Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens

I haven't posted to this blog in a while. Though I've taken tons of photos I haven't been able to do much visiting so I thought it only fair that I didn't post and draw comments and visits that I didn't have time to return. But I've missed posting my photos and I've got to do this for me so... I'm back and hope I find time to return any comments and visits that I get. These are from my visit to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont, California.

Mellow Yellow Monday/Today's Flowers

I haven't been able to do much meme-ing lately. I've missed Mellow Yellow Mondays. I'm home waiting to get my garage door fixed so I've got a chance to catch some yellow this morning.


If I've got this right, this is a Fremotrodendron, also called Ken Taylor and California Glory. I've only seen these a couple of places. These photos were taken at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens. It's a huge place but not very visible from the streets as the entrance is almost tucked away behind Claremont College.




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A Day At Rancho Santa Ana

Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens is one of the places I visit but I don't mention it often because I don't go often even though it is the closest botanical garden to me. It's not as "pretty" as some of the other botanical gardens but it is definitely rich with nature.


It's one of those places that have previously worked on donations but they've just recently changed that and are now charging admission. See, if people just made donations it would have been cheaper. Now you've got to pay. I watched many people just walk by that little donation box like they didn't see it.


You can click on any of these photos for a larger view. I would suggest clicking on the bird below or you'll miss the beak full of worms! I didn't realize I captured that until I edited the photo.




It's not that I don't like Rancho Santa Ana, I do. It's just that when I go I'm never sure what kind of photos I'm going to come out with - no guaranteed flowers, no guaranteed birds, not much water. I've never come out empty and it's always a very good walk.







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Red Breasted and Coopers Hawks

My Watery Wednesday post is right below this one. Sorry. I wasn't going to post anything else until late tomorrow but I got these today and was a little excited about it and wanted to share.

I went to Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens not far from me. I was a little disappointed because the flowers that were in bloom on my last visit were gone so I concentrated on trying to find some birds. No luck there either. I could hear them but not see them and when I did find a couple before I could focus they were gone. But before I left, as I walked down the ramp to the lower level I could hear this strange bird call and these big birds were flying back and forth between the leaves and branches that I was eye level with.


One finally landed where I could actually see it so there I was peering through the leaves and branches and was able to zoom in, max zoom, and these came out okay. The quality isn't the best because I was zoomed out but still, not bad for photos this size.



Then it took of. They flew around some more and I waited patiently hoping one would land closer. It did! I took several photos but since they all pretty much look like this one I only posted the one. I think the first one is a Red Shouldered Hawk and I think the other is a Cooper's Hawk, shown in that order.


Oh! And did I mention that they had two hawks' nests there. This is one shot. It was so high up that again, my zoom was maxed out but you can at least see the top of the hawk's head in this one. The the other nest shot didn't come out. I couldn't get a clear shot through the branches.

My World Tuesday/Nature Notes - RSABG #5

I've been posting about my visit to Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens. I wanted to finally give you a glimpse of what it actually looks like inside rather than just the things I photographed. The only thing I don't like about Rancho Santa Ana is that as far as the vegetation goes, you just about see the same thing no matter where you are except in the desert section where the cacti and desert plants grow.


Thought the paths and areas are different there's not much variety during your walk or hope of seeing something different than what you saw on the path you were on half an hour ago.


Having said that, I still enjoyed myself and would recommend it to anyone. It's sad they've started charging rather than just taking donations but I can imagine how many people walked in without dropping a dime in the donation bin.

I highly recommend clicking on some of the smaller photos so you can get a real view of the beauty and thick plants and trees that surround you along the paths.

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Mellow Yellow Monday - RSABG #4

Though this is my entry for Mellow Yellow Monday, it's also my 4th from my visit to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens. I've never seen this before but I thought the flowers were so pretty and interesting. They sure made for great shots. The plant/bush/tree is called Fromontodendron, or "Fred Taylor", or California Glory. When I first saw it is was a huge bush than spilled over with it's flowers along the ramp up to the top level of the gardens. This first one was taken at eye level as I walked up the ramp. It was about 2 feet tall.


But as I walked far back into the gardens I saw these as what I guess you would call trees. To give you a perspective on the size, if I was standing next to it, my head would be about half way up in the photo and there were taller ones.



Notice how the center looks almost like plastic.




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