I was really shocked at the change since my last visit to the Reserve – the grasses have taken over and the poppies are going to fruit and seedpods.  It seems like it took them a lot of time to start with the blooms and now they are in a hurry to get the seeds produced.  The grasses were so tall on the Kitanemuk trail that I had a bit of trouble finding the forget-me-nots.  There were still blooms but if I didn’t know where to look I would have probably walked past them and not seen them.  The phacelia is done for the most part at the top, as is the fiddleneck.  The California buckwheat is starting to bloom, as is the rattlesnake weed.  Did see lizards, the iridescent green blister beetle on a few poppies, darkling beetles and the soft winged beetle in a few poppies.  

There are still carpets of goldfields but they are now no longer the bright yellow but the gold color.  They are loosing their petals and forming the cone of seeds.  In past years there have been nice areas of poppies on the south side of the reserve, but there are very few poppies there this year.

As one walks the trails at the Reserve the predominant plant is cheat grass and brome.  These along with some years of a lot of Turkey mullein, fiddleneck, and red-stemmed buckwheat are crowding out the poppies and other wild flowers. 

The Jimson weed by the stairs by the parking lot is up to 15 cm and there were 45 leaves.  The filaree is still blooming but it is going to seed.  There are still some fiddleneck in bloom, the locoweed are starting to bloom, the pygmy-leaf lupine is doing well this year and still has blooms but I am beginning to see the seed pods forming.  

The beavertail cactus to the east of the Visitor Center are getting flower buds as are the pads on the cactus to the west side.  

North Loop Trail - The silver puffs have gone to the puff stage but there are still some that have buds.  There have been reports of tidy tips on the Reserve this year and I did observe one plant.  Did see some slender keel fruit and blue Dick in bloom.  There were a few forget-me-not (both the western and the tiny) in bloom.  There were still some sun cups in bloom – this year I observed both the Mojave and Desert Suncups on this trail.  There were still a few evening snow.  There were just a few cream cups, nothing like last year.

In the wash by the bridge, the Baltic rush is still green and a good stand of small fringe pod.  In this area I observed clover, owl’s clover, fringed onion, and desert parsley.  The poppies on this trail are loosing their petals and going to the seedpod stage.  A few of these poppies are turning yellow around the outer edge of the petals. The rubber rabbit brush in this area has come back nicely. 

Plot #5

The old road going up to the water well still has some goldfields, blue Dick, and poppies.  I did not see any of the bindweed growing this year.  The pygmy-leaf lupine still has blooms and going to seed.  The path that I take down to the plot is covered with goldfields, looks like a yellow brick road.

The silver puffs are still in the bud stage and have not opened up.  There are a few of the evening snow, the pygmy-leaf lupine is blooming and some are going to seed, there are a few poppies blooming.  There are still a lot of goldfields in the plot and a few still have the petals but most of them have lost the petals and are going to the cone seedpod stage.  The poppies in the plot that did not have pick numbers are tiny in size, are loosing their petals and not one of them has gone to the seedpod stage as yet.  Of course, there is cheat grass and these plants are taller than any other plant in the plot.

OBSERVATIONS:

The soft winged beetle was inside the poppy blossoms.  There are aphids (with and without wings).
The green iridescent blister beetles were on poppies and walking on the trails.
Obnoxious horse-type flies are out.
There were a few horned larks
Did not see or hear the meadowlark or even any ravens.

I decided to go on to Ripley and as you pass the Healy Ranch the fields with the perennial poppies were making a nice showing.  This is at 170th Street West and they continued on to about 185th Street West.


Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park

When I arrived at Ripley there were three cars parked in front.  At the entrance I observed the tiny forget-me-not, Chia was starting to bloom, there were sun cups, tidy tips.  There were a lot of comet blazing stars and the linear-leaf Goldenbush was starting to get its yellow flowers.  There was also some blue Dick in bloom and pygmy-leaf lupine.  The blue sage was in bloom and there were a few goldfields.  I spotted one rock cress in bloom.  The beavertail cacti that are surviving are starting to get the flower buds.  The elderberry tree is full of leaves and starting to have flowers blooming.  The buckwheat here doesn’t have any flowers as yet.  I am noticing this year that there are very few blossoms on the Joshua trees and there are no berries on the Junipers.  The wildflowers were blooming all along the trail – NOW is the time to see Ripley.  

I drove back the to 170th Street West and the back side of the Poppy Reserve still has fields of goldfields and they are turning the gold color.  I looked at the area at 170th Street West and Avenue F as there was a nice stand of desert dandelion there last year – very few this year.  The area at 135th to 140th Street West still had goldfields, some poppies and desert dandelions.