Wildflower-Covered Hills. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A springtime California hillside covered with yellow and purple flowers.
Despite the sometimes-arid conditions in many parts of California, when the rainy season cooperates — as it did in 2018-2019 — there can be a wild explosion of wildflowers for a few weeks in early spring. Hillsides that are typically brown during the majority of the year burst forth in color for a short time. In some of the best spots, at the peak of this development entire hillsides and valleys can be completely covered by flowers.
I photographed this scene on my second visit to the Temblor Mountains area this season. I had been there about a week-and-a-half earlier, and had found some flowers in this spot just above the San Andreas earthquake fault — but the specific spot in this photograph had almost no flowers at that time. But what a difference a week or two made!
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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