Spanish Broom

A native of the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands, Spanish Broom is an invasive shrub in the Americas. It was imported in San Francisco as a decorative shrub in the mid-1900s. In the early twentieth century, it was planted along roadways throughout California to help stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

The photos in this post are from the San Bernardino Mountains. I assume this is Spanish Broom, rather than the native California Broom, which is the smaller of the two. It’s very subjective, of course, but it seems that there are twice as many of the yellow shrouded plants than during previous years.

The broom’s thick perfume is reminiscent of honeysuckle, but there are distinct undercurrents of other scents. It isn’t an unpleasant smell. It’s long history of use in perfumery is understandable.

The photo above was taken two days later than the first two. The mist shrouding the peak in the background is a mix of smog and low-lying cloud.

Santa Rosa Blooming

The photos in this post are from April, 2010. Though I prepared them for the blog, I didn’t post them (and don’t remember why). The forecast for wildflowers this year seemed very good, but the bumper crop never materialized. For a related post, see A Quick Scout.

The scenes are beside a gravel pullout on Sage Road between Hemet and Aguanga, California.

My riding group uses the pullout for a rest stop whenever we ride Sage Road.

A few years ago, the wildflower blooming was quite thick in the Santa Rosas, and particularly strong at this spot. The photos above are what I could see of the relatively thin blooming this year.

A Head Shot

“He turned his head to stare at me and kept chewing that green stick…”

This one is from the Living Desert in Palm Desert, California.

A Look Back

After thirteen months, I'm taking a look back at this blog. Post titles are in bold type. Here are the highlights. Or at least the photos from the posts I picked... To view a post, click on the title.

Seascapes, May 2009. Big Sur. I took this one on a group ride through the Sierra Nevadas, the California Redwoods, and along the Pacific Coast.

Caribbean Sunrise Sequence, May 2009. Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea.  Hot Air Balloons, June 2009. A balloon and wine festival in southern Riverside County.

Red Dragonfly, August 2009. This dragonfly was rather fond of the antenna of Lisa's car.  Eastern Sierra Nevadas Ride, August 2009. This lake was just outside the town of Mammoth Lakes.

Hermosa Beach, October 2009. A tour of Hermosa beach, Lisa's home town.

Riverside Views, November 2009. This is a view of the city from the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Preserve.

Early 2010 Photos, January 2010. This is a view from Mt. Rubidoux.

Vegas, February 2010. I took this with the D200 held out the window of our twentieth floor room at Harrah's.

Chasing Light, March 2010. This group of photos is from the Salton Sea at sunrise.

Bridge Art, April 2010. This one is about shape and color. Photos from the Anza Narrows Railroad Bridge, Riverside, CA.

A Walk Downtown, April 2010. This one is from the Fox Theatre in downtown Riverside. When I arrived in the city in 1971 and lived in the Mission Inn, this was one of three movie houses within easy walking distance.

Grand Teton - Yellowstone Trip, June 2010. This is from a road trip that Lisa and I took in May through Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Constant Gardener, June 2010. My flower gardens went mutant this year. Who knows what this may mean?...