From Phoenix to Bon Tempe Lake (Trip)
My 5 month old finally seems big enough to fit in one of those little backpack carrier things that I inherited from my brother. So Jess and I tested it out by hiking from the East entrance to Phoenix Lake (off Crown Road) all the way to and around Lake Lagunitas and back. It was a great success. Naturalizing is a lot easier with the baby up high and in back like that. It was previously hard to bend over and take pictures with her strapped in the front.
My targets for the trip were Viola ocellata and Romanzoffia californica around Lake Lagunitas which I read about in Sharon Salisbury's May 1, 2010 trip report and Calochortus uniflorus in the Lagunitas Meadows I read about in Calen Hall's April 13, 2005 post. I saw all 3 (all new to me) and also Castilleja ambigua growing alongside the Calochortus uniflorus in the meadows.
Other highlights were swarms of Adela septentrionella on a blooming hawthorn and their surrounding ocean spray host plant. I also finally got a good pic of Beaverpond Baskettail - my last encounter with this species was really frustrating because they didn't land at all! My comical highlight from the trip was this little beetle threesome from swarms on a white douglas iris. Anyone know what kind of beetle they are?