Foothills, Winter Grass

Foothills, Winter Grass
Winter grasses and wildflowers come to life among trees and boulders in the Sierra Nevada foothills

Foothills, Winter Grass. Sierra Nevada Foothills, California. February 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter grasses and wildflowers come to life among trees and boulders in the Sierra Nevada foothills

Returning from a few days in Yosemite Valley early this year — we were there for the opening of the annual Yosemite Renaissance exhibit — we looped somewhat lazily through Sierra foothill terrain on our way home. Since the plan was to arrive at a Central Valley bird refuge before sunset, we had most of the day to poke around and make photographs.

Late winter in California is the greenest time of year. When people visit the state during summer and remark on the golden brown hills, I always want to say, “You should have been here a few months ago!” This is the impossibly green season, when enough rain has fallen to get the grasses to take root and cover these hills, followed quickly by the appearance of wildflowers.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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