The young naturalist at work

It is a tradition in our family to visit Table Mountain here in Butte County at least once in the spring, and I never feel that once is enough. Today was the day for our first visit — a perfect sunny day for it, and we are expecting rain most of the rest of the week. Rain is great for the flowers, but sunshine is best for viewing.

My love of wildflowers is the source of the name of this blog. Goldfields (Lasthenia) carpets the hillsides of Table Mountain, especially near the vernal pools.  Wildflowers plus California history — what a great combination.

Goldfields, and a few sky lupine

Kellogg’s monkeyflower

Today we saw plenty of lupines, frying pans (a smaller version of California poppies), goldfields, yellow carpet, and purple owl’s clover. The bluedicks and bird’s eye gilia were just getting started. We also spotted meadowfoam, Douglas violets, oakwoods violets, yellow seep monkeyflower, Kellogg’s monkeyflower, popcorn flower, larkspur, redmaids, volcanic onion and bitterroot. The season for wildflower viewing will continue for about a month.

Owl’s Clover

Get yourself a copy of Wildflowers of Table Mountain, by Albin Bills and Samantha Mackey, and go! You will be glad you did. (The book is a wonderful guide, and locally available at many book outlets.) Photography cannot do justice to the streams, the waterfalls, and the California blue and gold wildflowers of Table Mountain.