Musing on Marah
When I first looked up at this tall, dark pine and saw the vivid green vine of Wild Cucumber (Marah macrocarpus) reaching and spiraling upwards, it seemed like something truly magical. A verdant staircase of sorts that I wished I could somehow climb. The above image was the result of a bit of tinkering in Photoshop, but I think it’s a fair representation of how my mind first interpreted this beautiful scene. I must have spent a good 20 or 30 minutes circling the tree and appreciating the colors, trying to capture the details I loved most. Here are a few of my favorites…
If you live in this area, be sure to keep an eye out for this beautiful native which is currently blooming everywhere right now! Look for the attractive vine and leaves shown here… with the added bonus of sweet little clusters of white blossoms, which I will undoubtedly feature in future posts. (For more information, check out this Calflora page. An excellent resource for all things growing within the state of California!)
Magical indeed 🙂 Love the colors here. I’ve recently become enamored with plants; until recently I have somehow been mostly blind to them, always looking past the plant in search of some insect or whathaveyou. But over the winter I was taking a walk and, being that it was winter and insects weren’t really out, I started to really notice for the first time how amazing the plant diversity was. I thought to myself there there were probably atleast a couple hundred different species in the area, and since then I’ve been making trying to photograph all of them and put a name to them. I wait eagerly for spring and the wildflower season, and I will keep an eye out for this one! Keep the plant photos coming, I’ve really been enjoying them 🙂
We are so much alike… I had the same sort of experience with plants a couple of years ago and it was like a whole new world opened up for me. I still consider myself a neophyte when it comes to identification, but I’d be happy to help if you want a second opinion on any of your photos. I’ve definitely got more plant photos coming — very glad to hear that I’ve got a receptive audience waiting! You know, Chris, I like to think of myself as a very perceptive person, attuned to small details and whatnot… BUT, I somehow managed to be ignorant of the fact that you have a website and blog until I just now saw the link! I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on something so great! Going to get a cup of tea now, sit down, and have a nice loooong look around your site. I’m sure it will be brilliant!