Local Color

OK, I promise to get you back out to the desert soon. But for today, just some shots of local blooms in the Orange County (CA) area. They are impressive, and won't last long!

Hiking in the local hills, I had figured the yellow wild mustard blooms would be faded and gone. I was wrong. Still going strong. As a matter of fact, they were so abundant they were blocking my hiking path and I had to carefully "bushwhack" my way forward!

It was an overcast day with the threat of light rain. I wasn't expecting much from my photos. Just hoping the sky might open up and reveal some dramatic skies.

But I learned an important lesson on this hike. I don't do much flower photography. Heck, I don't even own a macro lens. But for some reason, grey overcast days seem to bring out the beauty of flowers. Seems counter-intuitive to me. I'm used to thinking about landscape photography and the importance of light and shadows. Best shots are usually early AM or late afternoon, etc., etc. Flat light is the landscape photographer's enemy, but not the case with flowers.

The Prickly Pear cactus were putting on a good show. Many more buds than blooms, so the promise of even better things to come, but the blooms were beautiful.

Every once in a while I would get a peek of blue sky. As you can see, the wild mustard still dominate the landscape.

I think this is Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca)

Hiking along, deep in my own thoughts, you can imagine my surprise when...

This guy zoomed by!! First time I've ever encountered another person while hiking this area, and I certainly didn't expect a mountain biker!

I have no idea what this is. Some old rusty metal something or other!

A beautiful view of the ocean on this somewhat hazy, overcast day. It's 15-20 miles to the water from this spot (as the crow flies). You can see the big tanker ships on their way to Long Beach Harbor. I'm pretty sure that's Catalina Island in the background, which is another 26 miles according to the song. Take a listen, and see if you remember it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dPaeUGrmdA

I almost forgot... as I was starting my hike, I heard sirens from the highway. The sirens seemed to stimulate the howl reflex in the local coyote population. For best results, turn your volume up to maximum.

I guess this is Coyote Hills living up to it's name! The howls were coming from the exact direction I needed to hike in, but I never had even a glimpse of a coyote during the entire hike. I've never seen a coyote on this property, and I've hiked it many times. I'm guessing you only see them when they want you to see them!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

All photos taken with a Canon 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens.
Thanks for stopping by!