Spring Bloom, Temblor Range. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Spring wildflowers carpet the Carrizo Plain and the Temblor Range.
When I first looked out over this section of the Carrizo Plain and saw the blue coloration along the lowest area I initially thought that I might be seeing one of the shallow, seasonal lakes that forms in this playa-like terrain. The color was almost right, and the purple-blue color had the shape of a large pond. But something looked wrong about it, and when I found a higher and closer vantage point it became obvious that I was looking at a very large and very dense field of Phacelia blooms.
I was probably there just a few days before the peak of wildflower color, and it almost seemed to me that I could see the difference in the extent and intensity of the bloom from one day to the next. Some of the largest displays are in the flat terrain right down on the plain, but higher up in the surrounding mountains there were also brilliant patches of yellow flowers. Some of them are visible in the creases and folds of the Temblor Range on the far side of this valley.
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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