In the Shade



Chinese Houses appear in the shade of manzanita and oak.

Spring Sunset



The sun goes down through the oaks and pine.

Spring Vista



Lupine and new leaves on the white oak.

Blossom to Be



The buckeyes have leafed out and now begin forming blossoms.

Five Spot Close Up



Love the purple veins.

Baby Blue Eyes



Still thriving in the shade.

Whisker Brush



Small but beautiful.

Pure Purple



Larkspur under the oak trees.

Flowers Become Leaves


Redbud in transition.

Woodland Stars



Woodland stars (Lithophragma parviflorum) are not the showiest in the meadow, but their small bright white flowers merit a closer inspection.

Golden Brodeaia


Lots of these in this dry spring.

Indian Pink



Not pink, but a deep orange.

Bird's-Eye Gilia



Bird's Eye gilia of the phlox family looking up at me.

Ceanothus



Deer brush in bloom.

Caterpillar Phacelia




Growing in the shadow of the granite outcropping.

Blue Dick

Another member of the lily family, the top heavy Dichelostemma capitatum sway in the slightest breeze.

Purple Nightshade



Solanum xanti is very plentiful in disturbed areas. Great flowers which become little tomato-like pods.

Baby Blue Eyes



So proud of the ones I grew from seed.

Snow and Lupine



The high country in the background after a snowstorm.

Cloud on the Move with Lupine



The great show of clouds moving up from the valley to the Sierras and there's lupine too.

Milkweed and Dew



These never seem to bloom. They are always eaten first.

Clouds on the Move



On their way to the high Sierras.

Elderberry



soon to blossom.

Live Oak



The shorter lived, evergreen live oak sports luxuriant new growth.

Front Yard



The oaks have leafed out and the palette is purple, white and green.

Popcorn



One of the first spring flowers, now on the wane. A lacy overlay to the meadows.

Mountain Violet



A small flower (Viola purpurea ssp. integrifolia) of the Violaceae family. These are true shrinking violets as all my pictures seem to be out of focus and very plentiful at the ranch this year.

Lacepod



Thysanocarpus curvipes of the Mustard family.

Phacelia and the Rock



Caterpillar phacelia growing at the edge of a granite outcropping.

From the Top



Lupine, so beautiful from every angle.