This is not a subject I envisioned myself photographing. Growing up in Southern California, ice plant was everywhere, from freeway interchanges to residential hillside groundcover. Usually it’s just a big patch of green with the occasional hint of orange and yellow. It’s also an invasive species brought from South Africa to fight erosion over 100 years ago. But apparently, when it’s dying off, it gets interesting. The scene above caught my eye while my youngest daughter and I went on an early morning hike at Oceano Beach. The dying ice plant leaf looked like a flame. This and the image below also narrowly missed making my 2027 calendar, which is coming soon!
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