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Visitors 85
Modified 15-Feb-23
Created 9-May-21
36 photos

Springtime swells and deepens: brighter flowers succeed the more muted blues and dark reds. Shady Lower Arroyo Trail is blessed with several stands of showy Crimson Columbine. Dropping down to Blue Oak Trail, we find a sunny meadow, Blue Dicks in the grass, and butterflies floating in the air. Drifting from flower to flower, intently draining the nectar, spreading their improbable wings.
FlowersMadrone TrunkBee Balm?Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitalum ssp. capitalum)Crimson Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) (!)Crimson Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) (!)Twisting Climbing VineBlue Witch (Solanum umbelliferum)Flowers of Blue Witch (Solanum umbelliferum)Madrone Trunk and UndergrowthMadrone Trunk, CloserDouglas' Iris (I. douglasiana)Variable Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)Variable Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)Variable Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)Variable Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)Variable Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum) (Detail)Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio eurymedon) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio eurymedon) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio eurymedon) on Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum ssp, capitatum)