elyria canyon

I felt pretty suffocated by the urban environment the whole past week, so this morning I went to Elyria Canyon Park in Mt. Washington, which is only a few miles from where I live. Apparently this spot boasts one of the "finest" California Black Walnut woodlands, which were once plentiful in California but now exist only in scattered pockets like these. Said walnut trees were in the beginning stages of budding today when I visited, and they were beautiful indeed. With the park being in a canyon, one is surrounded by beautiful hill-top houses, but as I had wanted to escape into nature, the sight of the houses and adjacent developed neighborhoods made me feel ever more restless and slightly regretful of my decision to explore new places (note: which is not a bad thing - I was glad that I was getting out of my comfort zone). I tucked a sprig of black sage into my pocket as I reoriented myself for the way out, but then I spied an opening to the north, where I realized the park continued.

 
It was after this point on really, that the trail sparked my interest again...! This path took me way down, low enough that I couldn't see any man-made structures whatsoever. Just trees! I don't mean to sound overly picky about this hiking spot by the way - it's a good thing subjectivity makes the world go 'round. The trails aren't challenging by any means, but the variety of birdsong and the quietness of the canyon is a major plus. It wasn't until I climbed another hill and reached a bend, that I got REALLY excited.


See this? Mistletoe! American mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum) to be exact. I've always been fascinated by their "witches broom" clumps that I'd see in the barren branches of deciduous trees, and I finally got to see some low enough to the ground to investigate these crazy parasitic plants. It's kind of a good thing that I was alone on this walk, because I was positively gleeful at this discovery, and took my sweet time to investigate its berries, leaves, and attachment to the host tree.


Not too far down the hill from the mistletoe-laden walnut trees was this gigantic patch of prickly pear cactus. Beautiful! I made off with some tiny growths off of a fallen paddle, that I wrapped in a bandanna and placed into my backpack.

Around the prickly pear patch were tons of lupine and these curious other purple blooms. I think they're a variety of blue-eyed grass, which is part of the iris family. I couldn't stop looking at them, but didn't try to take any home with me. Edit: They're wild hyacinths (Dichelostemma capitatum capitatum), another name for them being 'blue dicks' hehe!