Some areas of Kern ablaze with wildflowers - The Dirt - TheDirt's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Feb 27, 2009 at 12:02 PM : Alison is a great...

Alison is a great source for all things wild~ beautiful shot!

Feb 27, 2009 at 12:02 PM : I think that photo...

I think that photo would look better with subdivisions dotting the hills.

Feb 27, 2009 at 01:02 PM : Give it time.

Give it time.

Feb 27, 2009 at 02:02 PM : I know where the...

I know where the Witbee family will be driving this weekend. Sorry, it's too far to walk.

Feb 27, 2009 at 03:02 PM : I drove from 58 to Rio...

I drove from 58 to Rio Bravo on Commance Wed. ance was surprised at how many flowers were out there already. What a beautiful sight.

Feb 27, 2009 at 03:02 PM : We just got back from...

We just got back from CALM. The drive up there is really getting pretty (we take the Hart Park way.) There were purple wildflowers (which weren't lupine--I don't know what they were) and yellow ones and little white wildflowers everywhere that looked like baby's breath. Plus, the hills are a rich green and the sky is blue and dotted with little white clouds. It was a lovely drive.

Except for the man in the HUGE white truck (and we all know what HE'S overcompensating for haha) who was so impatient he got right on my Mom's bumper and nearly ran her off the road. So to him I wanna say

Hey Creep. You scared a little 4-year-old boy today with your Insecurity Mobile. Scaring old ladies and little boys won't help you with your shortcomings!

Feb 27, 2009 at 05:02 PM : CB: I call those...

CB: I call those Bakersfield Truck Dorks. They think they're so cool and manly in their huge, absurdly impractical lifted trucks with the ridiculous tires, but they are in fact sad examples of "overcompensation". Most of them are dumber than the dirt they avoid driving in. I was hoping that gas would get to $12.00 a gallon and choke these Truck Dorks off the road, but no luck. Only in Bakersfield have I seen this phenomenon.

As for the flowers, I hope we get a good showing on the I-5 through Gorman again. It sure makes the long commute home more tolerable. Back in 2006, the hills were solid purple, orange and yellow...it looked like mounds of rainbow sherbet! Mmmmmm, rainbow sherbet...

Feb 27, 2009 at 06:02 PM : I've got those...

I've got those little white flowers that look like baby's breath (I have no clue what they are called either) all along my side yard this spring. I've also got the groundcover one with purple flowers. This is a vast improvement over last spring, when that milk thistle with yellow flowers that can grow 6' tall or more took over 3/4ths of the side yard.

Feb 27, 2009 at 07:02 PM : Just from the colors~...

Just from the colors~ the white small flower is proprably called "popcorn" and if the purple flower is on a single stem with a cluster on top it is called blue dick, honest.

Feb 27, 2009 at 09:02 PM : Catherine, your...

Catherine, your description of the "Insecurity Mobile" is so true! Big 'o truck, but that's not even enough ... they have to tailgate. I loathe tailgaters.

On a more positive note, thanks for sharing your pretty drive. :)

Feb 28, 2009 at 12:02 AM : Looking at a picture...

Looking at a picture of popcorn flowers, what I have in my yard is actually way more "frilly" than that. I'll try to snap a picture tomorrow.

Feb 28, 2009 at 02:02 AM : CATHERINE !&a...

CATHERINE ! Are you calling your mother an old lady ?? I'm shocked ! Besides, I'm older than she is so what does that make me?

Where's my Tylenol?

Feb 28, 2009 at 07:02 AM : I love it when the...

I love it when the wild flowers starts to come out.....and I won't EVEN get between ~Nancy and Cat~ right now...( :-))))...I'm just going to sit back and shut up....

Feb 28, 2009 at 08:02 AM : The bright yellow...

The bright yellow wildflowers in my yard are called Oxalis. I think they are beautiful. I found these photos of some on flickr http://flickr.com/photos/cobalt/sets/72157594537336124/ Be sure to click on slideshow for the best images. They seem to spread via their root system. They disappear once the weather gets hot and then show up again in the late fall. I have been moving them from places I don't want them to places where my flowerbeds are too drab. The ones I transplanted last year look great.

Feb 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM : The bright yellow...

The bright yellow flowers in my yard are called Dandelions. :-)

Feb 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM : LOL Nancy--er, maybe...

LOL Nancy--er, maybe I'd better change that before my Mom sees it. Haha! Besides, I don't think people even get really interesting until they hit their 40s at the earliest. You guys are waaay interesting, and part of that is because of your age. When I say "old lady" I mean that with the deepest respect, because old ladies are my favorite people in the whole world, and the people I most want to hang out with. So I'm not gonna change the "old lady" reference. An "old lady" is a great thing to be. : )

As for the truck guy--yeah, it was one of those trucks jacked up sky-high with the huge tires. Hasn't anybody ever told these guys what the whole world knows about guys who drive trucks like that? For years I thought that was an "inside" joke. Now I know everybody knows that joke by now. Then to be a big, intimidating jerk about it--well, it causes major shrinkage in my eyes. Party on, little dude!

BTW--I went to the Rose Society sale at the Hall Letter Shop on Rosedale Hwy this morning. It was awesome! Anybody who's into flowers should go there. And they're giving away daffodil plants for free!

Feb 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM : Catherine,...

Catherine, I knew you were a smart cookie and that was just an oversight. Mature is a good subsitute or seasoned. I don't mind being an "old lady", I'm just not overly fond of the term and haven't quite gotten around to seeing myself that way. I can still sit cross legged and I can put my foot on a high stool to tie my shoes. As long as I can mow my own lawn and haul my own freight, I'm just a tough ole bird. :-)

Feb 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM : Nancy--I'll...

Nancy--I'll probably see it that way, too, when I get older. So out of respect for you guys I'll try to train myself to call older women something more like...seniors? Eh--I'll think on it.

Just be glad you guys aren't men. I call THEM "old farts!" Haha!

Feb 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM : "seniors&...

"seniors" and "old farts" works for me. I havve NO problem telling them at Taco Bell that I'd like the "senior drink" and not being charged for it.

Feb 28, 2009 at 10:02 AM : Honestly, I can't...

Honestly, I can't wait until I'm a senior. Then I won't seem so suspicious for wanting to hang out with other seniors all day. As it is, seniors always seem to think I should have something better to do than want to hang out with them. Plus, I think they do their "real" talking when I'm gone.

Well, in reality, I'm a very old-fashioned woman, and that's the truth. My hobbies and interests are sorta prosaic, and woman my own age are always too busy (or too modern) to be interested in the same things I am. I love my librarian at my branch-- I felt an immediate affinity for her. I loved the women (and man!) at the Rose Society sale today. They were gentle and friendly and loved plants as much as I do.

Older people take their time. They know by now that it's really the little things in life that count, and they are comfortable in their own skin. Being around them is comforting and fun all at the same time. Women my own age often make me nervous--because THEY'RE nervous. They have 1,000 legitimate reasons to be nervous (how well I know.)

Feb 28, 2009 at 11:02 AM : Kern County Wild...

Kern County Wild Flowers in Color (printed by the Bakersfield Californian) by Howard K Dickerson is a great mini handbook for i.d.- ing flowers for the beginner. My copy is from 1963 so good luck~ but I bet there is something more current around~ I hope so.

Sys-mom ~ as kids we called that sour grass~ because it is! behind Mom's back we'd suck the stems,why I'll never know,because it is like a lemon.

Feb 28, 2009 at 12:02 PM : All of the comments...

All of the comments about flowers forced me to go outside and play in the yard. First I played with the weed eater then the chain saw now I'm taking a break.

Nancy LOL about those Dandelions I just pulled them out of the backyard by the bucket full.

Sagefever --- We used to call Oxalis something like straw lemons or lemon straws when I was younger. I still chew on them once in a while.

CB ---- I have always preferred the company of older ladies to my contemporaries. I make quilts on Tuesdays with a group of friends who all have children older than me. Last Saturday was the birthday of one of my best friends....She would have been 102.

Feb 28, 2009 at 12:02 PM : ((sys-mom))

((sys-mom))

Feb 28, 2009 at 01:02 PM : Okay, so here are the...

Okay, so here are the promised pictures. First, the frilly white flower stuff (click the picture to go to a bigger version on my website):

Now for the blue flowers stuff:

Any idea what either of these are? I assume most treat them as weeds when found in their yards, but it would be nice to know what to call them.

Feb 28, 2009 at 01:02 PM : The second one is...

The second one is called baby blue eyes~ Phacelia Family.

The second one is a tough call from the pictures alone~ anybody else know?

Feb 28, 2009 at 07:02 PM : Hi Shwaine, The white...

Hi Shwaine,

The white flower looks like California mustard, Guillinia californica (sic). The blue flower is a common lawn weed, bird's eye speedwell, Veronica persica. It is one of the loveliest plants found in the lawn. The first is a native, the second is an exotic.

NatureAli

P.S. I am working on posting photos from the past few days on my new webpages. http://www.natureali.org/2009_wildflower_report.htm

Feb 28, 2009 at 09:02 PM : If it helps on the...

If it helps on the first one, here's a picture of a single plant. You'll notice the base is a broadleaf, while the flower stalks are the "frilly" part. Again, you can click it to get a closer view.

Mar 1, 2009 at 08:03 AM : I would go with what...

I would go with what natureali said~ except those leaves do not look like mustard to me,they are usually dark green,with sawtoothed edges,large near the base and smaller triangular ones near the flowering branches.... But she is the professional.Are the flowers four petaled?

Mar 22, 2009 at 10:03 AM : When the Mrs and I...

When the Mrs and I drive the 58 East enroute through the desert--there is a section between General Beale Rd. and Tehachapi that makes you sit back and wonder......FLOWERS everywhere---we take that as a good sign for things to come--at least that's what I like to believe....