Tag: Sophie McLean
REWILD OJAI
Climate change is fueling landscape-scale shifts in our wildlands— the breadth and scale of human impacts across the globe have fundamentally altered plant communities, damaged ecosystems, and fragmented habitats. Reversing these trends requires proactive efforts at all scales, including in the Ojai Valley.
CALOCHORTUS ALBUS — FAIRY LANTERN
Sometimes we who walk on two feet forget that the ground beneath us is as alive as we are. It is indeed an expansive land, and when the temperature and water is just right, glad expressions of bulbs below show us the soil’s library. This year I got to witness Calochortus albus, with given names of globe lily or fairy lantern, come to life. In mid-spring, Calochortus albus dripped beneath oak woodland’s dappled light. The flower itself is unlike its gleaming Calochortus sisters (mariposa lily and late-flowered mariposa lily). Shy—a glowing white—the petals twist in three to hold the developing stamen and pistil. They hold close and blush towards the ground.
MANZANITA WINTER POLLEN
Look closely at the decisions they make, as the careful branches twist among paths—unseen made known. The orange branches and peeling bark tell a tale millions of years old
