Home»Jasper Ridge Galleries»A Day at a Time: Individual Visits»4/19/2024 Butterflies Persist, Spring Flowers Fade

Soon after the previous visit, I take a friend back to the ridge. In just two days the feeling has shifted. Yes, there is still a patch of California Goldfields and Owl’s-clover along the road near the gate – but it seems diminished, hugging more tightly to the road, with the surrounding European grasses greener and more aggressive. On the serpentine ridge farther along the road, the exaltation of native flowers has quieted to a murmur.

Butterflies and other insects remain active: we see a California Ringlet on an English Plantain and a Variable Checkerspot Butterfly visiting an Owl’s-Clover – and even the larva of the latter. Beeflies persist. Carpenter Ants clean up some spilled guts. Happy to see all the insects, a spider waits in her funnel web beneath the drying soil.

Some flowers remain, some are not apparent, and new flowers are noticeable in just two days. California Goldfields, Owl’s-clover, and California Poppies hang on in their diminishing patches. Poison Oak puts forth tiny buds and flowers. Naturalized Beaked Hawksbeard attracts pollinators. Golden Yarrow spreads its golden blossoms. Tidy Tips and Coast Suncups linger. Some new flowers catch my eye and camera – please leave a comment on a photo if you know an ID. Dramatic grasses draw attention.

Bucks graze the green invasive grasses; California Quail browse in the hollow. The seasons roll on.