Gilson Creek, one last time!

 Yesterday I took my last scheduled hike for 2013 to Gilson Creek with guests of Oakland Feather River Camp.  I tried not to be obvious about one of my primary goals which was to find Scarlet Monkeyflower blooming.  My friend Spencer had posted a photo of this magnificent flower on his blog last week, and I remembered a fairly hidden spot just west of Gilson Creek where I'd seen from 2 to 5 plants blooming in summers past.  On the way to the creek I was stung by a couple of Yellow Jackets, first time this season.  My hand is still fat and sore.  But I found one last Scarlet Monkeyflower plant blooming in the shade almost totally hidden by the taller grasses, sedges, and taller wildflowers of other species.  The overall area around the mouth of Gilson Creek is shaded by large White Alder trees, so that made it even more difficult to find one particular species.  Fortunately, the red of the Scarlet Monkeyflower literally glows (which can make it difficult to photograph) so I could see two shiny spots of red in the underbrush.  When I closed in on the plant, it was a little disappointing to see that it's had a rough summer and was a bit scrawny.  It was good to see it, though. 

 I tried to keep my guests dry as we crossed over the creek by stepping on slightly wet rocks, some of which were stable and others were not.  In focusing intensely on the ground beneath us, a good-sized patch of Liverwort stood out.  This is an ancient plant whose place in the evolutionary tree of life is not agreed upon by botanists.  It definitely conjures up images of dinosaur habitat, as do the Horsetails growing nearby.

 In a dry, open field about half way to Gilson Creek from camp we saw a some patches of fresh Arnica.  Not sure which species, but I remember that several other species bloomed a couple of months ago and have long since gone to seed.  These looked as fresh as spring.

 We looked in vain for the Red Milkweed Beetle and Monarch Butterfly chrysalises on the abundant Showy Milkweed and Narrow-leaved Milkweed, but we did some some attractive small gatherings of the Convergent Ladybird Beetle.

 Buds of the Interior Wild Rose were abundant here as well as on all the other trails I use during my summer hikes.

To top off the day, I saw four more Sandhill Cranes in American Valley on my way home.
I took my last guided hike of the summer this morning.  We went to Berry Creek where I had taken another group last Wednesday.  I decided not to bring my camera this time and was lucky I didn't see anything unusual that would have made me regret that decision.  I begin work at the college on Monday so during the fall semester most of my natural history notes and photos will be about the FRC nature trail and adjacent areas.  Stay tuned.  The Gooseberries are ripening!