Chaparral Wisdom
To celebrate the magic and beauty of Nature & the chaparral
Native California Superblooms!
The best time to experience massive displays of California’s native wildflowers is between late February and early April. Every once and awhile, when the right combination of rain and temperature occurs, our wildflower populations experience what is colorfully called a superbloom!
You can check for local conditions here.
Between Feb 29 – March 1, 2016, we were lucky enough to explore the wonderful Death Valley Superbloom.
Here’s the route we took for our three day trip:
1. Drive to Lone Pine and spend the night at a comfy motel.
2. Get up pre-dawn, run outside and catch the morning light hitting the eastern Sierra Nevada.
3. Drive to Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley and snag a camp spot EARLY (all the motels in the valley will likely be booked).
4. Drive south toward Badwater. The best yellow Desert Sunflower explosions are often past Badwater. The best area we found on our trip was about 10 miles south.
5. Keep driving to Ashford Junction. About a couple miles before the Junction, the Sand Verbenas will likely be in wild display.
6. Drive back to Stovepipe Wells. Go to the bar and enjoy yourself.
7. Next morning head north toward Scotty’s Castle. Stop from time to time whether or not you see flowers from the car. There is a whole new set of species that you will have seen on your trip to Badwater.
8. Come back here and share some of your photos!
Enjoy some of our photos from the 2016 Death Valley Superbloom below.
The Range of Light in the morning from Lone Pine.
Death Valley Phacelia (Phacelia vallis-mortae).
Desert Chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana).
An Appeal to California’s Fire Agencies
Emphasizing home flammability and the value of nature can save more homes during wildfires and help create healthier communities
Local, state, and federal fire agencies are urged to expand their approach to reduce loss of life and property to wildfires. Currently, the primary, and sometimes the only message citizens hear is to clear native vegetation (“fuel”) from around their homes. While creating defensible space is a critical component of fire risk reduction, it fails to address the main reason homes burn – embers landing on flammable materials in, on, or around the home, igniting the most dangerous concentration of fuel available, the house itself.
In addition, by designating native habitat as merely “fuel,” citizens are encouraged to see nature as something dangerous rather than a valuable part of their local community. Intact natural habitat provides vital ecosystem services that are necessary to maintain the health and well-being of surrounding human communities.
Fire risk reduction efforts must emphasize BOTH how to reduce home flammability and how to create defensible space without demonizing nature. Many homeowners have complied with defensible space regulations only to see their homes burn in a wildfire.
Read MoreDinosaur Flatulence and Coffee?
The climate of the early Mesozoic – It’s coming right back at ya through your car’s tail pipe and your power plant’s smokestack. That’s why we are returning to a climate that’s overall going to be a lot warmer.
How? Here are the facts:
1. When adding a large amount of a substance to a semi-closed system such as the earth’s atmosphere, there will be an impact, just like adding a lot of sugar to your coffee.