Sketching toucans with John Muir Laws. I always knew toucans had very oversized beaks, but look at that skeleton image! It’s nuts!
pteroglossus torquatus
Author: Hashi
oak glade
I slipped into a part of the State Park I hadn’t visited before, and followed a deer trail under overhanging boughs, to discover this secluded open glade within a circle of coast live oaks. I lay down on the thick bedding of dry, prickly leaves, my sketching bag as a pillow, and watched the dappled light dance above me.
For a few minutes, I stopped thinking about what the US Supreme Court did yesterday. I just breathed.
chlorion aerarium
Tarantula hawks do it to tarantulas, mud daubers do it to other spiders. Steel-blue cricket hunters do it to crickets. Way to pack lunch for your kids.
national typewriter day
I find random national days to be pretty hilarious, but sometimes they provide good inspiration for a sketching subject.
metacyrba taeniola
This tiny (0.3 inch) lady* rappelled down from the light fixture to right above my computer. Cute!
*The males are even smaller than this.
malibu tide pools
Poking around the tide pools with Suzanne was a perfect way to spend the first morning of summer.
cafe sketch
Thank you, random customer with magenta hair, for being my unwitting model.
lilies and phacelia
I don’t know how long the Humboldt lilies are going to last in Santa Ynez Canyon, but for now they’re still going strong, and we’re loving them.
r.i.p. p-54
One night four years ago, a young mountain lion paid us a visit. She and I locked eyes through the living room window, before she stalked off into the night. We contacted the wildlife people next day, who checked the tracking and let us know it was P-54, an 18 month old female. We felt extremely honoured by her visit.
Last Friday morning, P-54 was struck and killed near Malibu Creek State Park. She was the 29th mountain lion to be killed by a vehicle in the NPS study area since 2002.
I know there are a lot of tragic things happening in the world right now, but this one particularly hurts.
cute newt
I was sooo excited to see this little guy down in Cold Creek; first time I’ve seen one in the wild. All credit goes to Annette for spotting it first.
hashiworks 