Most of the flowers I enjoyed in April are still lingering, while a few, like the Globe Lily (Calochortus albus), made only a brief appearance. The most prolific flower in May is Iris fernaldii. A few began blooming in late April, but now the fields are full of them. This year, irises are appearing in places where I haven’t seen them before, especially in areas where trees have died and opened the canopy to sunlight. They spread by underground rhizomes, yet it still baffles m

When I arrived home after three days in Monterey Bay, I found a disgusting pile of something on my front lawn. I had made cauliflower curry a few days earlier, so naturally that was the first thing that came to mind. Had some animal gotten into the house, eaten the leftovers, and vomited on the lawn? That couldn’t be. Still, it certainly looked as if some creature had regretted a very bad meal. I checked the Reconyx camera to see if it had captured the culprit, but there were

So far, April hasn’t introduced any new wildflower species, but it has amplified what March began. The same blooms are now appearing in greater numbers, quietly multiplying across the landscape. In nearly 20 years of living here, this is the most abundant wildflower season I’ve seen. They are everywhere—and yet, easy to miss. Most are tiny, tucked among grasses and leaves, so the meadow doesn’t read as a sweep of color from a distance. Instead, the richness reveals itself onl

Wildflower season began last month with just a few tiny dove’s-foot geraniums. They are now blooming in abundance, and other wildflowers are starting to appear, marking the true beginning of spring on the property. California Buttercup is starting to appear now, its bright yellow flowers standing out against the green grass as wildflower season gets underway. California Buttercup (Ranunculus californicus) Dove’s-foot geranium appears in scattered patches across the property e