I Wish I Knew

Much like identifying rashes, I need a guidebook on weeds in California.  I seriously do.  I struggled with this in the fall, and now I'm struggling even more in the spring.  How does one know which ones are the weeds, when they're in a new environment?  And should I just go around knocking on doors and ask?  Because looking them up online isn't helping me at all.  I don't even know where to begin.

Is this a weed?!

Sure, these beauties are easy to identify.

And whether this little orange guy is a weed or not, I'm fairly fond of him and all of his little friends who have been blessing me with their presence randomly in my back yard among the rocks.  They look sort of like a poppy, but lack the fuzziness I'm used to.

It's easy when you planted a bunch of bulbs yourself, so you know they're actual flowers.

But being in a new yard with tons of flowers, being in a different state with lots of foliage, it's truly hard to tell.

I really should go knocking around on doors asking, "Is this a weed?"  The neighbors might think I'm crazy, but if they get to know me, they'll figure out I am anyway.