wildflowers | Cabin Art

Week of Wildflowers – Blue

Blue includes purplish blue, and perhaps bluish purple. Some of these you may have seen previously on the blog, because blue flowers are my favorite.

My favorite penstemon – this only appears as “Foothill Penstemon” in my four books, but that can’t be true at 7000-9000′.

Fivespot, still in bloom if you climb toward Timber Gap (last week, anyway!)

Nightshade – don’t know the particular variety

Okay, all the Ls line up here:

May I remind you again how much I adore this penstemon?

A variety of Bro-dee-uh (spelled brodiaea or some such reckless combo of vowels)

These are butterflies, not flowers. Why aren’t they called “flutterbys”?

These aren’t in Mineral King but are along the road at about 5000 feet (near the Wolverton gate/helipad). I include them here in case someone knows what these are. They do not exist in any of my books (or my neighbors’ books either.)

Reddish is a more accurate term for today’s Mineral King wildflowers. I am including orange and pinkish flowers too. Someone pointed out to me once that red is very uncommon in nature. It is used for accents rather than in large amounts.

Here are some oranges:

Much brighter orange in person than this anemic photo – I never noticed it before this year and have no idea what its name is.

Western Wallflower is a tricky one – sometimes it is orange, sometimes it is yellow.

This is a lichen, not a flower. The color was irresistible! (It might be a little smaller than a quarter, in case you were thinking of pouring some Cap’n Crunch into it.)

Now, reds.

Penstemon, Goldenbeard penstemon, or California fuchsia? Beats me, it is striking. (You know you want to laugh at that. . .)

Pinks are sort of red, red plus white. They certainly don’t belong with white, blue, or yellow.

Another penstemon, called “Pride of the Mountains”

Heather or Laurel? I’m going with Red Heather (ignore the phlox in the background – they already had their turn.)

I don’t know this delicate little pinkish thing that resembles manzanita but is very low to the ground.

Have I ever seen this before? It seems to be everywhere this year. I think it will turn into a berry.

Shooting Star – often more purplish than pinkish, sometimes named “Jeffrey”

Pussy-paws. They have never been so tall!

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Week of Wildflowers – Yellow

As I was thinking about a week of wildflowers (Mineral King wildflowers, specifically), it occurred to me that all the flowers can be categorized with the same colors I use for painting – white, yellow, blues and reds. (orange, pink, and purple pose a bit of a challenge – just work with me here. . .)

Here are eight yellow wildflowers I found recently in Mineral King:

Cinquefoil? Not shiny, so I don’t think it is cinquefoil. Yellow flowers and I don’t really understand one another very well.

Sulphur flower – this is new to me this year. Probably just blew past it in all the previous years.

Meadow Hosakia is also new to me this year. It’s been right there in my favorite book all along, but I disregarded it.

Monkey flower, actually “seepspring monkey flower”.

Western Wallflower (who comes up with these names??)

Dandelions qualify as wildflowers in Mineral King; what you do with them in your own yard is your own business.

I don’t know – another ubiquitous tiny yellow flower

Why is a yellow flower named “Violet”? (I just work here, but inquiring minds need to know.)

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Week of Wildflowers – White

I’m able to spend lots of time in Mineral King this month. While hiking, I think. Sometimes I think about the blog, and the idea of a week of wildflowers came to me. Today, white! I’m doing my best to look at white flowers and learn some new names. Several blog readers have told me that they love white flowers, so out of respect for you, I will try to stop ignoring them. Here are 17 for you to enjoy: (there are more than 17 out there along the trails but I probably ignored them.)

Not sure – sort of looks like Pennyroyal, but I forgot to scratch and sniff

I don’t know and can’t find in any of my 4 books!

Morning glory (not the kind that plagues the farmers down the hill)

Knotweed? Sort of looks like it, but not exactly and wasn’t growing in a wet area.

Mariposa Lily (pay no attention to the tiny yellows here)

Don’t know and can’t find – it is exactly the sort of white flower that I usually just pass by as if it is just another grass or leaf.

These might be Baby’s Breath. Who knew they existed outside of florists’ shops?

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Wildflower Quest and Thoughts on Naming Flowers

Every summer in Mineral King, Trail Guy goes on a quest for Leopard Lilies. They have a fabulous fragrance, and often we smell them before we see them.

Mineral King wildflowers are usually at their peak during the first couple of weeks in July. This year they are particularly profuse.

Groundsel is common. It is a little boring, except when there are great masses of it together. It always looks slightly worn out.

Penstemmon comes in many colors and styles. This might be called “golden beard”. I wasn’t asked, but if I had been, I would call this one “lipstick”.

No flowers here, but I can’t pass over this bridge without photographing the classic scene.

“Wild geranium” makes no sense as a name, unless you know that what we call “geranium” at home is actually pelargonium, and true geraniums look more like this. Someone is jerking us around in this naming busines.

Wild asters usually don’t appear until late August. They are more lavender than they appear in this photo.

The larkspur were thick and bright, but my little PHD (press here, Dummy) camera wouldn’t focus on them. Where else will you see purple and yellow together and not think it is a little obnoxious?

We (ahem – Trail Guy) always find artifacts in Mineral King, a place very rich in cultural history. This is part of an old stove. Apparently, people in the olden days thought nothing of walking away from their stuff. Don’t know about you, but I’ve never removed a stove part, much less left it lying around. Maybe these folks would have been Lawn Parkers if they were in a more modern era.

Rein orchis is a weird weird name. “Orchis” not “orchid”. “Rein” not “rain”. You just can’t make this stuff up, unless you are an Official Flower Namer. They get to do whatever they want. I used to think grown-ups got to do whatever they wanted, but maybe not, unless they are Flower Namers.

Somewhere in there is a Leopard Lily. We spotted it!

This is a boring photo. In real life it was sparkly white flowers and a few bright purplish-pink wild onions.

More sparkly white “knot weed”, which looks like a Nothing Burger in this photo. Guess you had to be there.

This unnamed and unknown (to me) flower is thick along the Mineral King Road, maybe around 5000′. This was one of the first times I found it near a turnout, when no one else was around so I could really appreciate it. Besides, it wasn’t 100 degrees out, so I didn’t mind stopping.

Look how thick this is here! Anyone know the name of this? How about “roadside blue”? I want to be a Flower Namer!

Mineral King wildflowers

Better Living Through Mineral King

Run run run run run-away. Book problem not resolved, Mineral King as a prescription to anxiety – works for me! (temporarily, because then I have to come home again, but I’ll just think about that tomorrow!)

Swamp Onion and Corn Lily (AKA “skunk cabbage” because it resembles the plant by that name that grows on the right coast)

Lupine

Penstemmon, the kind that doesn’t show up in any of my wildflower books

Explorer’s Gentian, my favorite!

Manzanita – both beautiful in color and texture, but ever so slightly grotesque in form

Sierra Gentian, more colorful in person but still not the awesome color of the Explorer’s Gentian

Goldenrod doesn’t usually appear until August, but this year it showed up in June!

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Hiking In Mineral King (Trail Guy, Not the California Artist)

Trail Guy, AKA The Retiree, does a tremendous amount of hiking in Mineral King while I’m in Three Rivers trapped on the phone with AT&T because my email doesn’t work. But I’m not bitter. I enjoy his photos, and then you get to enjoy them. These will mostly be without comments. All you need to know is that they were all taken along Mineral King trails (and in between, because Trail Guy don’t need no stinkin’ trails!)

This is our dear friend Steven who walks 12 miles a day and gets paid for it. These trails were no problem for this guy!

This is a Pika, pronounced “PEE-ka”.

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A Wildflower Walk in Mineral King

Happy Independence Day Eve!

Normally I post about Mineral King on Fridays, but this week I will be silent on Friday because you will be busy and so will I. So, you get to read about Mineral King on Thursday. Hope you are feeling flexible.

Trail Guy and I took a break from our labors around the cabin (Is knitting a labor??) for a walk. No packs, no water, no snacks – just a walk. He wanted to visit his favorite flower, which has popped into bloom a little early this year since spring came early to the mountains.

This is not his favorite flower – this is Crimson Columbine.

This is not his favorite flower either. I don’t remember seeing it before. I don’t know what it is.

This is not Trail Guy’s favorite flower either. The color is washed out here, but it is Wild Blue Flax. I took this photo because this was taken in June, and normally this flower doesn’t appear until August.

This Mariposa Lily might be Trail Guy’s second favorite flower. It is one of the few white flowers that I’ve bothered to learn, because usually I think white flowers are boring.

This is one of my favorite views, but it rarely photographs well and has never looked good enough to paint.

This is an almost invisible little bitty purplish blue flower that our friend Sue got all excited about. She called it an “Alpine something-or-other”. I’ve never seen it before and don’t think Sue had either.

LEOPARD LILY AKA TIGER LILY is Trail Guy’s favorite wild flower.

They smell very very fragrant. Trail Guy thinks if it could be bottled, the bottler would be a zillionaire.

Indian Paintbrush grows at most elevations. This is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.

I love penstemmon, particularly this purply-blue version. I don’t know its real name.

This blog post got long. I’ll tell you about the rest of our walk next Friday.

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List of random thoughts about cabins and Mineral King

For clarification, this blog is about a California artist, me, to be specific. Mineral King is one of my main sources of inspiration, it is in California, I call my business “Cabinart”, there are cabins in Mineral King, and this is The Season in Mineral King.

Any questions? Yes? Click on the commenting line that might say “Be the First To Respond” or “# of responses”. No? Let us proceed. . .

1. While enjoying the sunset on the Mineral King bridge one evening, I met Claudia and Dustin.

They were delightful, and Claudia told me about a great website whose name I am afraid to type on my blog. It is called cabin {blank}. The blank begins with a “p”, has four letters, ends with “n” and has the word “or” in the middle. It is fabulous photos of cabins from all over the world. Unfortunately, I just can’t put the name in my blog because who knows what sort of firestorm of spam it might unleash! So, put on your thinking caps, figure it out, and type in www dot cabin (that word) dot com and enjoy some wonderful cabin photos.

2. You’ve read about the Nature Trail AKA Wildflower Walk in Mineral King several times on this blog. (Or maybe you skipped those days. . .) While on the trail the first weekend in August, I found yet another flower that I’ve never seen before. It is on the downstream side of this little bridge. On the upstream side of that bridge I discovered a new flower several years ago, a Monk’s Hood. That is a real thrill to this rural regional artist who never goes anywhere (except Alaska twice, Chicago twice and China twice). It is a shrub that makes a berry in the middle of the blossom. Two friends said, “Wild Coffee Berry!” but it doesn’t match the photos I found on the internet.

3. This guy blew past me on the Wildflower Walk with his dog. HIS DOG! There are signs at either end of the trail with a picture of a dog and a slash through it. I overheard the guy say that he knew dogs aren’t allowed on the trails which is why he had to walk so fast. Hmmm, that means you don’t have to follow the rules??

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Nature Trail aka Wildflower Walk in Mineral King

In Mineral King, you can walk from Cold Springs Campground up to the actual Mineral King valley on a trail, called “the Nature Trail”. That name bugs me. My faithful blog reading and commenting friend (Hi Mel!) suggested “the Wildflower Trail”. I prefer aliteration, and because I never take a pack or food when I use that trail, it is a walk. Thus, “Wildflower Walk”.

Every year, it seems there are new or interesting things to see. In the photo below, there are lots of white dots. This is Sierra Star Tulip, the most prolific I’ve ever seen it.

Look at this little thing! It actually comes in different sizes, but I didn’t have a quarter in my pocket to show you the differences.

This year there are clusters, something I don’t recall seeing in the past.

What is this? An unfamiliar flowering shrub. How can something be unfamiliar when I’ve been walking this trail since 1985?

Mr. Unfamiliar Shrub has these flowers. I didn’t stick my nose in them to see if there was a scent – I only just met them and didn’t want to overstep the bounds of politeness.

The Wildflower Walk has the best and most accessible aspens. I went nutso over them last fall. You can see those posts here and here and here and here. Here too. Go ahead. Each link will open in a new tab or window. I’ll wait.