Diggers

I went to Pinnacles a while ago to check out the spring flowers. They were pretty, but not knock-off-your-socks pretty; I think it was just a bit early. But it's always nice to visit Pinnacles. The park has a lot of digger pines. This is probably the hardiest common pine in California in terms of surviving heat and drought. The diggers grow in the foothills all around the perimeter of the Central Valley, and also in the far northern part of the valley itself around Redding. They are also common in the drier coastal ranges, including the Diablo Range around Pinnacles. The climate in their range features plenty of rain in an average winter, but long, hot, dry summers. The trees are tall and gnarled; each one is different. I enjoyed this silhouette of a digger against a lichen speckled cliff.

Up close, the diggers' needles make a graceful scene. The trees have massive cones.

Here's a nice batch of Indian paintbrush by the trail.