Although the winter storms have subsided in Big Bear, spring has not quite yet sprung in the mountains. Most of the deciduous trees and shrubs around are managing some buds but green leaves and flowers are few and far between (aka non-existent). I know it’s just around the corner, however, because lower down in elevation the “line of spring” is steadily creeping upwards in shades of purple, orange, and white; the welcome colors of blossoming lupines, California poppies, and ceanothus.
As is common at this time of year, I feel giddy with the onset of spring. But this time, in addition to being thrilled at the inevitable blossoms and increased daylight, I am so excited to see the early stages of flower development of the plants I have come to love while working here for the past year. Yes, I know this is nerdy, but it’s the truth. I started my rare plant monitoring work mid-summer last year, so I completely missed the spring-blooming wildflowers and much of the flowering season for the ones that bloom in early summer. I will no longer have to do crispy plant botanizing! It’s really quite a treat to have been able to experience this amazing place for all four changes in season.
At work lately, I’ve continued to plug away at entering the data collected during last field season. All I can say is thank gosh for the altitude because it’s buying me a couple of weeks to get everything entered! In addition to data entry, my coworkers and I have been revising our Restoration program geodatabase by ground-truthing all of our restoration sites out in the field (we have over 800 on the Forest). We have almost completed this task which will then allow us to train and coordinate our OHV volunteers to do all of the restoration site monitoring which is required for grant reporting. This, in turn, will free up the restoration staff to focus on other projects.
That’s about it for now! Hopefully next time I post I’ll have some really beautiful pictures of rare, mutant-looking violets, buckwheats, and mustards galore!
Lizzy Eichorn, San Bernardino National Forest