Time to break out the macro lens (or, at least, flip the little dial to macro mode) to get those beautiful close-ups of our famous Sierra Nevada wildflowers.

The SF Chronicle is predicting a banner wildflower season in the region due to the spring's unusually cool, wet weather. This has primed the region for warmer, drier weather when the flowers will bloom in all their glory.

From SF Chronicle:

Nature lovers could be in for a treat soon at Lake Tahoe.
Botanists
are hoping several weeks of unusually cool, wet spring weather will
make for a banner wildflower season in the Sierra Nevada.

"Things around the basin are just getting started. Now that it's
going to warm up, it's going to happen fast," said Karen Wiese, author
of "Sierra Nevada Wildflowers."

While some flowers won't start to bloom until October, the best time
for wildflower viewing in the region is typically between now and the
end of July, she said.

Lupine and camas lilies already are cropping up in Hope Valley,
about 20 miles south of Lake Tahoe. In a couple of weeks, nearby Carson
Pass will be another splendid place to stop and smell the flowers,
Wiese added.