Took a little walk along the beach while waiting for my lunch date at Cholada. This pink and orange seaweed caught my eye.
seaweed
Month: February 2024
snail on jade
I never really thought about a snail’s life cycle until today. They hatch from eggs, which I suppose is kind of obvious, but just something I’d never considered, until I wondered how a baby got so high up on the jade plant.
windfall
A gift for my sister.
from Alli and Derek
Continuous line bouquet.
Chlaenius aestivus
We had fun drawing a ground beetle with Trisha this past week, especially as the specimen had mysterious additional mouthparts that our entomologist had never seen before. I didn’t do a great job depicting the metallic red/green head and pronotum. I’d like to get myself some metallic watercolours for times like these.
Lybia edmondsoni
OK, this is the cutest thing I’ve learned about all week. Tiny, pugnacious pom-pom crabs have very thin shells, and so they use anemones to defend themselves, waving them around vigorously like boxing gloves. I wondered if they put them down to eat, but it seems that the anemones collect food as they are being swished through the water, and the crabs just nibble it off them. Kind of like licking your swiffer I suppose (ugh, gross).
The crab/anemone relationship is symbiotic, though it seems that the crab gets the better end of the deal. If one of its pom poms gets lost, the crab will just tear the other one in half. Each half will grow into a complete organism. Isn’t nature amazing?
baby protea
Pittenweem
Pittenweem is a picturesque Scottish fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife, dating back to medieval times. The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic and means “the place of the caves”, referring to St Fillan’s cave.
According to Charlie Flinders, it has the best fish and chips in the world.
Pittenweem hosts one of the most-loved art festivals in Scotland, attracting about 20,000 visitors over eight days each August. Many artists have re-discovered the charms and the light of the area, and have moved to the village, creating a vibrant artistic community. Makes me want to visit!
for cali
Happy birthday to my favourite (only) grand-daughter xoxo
under the oaks
I sat in the thick oak leaf mulch to sketch this burned, twisted stump. Across from me, Jeyla was drawing mushrooms. My view spiralled upwards. Hers focused downwards. Together but apart, we breathed the damp, earthy air.
hashiworks 