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Sweeping Fall Away

Doug Wilber sweeps leaves along 43rd St. in Sacramento (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

41st St., Sacramento (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

Doug Wilber spent part of his Saturday, much as he has done each Autumn for the past 17 years… raking and sweeping leaves into a pile in front of his Sacramento home.

His neighbors along 43rd St. had or were doing the same when I visited today.

The City of Sacramento calls this time of year, “Leaf Season.” It’s when the city’s fastidious residents rake, sweep and blow leaves from their front yards into piles every few feet along city streets.  Then, every couple of weeks from November through January, city workers come by and scoop them up.

That leaf removal continues for three months in Sacramento tells you just how many trees grow there. This capital city loves its deciduous trees, which provide cooling shade in summer and warming sunlight during winter.

Folsom Bike Trail (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

Mormon Island Wetland Reserve, Folsom (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

Even SMUD, the local public utility, encourages their being planted to save energy. Sacramento County residents are able to get ten free shade trees through a partnership between the Sacramento Tree Foundation and SMUD.

In Sacramento’s Shady Eighty program, residents can choose the desired height, shape, level of water dependency, if the tree flowers, how close or far it might be planted to structures or power lines, and – yes – desired fall color (red, yellow or orange).

Gingko biloba, William Land Regional Park, Sacramento (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

Gingko biloba leaves and clover, Land Park, Sacramento (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

Each year in the week before Thanksgiving, Sacramento streets are layered with canopies of ruby, crimson, orange, gold, yellow, green and buff-colored leaves. It is an impressive sight and worth a trip to Sacramento in addition to its great museums, bars, restaurants and the Freeport Bakery with its famous leaf cookies and other irresistible baked goods.

 

Roosters, Village Park, Fair Oaks (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

Leaf Cookies, Freeport Bakery, Sacramento (11/18/17) John Poimiroo

My favorite locations for seeing fall color in Sacramento County include: Mormon Island Wetland Reserve and bike trails of Folsom, quaint Fair Oaks where chickens run free, East Sacramento’s Fabulous Forties (Gracious Tudor, Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts, California Bungalow and other grand homes along tree-lined streets numbered in the 40s), William Land Regional Park in South Sacramento and along the American River Parkway (Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail – a 32-mile paved bike and pedestrian trail from the Sacramento River to Folsom Lake).

Sacramento County – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

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Pushups in the Woods

Amanita spp, Anderson (11/15/17) Gabriel Leete

Recent rains have caused mushrooms to push up out of the detritus, as Gabriele Leete found in Anderson.

Amanita, Anderson (11/15/17) Gabriel Leete

Split-gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, Anderson (11/15/17) Gabriel Leete

Among the mushrooms emerging are Amanita, among the most poisonous mushrooms on Earth, the most toxic of which cause liver failure and death.

There are 600 varieties of Amanita, including a few edible ones, though eating them is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets in a six-shooter.

Split-gill mushrooms, or Schizophyllum commune, are the only known type of mushroom to retract when touched. They are found on decaying trees during dry periods following a rainfall. Its beautiful gills or “gillies” resemble coral.

Honey fungus, Armillaria mellea, Anderson (11/15/17) Gabriel Leete

Honey fungus, Armillaria spp, Anderson (11/15/17) Gabriel Leete

Sticky when wet, the honey fungus, Armillaria mellea, grows around the base of trees it infects. The mushroom is a plant pathogen that causes root rot in many of the plants it infects, causing discolored foliage, dieback of branches and death, according to Wikipedia.

Psathyrella is a smaller version of Psathyra, Greek for “Friable.” However, do not mistake these for being “fryable,” as they are toxic.

Psathyrella are in a large genus of mushrooms, containing some 400 types, including Coprinellus, Coprinopsis, Coprinus and Panaeolus.

Psathyrella spp, Anderson (11/15/17) Gabriel Leete

OK, you get the idea, they’ve all been given Greek names. Aside from that, what also is common about Psathyrella is that they’re boring.

They are often “drab-colored, difficult to identify, and inedible,” Wikipedia reports, “So they are sometimes considered uninteresting,” perhaps that’s what makes them so fascinating to Gabriel and me.

No, we’re not Greeks, just geeks.

Mushrooms, Shasta Cascade – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

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Butte Beauties

Main and 5th, Downtown Chico (11/11/17) Danie Schwartz

Bold color is being seen throughout Butte County in the northern Sacramento Valley, from Oroville north to Paradise.

Sumac, Biggs (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

Western redbud, Biggs (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

Western redbud and valley oak, Biggs (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

Chinese pistache, Biggs (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biggs Pond (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

The Midway, Durham (11/11/17) Danie Schwartz

Esplanade, Chico (11/1/17) Danie Schwartz

Paradise Lake (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

This is the week to see Oroville, Durham, Biggs, Chico and Paradise at peak.  The color will likely last through Thanksgiving day (conditions permitting), though not much longer. Click to enlarge photos.

Black oak, Paradise (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

  • Oroville’s Sank Park is splashed with yellow gingko, fluorescent Chinese pistache, red-orange redbud and valley oak.
  • Vance Rd. along the Feather River in Biggs is literally dumping leaves of every color.
  • Chinese Pistache along the Midway from Durham north to Chico have transitioned from hot yellow, lime and pink to deep orange and auburn.
  • In Chico, The Esplanade and Main St. are heavy with dark red, orange, yellow and lime color.
  • Paradise is Past Peak, though spots of gold, brown, orange and lime are seen among black and brewers oak.

Butte County – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

 

 

 

Sank Park, Oroville (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

Gingko biloba, Sank Park, Oroville (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

Maple, Sank Park, Oroville (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

Lott Home, Sank Park, Oroville (11/12/17) Cindy Lee Hoover

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Sequoia National Forest – Still Bright

Kern River, Sequoia National Forest (11/12/17) Niles Armstrong

Niles Armstrong sends this first report of Peak to Past Peak color north of Kernville in the Sequoia National Forest.

Notice how full the river is running in mid November, even though it has not yet begun raining heavily, and the bright spots of gold still seen among cottonwood along the Kern River’s banks.

Kern River – Peak to Past Peak – You Almost Missed It.

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Mixed Display at UC Berkeley Botanical Garden

Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

November is when California’s botanical gardens begin to peak.

This late show is because of where the gardens are located… in and near major metropolitan areas.

Perennial color spotter Sandy Steinman, editor of Natural History Wanderings, visited the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden yesterday morning to find the color very mixed.

He reported, “Some trees and shrubs, were past, some were at peak and some were still early.” His favorite section, the Asian area, “is still probably two weeks away from peak.”

That makes it a prime location to visit on “Orange Friday,” CaliforniaFallColor.com’s much more satisfying alternative to Black Friday.

What you’ll see now in Berkeley are flowers still blooming. This botanical garden is a tribute to California’s Mediterranean climate in that, Sandy notes, it is “one of the few places you can see Willows across the path from Cactus.”

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden – Patchy (10-50%)

Maple, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium var. nigrum, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

Winged sumac, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asian Section, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

Flowering dogwood, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

Hawthorne, Crataegus pinnatifida, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

Maple, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden (11/12/17) Sandy Steinman

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Rainbow Season

Rainbow and Sandhill Cranes, Lodi (11/4/17) Crys Black

California is entering its rainbow season. It runs from autumn through springtime.

When storms are clearing, the best time to see rainbows is when the sun is behind you and you are looking toward rain or mist.

Color spotter Crys Black captured just such a moment at the Sandhill Crane festival (Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, west of Lodi) as sunset approached.

A storm had just departed and illuminated by sunset light in the moist sky were rainbows and Sandhill Cranes. The latter were returning to the reserve to spend the night safe from predators.

Rainbow season provides all sorts of moments in which to be inspired by nature’s beauty.

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Owens Valley Still Crackling

Cottonwood, Owens Valley (11/10/17) Walt Gabler

Rabbitbrush, Owens Valley (11/10/17) Walt Gabler

The Owens Valley, from Bishop south, continues to carry crackling bright orange and yellow color, with cottonwood and rabbitbrush still at peak.

Mendocino County color spotter Walt Gabler passed through the Owens Valley on a trip down US 395 to the Imperial Valley.

He recommends the route as more scenic and satisfying than I-5 or CA-99, despite the added time, when driving to southeastern California.

Color spotter Clayton Peoples adds his endorsement of Walt’s report, stating he was traveling the eastside and “took a quick detour to the Alabama Hills (Whitney Portal Road just west of Lone Pine) and was not disappointed.”

The trees are still peaking along Lone Pine Creek, which weaves its way through the Alabama Hills. He sent his photo of his favorite cottonwood, “one that stands as a lone sentinel above the boulders near the painted rock.” Presently, it is “bursting with yellow.”

Cottonwood, Alabama Hills, Inyo County (11/10/17) Clayton Peoples

A bonus of visiting the Alabama Hills right now, Clayton writes, “is that one can include the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada–including the tallest, Mt. Whitney–in fall foliage photos.”

Owens Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

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East/West Redbud Debate

Western redbud, cercis occidentalis (11/10/17) Robert Kermen

Eastern redbud, cercis canadensis (11/7/17) John Poimiroo

When it comes to redbud, it’s debatable as to which is prettiest in autumn… East or West.

The eastern variety, cercis canadensis, displays bright gold and green heart-shaped leaves.

Whereas, western redbud, cercis occidentalis, display orange, red, gold and lime heart-shaped leaves.

Both are equally stunning.

Redbud is often overlooked by color spotters who give up looking for great fall color as soon as the forests of aspen have turned, but not Robert Kermen or me.

Robert found western redbud growing along Big Chico Creek in Chico’s Bidwell Park.

Cercis occidentalis are native to the Sierra and North Coast foothills. Native California indians used their barks for basket weaving and as a red dye. In springtime, their showy pink and magenta blossoms grow in clusters all over redbud shrubs that garnish foothill river canyons.

Western redbud, cercis occidentalis (11/10/17) Robert Kermen

Western redbud, cercis occidentalis (11/10/17) Robert Kermen

I have the pleasure of enjoying an Eastern redbud all year long. It grows in my side yard (El Dorado Hills) and provides an inspiring show when autumn light backlights the leaves in kelly green and yellow.

Eastern redbud are a popular landscape and street tree, appreciated for their shape, shade and autumn color (best from late October to early November).

Their heart-shaped leaves flutter in a soft autumn breeze, as if they’re beating.

OK, there’s no debate. East or West, who couldn’t love redbud with all they have to show?

Cercis Occidentalis Range – Wikipedia

Redbud – Peak (75-100%) – Their range forms an upside down fish hook, leading from the SF Bay Area north through wine country and the Redwood Highway, then bending east through Trinity County to the northern Sierra foothills, then south to the Southern Sierra. GO NOW!

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Color Spotting Starts Early

Dogwood, Durham (11/9/17) Paige Kermen

Color spotting need not be done or appreciated only by grown ups. Paige Kermen, age 7, proves that with her photograph of dogwood, dripping with red in Durham.

Good eye, Paige. You can now say your photography has been published.

This Sacramento Valley farm town, south of Chico, is peaking as walnut orchards turn golden, sycamore turn chartreuse and the last of California’s dogwood are heavy with bright red berries.

Durham – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

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Mushroom Magic

Ink cap, Coprinus atramentarius (11/7/17) Gabriel Leete

Stump mushroom, Armillaria mellea (11/7/17) Gabriel Leete

Shasta Cascade mushroom forager and color spotter, Gabriel Leete brings us photos of the most amazing mushrooms and plants.

Ink cap (seen above) rise in clumps after a rain are usually found in tight groups, so they are easily seen from a distance. The grey-brown cap is bell-shaped before opening, after which it flattens and disintegrates. At maturity, the black liquid it exudes used to be used as ink, hence its name.

Stump mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) are often found, as the name implies around the base of trees. In an ode to Avatar, the Armillaria are capable of producing light via bioluminescence in their mycelium.

 

Agaricus (11/7/17) Gabriel Leete

Agaricus is a genus of mushroom of which the well-known button mushroom is a member. However, just because the button mushroom is edible, that does not mean the mushroom you may pick is. Certain types of Agaricus are poisonous.

If you don’t know for certain that a mushroom is edible, don’t attempt to cook it. Regardless, foraging for them is a fun way to explore an autumn forest, particularly following fresh rains.

Mushrooms, Shasta Cascade – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

Datura stramonium (11/7/17) Gabriel Leete

Exotic Datura stramonium or Jimson weed (native to Mexico, but now naturalizing in many places) is a member of the nightshade family and is highly toxic. Gabriel found one during his wanderings.

Datura is known by many names: thornapple, devil’s snare, moon flower, hell’s bells, devil’s trumpet, devil’s weed, stinkweed, locoweed, devil’s cucumber and others because of the intense halucinogenic visions it produces, which have led to hospitalization and death… not something with which to experiment.

 

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