Tag Archives: spring

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Purple Wildflower

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Purple Wildflower
Purple Wildflower. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Purple spring wildflower (Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks) photographed at Almaden Quicksilver Park in central California.

I want to thank Gina Zolotar for helping identify this and other wildflowers I photographed this spring. I know these plants and flowers well – I can tell you when they bloom and where to find them and I can locate the plants even when they are not in bloom. But I’m absolutely pathetic when it comes to remembering the common names of plants and flowers, much less their scientific names.

keywords: flower, wild, wildflower, purple, one, single, stem, green, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, park, santa clara county, san jose, california, usa, nature, spring, plant, stock, Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks, bluedicks

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Plants and Rock, Goat Rock

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Plants and Rock, Goat Rock
Plants and Rock, Goat Rock. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 19, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small cluster of spring plants comes to life in a crack in Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Central California.

This is another brief change of pace from the Death Valley photographs. I hike at Castle Rock State Park (the local version – it is a common park name!) quite a bit, especially in the spring at the end of the California rainy season when the new vegetation is starting to emerge. On this day I had gone out to photograph spring foliage, but the light was not quite what I expected – overcast and rather windy rather than the hoped-for sunny spring day.

keywords: new, growth, green, leaves, leaf, stem, plant, brown, nature, rock, lichen, spring, goat rock, castle rock, state, park, california, santa cruz, mountains, usa, color, photo, photography, stock, texture

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki

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Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki

Dry Mud Formations, Death Valley Dunes, Mount Tucki. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry mud formations at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, with Mount Tucki in the distance.

I came across this scene after I had pretty much finished my morning shoot of the dunes and was starting to head back to my car. These formations are found in the lower areas around the dunes – suggesting to me that they may underly a good portion of the dune area. Mount Tucki, in the distance, it a high point that dominates the landscape behind Stovepipe Wells.

keywords: mount, tucki, dry mud, formations, outcropping, desert, death valley, dunes, national park, plants, mountains, sand, sky, clouds, stovepipe, wells, spring, morning, light, stock, landscape, scenic, travel, california, usa

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oak, Sky, and Sun

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Oak, Sky, and Sun
Oak, Sky, and Sun. Calero Hills, California. April 13, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun rises above an oak tree on a grassy ridge in central California.

This is from one of the local oak/grassland areas that I visit regularly – hardly a week goes by when I don’t head over there and hike past this very spot in all seasons and all conditions. On this early spring morning the sun was just above the hillside to my east and the solitary oak was casting a long shadow across the slope of this grassy hill. (There is also a black and white version of this photograph that I like quite a bit.)

keywords: oak, tree, meadow, grass, flowers, hill, ridge, sun, silhouette, blue, sky, plants, spring, morning, grassland, calero, santa clara, county, park, california, usa, scenic, landscape, stock