As I turned into the Vincent Gap parking lot and pulled to a stop, a few sprinkles of rain dotted my windshield. Opening the car door, I wanted to close it again. It was 7:30 in the morning and the temperature was already nearing 70 degrees. My plan was to do the Islip Saddle - South Fork - Mt. Baden-Powell loop from the Vincent Gap side. The day was really too warm to be doing this route, but with a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast maybe some clouds would help keep temps in check. I'd run at least to Little Jimmy Spring. If it was too hot, I could always head back.

Nine months after the 2005 Topanga Fire, this Valley Oak in the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve continues the slow process of recovery. The clumps of leaves are the result of epicormic sprouting, where new sprouts grow from dormant buds along the branches, or the trunk, of a tree.

If somehow you were to miss the bright yellow of the Lemon Lily amid the greens of a mountain meadow, its arresting fragrance would certainly draw your attention.

A day that begins on a trail winding its way through manzanita and Jeffery pine is probably going to be a good one. You're in the mountains, and most likely starting a hike, run, climb, or some other adventure. In this case, it was the San Gabriel Mountains, and I was on the Pacific Crest Trail, near the start of a 20 mile run that began at Three Points and would circuit Mt. Waterman.

A Chalk Liveforever (Dudleya pulverulenta) at Sage Ranch a few weeks after the 2005 Topanga Fire burned through the area. (Photograph from November 24, 2005.)

The photograph is of peak 8248, the highest point on Pleasant View Ridge, viewed from the saddle northwest of the peak. Located in the San Gabriel Mountains, Pleasant View Ridge extends northwest about 8 miles from  Mt. Williamson to the vicinity of Indian Bill Canyon. The section of Pleasant View Ridge between Mt. Williamson and Burkhart Saddle is commonly done as part of a 13 mile loop from Eagles Roost.

In this case, Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis), Scarlet LarkSpur (Delphinium cardinale), and Indian Pink (Silene laciniata) in the Cheeseboro Canyon area of Southern California.

A crop circle, Simi Valley style, from the Hummingbird Trail.

When the hills and valleys of Southern California turn golden brown, and temperatures reach into the nineties or beyond, mixed in among the desiccated grasses, enjoying the heat and the sun, may be the delicate pink to purple of a Plummer's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus plummerae).

The Plummer's Mariposa is listed by the California Native Plant Society as being rare, threatened, or endangered.

Saddle Peak from BackBone Trail on Bulldog Loop

Was up early, hoping to beat the heat and do a local run. It looked as though thick high clouds would keep temps down for a while, so several good runs were a possibility. After some debate, I decided on an out and back run to Saddle Peak.

I had been running for nearly an hour, and the heat was oppressive. Following an unusually cool Spring, it had been tough to adjust to afternoon temperatures of nearly 100 degrees. The refreshing green hills of Spring had turned a golden brown, and the muddy ruts of a Ranger's truck had been baked to the hardness of concrete. In Las Virgenes Canyon there had still been a little water in the creek, and I poured the cooling liquid over my head and down my back.

Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) is so different from the norm that each encounter is memorable. In a world where most plants are green, its startling red color and unusual structure always make an impact.