Before it goes away

Spring is fleeting here in Southern California, before the heat comes on. And it's even more fleeting in a drought year.

Here is our nearby hillside, bright with blooming wild mustard, in early March.

Wild mustard is an invasive weed, but during the short time it blooms, it can color our hillsides beautifully. Now, a month after I took these photos, it's going to seed and going brown and dry. Soon it will be gone, and our hills will take on a more tawny tone.