Today, I went for a walkabout at the Madrona Marsh, which is one of the few remaining wetlands here in SoCal!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

There were a few photos.

[SheltieLover]

1. Mother Nature in all her glory

Ty, Peggy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Thanks so much, my dear SheltieLover!

Indeed, in all her glory!

I had a blast!

[Mousetoescamper]

2. Wow, Peggy!

The marsh is like a botanical garden. I'm amazed at the variety of flowering species. Perhaps you could give us a little background on this rare wetlands in another post.

Your photos are splendid!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. High praise indeed, and Thank You, my dear Mousetoescamper!

It's a very cool place, and I will talk about it in another thread, later!

[Beartracks]

3. Every one a gem!

Beautiful work. Spring is most certainly springing.

That red one that looks a tassel blowing sideways: what kind of flower is that?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Thanks so much, my dear Beartracks!

I've never taken this many photos all at the same time before! I kept visualizing photos that I had to have!

I have no idea what the flowers are, I'm sorry to say. That was a very intriguing one, for sure.

[Beartracks]

8. I know them all except that red one. ..... Ha! Just kidding!!

I couldn't name a single one of those flowers.

===========

[bluescribbler]

7. Beautiful images as usual

Thank you for capturing them before they are lost forever.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Thank you so much, my dear bluescribbler . . .

I hope we won't drive them to extinction. There are many people who want to see them survive.

[Duncanpup]

9. Peggy you're an artist with a camera.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Thank you for your amazing comment, my dear Duncanpup!

That was very kind of you.

[4catsmom]

10. Absolutely gorgeous

just what we needed to give us a dose of spring

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. Thanks so much, my dear 4catsmom!

Spring is definitely here!

[DeeDeeNY]

12. Beautiful!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thanks very much, my dear DeeDee NY! There was beauty everywhere.

[HeartsCanHope]

13. Breathtaking, CaliforniaPeggy!

Absolutely stunning photos that truly brightened my day!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Thanks so much, my dear HeartsCantHope . . .

And *I* Thank You for your generous comments!

And your day was brightened means a lot to me!

[wendyb-NC]

17. Gorgeous photographs, Peggy

That was a productive walk. Glad you enjoyed the day. Wetlands are underrated. They are so vital to a healthy ecosystem, they need to be protected, respected and admired. You did not only that today, you paid it forward for all of us on DU.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. Thanks so much, my dear wendyb-NC!

It is always my pleasure.

[lindalou65]

20. What lovely photos

Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. Thank you, my dear lindalou65 . . .

I'm so pleased that you like these.

[Evolve Dammit]

22. Very nice! I sincerely hope it is preserved.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. Thanks so much, my dear Evolve Dammit!

This one is protected. The City of Torrance is fully committed to preserving it. They know its worth.

[Evolve Dammit]

35. Great to hear!

[calimary]

23. Wunnnnnnnnnderful photos, Peggy!

I swear - in that photo of the large stone block, I can see what my mind says looks like a little pool in the middle with a small creature with a little yellow eye looking up at you as it tries to climb up onto the top. But I’m guessing it’s an optical illusion on a dark flat round leaf.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

34. Thank you so much, my dear calimary, for your imaginative response!

It IS a water feature; the water's flowing from that dark space on the rock's surface. Even in person, I had difficulty seeing exactly what was happening.

[eppur_se_muova]

24. So many blooms now means so many fruits and seeds later ... so many to be eaten by little critters.

Including caterpillars, aphids, grasshoppers, and all the insects suburban lawn-tenders regard as pests, and do their best to poison or otherwise eliminate. Caterpillars and grubs are the preferred food of songbird nestlings, and there are now many areas where the parents can't adequately feed their young because the surrounding territory has been scoured free of such "pests", or taken over by imported (usually invasive) plants that are inedible to most of the local bugs. Lush green lawns appear beautiful to realtors and civic boosters, but theirs is the beauty of a sterile monoculture, pretty as a well-embalmed corpse.

We've got to save wetlands and wildlands, or risk killing off so much of Nature.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. How right you are, and thank you for saying it so clearly, my dear eppur_se_muova . . .

It felt like a rough-hewn paradise to me.

As I said above, the City of Torrance is fully committed to saving this bit of wild land.

[LNM]

25. Lovely!

Nice job, CalPeggy! I imagine you spent hours there.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

37. Thanks so much, my dear LNM!

I had a lot of fun there. But I am old and run out of steam pretty fast. I was there an hour before I decided that it would be smart to leave.

In that time, I took 50 photos which is a bit of a record for me.

[SWBTATTReg]

26. Ahhhh! Such a nice walk you provided all of us today. I truly felt like we were there with you, enjoying the

sights and taking in the sights! Thank you so much for the journey!!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

38. Thank you so much, my dear SWBTATTReg! How kind of you.

It was a bit chilly at first; the temps were in the 50's. And then we got so absorbed that we forgot to notice!

[AllaN01Bear]

27. oooh. ahhh.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

39. Thanks so much, my dear AllaN01Bear! I'm glad you enjoyed them.

[KatyaR]

28. The lilacs made me gasp!

And the mimosas--plants from my childhood. I had an old-growth lilac bush outside my bedroom window when I was a kid, and I used to sleep with my head in the window in the spring so I could smell the lilacs as I went to sleep.

My grandmother had a small pink mimosa under a couple of other trees. It never got very big, but it was so pretty. I guess they're considered junk trees now, I never see them any more.

Thanks, Peggy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

40. I had never seen such huge lilacs either, my dear KatyaR! They were amazing.

Which one was the mimosa? I don't think it was labelled.

And what a wonderful memory from your childhood!

[orleans]

29. these pictures are fantastic! thanks for posting them peggy. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

41. Thank you so much, my dear orleans . . . I'm glad.

[Pas-de-Calais]

30. GR8 pics

[CaliforniaPeggy]

42. Thanks so much, my dear Pas-de-Calais . . .nt

[sinkingfeeling]

31. Loved the lilacs.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

43. I was amazed at them! Thanks so much, my dear sinkingfeeling!

[Joinfortmill]

32. Oh, my, lovely.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. Thank you for your lovely heartfelt comment, my dear Joinfortmill!

[Joinfortmill]

45. ☺️

[Easterncedar]

46. What fabulous variety!

Even high summer here doesn’t produce such abundance. I couldn’t name half of them. Beautiful.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

47. Thanks so much, my dear Easterncedar!

We have a super temperate climate and things like to grow here.

I couldn't name the great majority of these! Some had labels which I looked at, but didn't photograph.