Yesterday afternoon, Debbie and I took a drive up to one of our favorite local spots: Hardware Ranch and the road to Ant Flats. Debbie felt ready to try an outing, and while it made her knee a bit sore (with the bouncing), she pronounced it well worth it.
We saw a few wildflowers along the way (below). The first one we're familiar with from San Diego, but I don't know it's name. The second is a particularly nice Indian Paintbrush. The third is unfamiliar to me, and is interestingly weird. First, the flower's aroma resembles skunk cabbage – most unexpected! Second, the stem is hairy and fairly tacky – but doesn't leave your fingers sticky. It grows in low-lying, wet areas, usually in bunches of wild onions.
Even better than the wildlife, though, was the birding! We had beautiful close-up views of a cedar waxwing, a banded kingfisher, and (we think) a juvenile black-headed grosbeak.
