Greetings from my yard to yours 🙂
Baby Desert Cottontail
Chuparosa
Parrys Penstemon
Brittlebush
Goodings Verbena
Desert Marigold
Greetings from my yard to yours 🙂
Baby Desert Cottontail
Chuparosa
Parrys Penstemon
Brittlebush
Goodings Verbena
Desert Marigold
After Combseed, one of the next wildflowers to start showing up is Fillaree (Erodium cicutarium) and they are now out in full force almost everywhere.
Fillaree
I always carry a Canon 500D Close Up Lens for the times when a lens won’t focus close enough. No reduction in exposure time makes it a better choice for a “hand holder” like me. Extension tubes or teleconverters might get me closer but besides losing an f/stop or two in light, you risk getting dust on the sensor because you have to remove the lens to attach them.
Cropped section of image shot using 500D close-up lens.
Finally, here’s an image showing red Fillaree leaves. Someone had asked me if it was a different plant but the red is a result of stress during very cold weather. Once again, I attached the 500D Close Up Lens to get this close.
(Note: the extreme close-ups were cropped from originals)
More of my plants are showing signs of impending bloom. I and hummingbirds are eagerly waiting!
Aloe captured in my yard this morning.
Aloe Bud See? I can shoot other things besides faces 🙂
Tech stuff: Canon 180 Macro lens. ISO 400, 1/125 sec, f/5.6. (I used my dreaded tripod)
Barring a freeze (it CAN still happen), we might just be in for a very good and very early wildflower season! Our weather has been unseasonable warm so along with the above normal amount of rain we’ve had, it might just happen. I’m already seeing flowering plants popping up including Desert Wishbone, Globe Mallow, Golden Eye, Brittlebush and LOTS of other species. So exciting!
Globe Mallow in my yard this morning (Sphaeralcea ambigua)
Globe Mallow’s botanical name includes “ambigua” which means it can be seen in lots of colors. Orange is the main color you’ll see in the Preserve, though. I bought this pink one at a local nursery where you can also find more colors. I planted mine as a seedling last fall and am very excited to see it growing!
I’m hearing reports from all my photographer friends that poppies are showing up everywhere. Even this tiny Pincushion cactus (Mammillaria grahamii) is sporting new growth so Spring has definitely sprung! I’ll be out shooting as soon as I get back.
(no phone or internet for the next 10 days)