Yesterday I blogged about the Santa Rosa Plateau, and shared some poppies.  Today’s photo is of another flower, only a much rarer one: the chocolate lily:

Chocolate lilies, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, 2009

This is an uncommon lily, and the Santa Rosa Plateau is just about the southern tip of its range.  Each spring, people start hiking the plateau in hopes of finding blooming lilies.  Because of its dark appearance, it has earned the nickname “Cleopatra of the Fritillaries”.

I really like this shot, not only because of the composition and lighting (I love the soft backlighting and highlighting on the edges of the blooms), but also because we found these lilies after a hot day of hiking, and it felt good to sit in the shade of an oak tree, enjoying the day.