With Crater Lake National Park and my time as a Volunteer Ranger in the rearview mirror, it was time to find spring. Far NorCal experienced a wet winter and with more clouds and cooler temperatures, spring was a bit more delayed than some years. I was happy to get out on the warmer days and find plentiful waterfalls and creeks in areas often dry, as well as our early bloomers.
My first hike was on February 24th at Swasey Recreation Area in the Redding foothills.
Nothing says spring quite like buttercups, in this case Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis).
Henderson’s Shooting Stars (Primula hendersonii).
Pacific Hound’s Tongue (Adelinia grande).
Blue Dips (Dipterostemon capitatus).
Tolmie’s Pussy Ears or Star Tulips (Calochortus tolmiei).
Scarlet Fritillary (Fritillaria recurva).
Warrior’s Plume (Pedicularis densiflora).
What’s this? A rare swimming hole?
On February 25th I explored a newish trail in the expanded Mary Lake/Westside Trails area on the outskirts of Redding. It was exceptionally fun as the trails have yet to be marked on my Gaia digital maps. And a big surprise for me, it’s an area without evidence of recent fires. A friend shared photos from last April and this area was filled with wildflower blooms.
Manzanita blooms, bushes and trees dominated the area. The smell was intoxicating . . . in a good way. The bees were buzzing.
The trails and parking areas aren’t signed yet but I found this one to give me something to research, but alas I didn’t find a match.
Someone must have been hungry when naming these trails.
I suspect this may have been an old mining area as it’s not far from known gold mining tailings.
The trails wind in and out of canyons where there was plenty of water and a few bridges.
Checker Lily (Fritillaria affinis).
I found two benches and this picnic table. In the summer these oak trees will provide some nice shade.
With more rain in the forecast, I visited my favorite trail in the Swasey Recreation Area. I like this one because it’s what I call Jan grade with a nice long pull to gain elevation.
Were there’s manzanita there’s poison oak, or at least so it seems.
Milkmaids (Cardamine californica).
One solo lupine decided to be the earliest of early birds.
At the divide, I checked on my friend Smokey who lives in this Carr Fire survivor log.
Speaking of the Carr Fire, in early March I hiked the Mary Lake/Westside trails and visited a recently installed memorial.
It’s hard not to be thankful when you find trees taking back the landscape wiped clean 5+ years earlier.
Oak leaves.
Wintercress?
Baby nightshade.
Redbud.
Finally after eight days of hard rain, accumulating nearly 5 inches, on March 7th I got out for another hike. This time in the Clear Creek Greenway area where the green grasses were accented by the white-topped foothill peaks.
Rusty Popcornflower (Plagiobothrys nothofulvus).
Saxifrage
Neighborhood walks after more rain gave me reason to enjoy tree blossoms.
Over the few weeks I’d been home, my rain gauge collected nearly 8″. When the temperatures warming I found my first blood sucker, a sure sign of spring.
Although the weather had been perfect for hiking, I had to stay focused on getting chores done so I’d be ready for my spring jaunt. This nearby BLM trail provided a perfect distraction. These non-native wild radish blooms stood tall over Upper Salt Creek.
I was hoping to find poppies, well I found a few tiny ones.
The flowers of the day were Shooting Stars and Blue Dips.
I don’t recall seeing or identifying wintercress previously. I guess it signals the transition from winter to spring.
Yellow blooms makes it feel like mother nature welcoming spring.
The creek was alive with plentiful flow.
The McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens were prepping for a lighted lantern display. I enjoyed the whimsical scenes during my walk along the garden paths.
Meanwhile it’s time for some spring jaunting. The March snow storms have added a few limitations but as always there’s plenty of other choices. My buddies want to know when and where we are going. As I told them, patience . . .
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings 
Such wonderful photos of all the pretty flowers!
You know me, all about those blooms! Can’t wait to find more.