Early Dormancy
Blue oak (Quercus douglassii) are native to the hot, dry slopes of California’s interior valleys. They survive drought through a series of mechanisms, including the blue, waxy layer atop their leaves which helps reduce water loss in summer.
They need very little water. Blue oak will survive on 15 – 30″ of rain a year. Too much water is what kills them. Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories lists excessive watering as the leading killer of established Blue oak in the landscape.
In a normal year, Blue oak leaves turn golden yellow and pastel pink and orange during fall. However, in hot, dry years like this one, leaves achieve early dormancy, turn color suddenly and drop. That’s happening this week in the Sierra foothills where suddenly Blue oak are near peak.
- Blue Oak, Sierra Foothills (Near Peak – 50-7%) GO NOW!
Best Outdoor Medium
Californiafallcolor.com was chosen as Medium of the Year within the Outdoor Writers Association of California’s 2021 Excellence in Craft Awards.
The site also swept the contest’s Digital Platform category for its photographic essays including 1st Place Siskiyou Sonata and 3rd Place Davis Dessert by Philip Reedy. And the above image was awarded a 2nd Place in the Action Image category.
OWAC is California’s largest association of professional outdoor journalists.
Bird Feeding is Back
It’s OK again to put out bird feeders, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reports.
An outbreak of Salmonellosis appears to be subsiding in most parts of the state and it’s now relatively safe to resume feeding wild birds again, with the precaution to watch for sick or dead birds at feeders.
Should that be observed, pull down feeders for a few weeks longer. Regardless, bird feeders and bird baths should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week; more often, if there is heavy use by birds. Additionally, disposable gloves should be worn and hands thoroughly washed after handling of bird feeders and bird baths, and when disposing of dead birds.
For more information, CLICK HERE.
We’re Number One!
In losing trees, that is.
According to a study done by LawnStarter, California leads the nation in deforestation.
LawnStarter compared the 50 states and District of Columbia across eight key metrics and over four time periods to determine where tree cover has shrunk most. They found that California led significantly over second-place Oregon in overall ranking, one-year, five-year and ten-year rankings.
Our ignominious accomplishment was described by LawnStarter in this way: “California not only ranked No. 1 overall among the States That Lost the Most Tree Cover, but it also swept every single metric.”
Now, don’t start cheering. Fire was described as a leading cause of tree loss in 2020, resulting from our worst wildfire season ever, “destroying some of its oldest green giants: redwoods, sequoias (sic.) and Joshua trees. California wildfires ravaged over 4 million acres – an area bigger than Connecticut – accounting for 40% of the total acres burned across the U.S.
“California lost more tree canopy than any other state in every time period we logged, mostly due to wildfires but also to drought and pests.” LawnStarter’s press announcement reported.
Why this matters is that the world is losing trees fast. The U.S. is no different. “Between 2009 and 2014, U.S. cities and rural communities collectively lost 36 million trees, per year.” LawnStarter translates that to the equivalent of saving “$96 million annually by lowering our energy bills, cleaning the air and capturing harmful carbon that contributes to climate change.”
Sadly, 2020 may not be California’s record year for wildfire. It could well be in front of us, as this is a drought year with barren reservoirs and high levels of evaporation already recorded.
Being number one in this category is an achievement we ought not celebrate.
Photo credit: B Street, Arcata (12/5/20) Michelle Pontoni
All Things Super
On the morning following the Super Pink Moon (so named after the herb Floss pink, also called Creeping phlox, which native people identified as blooming during the May super moon), Steve Arita rose early and sent these dawn images of a superbloom of native Lupine near Rattlesnake Bar at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area.
Lupine superbloom, Rattlesnake Bar, Folsom Lake SRA (4/27/21) Steve Arita 
Lupine superbloom, Rattlesnake Bar, Folsom Lake SRA (4/27/21) Steve Arita 
Lupine superbloom, Rattlesnake Bar, Folsom Lake SRA (4/27/21) Steve Arita
Another bloom is found at Beek’s Bight (below), also within Folsom Lake SRA in Granite Bay, and it’s getting a lot of traffic. Many of those visiting the area took portraits, as I did of Joan when we visited the following morning. But follow these words of advice: please stay on established trails and paths. There’s plenty of trampled space on which to take a photograph without creating more.
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Joan Poimiroo (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Scotch broom and winter vetch, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo 
Lupine superbloom, Beek’s Bight, Folsom Lake SRA (4/28/21) John Poimiroo
Steve’s and my submissions followed a communication from Southern California color spotter Julie Kirby who bemoaned the lack of poppies along the Central Coast (Cayucos, Atascadero and Morro Bay). She had inquired at the Cambria Nursery as to where she might find the area’s legendary, knee-high displays of spring color and was told not much color has appeared, so far.
She then opined whether fire abatement, flood damage and highway maintenance efforts were the culprit and sent this live cam link to the Antelope Valley State Poppy Reserve near Lancaster which shows barren hills. So, Julie was left to appreciate the splashes of exotic yellow mustard that Spanish friars sowed as they trod the El Camino Real in the 1700s. Somehow, the exotics seem to show each year, despite fire, flood or human excavation.
CaliforniaFallColor.com is about autumn color, so we don’t post spring, summer or winter color too regularly, but to satisfy those with a need to see such beauty, file your photos and we’ll post them. There’s also a California Wildflower group on Facebook, where you can see and post California wildflowers during their nine-month bloom.
In the meantime, enjoy the superbloom at Folsom Lake.
2020 in a Second
Fascinating Frozen Facts
In winter, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports, when other trees are dormant, quaking aspen are energy producers. That’s because they “continue to photosynthesize in their greenish-tinged bark, even after their leaves have dropped.”
It is this living bark layer, which contains chlorophyll and can carry out photosynthesis, that makes the aspen so remarkable a winter survivor.
The USFWS continues in its Kenai NWR “Refuge Notebook,” that quaking aspen are well-adapted to the cold. They survive at higher altitudes by staying small. It’s a response to their tolerance for cold and a lack of moisture at higher elevations. Because of this, aspen are often stunted near tree line, but fully grown several hundred feet lower.
Even their root structure is designed for survival, as the aspen’s fibrous sprouts and suckers are “a handy adaptation in marginal climates,” the USFWS explains. The propagation of aspen clones from one massive root network is why aspen tend to all change color at the same time in fall or leaf out together in spring.
Additionally, in summer, it is the shape and thinness of the aspen leaf that allows it to quake (flutter) in the slightest breeze. Its flexible stem prevents wind damage or stripping and may also “improve the photosynthetic rate,” USFWS vegetation ecologist Elizabeth Bella writes.
Who knew that the quaking aspen would be as fascinating when frozen, as it is lovely during autumn?
Azusa Splash
Steve Shinn was exploring the San Gabriel River this past week when to his surprise a splash of remnant peak color brightened the stream above Azusa. He returned to Long Beach finding Anna’s hummingbirds also brightening his yard.
- San Gabriel River – Past Peak, You Missed It.
A Dry Spell For Mycophiles
While most Californians are enjoying this winter’s warm, sunny days, mycophile Gabriel Leete is out wandering the woods in disappointment as he dejectedly walks past the ink caps of Coprinopsis picacea, commonly called the Magpie Mushroom in Anderson. Normally, a wet winter causes all sorts of mushrooms to push up. So far, it’s been “fairly slow.”
Few mushrooms at lower elevations have appeared, and at higher elevations, freezing temperatures have retarded their development.
In his wanderings, Gabriel found a large colony of Leratiomyces ceres commonly known as the Redlead Roundhead pushing up from shredded bark.
Gabriel sent images of Parasola conopilus (formerly called Psathyrella conopilus) and made the point that they soon will be known as Parasola conopilea.
It seems the mushroom was misidentified as a Psathyrella species, when under the microscope mycologists found it to be a Parasola. Then, an error in Latin agreement got the second half of its name corrected from conopilus to conopilea.
That seems too great an amount of attention and revelation for so common a brown mushroom. Parasola conopilea number from the hundreds to the thousands when they are flourishing. Unfortunately, such scenes are infrequent in this dry winter.
Happy New Year!
Sometimes, the best Christmas presents arrive late. Mark Hanning-Lee waited until the new year to send these shots, taken at Joshua Tree National Park on the Christmas weekend.
The Deserts is the last of California’s regions to peak and then, you have to know where the few winter deciduous trees can be seen. Hanning-Lee found peak Frémont cottonwood at Cottonwood Springs a short distance from the parking lot, scoring a first report for Joshua Tree NP. Before leaving for Joshua Tree, Mark watched the moon rise over an ornamental pear in Irvine.
Frémont cottonwood, Cottonwood Springs, Joshua Tree NP (12/26/20) Mark Hanning-Lee 
Flowering pear, Irvine (12/25/20) Mark Hanning-Lee
- The Deserts – Past Peak, You Missed It.