The natural treasures of jeanz 'Secret Meadow'... (a photo-essay)

It's a marvelously secluded spot... I call it "My Secret Meadow"...

To get there, one must climb up two very steep (about a 75-degree slant) rises behind "the ole singlewide" here in the hills to the east of the little Northern California town of Cloverdale in Sonoma County.

From the vantage point at the top of the second hill, there are no houses or other buildings for at least a quarter mile and the vista is laid out around you in all directions. To the north, the hills of neighboring Mendocino County are extremely close. To the west -- beyond the little town of Cloverdale -- are the easternmost crests of California's coastal range. Turning to the south, you can make out several of the tops of the other Macaymas Mountain Range foothills and, to the east, the taller peaks of the Macaymas rise up above you in the distance...

My hike up to the crest of the hill yesterday did not go unnoticed... 

This little flycatcher peeked out at me from a thicket of live oak as if to say "Hey! Who goes there?":

And my ever-present red-tail hawk, "Maury, Jr.", was turning lazy circles in the sky over my head:

Narrow trails left by the deer criss-cross near the top but, once atop the hill, much to your delight, you will find a small, precious meadow -- ringed on three sides by oak trees -- that is a sanctuary of wildlife and wildflowers this time of year you won't find anywhere else on the property hereabouts.

Here you can find the "Ookow" (Dichelostemma congestum) -- a member of the lily family:

Some of the ookow flowers are lavendar-colored like the ones above but, others are a darker shade of purple like the flowers pictured below:

And "yellow-eyed grass" -- another member of the lily family:

Here, too, are "blue lupine" -- dwarfed and darkened in their inflorescences because of the dry conditions present at the top of the hill and predation by deer:

Wound in amongst the lupine are "flatpod peavine" flowers of dark magenta purple:

In the largest expanse of meadow at the top of the hill there are small patches (or "colonies") of "common popcorn flower" which resemble nothing so much as white forget-me-nots:

And their little, yellow centers prove to be a great attraction for the butterflies, it appears:

I was fortunate to get a much closer shot of this little guy when he fluttered down to rest on a small mound of soil that had been kicked up by a gopher:

Right after taking that last photo, another butterfly flew by and the two of them proceeded to chase each other around in what I imagined was a friendly, little game of "butterfly tag"!

Here is the one photo I was able to snap of the two butterflies playing. (They are those two light-colored "blotches" on either side of the center of the photo):

Here's quite an unusual-looking wildflower called "purple sanicle":

Also found in my "secret meadow" a "California black oak" which is fairly rare -- for this part of California, anyway...

Spring is the best season in my 'secret meadow', you know...

;o)

From beautiful Northern California --

luv,

jean f.