Nice to be greeted at Sydney airport by the ubiquitous Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca), known locally as bin chicken or tip turkey for its habit of rummaging in garbage. Ah, it’s good to be here.
LAX to SYD
Month: October 2024
packing list
I’m off Downunder to spend time with family and friends.
oak tree fountain
It’s coming up on six years since the Woolsey fire ravaged Malibu and the surrounding mountains. This oak tree fountain at a local shopping centre commemorates the event. I didn’t realise, while sketching it, that it’s made of copper; I presumed bronze. It has developed a dark patina that makes it feel very coast-live-oaky, and the rocks at the base are bright with algae or moss. I like it.
moore lab
I took a (free) guided tour of the Moore Lab of Zoology at Occidental College in Eagle Rock and wow, it did not disappoint. The vast majority of the 65,000–specimen collection is whole bird study skins, mostly collected in Mexico in the early 20th century. The lab welcomes visits from students, scientists and artists, so I’m keen to go back for more extensive sketching time (and a peek into more of the drawers!).
Tantilla planiceps
We last saw a black-headed snake in our yard 14 months ago. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was the same snake? My herpetologist friend Greg says, judging by the size of this one, it’s likely four or five years old … so it’s possible.
Asplenium nidus
Bird’s nest fern (native to Australasian tropics) under bougainvillea (native to South America). Both doing nicely in our Mediterranean climate.
the waiting trees
You’ve heard of the giving tree, one of the most divisive trees in children’s literature. These are the waiting trees, waiting to be sketched by one who waits.
Dr. Living Stone, I presume
Up till now I’ve not had much success in caring for Pleiospilos and Lithops—“living stones” from South Africa—and I’ve envied the ease with which my neighbour manages to grow them. She gave me these ones back in April, and so far things are looking good! New leaves are emerging!
Here’s what I did differently this time:
- I repotted them into 12 cm deep pots with drainage holes
- I used a ratio of 25% cactus mix to 75% pumice for the growing medium
- I put them in full sun, watered them once or twice, then left them alone. They may have got a little splash when I watered adjacent plants, and through June Gloom they‘ve had damp air, but I did not actually water them for six months.
Ideally, these succulents should only get water during the growing season (now!) Fingers crossed I can keep them alive through winter. Maybe I’ll move them under shelter when the rain comes (though my neighbour doesn’t do this). Hmm …
Lonchura punctulata
New-to-me bird! The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (Lonchura punctulata) is a finch known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch. The species is endemic to Asia, but feral populations have established in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, as well as parts of Australia and the US.
Here’s an interesting fact: L. punctulata frequently serves as a brood host for the parasitic pin-tailed whydah in Southern California, where both have become feral. In this setting, the munia raises the whydah’s chicks as if they were its own. This interaction is unusual since the two species do not naturally coexist in their native habitats—the whydah is from Africa—and have no evolutionary history as parasite and host. Now I want to see a pin-tailed whydah!
sit spot
At lunchtime, I followed a game trail down to the creek and sat under a huge oak tree for half an hour, in a place where humans rarely go. I wish everyone had the opportunity to do this, to sit alone in silence by a clean creek under an old tree, and just breathe (and listen, and draw, and write). Would we still fight wars, I wonder?
hashiworks 