Our favorite trail in Kenna Cartwright Park is on the west end of Mount Dufferin.   We start on Hillside Drive past the Correctional Facility and climb the hill.   We combine several trails, but the main one is the Mesa Trail.   On this May afternoon, the wildflowers were on display.   We pull salsify out of the yard, but it is beautiful in bloom.

salsify

Buckwheat is an inconspicuous flower often found in our sagebrush and grasslands.   Its beauty is best seen close up.

buckwheat

Indian pipe is rarely noticed, especially in bloom.   Its muted colors and leafless stalks make it invisible unless we look carefully.

Indian pipe

This beetle was feeding on a golden aster.

beetle on yellow aster

Poisonous, but beautiful in bloom, death camas can be found throughout our grasslands.

death camas in bloom

Small-flowered penstemmon is found mostly on the edge of forests and open glades at mid-elevations, but is widely adapted to many zones in our area.

small-flowered penstemmon

Yarrow is out earlier this year:

yarrow

An invasive plant that has no appeal after blooming, Dalmatian toadflax has beautiful individual flowers along its stalk.

toadflax

Thompson’s paintbrush is common to the sagebrush and grasslands zones of our area.

Thompsons paintbrush

More flowers are emerging and will do so for a few more months.   In May, salsify is the star that greets us along the trails.

salsify

Our route: