The Inspiration for Floralore...
"A scientific interest in at least certain features of our natural environment, as for example the trees, shrubs or herbaceous plants, directs one to useful and agreeable intellectual activity. Accurate and detailed knowledge of even a small area lifts the possessor out of the commonplace and enables him directly or indirectly to contribute to the well-being and happiness of his community."
— Willis Jepson, Trees of California, 1921
Thoughts on Enjoying Nature on a Tight Budget...
The high price of gas might put you into a "stay home" frame of mind, but you need to get outdoors. You need to enjoy some time chasing flowers, or butterflies, or birds. Carson Pass is only about an hour's drive away, and that is about as far as you need to travel to have a marvelous day outdoors. I myself have been having a great time simply driving up Iron Mountain Road. I find plenty to look at and I enjoy the cooler environment for several hours, then it's back home to work with my photos.
I will be aiming for trips to Carson Pass for sure, and that alone will serve me well for a summer of affordable fun. In fact I will no doubt be inspired on many trips to spend at least one night of camping, getting two day hikes for each trip, with an added bonus of a sunset and sunrise photo opportunity; Round Top here I come.
If you want to stay even closer to home ('home' is assumed to be Placerville) you can get plenty of practice doing ID work on plants, grasses, and butterflies along Iron Mountain Road. In fact last year I collected a dry grass from a roadside stop that keyed out to an invasive not yet listed in the Eldorado Nat'l Forest list (Elytrigia repens)! I'm no expert, but since even the USFS botanist agreed that it looked like the right ID, now it will be good to go back and check the grasses while they are green.
And of course there are many places that are close enough to zip out for a look-see, maybe watch butterflies and extend your awareness of things related to native plants! While they are still green, check out Pine Hill and Traverse Creek. And when the snow melts a bit more, Wrights Lake offers a nice hiking experience with a great array of typical Sierra plants.
Personally, I'd still see that at least one or two "exotic" trips would be worth the price of a tank of gas. Mt. Shasta or Point Reyes would be special. But if you choose to stick around within 25 miles, there is obviously a lot of variety to enjoy around the Ice House area and Bassi Falls.
Check out this stunning book: Laws Field Guide to Sierra Nevada
Without hesitation, I suggest this book could be the only book many people will need to learn about the flora and fauna of the Sierra Nevada! Not only does it cover everything: fungus and lichens, butterflies, moths, insects, birds, fish and mammals, but it even ends with plates of the night sky for each season!
If you want just one book to carry in a daypack, this is the one. It isn't a full guide to flowers, but it has illustrations and interesting details about a long list of the flowers you are most likely to find around our central Sierra. As for bugs and birds? If I'd had this book last year I would have identified the Spotted Sandpiper that I had never seen before.
Add butterflies to your list of fun things to look for! Anyone who loves to explore and photograph flowers should take a closer look at butterflies. I have to wonder why I never paid much attention to them, accepting that they made photos of flowers more interesting; I’ve been cheating myself by not wanting to know what I was seeing. Now that's changed; last year I started to collect photos and learning to ID them. I'm hooked. I already know that this season is going to be mainly about the butterflies, with flowers as the supporting cast.
It should be easy to add to my butterfly list; there are only 132 butterfly species flying around El Dorado County, and just 236 species in the whole state! I started late in the season last year (August) and still found about 30 species*. It is at least equally as much fun to find, then identify these wonderful additions to one's Nature wanderings.
I highly recommend the book Butterflies through Binoculars which is loaded with excellent photographs of the bugs we will see in this part of the world. While the Laws Field Guide does in fact have 10 pages of great butterfly illustrations, you will likely find that you will need to take photos and then compare them later. Sure, many butterflies can be identified in the field, but when you start looking at fritillaries you will see the need for a good photo for comparison.
I'm loving my new Pentax Papilio 8.5x21 Binoculars which focus down to 18 inches. These things are amazing! Like having a microscope to view the close-up world, butterflies, birds, and even flowers are more fun with these. If you enjoy viewing birds through binoculars, you can't imagine how truly spectacular it is to view a butterfly from five feet away and see the details as no photo will reveal. If you think these are an expensive luxury, imagine the long-term pleasure you will have with these along. Spent the money.
Some Nature Goals for 2008
No. 1: Get the pictures I want! Looking over my photos from the last few years of flower finding, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. Not disappointed in the flowers, instead I'm wishing that I hadn't been willing to go so long with little digital point-and-shoot cameras. I have some really good shots from the early days with a Nikon Coolpix, but then I "stepped up" to a Canon S2 and actually the photos were never as good. Last year I bit the bullet and bought a Nikon D80, a true SLR, and that is getting me closer to my dream. And now I have Nikon's 18-200mm VR lens as my "standard" lens. I see some great places; I find some pretty cool flowers; now it's time to come back with better quality photos.
No. 3: I spend a lot of field time at Carson Pass and I think the view of Round Top is about my favorite view in this area. Last year I wanted to do a photo essay to show off this mountain, but the lack of snow, coupled with difficulty getting there for the best photo opportunities, left me waiting. This year I hope to accomplish my vision.
The intent of Floralore.com is to encourage you to be curious, to observe Nature, and to grow in your understanding of the Nature that surrounds us, from the home garden to the forests, and even to the dinner table! Take a look at some produce items in the grocery store and see how they relate to the plants you find around here.
Welcome to Floralore.com
What is Floralore all about? There are many interesting spects of El Dorado County and the Eldorado National Forest. To get an overview of what the site contains, visit the next page...
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