Things I learned on this hike—the Sepulveda Dam wall is 3 miles (5 km) long, and you can climb onto it. When the basin floods, fish are stranded on the trails. Egrets eat other birds!
Ardea alba
Author: Hashi
monochrome landscape
After my shift at the Visitor Center, I sat by the creek and sketched the view.
Pixie cups
INaturalist says this is Cladonia chlorophaea, Mealy Pixie Cups. And yes, lichen do have fruiting bodies, and this is they. Teensy and adorable.
Polygala myrtifolia
Gorgeous flowers. Happy bees. Invasive shrub. Two out of three ain’t bad 🙄
Actually, this species has something going for it besides its beauty—it is noted for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. Research conducted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal found that aqueous extracts of P. myrtifolia are effective against Candida albicans, the yeast that causes candidiasis or thrush.
oak view
Y. and I walked our dogs to the Santa Ana bridge, then stopped on the way back to sketch the view.
dogwalkers
Vinca major
Good times with the Channel Island Nature Journalers, who conveniently met in my town this month. I got curious about the reproductive parts of a periwinkle flower, which are very tiny and hard to see.
celebrating seed pods
meadows
pumpkin vine
I didn’t realise that the ink in my parallel pen was water-soluble until I started painting. At that point, it made more sense to paint the negative space so I didn’t turn the leaves into a grey mess.
hashiworks 