2016) 1 of 3

Image | November 16, 2016November 16, 2016 | robinleecarlson

At the end of September, summer was officially over, but summer weather here lasts well into fall. Chamise regrowth was strong and healthy, and the buckeye leaves were brown and ready to fall, revealing the fruits:

chamiseandbuckeye_2016sep29_sm

The yellow hills allowed the new sprouts of the chaparral shrubs to stand out sharply:

chaparralhillside_2016sep29_sm

Two wildflowers: western goldenrod (Euthamia occidentalis) along the trail, and annual willow-herb (Epilobium canum) in the dry creek bed. Three-leaf sumac (Rhus trilobata) was growing happily along the trail; it is a close relative of poison oak, and like that relative, grows back vigorously after fires.

wildflowers_2016sep29_sm

Until this visit, I had only seen western fence lizards in the reserve, so I was excited to spot a speedy western skink:

westernskink_2016sep29_sm

I saw far more spider webs along the sides of the trail on this visit, especially funnel webs as below:

funnelweb_2016sep29_sm

July Visit (7/21/2016)

Image | September 9, 2016September 16, 2016 | robinleecarlson

On a hot but not scorching morning, butterflies of all sizes were abundant:

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Lots of summer yellow:

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A few last wildflowers and fruits:

wildflowers_2017jul21_sm

A brief sighting of a Sonoma chipmunk (Tamias sonomae):

sonomachipmunk_2016jul21_sm

Some of the new stairs that volunteers have constructed along the trail:

newstairs_2016jul21_sm

I heard, but did not see, a Nuttall’s woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii). This drawing is based on a reference photo:

nuttallswoodpecker_2016jul21_sm

June Visit (6/29/2016)

Image | August 25, 2016October 6, 2016 | robinleecarlson

By June, Cold Creek was dry, at least in the lower part. It is possible that water remained in pools higher up in the canyon.

coldcreekdry_2016jun29_sm

There were still a few wildflowers to find, and some Valley elderberry longhorn beetles (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus) on their favorite plant:

wildflowers_2016jun29_sm

The leaves of yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum) growing alongside the trail were strikingly shiny. The yerba santa often seemed to be growing in patches of weedy thistles (star thistle, milk thistle) and dandelions, which are much more abundant post-fire with much of the shade gone.

newgrowth2_2016jun29_sm

Brown summer hills and a vibrant cloud-free sky:

summerhills_2016jun29_sm

May Visit (5/6/2016)

Image | August 4, 2016April 11, 2020 | robinleecarlson

In May, I enjoyed new blooms, still-green hills, and the cool shade along the Homestead Trail. Caterpillars were everywhere, a white-lined sphinx moth caterpillar (Hyles lineata) below, along with lupine seed pods and wild cucumber fruits:

lupinecucumber_2016may6_sm

Below, some pipevine swallowtail caterpillars (Battus philenor) on California pipevine leaves (Aristolochia californica). I also enjoyed seeing the cord moss (Funaria hygrometrica) with red seta (the seta were still yellow-green in March).

MossBeetleCaterpillar_2016May6_sm

Many new wildflowers:

maywildflowers1_2016may6_sm

maywildflowers2_2016may6_sm

maywildflowers3_2015may6_sm

California buckeyes (Aesculus californica) were flowering:

cabuckeye_2016may6_sm

Cold Creek still had clear water flowing:

coldcreek_2016may6_sm

March Visit (3/23/2016) 3 of 3

Image | May 28, 2016September 16, 2016 | robinleecarlson

Because the green hills will not last long, I wanted to capture the great difference in the view at the trailhead in March compared to last September. The charred trees and shrubs stand out starkly against the vibrant green new growth. Here is the view March 23:

coldcanyonclosedtrailheadv2_2016mar23_sm

And here is the view from last September 11:

coldcanyonclosedtrailheadv2_2015sep11_sm

March Visit (3/23/2016) 2 of 3

Image | May 12, 2016September 16, 2016 | robinleecarlson

This is the second of three posts covering my March visit to the Reserve. Wildflowers were everywhere in profusion. A selection:

The day was warm and sunny. I saw at least six kinds of butterfly, only three of which I was able to identify: Pipevine swallowtails (Battus philenor, especially abundant in the patches of blue dicks, as above), Orangetips (Anthocharis, drawn below), and Buckeyes (Junonia coenia). I also enjoyed watching a Greater bee fly (Bombylius major) visiting the numerous Red-stem filaree flowers along the path (Erodium cicutarium, a common weed in disturbed areas).

March Visit (3/23/2016) 1 of 3

Image | April 27, 2016September 16, 2016 | robinleecarlson

I visited on a warm, clear day in March to enjoy all the new green growth and buzzing and humming of insects everywhere. This is the first of three posts showing what I saw.

Turkey vultures were enjoying the thermals above Blue Ridge:

turkeyvultures_2016mar23_sm

California poppies had started to adorn the hillsides in February, but were carpeting them in March, especially on the southwest facing slopes:

capoppyhillside_2016mar23_sm

Regrowth was lush at the base of the California buckeye at marker A07 (map):

cabuckeyea07_2016mar23_sm

I’ve been watching the new stalks of California laurel at B03 get progressively taller:

calaurelb03_2016mar23_sm

New, though, was this interesting growth of stalks at the base of a much larger California laurel (not at a CA Phenology Project at Stebbins marker):

calaurel_2016mar23_sm

Cold Creek clear and full:

coldcreek_2016mar23_sm

Although the reserve remains closed to the public until May, there have been large numbers of trespassers. Evidence comes in the form of paths blazed down to the creek off the main trail:

offtrailpath_2016mar23_sm

This activity directly interferes with the reserve’s ability to fully recover from the fire by increasing erosion and damaging newly regrown plants. Plenty of other evidence of trespass too:

graffiti_2016mar23_sm

February Visit (2/24/2016)

Image | March 25, 2016September 16, 2016 | robinleecarlson

I returned to the reserve in February excited to see how much greener it would be and whether any wildflowers were starting to appear. This drawing of Blue Ridge shows a dramatic difference from a month and a half prior:

All along the creek trail, I enjoyed the new greens, as seen in the new growth below in a California buckeye and the Toyon at marker A02 (markers are used by the CA Phenology Project at Stebbins; here is a map of the marker locations).

Cold Creek was running higher, and the water and the sediment both look cleaner than they did on my December and January visits.

And there were wildflowers! Not all that many yet, but I did see Henderson’s shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersonii), Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), Large-leaved hound’s tongue (Cynoglossum grande), Blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum), Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), and Wild cucumber (Marah fabaceus).

January Visit (1/8/2016)

Image | March 4, 2016September 13, 2016 | robinleecarlson

Walking the creek trail in early January, I drew some of the re-sprouting shrubs. I have focused on plants that are marked for monitoring by the California Phenology Project at Stebbins Cold Canyon. Marker numbers are noted on each sketch. Shown below are California laurel (B03), Coyotebrush (A04), and Toyon (A02, with an additional closeup).

calaurelb03_2016jan8_sm

coyotebrusha04_2016jan8_sm

toyona02closeup_2016jan8_sm

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Looking up from the creek at the same spot where I focused on water quality in December and January, I drew the canyon hillsides facing west. While there was some green growth to be seen along the creek, next to nothing was green on the hillsides in this direction.

ridge3_2016jan8_sm

Robin Lee Carlson Illustration

sketchbook