We have had enough rain over the past few months to bring out the spring wildflowers, so the hills and roadsides were awash on the way to San Diego. Some of these have been planted by either CalTrans or individuals who want to have some color in the spring and spread the seed from their vehicles as they drive along.
The flowers close to the road are a mix of Goldfields, Tidy-tips and Cream Cups - the seeds spread by the hand of man. On the hillsides the lighter yellow is wild mustard, which is not a California native, but has grown wild in the state for at least several hundred years.
Just north of Oceanside I saw this large patch of oxalis, also not a native, but naturalized all over the coastal areas. It is more of a greenish yellow than the wild mustard.
Driving north in the afternoon I took this picture of the sage-scrub with a drift of wild mustard so that I could compare it to the next image.
This is one of the pictures I took on October 27, 2007, just after the firestorms. This is the same general area of the previous picture. The the middle you can see the utility trucks trying to restore power and communication lines.
Isn't it amazing how quickly Nature can restore itself?
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