North Yuba River - 5/20/21
"A rainy day is the perfect time
for a walk in the woods."
Rachelle Carson
We are in the middle of a three-day forecast for scattered showers and thunderstorms! On Thursday, and Friday we only got a total .02" of rain, but there were a few heavenly downpours and it was damp, moist, fragrant, and wonderful! To me the fragrance is nature's camphor, but "petrichor" is the official name. Petrichor was coined by Australian scientists in 1964 to describe the unique, earthy smell associated with rain. It is caused by the water from the rain, along with certain compounds like ozone, geosmin, and plant oils. One of my favorite authors, Brian Doyle, describes it perfectly in the following passage from his book Mink River.
“Rained gently last night, just enough to wash the town clean, and then today a clean crisp fat spring day, the air redolent, the kind of green minty succulent air you'd bottle if you could and snort greedily on bleak, wet January evenings when the streetlights hzzzt on at four in the afternoon and all existence seems hopeless and sad.”
North Yuba River - 5/20/21
The river is up, from the rain and snowmelt, but still slow at only 358 cfs. However, any moisture is welcome! Rain, rain come on down!
Harvest Brodiaea - Brodiaea elegans
Blooming Wildflowers!
Along the lower elevations of the North Yuba River corridor, there are lots of flowers in bloom! Although the carpets of Sky Lupine have mainly dried up, there are still many lovely flowers to discover. I headed out in the rain to see what I could find, and had a great time exploring! The Harvest Brodiaea pictured above is so elegant and strikingly colored! Their deep rosy-purple color contrasts beautifully against the dry grasses. They are one of the last Brodiaeas to bloom. The raindrops made them even more beautiful!
Showy Phlox - Tongue/Diamond ClarkiaPhlox speciosa - Clarkia rhomboidea
To my delight I found a wildflower I'd never seen before, Showy Phlox!!! I've seen lots and lots of Spreading Phlox (Phlox diffusa) in the Lakes Basin, but never this foothill variety! Unlike Spreading Phlox, this does not have a heavy scent. However, on a warmer day it might. I lucked out and saw it during a downpour! The plant is multi-branched, about 16" tall, and covered with clusters of pink and white blossoms. The chewed petals indicate it's a favorite meal for some insects!
Tongue/Diamond Clarkia is one of my favorites. It's not that common or profuse, but it can be found if you take the time to look. The flowers are small, about 3/4", but finely patterned and colored. The name rhomboidea refers to the diamond-shaped part of the petals.
Indian Rhubarb - Roundtooth Ookow
Darmera peltata - Dichelostemma multiflorum
Along the edge of the river are the large stalks of the blooming Indian Rhubarb. They can reach from 1'-5' in height! The clusters of pink flowers usually appear before the large leaves, that can be 2' wide. It grows from thick, wide rhizomes, or continuously growing horizontal underground stems which put out lateral shoots and adventitious roots at intervals. The ginger that you can buy in stores is a rhizome.
The Roundtooth Ookow is in the Brodiaea Family which is has three main genera; Brodiaea, Dichelostemma, and Tritelia. They grow from starchy corms, or
rounded underground storage organs consisting of a swollen stem base covered with scale leaves. The Native Americans called it "Ookow" and the corms were an important starchy food source for them.
Purple Milkweed - False Solomon's Seal/Feathery False Lily of the Valley
Asclepias cordifolia - Maianthemum racemosa
Purple Milkweed is one of the local native Milkweeds, that can be seen growing along the highway. It's a super important plant for the Monarch Butterfly. It begins in the Spring, when female Monarch Butterflies lay 100's of eggs on the underside of Milkweed leaves. Four days later the caterpillars hatch out of their eggs! These newly hatched caterpillars will eat only Milkweed leaves for the next 2 weeks. Then each caterpillar will form a chrysalis and pupate. After 10 days a new adult butterfly will emerge from each chrysalis, and start the whole process again. This process will happen four more times in the Summer. As adults, they feed on nectar from a variety of wildflowers.
To my surprise I discovered that a plant that I had always called "False Solomon's Seal", is now officially called "Feathery False Lily of the Valley", according to calflora.org! I like the new name better. The older name apparently came from its thick, fleshy, white, irregularly-shaped rhizomes that bear rounded scars where the previous year's stems arose. Supposedly it is the resemblance of these scars to the two inverted triangles that were the symbol or seal of King Solomon that gave rise to the old common name. How odd is that?!!
Kit-kit-dizze/Mountain Misery - Interior Rose
Chamaebatia foliolosa - Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana
Kit-kit-dizee/Mountain Misery has a strong, oily, and to me, nauseous odor. Kit-kit-dizze is the Native American name. They used it as an herbal remedy for colds, coughs, rheumatism, chicken pox, measles, smallpox and other diseases. Mountain Misery is the European name, and refers to its strong-scented repellent sap that would stick to clothing. It is in the Rose Family of plants.
There are lots of domestic "wild" roses growing in our area, but they are not native. The native Interior Rose is a much smaller shrub, but the fragrance of the roses is heavenly! If you find one of these little roses, make sure to inhale its fragrance!
Canyon Dudleya - Heermann's Golden Sunburst
Dudleya cymosa - Pseudobahia hermannii
On the hot and dry slopes you can find the succulent Canyon Dudleya growing.
These flowering plants demonstrate adaptations to a hot and dry environment, with thick succulent leaves, a thick waxy cuticle and a unique metabolism. During the day the stomata close to conserve water. During the night the stomata open, allowing CO2 to enter and be fixed as organic acids.
Heerman's Golden Sunburst is also now blooming in the hot, dry, areas along the highway. It is one of the many wildflowers in the Sunflower Family that grow locally.
Sticky Monkeyflower - Diplacus aurantiacus
Blooming Shrubs!
Sticky Monkeyflower bushes are in profuse bloom along the highway between Indian Valley and Downieville! There are thousands of them, each with hundreds of flowers! It's just gorgeous!
Western Chokecherry - Deerbrush - Mock Orange
Prunus virginiana var. demissa - Ceanothus integerrimus - Philadelphus lewisii
These lovely blooming shrubs are fairly common, with Deerbrush being the most prevalent. My favorite is the Mock Orange which has a light, sweet fragrance.
Pale Swallowtail - Papilio eurymedon
Butterflies!
There are a wide variety of Butterflies in the area right now. I keep seeing ones I've never seen before! Here are some interesting "Butterfly Facts" from butterflyconservatory.org
"Butterflies have "complete" life cycles, with four different stages: egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa), and adult. The entire life cycle, from the deposition of the egg to the emergence of the adult, usually takes about a month for most butterflies. Each species of butterfly has a different adult life span. Some adult butterflies only live for a few days, while others live for a few weeks or even several months (if they experience dormant periods of diapause or hibernation). The average lifespan for most adults is one to two weeks.
Chalcedon Checkerspot - Euphydryas chalcedona
Butterflies have compound eyes and simple eyes. They see very differently from us; they can see ultraviolet rays (which are invisible to us).
Clodius parnassian - Parnassius clodius sol
A butterfly's antennae, palps, legs and many other parts of the body are studded with sense receptors that are used to smell. The sense of smell is used for finding food (usually flower nectar), and for finding mates (the female smelling the male's pheromones)."
Common Buckeye - Junonia coeria
The following information is from: www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/butterflies.shtml.
"Butterflies are less efficient than bees at moving pollen between plants. Highly perched on their long thin legs, they do not pick up much pollen on their bodies and lack specialized structures for collecting it. Butterflies probe for nectar, their flight fuel, and typically favor the flat, clustered flowers that provide a landing pad and abundant rewards. Butterflies have good vision but a weak sense of smell. Unlike bees, butterflies can see red."
Common Checkered Skipper - Pyrgus communis
Skippers are not true butterflies. They have hooked antennae, a moth-like body, and their wings are held at a different angle than true butterflies. Like true butterflies, skippers have scales on their wings, a coiled sucking mouth part, and a complete metamorphosis.
Tamarack Lake - 5/14/21
It's not quite Spring in the Lakes Basin!
Last week we headed up to the Lakes Basin, even though the forecast was for lightning and scattered thundershowers. Not much rain fell, but just enough to make everything damp and heavenly scented! We decided to stay fairly low in elevation, to avoid any lightning strikes, so we headed up to a favorite lake of ours. The ground was snow free, but the water was too high to cross a creek, so we hiked up to Tamarack Lake instead. It was still definitely winter up there, with the alders and willows still bare, and patches of snow still abundant!
Western Spring Beauty in the Rain - Claytonia lanceolata
We did see a few flowers blooming along the trail. There were lots and lots of Spring Beauties, which you have to look at closely to appreciate! They are one of the very first flowers to bloom in the Spring.
Western Spring Beauty (close-up) - Fawn Lily
Claytonia lanceolata - Erythronium purpurascens
We also saw our first Fawn Lilies of the year and a few Mountain Violets. They were even more beautiful with the raindrops on them!
Mountain Violet in the Rain - Viola purpurea
These violets can be distinguished by the shape of their leaves, as well as the purple color on the underside of the leaves and the top two petals.
Lakes Basin Blizzard - 5/21/21
Just this past Friday we went back to the Lakes Basin for a hike. The forecast was once again for a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. As we drove up the Gold Lake Road, it started to snow and we were quickly engulfed in a blizzard!!! Needless to say, we didn't stick around and headed home in the rain and snow. We're so lucky to be getting all this moisture! I hope the storms keep coming!
Corn Lilies after the Rain
More Damp Earth Art!
We just had a few days of light rain! However, since we are indeed in a drought year, I am once again sending out a "Call for Art" in celebration of rain. My intention is to focus on the need for rain, and through collective positive energy invoke rain to fall. It is just a wish, a thought, and a hope. If you would like to submit some art, or writing, or a photo please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Check out what's already been submitted at dampearthart.blogspot.com
You can view what was submitted last year at dampearth.blogspot.com.
I will be posting new art weekly. Check it out and pray for rain!
What's happening on the North Yuba River?
What are these insects?
Where are the Bears?
What's happening in Sierra Valley?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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