Definitely Spring Today, Part II

After walking a mile or so along Spanish Creek we climbed a hill overlooking the tributary known as Gilson Creek and sat down to do some sketching.  It was a dry area, probably having been logged or razed by a forest fire because there were no large trees, and there was lots of colorful shale and other rocks I don't know. 

My sketching spot was by this rotting trunk of a Ponderosa Pine.  There were lots of large pieces of bark on the ground where a few weeks from now I'll be able to find lots of different bugs, lizards, snakes, and salamanders.  As summer approaches and it gets drier, the salamanders are the first to disappear.  Then the other species tend to appear in series - first the centipedes and millipedes, then a series of different species of beetles.  The Western Fence Lizards, AKA Bluebellies, will be numerous when the bugs are.  Today I saw termites, very few centipedes, and one Rove Beetle. Also saw one Dimorphic Flower Longhorn Beetle.  Both beetles flew before I could get my camera into position.

Here's the trunk from the stump in the previous photo.  During the several years it takes to rot back into soil, a trunk like this provides habitat for lots of different animals, plants, and fungi.

Here are some termites from under one of the large pieces of bark.

I sat down next to this colorful rock with a clump of leaves of Mountain Violet coming out from underneath.  This will be one of several species of yellow violets to bloom in this area.  I believe this one is Viola purpurea.  I decided to make this my first outdoor sketch of the season.

AS we headed back to the car, I found a patch of new leaves, some still red from lack of chlorophyll, of a tiny plant which had bloomed in my driveway every summer, but I haven't been able to identify it.  Considering where it grows, it is probably a non-native.

Here's a close-up of a single plant.  The flowers, when they come, are only about 1/4 inch across and are pink.  Four petals.  If anyone can identify it, please let me know.  I'll return to this area often and will eventually post some photos of it blooming.

The rocks in this area are not only colorful in their own right, but sport a great variety of colorful lichens.

As we scrambled down the hill back to the Forest Service road. these catkins of White Alder got my attention.

I have a few more photos from today's outing, but will need to catch a night's sleep before I can post them.  And tonight we need to turn our clocks ahead one hour, so I might get less sleep than usual.