Tag Archives: water

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Ferns and Rock

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Ferns and Rock

Ferns and Rock. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ferns and rock along the creek at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I found this mini garden alongside the one of the main trails through the central grove at Muir Woods – it was just on the other side of a low fence and next to the creek. As I walk along an area like this I take my time and try to keep my eye out for small scenes that could easily be overlooked, and the juxtaposition of the brown fern leaf with the very green new growth of ferns, moss, and sorrel caught my eye.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: muir, woods, national, monument, park, marin county, nature, california, usa, winter, ferns, clover, redwood, sorrell, oregon, oxalis, foliage, plant, rock, lichen, moss, green, brown, water, rain, shower, drop, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oregon Oxalis

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Oregon Oxalis

Oregon Oxalis. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bright leaves of Oregon oxalis carpet the forest floor under the redwood trees at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I suppose this might more accurately be titled “More Oregon Oxalis” since I posted similar photograph in landscape orientation earlier. When I make a photograph like this one I often try to get versions in both portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) orientation – partly because I think the subject looks interesting both way and partly for more practical reasons. By the way, I understand that the plant is also known as “redwood sorrell.”

Earlier today someone posted a comment on another of my photographs of this subject and pointed out that the plant also produces very pretty little pink flowers. I think they were just beginning to appear when I shot this – I saw a few of them, and a bud is barely visible near the center of this photo. I may return to Muir Woods soon, and the next time I’ll keep an eye out specifically for the flowers.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: muir, woods, national, monument, park, marin, forest, nature, california, usa, oxalis, oregon, oreganas, redwood, tree, sorrell, bright, leaf, leaves, carpet, floor, marin county, water, drop, rain, dew, morning, foliage, nature, scenic, travel, trail, hike, stock, green, clover

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oregon Oxalis

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Oregon Oxalis, Muir Woods National Monument. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell
Oregon Oxalis, Muir Woods National Monument. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

Oregon Oxalis. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Oregon Oxalis (or Redwood Sorrell) plants in the soft light of a redwood grove at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In many places this intriguing plant covers the forest floor in the heart of Muir Woods National Monument. I’ve always just thought of it as “clover,” but I had this nagging suspicion that it might have a different name. It turns out that it is oxalis oregana, also known as oregon oxalis or redwood sorrell. This patch was located in a rather dark area beneath some large trees, and the water drops were left over from earlier rain. In my mind, this small but lush plant, carpeting the forest floor, represents the rich character of the undergrowth of the redwood forest.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: muir, woods, national, monument, park, marin, forest, nature, california, usa, redwood, sorrell, oregon, oxalis, clover, three, leaf, water, drop, floor, ground, plant, foliage, trail, hike, scenic, travel, stock, green

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Creekside Trail, Central California

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Creekside Trail, Central California

Creekside Trail, Central California. Calero Hills, California. February 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A creekside trail through forest of oak and laurel trees at Calero County Park, California.

After a long – but welcome! – bout of rainy weather here in Central California, last weekend I managed to get out for a hike in my favorite local oak/grassland park. It was a cloudy day with very diffused light, but I decided to do a bit of photography with my new camera – but instead of taking my usual complement of lenses I carried only three primes, at 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. This photograph was made with the 35mm lens and an interesting aspect of the scene for for me was the incredibly rich detail of new growth, old leaves on the forest floor, and the many small branches of trees and brush. (I’m afraid that much of that detail isn’t visible in this small jpg, but there isn’t much to be done about that.)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: calero, hills, park, santa clara, county, public, path, trail, creek, brook, water, reflection, oak, laurel, tree, forest, grove, leaf, trunk, branch, hike, winter, california, usa, nature, landscape, green, new, plants, growth, damp, stock, foliage, vegetation, root