
We have 6 mature oak trees in our yard, so right now we have hundreds of seedlings popping up all over. If you want to come by and transplant some for your place, let me know! We have plenty to spare!

My docent buddies Rick and Tom showed me a secret (off-trail) trove of stream orchids in the mountains. The hike included bushwhacking through poison oak, and getting wet in the creek. Some blood was shed (by the guys, not me). But we were rewarded with the best stand of Epipactic gigantea I’ve ever seen. Thanks Rick and Tom, it was awesome.

Friday hike in the Ventura River Preserve. I wanted to check out Fern Grotto Trail, hoping it would yield, you know, a grotto full of ferns. I did see some ferns, and also two little white globe lily plants, which distracted me from further exploration. By the time I’d journaled them, it was time to head home.

We have the yard. We have the sunshine. And now, we have the clothesline.

I spent much of the day at beautiful King Gillette Ranch, both staffing a booth for Malibu Creek State Park, and enjoying the music of the annual Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest. I plucked this mushroom from under the nearby valley oak and was intrigued by its strong smell, so I asked a few people to sniff and describe. We settled on soy saucy chocolate. Later I found fresh specimens of the same species; their aroma was much milder. No, we were not tempted to taste them.