Nine and ten months after the Mendocino Complex Fires of July 27, 2018 passed.
Haiku of Spring
Resilient life
Charred fence posts framed green pastures
Formerly ash black.
Charcoal branches of
Chamise and manzanita
Sprouting from the roots
After the wildfire
the Mayacamas Mountains
superb wildflowers
California poppy, Eschscholzia californica
Diogenes' lantern, Calochortus amabilis
Red ribbons, Clarkia concinna
Fringed Indian Pink, Silene laciniata with Red ribbons, Clarkia cocinna
Diogenes' lantern, Calochortus amabilis
Ookow, Dichellostemma capitatum
Seep monkeyflower, Erythranthe arvensis
Ithuriel's Spear, Triteleia laxa
Wild onion, Allium amplectens
Scarlet larkspur, Delphinium nudicaule in front of poison oak
Chinese houses, Collinsia heterophylla
Ithurel's Spear, Triteleia laxa
Chinese houses, Collinsia heterophylla
Walking the canyon
pink, purple and white wildflowers
after the wildfire.
Wild onion, Allium amplectens
Red ribbons, Clarkia cocinna
Elderberry, Sambucus canadensis
Red Penstemon Barbatus
Dead by the roadside
Having survived the wildfire
A kangaroo rat.
fuchsia-flowering gooseberry, Ribes speciosum
The bluebird nestlings
huddled closely in their warmth
A young gopher snake.
Twittering swallows
Diving toward the nest boxes
Suddenly upward.
Beneath spreading cloud
Distant thunder on June 2.
An osprey cheeping.
Last year's mullein heads
protected by the Land Trust
at the vernal pool.
A pond turtle's shell
In the grassy vernal pool
A raccoon's dinner.
Trillium grandflorum
Japanese quince, Chaenomeles japonica
Flowing to the lake
The creek cuts into its bank
roots of cottonwood.
California buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum
Farewell-to-Spring, Clarkia amoena
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
Something yellow
Something else yellow
Scarlet scalp flashing
A woodpecker's mating flight
Struck down by a car.
