Curious as to whether there would be any water in the falls at Monrovia Canyon Park, I hiked there on May 22. As the above picture shows, there was water but not much, and the 'pool' at the bottom of the falls was completely dry. Not surprising, given the rainfall situation of the past several years. There was however an interesting display of about a dozen balanced rocks that someone had placed there. I inadvertantly displaced one but in doing so confirmed that there was no glue or other adhesive utilized, and I was unable to balance the rock again in its original position. See photos at the end of this gallery. The entrance to Monrovia Canyon Park is on North Canyon Blvd. in Monrovia, and it is open every day except Tuesday. In addition to the Waterfall Trail, there is the historic Ben Overturff Trail which goes from the Sawpit Canyon Fire Road to the Old Cabin Site in Deer Park. On this particular day, I only went to the waterfall, which is a 3-1/2 mile roundtrip. An asterisk next to the common name indicates a non-native taxon. Thanks to Bob Allen and Hartmut Wisch for consulting on the beetle identification.

Bitter gooseberry
Ribes amarum
Grossulariaceae

California hedge nettle
Stachys bullata
Lamiaceae

Heartleaf penstemon
Keckiella cordifolia
Plantaginaceae
[Named for David Daniels Keck, 1903-1995]

Chamise
Adenostoma fasciculatum var. fasciculatum
Rosaceae

Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Rosaceae

Field hedge-parsley *
Torilis arvensis
Apiaceae