hondo canyon

I left early for my appointment in the Valley so I could spend an hour in Topanga State Park on the way. I hiked less than a mile into Hondo Canyon before stopping to sketch the view. I am so lucky to be surrounded by protected lands here; it’s easy to just slip into a state park for an hour’s shinrin-yoku in the middle of an otherwise busy day.

charmlee

I took Bodie out to (dog-friendly) Charmlee Wilderness Park yesterday for a three-mile hike. It had probably been about nine years since we were last there. She was pretty excited to visit someplace new, and smell all the critters. The wildflowers are popping, and the area seems to be recovering well from the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

blood orange

Blood oranges were first discovered and cultivated in Sicily in the fifteenth century. They are a natural mutation of Citrus x sinensis, although today the majority of them are hybrids. High concentrations of anthocyanin give the rind, flesh, and juice of the fruit their characteristic dark red color. [Source: Wikipedia]

We need to get this one into the ground. I’m amazed it’s bearing fruit in this quite small pot. We just haven’t quite agreed on where it should be planted.

random

The dining room table is my desk/art table. Once a week I clear it off and wipe it down, but mostly it’s covered with assorted books, art supplies, bags, hats, sewing tools and other random detritus. This is a small subset of what’s in front of me.