Another cleared fence line

I finished the fence line west of the south entrance on the north tract and had enough energy to harvest enough elements from the debris to make a small holiday wreath. As I wrote earlier, there is very little color now in the scrub. It's green, brown, white and blue, if you include the sky.

Many of the Chapman oaks are shedding leaves and a lot of brown leaves are on the trees. No other plants are doing this. I hope this is only drought-related and not related to any oak declines I've heard about. I'll know by spring.

Winter defloration

I can tell winter is approaching. The formerly brilliant hues of the Garberia, Liatris, Baulduinia and Carphephorus are now brown wisps of seedheads waiting to be carried by the wind, a bird or an insect to fertile or infertile, sunlit or sunless ground on a chance of regeneration when warm weather and rain return, whenever that is. The way things are going the former will occur before the latter.

Orchids in bloom

The Habenaria floribunda are beginning to pop up and bloomin the bayhead. I took some photos theother day. I will post them later. I counted the plants I could find and noticed there were 10.

This is the second orchid species I've found here. I don't expect top find more. The other is the upland species Pteroglossapsis escritata.

Bureaucracy and the land-use map

Gary Morse at FWC today told me Division of State Lands has to initiate any growth map amendment action since the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, not FWC actually own Lake Blue. That's fine with me as long as someone gives the matter some attention.

Another clear fence line

Over the weekend I finished the fence line south of the main entrance. I found a lot of trash in the right of way I'll have to come back for in a future Great American Cleanup. I also made some progress in the southwest corner where the bayhead and the orchids are. I need to go in and verify which Habeneria species lives there. I found another plant, too.