When the rainy season this year showed up late and coincided with warm spring days, this created perfect conditions for a burst of wildflowers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I spent an afternoon taking it all in, strolling through the Marin Headlands in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the national park in my backyard. Although their blooms appear to be delicate, these plants of the coastal scrub community are tough and thrive in steep rocky soils, wind, and the extended dry season.
California poppy, the official state flower
Silver bush lupine
Silver bush lupine
Common buttercup
Cow parsnip
Seaside daisy
Mule-ears
Morning glory
Sticky monkeyflower
Common yarrow
Checker bloom
Paintbrush
Western blue eyed grass
These California poppies are safe from being picked amid the poison oak
Woodswoman Writes 
Absolutely beautiful!
Your writing and especially these pictures remind me so much of a saying I read so long ago…. it went something along the lines of “Those who venture into the woods without knowing their flora/fauna may as well be blind.” Whenever I come across appreciations like you’ve posted here, it reminds me of how blind I am. *One*day*….. I will glue the names and circumstances of all that I [might!] see into my Poor Little Brain, so that I can happily recall them as happens. One day…..
What a beautiful set of images! A tour of the north coastal spring. Thank you for sharing the beauty and spirit!!!
Make me homesick…beautiful reminder of beautiful times…heavy sigh, big grin.
Amazingly beautiful as always!
Buttercups are too reflective of how vainly we try to photograph them.
Thanks for all your comments–I’m glad I can share some beauty with you.