Author: Dorothy Nielson

Bachelor Buttons

Like a lot of our wildflowers in this this area, I see these guys blooming in select areas of our county. And this year, because of the drought, they have been rather sparse. Called a Bachelor Button, I sometimes see them in different colors such as pink, purple and white, but primarily they are this striking blue.. The Honey Bee was indeed busy visiting all of the surrounding blooms. During the spring and summer I incorporate a lot of floral photography along with the accompanying insects into my portfolio simply because I love wildflowers and there are so many up here. One of my goals is to identify as many as possible. Mother Nature always provides a wonderful sample of everything available in a particular area. Enjoy your weekend and stay healthy!

Something A Little Different.

While driving by a neighborhood pond this small piece of natural sculpture caught my eye. Thinking I might have found a new variety of flora I stopped to investigate it further. It was almost dark but my camera view showed me something that looked interesting so I too some shots hoping for a non-shaky picture and I was happy with the results. It is a wild wheat grass stalk with what I believe is a feather caught on it. I thought it looked kind of cool. Enjoy your day and stay healthy

Blue Fiesta Flower

This picture is from two years ago after a very wet winter. I found this pretty little bush growing along a creek in the southern part of the county. It caught my eye because of the color and the fact that it was a bit unexpected. One just doesn’t run across a lot of colorful wild flowers in those parts of the county unless there has been a lot o rain.. Wildflower blooming depends on so many variables and rainfall is one, and this year has been extremely dry. So wildflowers have been a bit of a challenge this year! Enjoy your weekend and stay healthy.

Delphinium Wildflower

These are the delicate little blooms of the quite pretty Ranunculacea variety of Delphinium. It appears to be much smaller than it’s dark purple cousin that is more common in our area. Unfortunately both varieties are quite toxic and can be deadly if ingested by livestock such as cattle, sheep, horses and other grazing animals. It grows wild in our county and can be a bane to ranchers. Have a wonderful day and stay healthy.

Dogwood

Every spring I try to get out to take pictures of the Dogwood. This year instead of focusing on Yosemite, I decided to look in some of the areas I have been exploring this past year, the Sierra National Forest. I came across this gorgeous specimen. It was located in a valley that was densely shaded and moist. A couple of ray’s of sunlight managed to break through the canopy and provide the perfect lighting for this young bloom. Dogwoods add beauty to wherever they chose to call home. Have a Wonderful Mother’s Day. Stay happy and healthy.

Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars are one of my favorite plants. They are usually found in abundance at the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada where you will find fields of them after the snow melts. but are uncommon in the foothills. I am not sure if they are two different varieties. When I do see them in this area, it is usually just a couple of plants and chances are they are mixed in with tall grass so are not easily seen. Enjoy and stay healthy and have a wonderful day.

Waiting

This week’s blog assignment is old cars. While waiting for someone to do business with a local wrecking yard I decided to do some exploring and came across this little gem. As someone who has helped in the restoration of project cars and trucks, I could see the potential in this little guy. It is a 1950 (or thereabouts) Chevy. I hope it has since found a home. I finished this with a high contrast/high key look to give it more interest. I hope you are all enjoying this spring weather. Stay healthy.

Foothill Spring

This photo was taken in the lower foothills of Madera County. Always beautiful in the spring with the rolling hills filled with Golden Fiddleneck’s and “popcorn flowers” and small streams gently flowing everywhere. So peaceful and beautiful. Enjoy you day and stay healthy. And work on getting your covid shot. Let’s beat this thing!