Did the mountain in spite of myself

I woke up feeling puny. The weather was cool and windy, but not to be cheated, I climbed the mountain. Even carried the Canon. Was not worth the considerable effort. Might be a long time before I do that again. Maybe if Brian goes up and assures me there are lifers up there for me, then I guess I would do it. I took some photos just so my burdensome camera wouldn't go up the mountain for naught. First is a big oak tree growing in a gully up on top.

And here's some leaves from some smaller thickets of oaks. I think oaks hybridize so much that they're a nightmare to ID. If I was to guess, I'd say the big tree above is a Gray or Mexican Blue Oak hybrid, and the thickets might be Emory Oaks. All expertise welcome.

Soaring above the mountain top was this Peregrine Falcon.

It's not unusual this time of year to see a Greater Roadrunner running around with a lizard in its beak, hoping to attract a mate. But this roadrunner seems a bit embarrassed about the size of his "lizard," and just skulks inside a tree, perhaps hoping a female will take pity on him.

Flowers from the mountain, but I forgot what species.

This purple one is teensy. I have since gotten an ID on it, Glandleaf Milkwort (polygama macradenia). That's a new species for me.

I was so intent on photographing this metalmark (Apodemia duryi) that I didn't even see the flowers. Wish I had noticed them. I might have been able to ID them.

Here's a picture of my husband from his fishing trip Feb 16-19 at Black Gap WMA.