Category Archives: smmc open space

ahmanson ranch, malibu creek state park, nature, photography, running, smmc open space, southern california, trails, upper las virgenes canyon open space preserve, weather, wildflowers, wildflowers

California Fuchsia Along East Las Virgenes Canyon Road

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California fuchsia in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

If the wildflower is red, the season is Fall, and you are in Southern California, the flower is probably California fuchsia. You might also find there is a hummingbird feeding on the “hummingbird trumpets,” or hovering nearby, watching over its flowers.

California fuchsia along Bulldog Mtwy fire road in Malibu Creek State Park.
California fuchsia along Bulldog Mtwy fire road in Malibu Creek State Park.

As a result of the wet 2018-19 rain season, and somewhat cooler than normal summer, California fuchsia is especially abundant this Fall, with some exceptional displays along local trails.

I’ve added California fuchsia, and a few other flowers that are blooming this Fall, to my Weekday Wildflowers slideshow. These are wildflowers photographed this year on weekday runs from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Some related posts: More Weekday WIldflowers, Weekday Wildflowers

ahmanson ranch, nature, photography, smmc open space, trails, upper las virgenes canyon open space preserve, wildflowers, wildflowers

Rogue Weekday Wildflowers

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Non-native black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch)
Black-eyed Susan

The most recent additions to my Weekday Wildflowers photo album include two non-native wildflowers seldom seen at Ahmanson Ranch — black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus).

Bachelor's button (Centaurea cyanus), found along East Las Virgenes Creek. July 9, 2019.
Bachelor’s button

Both were found along the Lasky Mesa Trail near the dry streambed of East Las Virgenes Creek. They likely escaped cultivation or were part of a seed mix scattered in the area.

Weekday wildflowers are flowers I’ve encountered during 2019 on weekday runs from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

Some related posts: More Weekday Wildflowers, Weekday Wildflowers

ahmanson ranch, drought, landscape, nature, photography, running, smmc open space, southern california, trails, upper las virgenes canyon open space preserve, weather, weather, wildfire

Upper Las Virgenes Creek Still Flowing in Mid-July

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Upper Las Virgenes Creek, July 17, 2019.

Following our five year drought, Downtown Los Angeles and many neighboring areas recorded above-average rainfall in two of the last three rain years. This has had obvious and observable effects on the area’s plants and animals and aided in the ongoing recovery of habitats affected by drought and wildfire.

This is the first time since the Summer of 2011 that there has been flowing water in upper Las Virgenes Creek in mid-July at the crossing near the Cheeseboro connector. It’s just a trickle, but keep in mind that during some of the drought years, this section of upper Las Virgenes Creek never flowed.

Update November 19, 2019. Increased surface water and pooling in Upper Las Virgenes Creek. See the post Running Into Fall.

Update August 28, 2019.  The surface flow of Upper Las Virgenes Creek near the Cheeseboro connector is down to a bare trickle and some small pools.

Update August 7, 2019. Upper Las Virgenes Creek is still trickling.

Notes: In rain year 2016-17 Downtown Los Angeles (USC) recorded 19.00 inches of rain from July 1 to June 30, and in 2018-19, 18.82 inches. During the intervening rain year, 2017-18, only 4.79 inches was recorded.

ahmanson ranch, nature, photography, running, smmc open space, trails, upper las virgenes canyon open space preserve, wildflowers, wildflowers

Humboldt Lilies in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

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Humboldt Lilies in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch) on June 19, 2019.

Although I’d photographed them here before, it is still a bit startling to find Humboldt lilies on a hot, dry, dusty run in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, aka Ahmanson Ranch. The vibrant orange blossoms stand out against the mix of muted greens, grays and straw-yellows of the oak woodland and chaparral and are hard to miss.

The Humboldt lily and a few other wildflowers have been added to my Weekday Wildflowers slideshow. These are wildflowers photographed on weekday runs from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Related posts: More Weekday Wildflowers, Weekday Wildflowers

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Lasky Mesa: Dark Clouds and Sun

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Dark Clouds and Sun. Photography by Gary Valle'.

From a run this May in Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch).

Normal rainfall for May at Downtown Los Angeles (USC) is 0.26 inch. This year Los Angeles recorded 0.81 inch in May, according to the NWS .

It was definitely wet and cool! Nineteen days were partly cloudy to cloudy. Ten days recorded at least a trace of rain. The average high was 70 degrees.

Oddly, during our recent drought, above normal May rainfall totals were recorded in 2011 (0.45 inch), 2013 (0.71 inch), and 2015 (0.93 inch). The most rainfall recorded in May at Los Angeles was 3.57 inches in 1921.

adventures, ahmanson ranch, insects, nature, photography, running, smmc open space, trails, upper las virgenes canyon open space preserve, wildlife

Tarantula Hawk with a Tarantula

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Tarantula hawk with a paralyzed tarantula.
Tarantula hawk wasp drags her hapless prey to her burrow.

I was running down a narrow trail at Ahmanson Ranch, concentrating on the irregular terrain, when I suddenly found myself jumping over something on the trail. As my consciousness caught up, it asked,

“Was that a tarantula?”

“What tarantula has a stripe of orange on its back?”

Landing, I stopped and looked back up the trail. Totally unperturbed, a female tarantula hawk wasp, its bright orange wings gleaming in the sun, was diligently working to move its paralyzed prey to a nearby burrow.

The quintessential elements of a nightmare, I watched as the large wasp assessed the huge spider. I could hear the question as she turned away from the spider, and then reading the ground with her feet and antennae, determined if she could drag the beast uphill over a small bump. Then, question answered, she proceeded to do so.

Here’s a 30 second video of the tarantula hawk with the tarantula.

Related post: Tarantula Hawk, Sting of the Tarantula Hawk, September and October are Tarantula Months