'The Bachelorette': Has Ali Fedotowsky's season started filming?

The ring is barely on Vienna Girardi's finger and already Ali Fedotowsky's "Bachelorette" season may be under way.

According to a blog by Lindsay Bridges, a friend of Lindsay and her husband Mike has left to begin filming "The Bachelorette."

Bridges wrote on March 3: "We actually know one of the guys that will be on the show contending for Ali's love!! His name is Chris and he grew up with my hubby!! He is leaving March 9th to start filming."

Meanwhile, Ali was spotted this past weekend in Hollywood. It is unknown whether she is still here after filming "After the Final Rose," but perhaps she left (since "ATFR" was filmed three weeks ago) and went back to either San Francisco or Massachusetts and has now arrived in the SoCal area to begin filming her season of "The Bachelorette."

It wouldn't be unthinkable for the show to begin filming this week. ABC has announced that the show will premiere May 24. It takes six weeks to film a season, so starting this week would give them five weeks to edit the show and film the "Women Tell All" and "After the Final Rose." They'd almost have to start this week to get that turned around so quickly.

The person who spotted Ali in Hollywood on March 6 is Steve (pictured above and below), a Los Angeles resident who tells Zap2it that "Ali was warm, cheerful and generous ... and could not have made a better impression to me. I'm not normally a celeb watcher/follower so that says something."

ABC had no comment on whether the season was shooting yet.

What do we think? Is Ali meeting her group of 25 Bachelors right now? It's nice to hear that Ali is such a sweetheart in person.

"The Bachelorette" two-hour premiere airs on ABC Monday, May 24 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.