Sierra Nevada Biology

My degree is in biology. Have I ever shared that here? Perhaps not, because (probably much to my parents' dismay on reading this), I don't feel all that confident in my memory of all that I tried to cram into my head during university. Oy. But...now as a homeschooling parent, the interest, fascination, and pleasure in science still resides, because it often sparks an interest and an eagerness in me and therefore the kids. This year up at the lake, there was a shared interest in the many wildflowers that had exploded around us. What we couldn't already identify, my Dad, also a plant loving scientist, could often identify. When we failed, we reached for the guide books.

Mountain Spirea

Mountain aster

Paintbrush 

(Nodding?) Arnica

Sierra Stickseed??

Grandma, Nonno, and John Muir, all love Mountain Pride (Penstemon newberryi)

Mountain Heather

Tiger swallowtail on a lily. I have never seen so many swallowtails as we did this week.

Alpine Lily

Mariposa lily

Phlox

Pretty Face, Golden Brodiaea

Alpine Pyrrocoma? (or Mountain Dandelion?)

Pennyroyal. Mint...smelled like heaven and my childhood

 

Columbine 

 Thimbleberry

 

 Groundsel

 Lodgepole pine cone (Pinus contorta)

 Queen Anne's Lace (Bolander's Yampah)

 Lupine

Cinquefoil (A terrible photo, sorry)