Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) at Sage Ranch Park, near Simi Valley, California. From a run earlier this week.

Technorati Tags: symmetry, hummingbird sage

Canyon sunflower (Venegasia carpesioides) tends to grow along cooler sections of chaparral trail. Its rich green leaves and yellow composite flowers are a refreshing sight on a thirsty run.

This canyon sunflower is on a north facing section of the Chumash Trail at an elevation of about 2350 ft. The canyon sunflower population in this area expanded following the 2003 Simi Fire.

On a separate note, it's that time of year again -- at the end of my run this Southern Pacific Rattlesnake was in the street at the Chumash Trailhead on Flanagan Drive in Simi Valley, California.

Related post: Southern Pacific Rattlesnake

Technorati Tags: canyon sunflower, rattlesnake, Simi Valley

Indian warrior's varying tones of carmine contrast sharply with its lush green leaves and create a striking combination of colors when seen along a trail. Surprisingly, it is the green of its leaves that is one of its interesting features.

Recumbent view of goldfields (Lasthenia spp.) on Lasky Mesa in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Related post: Dealing With Drought

This year's surprisingly generous rainfall is already producing an explosion of wildflowers in the Simi Hills and Santa Monica Mountains.

These are Padres' shooting star (Dodecatheon clevelandii ssp. patulum) and ground pink (Linanthus dianthiflorus) at Sage Ranch Park. Both are California natives.

Related post: Shooting Stars

What a fantastic morning! Taking advantage of a break in a series of Southern California rain storms, I was running on Fire Road #30 near the entrance of Topanga State Park. The sun had found its way through a broken layer of clouds, and bright patches of sunlight highlighted the rugged terrain. Down in a steep canyon on my left, wisps of steam wafted from the chaparral.

Following an  "On your left!" a group of mountain bikers swept past. Working up the hill toward the Hub, good morning's were exchanged with other runners, hikers and cyclists.

Many of us live and work in California because of its diverse open spaces, parks and wilderness areas. Incredibly, this popular urban park, along with Will Rogers State Historic Park, Santa Susana SHP, Los Encinos SHP, Mt. San Jacinto SP, and forty-four other California State Parks have been slated for closure in the fiscal year 2008-09 California state budget.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the selection was made according to the dour formula of those parks "that had the fewest visitors, produced the least revenue and would be the easiest to close off to visitors."

This formula necessarily targets less developed parks, such as Topanga State Park, ignoring those intrinsic values that make a park a park. The formula targets walk-in parks, and the hikers, cyclists, riders, and runners that simply enjoy the outdoor experience. The formula targets day use parks in urban areas that don't need campgrounds or additional services. And, the formula targets those with less to spend on recreation.

So is this how we are to appraise the value of our public lands? Closing our state parks would be astonishingly short-sighted. Their varied trails, terrain, and habitats are accessible to millions, providing a therapeutic escape from the rigors of city life, and experiences and insights that can only be gained from the out of doors.

Today I was doing one of my favorite runs in Topanga State Park. It links several trails and visits several popular destinations in the park -- the Hub, Parker Mesa Overlook, Trippet Ranch, Eagle Rock, and the Musch, Garapito and Bent Arrow Trails.

This two minute slide show is a compilation from a few such runs. It is a small selection of photographs from one set of trails, in just one state park. What is the value of a flower gold, or woodland green, or the sight of a deer grazing along a trail? Apparently in the state's point of view -- not much.

Take action now to save our state parks! Go to the California State Parks Foundation's savestateparks.org web site and send a letter to your lawmakers today!

For more information regarding Topanga State Park, see the Campaign To Save Topanga State Park, Topanga Canyon Docents and California State Parks web sites.

Technorati Tags: slide show, California state budget, California State Parks, Topanga State Park

Listed by the California Native Plant Society as being rare, threatened, or endangered, Santa Susana tarweed (Hemizonia minthornii) can be found where sandstone outcrops of the Chatsworth formation occur, such as in the Santa Susana Pass area in the Simi Hills.

This photograph was taken on a run at Sage Ranch on October 1, 2007.

Maybe it's the result of record low rainfall, or the 2005 Topanga Fire, or a combination of the two -- there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of tumbleweed (Salsola tragus) along the dirt roads in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

Like black mustard, and milk thistle, tumbleweed is an invasive plant. According to UC IPM Online tumbleweed is native to southeastern Russia and western Siberia and was first introduced into the United States (South Dakota) in 1873.

The photograph of the tumbleweed flower was taken on a run at Ahmanson Ranch on October 3, 2007.

Some related posts: Dealing With Drought, Milk Thistle Seed Heads, Curly Dock

Showy tarweed (Madia elegans ssp. densifolia) blooming along the Mokelumne River. The seeds of tarweed were an ingredient of pinole -- a food staple of several California native cultures made from ground seeds. The plant's common name refers to the sticky nature of the its foliage.

From a run on Saturday morning.

It's growth exhausted, this dessicated stalk of hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is a relic of Southern California's 2005-2006 rain season. A robust member of the mint family, the flowering stalks typically grow to a height of 1-3 ft., but in this case the full stalk reached about 4 ft. The 2006-2007 rain season was too dry to produce flowering stalks in this area.

From a run at Sage Ranch Park on August 22, 2007.

Related post: Dealing with Drought

A bee forages on Bigelow's sneezeweed (Helenium bigelovii) at Little Jimmy Spring. From Sunday's Islip - Baden-Powell loop.

Mariposa lilies (Calochortus invenustus) blooming through the palmate leaves of a lupine at about 8500 ft., near Sawmill Mountain, west of Mt. Pinos.

According to data from the Consortium of California Herbaria, this species was documented in the Mt. Pinos area as early as 1897.

The wasp-like insect is a hover fly, probably Chrysotoxum festivum.

From Sunday's Mt. Pinos-Mt. Abel Out & Back run.

Related posts: Plummer's Mariposa Lily, Bee Fly On Western Wallflower