Still Patiently Waiting for (More) Spring Wildflowers

California has been in a state of drought for years.  Therefore, the extensive storm fronts and atmospheric rivers that have bombarded the state lately with rain and snow and floods and mud slides have been mostly welcomed.  Collectively, the state is even hoping for a good wildflower season, maybe even a Super Bloom.  Some wildflowers have been spotted up and down the state, but nothing massive is in sight.  Yet.

“And sure enough, even waiting will end. . . if you can wait long enough.” William Faulkner

I’m getting so impatient.

While waiting, I have been visiting Wind Wolves Preserve, a great place only about a 45-minute drive from me.  My first visit this year was in late February.  While the hills were green, the grasses were not filled out yet, and the only color was a little yellow from a few early blossoms. Even without lots of color, it is always a great respite to be out there!

Since that first visit, I have been back on several days, noticing more and more color spreading across the fields.  Snow even became visible on the distant mountains.  Obviously, Spring is coming—and changes in the fields at Wind Wolves Preserve over a couple visits document its arrival. 

18 February 2023

“One of the most delightful things about a garden (or a preserve) is the anticipation it provides.”  W. E. John

“Adopt the pace of Nature. Her secret is patience.”  Emerson

“Only with winter-patience can we bring deep-desired, long-awaited Spring.” Anne Morrow Lindbergh

4 March 2023

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait—it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.” Joyce Meyer

“Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade,” Charles Dickens

“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of Nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”  Rachel Carson

9 March 2023 Driving to the Preserve

9 March 2023 At the Preserve

It was great to see the fiddleneck (yellow) and blue dick (I think) take over the fields. But on this most recent trip, some new flowers were bursting forth as well: Grape Soda Lupine, Douglass Milk Vetch, and one lone Red Clover bloom. I am eager to wander back to Wind Wolves Preserve in a few days!

“I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of Nature.”  Pablo Coehlo

“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming,”  Pablo Neruda