Iris are my mom’s favorite and these have opened up just in time to celebrate our mothers today.

Wildflower season on Mount Diablo is short and I often miss it for lack of planning or procrastination. I was determined that this would not be the case this year. We have had lots of late-season rain sprinkled with periods of warm, sunny days. This often makes for spectacular flower displays. I knew if I didn’t get out there soon though, the flowers would be gone in the face of the intense East Bay summer.

It was about 85 degrees when I got to the North Gate of Mt. Diablo State Park this afternoon. This was a little worrisome but I refused to be deterred! I had a route in mind but I asked the ranger at the gate anyway where he recommended I go if I wanted to see wildflowers. He directed me to Deer Flat, which was on my planned route, so that’s where I headed.

I set out on the “Grand Loop” route, 6 1/2 hot, dusty miles of trails that go all the way around the main (south) peak of the mountain. The sweeping views of the entire San Francisco Bay area, the Central Valley, and the Livermore Valley are breathtaking, even with the minimal visibility on a hazy day like today.  I could still see the Golden Gate, about 40 miles to the west and the Port of Stockton, about 50 miles to the east.

The wildflowers did not disappoint. Here’s a partial list of what I saw: Indian warrior, Indian paintbrush, Baby blue eyes, Blue dicks, Blue-eyed grass, Chinese houses, lupine, California poppy (big, wide swaths of them!), larkspur, Canon delphinium (the sketch above), Mission bells, vetch, Owl clover, Shooting stars, mustard (also in large swaths), violet, buttercup. Again there were a number of flowers I could not identify but I was thrilled by the variety and number all along the trails. The Mission bells were a particular gift on a long, steep, rocky incline along the North Peak Trail. It’s incredible how such a small thing can make a difficult climb a little less torturous.

There was a lot to take in and digest today so I’ll end with one final highlight. Along a particularly exposed section of the Prospector’s Gap Trail, I heard something whizzing overhead and I looked up to see a blur of blue-grey and white: a Peregrine Falcon in full stoop! It was close! I heard and felt it more than I actually saw it. What a thrill! I watched for awhile to see if I could catch another glimpse of it but it had disappeared down into Mitchell Canyon.

It’s the first real day of Spring in San Francisco today! I headed straight for the beach dunes along Chrissy Field to do some wind-swept drawing. The birds wouldn’t cooperate but the dune plants did so I set to it while soaking up some rays.

Just a quick sketch of the earliest blossoms on a tree in my favorite garden. Next week, the tree will be full of flowers and the week after that, they’ll all be gone. This transience is why we have to enjoy it while it lasts.

…and that means that birds have on their breeding plumage and are busy incubating or already raising young. Pelagic Cormorants are no exception and I got a great view of a small group near the Monterey Bay Aquarium this past weekend. I love how shiny green- and purple-black these birds are, especially in their fresh spring feathers.

This past Saturday, April 14, Maria Cecilia (Cissy) Freeman and I were at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History as part of the annual Art of Nature exhibit. We were there to demonstrate our skills, tools, and techniques for visitors. Cissy worked on a preliminary graphite drawing of a Coast Live Oak gall. She had a specimen with her so our audience got to see part of the process of how she constructs her gorgeous watercolor botanicals.

I chose a somewhat less traditional approach. I pulled up the streaming nest cams from three different nest sites across the country and sketched from the images on my laptop. Since the cameras offer spectacular views and ones difficult to witness in person, I like this option for doing public demos.

The first nest I used was the Peregrine Falcon nest at San Jose City Hall. Three of these eyases hatched on Sunday, April 8 and one hatched the next day, Monday, April 9. The next nest cam I used was the Great Blue Heron nest at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This nest has 5 recently-laid eggs and one of the adults was there, patiently incubating the eggs. The last nest cam I used was the Bald Eagle nest at Decorah, IA. These eaglets hatched over a few days, from April 1-6. The nest cams not only give us an intimate perspective on the nest sites, but also provide invaluable scientific information as well.

I like drawing from the nest cams because of the unique perspective and also because it gives me a chance to engage the audience with my subjects. While I was sketching, I was also talking to visitors about bird biology, the incredible recovery of both the Peregrine Falcon and the Bald Eagle, and my time at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. For me, this is the best use of my skills as both an educator and an artist.

The wind blew our recent storm away and I woke to a sparkling blue morning today. So back to my favorite garden I went. It really feels like Spring there now and I was overwhelmed by the amount of activity and growth that only increases every time I’m there lately. After some wandering, stunned by all that was blooming and buzzing, it was the old fig tree that caught my attention. The fig, putting out leaves and fruit simultaneously, is high in the northeast corner of the garden and the view there is spectacular. The bench beneath the fig tree is one of my favorite places to draw. I’ll visit here again and again as the season progresses, recording the constant changes. Today is just the beginning.