to look for flowers. I found a couple I hadn't previously identified, so that was exciting. I also saw a lot of this rush. I have a hard time getting excited about identifying rushes, sedges, and grasses, but they probably make up over one-third of the vegetative species here.

I'd just say that it was a great day to be outside!

Then it got even better when I stumbled upon this patch of Erigeron, or fleabanes. They really lit up the rocky ground.

I didn't see them anywhere else except that one big patch. I think I like surprises like that. When you have to work a little harder to find nature's beauty, you appreciate it more.

I also saw lots of birds and even managed to capture a decent photo of this black-throated sparrow. I'm already ready for the next exploration trip.
Happy trails...

Archeology Day

 May is Archeology month, and today Great Basin National Park had some special events, with archeologists from the park, BLM, and US Forest Service. We headed out there to participate. The first thing we tried out was grinding corn with a mano and matate. Desert Boy liked doing that.

 Of course if big brother does it, little Miss Emma has to give it a try. She did better than I expected.

 She even managed to not drop the rock on her foot, so that was definitely a good thing.

 Meanwhile Desert Boy went to the rock art station. He was delighted to get a paper bag and put his name on it so that he could keep all his projects in one place. He loves doing little activities, so he had a super time.

 Nicole was at the twig art station. (It was called something else, but I can't remember the correct name!)

 Folks could make figurines with pipe cleaners (what we did) or with willow twigs (the more advanced skill that these guys did).

 Desert Boy had moved on to the tin-can making station. He just couldn't resist drawing railroad tracks on his can.

 This station included glue, so it made it extra fun.

 Some other folks were learning how to make cordage.

 Desert Boy went on to the clay figurine station. Karla showed him step by step how to make a clay figurine.

 Can you tell which one is Desert Boy's?

(Hint: It's the one wearing the sock dress, whatever that is.)

 Then Desert Boy's friend Charlie arrived, and they did some grinding together.

 Then it was time to make clay bowls. I was impressed with how many different stations were at the event. Everyone was super patient, even with rambunctious kids!

Thanks so much, archeologists!

 The day wasn't over yet, though. Next we went to the Baker Archeological Site and learned  how to throw atlatls.

It's really fun!

 Sam was a natural. He figured it out faster than me.

 Ready...aim...throw.

 Where did it go?

 They had an afternoon field trip to a rock shelter that I wanted to go to, but the approaching storm clouds deterred us.

 Instead the kids had fun playing, picnicking, and walking around the Baker Archeological Site. I had to try using the atlatl again, too. I'd need a lot of practice before I could even touch an animal I wanted to hunt!

It was a great way to spend part of the day. We'll look forward to Archeology Day next May!

A Spring Walk in the Desert

It's been snowing most of the day, so it's nice to look back at these photos taken on Saturday, when it was sunny and in the 70s. We saw this horned lizard blending in oh-so-well with the desert floor.

I really wanted to find some new flowers for my A Plant A Day blog. That turned out to be a more difficult task than I was expecting, but I did spot this colorful butterfly on the cryptantha.

Another view of the butterfly.

Desert Girl really likes being mobile and stopping to check things out when she wants to.

Don't you wish you could squat like that? I do!

 

Desert Girl liked this Astragalus (milkvetch).

Time to keep on hiking and see what's next.

The globemallow just started blooming last week.

I liked this white astragalus, growing in between the purple flowers.

The Townsendia flowers are small and short, but such a welcome burst of color.

And finally I found a blooming cactus, a mountain ball cactus. It won't be long till many more cacti are showing their colors!