Just on the other side of Mt. Diablo from where we live is the Jepson Prairie Preserve and its seasonal vernal pools. See Mt. Diablo in the distance over my shoulder. I'm near a pool called Olcott Lake which was just dry ground in March before our rains came.
Except for our rainy season the pools dry up and the aquatic life preserves itself in the dry cracked earth until the next year's rains arrive. This shin-deep lake fills and spreads out as a result.
March through Mothers' Day tours are lead by docents on Saturday and Sunday in addition to self-guided walks any time of the year. Biologists collected water from the lake to show us the variety and abundance of life, some of it rare or endangered.
We saw Pacific Chorus Frog tadpoles, water boatmen, water fleas, conservancy fairy shrimp, and copepods. There are tadpole shrimp in this container.
There was so much water that some of the paths were underwater as you see here. The Pacific Chorus Frogs were wet and happy. This area was carpeted with these purple Erodium which the docent Maramee said her mother called scissor flowers.
A little girl in the group really liked that story and made a pair of scissors. Do you think she took them home to a doll?
What thrilled me was this seed that comes out of the 'scissor' seed pod. Five corkscrew seeds come out of the pod. The seed expands and contracts depending on the moisture and drills itself into the ground.
At the time of my visit on April 14th Goldfields painted the prairie right up to water's edge. The flowers will change as the season progresses and the vernal pools evaporate. I want to go again to see what's in bloom and how much the pools have evaporated.
If you want to know more about Jepson Prairie, check out the article at Bay Nature Magazine.
Here is the link:
Happily Remembering Biology Field Classes Forty Years Ago
With Heart
I'm thinking it's time to add video. Hearing and seeing your stories would be very nice.....
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