Landscape Renovation, originally uploaded by Kelson.
Irvine is dreadfully afraid you might think the dead grass is the result of poor maintenance.
Apparently, they’re also concerned that the old Grass Under Renovation signs might not be inclusive enough.
Early last month I posted some photos of ponds in an empty lot in the Irvine Spectrum area, fed by the winter rains. Well, the rains have been tapering off, and the weather has been warming up. It’s been at least two weeks since it last rained, and the ponds are drying out.
Drying Office Park Pond, originally uploaded by Kelson.
On the plus side, all the sun has brought out the wildflowers. It’s still nowhere near the 2006 level, when hillsides were covered with patches of dark green, light green and bright yellow…
…but there was a nice patch of lupins at one end of the lot.
Lupin Patch, originally uploaded by Kelson.
Office Park Ponds (2/3), originally uploaded by Kelson.
There are still a few empty lots in the Irvine Spectrum office park area, and the recent rains have turned them green…and for the first time I remember noticing, filled hollows with water to create temporary ponds. There were even a half-dozen ducks milling about while I took these pictures.
Update: I went back a month later, after the rains had stopped, and took some more photos.
It’s been a dry year for California. Water districts all over the state are geared up for drought conditions. The hills in the Orange County area are still golden-brown in mid-April. Last year at this time, they had finally turned green for spring.
Here’s a shot from the Irvine Spectrum area from April 6, 2006:
That’s not a lawn behind that hedge, that’s a vacant lot. You can see it’s just as green as the strip of maintained grass along the sidewalk. Now here’s a picture taken about half a block away, taken last week, on April 6, 2007 (no, the timing was not intentional).
This year, only a few weeds and flowers have managed to take hold in the vacant lot. Meanwhile, the hills are their usual golden brown. Somehow, I don’t think we’re going to see much in the way of wildflowers this year. Continue reading
