Annette and I circumnavigated the Santa Monica Mountains today, scouting possible locations for future Nature Journal Club meetups. We found several strong contenders, a couple of maybes, and we crossed a few off our list. A productive and fun day! (Sketched from a photo taken while hiking the day before.)
My dear friend Georgia and her mum are spending the week at Scarborough (UK). She sent me a photo of their “windswept joyfulness”, and I just had to capture it in a loose sketch.
This week in the PerpJo. Rhus ovata, commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is a long lived-plant, up to 100 years, and has dense evergreen foliage. It is closely related to and hybridizes with lemonadeberry, which grows at our place. It’s in the cashew family!
Where am I, Narnia? I wish! For some reason my mother-in-law’s house includes a lamp post in the middle of the back lawn. I guess it’s a good place to look for your car keys.
Bo’s having a post-bath sulk. She thinks I’m a big meanie for not letting her roll in the dirt to dry out her fur.
Only a few day’s worth left. It’s been a good long tomato season!
This week’s Buildings assignment was to sketch a fancy local building that we could sit directly in front of. I was on my way to the historic Adamson House when I realised that the new Santa Monica College satellite (opened earlier this year) fit the bill.
It seems there was not really a need for this campus, but the money was available, so they built it anyway. The parking lot is always empty. Are there any students inside? In the meantime, the park opposite is populated by people experiencing homelessness. Were resources allocated rationally?
I first read this book seven years ago. I don’t remember the frogs, but as they appear on the cover of this edition, I expect they feature in the story. Looking forward to jumping in (see what I did there?)
Gouache, watercolour, crayon and ink on toned paper. Inspired by Study of a head: self-portrait (1916) by Grace Cossington Smith.
hashiworks 