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mott adobe ruins

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In 1910, Johnny Mott, a famous LA attorney, built an adobe home on the banks of Malibu Creek, in what was then Crag’s Country Club. It was reported in the Los Angeles Times that Mott’s longtime friend, President Herbert Hoover, was a frequent guest. 

When 20th Century Fox bought the property in 1946, the adobe was retained as a movie set. You can see it in “Viva Zapata!” (1952), starring Marlon Brando, but by 1970 it had fallen into ruins. 

The Mott Adobe ruins are now part of Malibu Creek State Park, and only the dramatic stone fireplace is left standing.

field guide to western wildflowers

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We have a lending library for docents at MCSP, and yesterday I discovered this treasure: Field Book of Western Wild Flowers by Margaret Armstrong, published in 1915. It’s a small, thick book, filled with 500 black and white illustrations and 48 watercolour plates, and the most delightful plant descriptions. Example (Easter Bells, p 28):

“A patch of these flowers bordering the edge of a glacier, as if planted in a garden-bed, is a sight never to be forgotten. Pushing their bright leaves right through the snow they gayly swing their golden censers in the face of winter and seem the very incarnation of spring.”

Makes me want to gayly swing my golden censer 😁

You can see the text here on Gutenberg, but of course holding the hundred year old book in one’s hands is an infinitely more special experience. I’ve borrowed it, and I’m already feeling sad about the day I need to return it to the shelves.

figwort/bee plant

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So many wildflowers on today’s hike! I counted 32 different species, including several that were new to me. This one’s figwort or bee plant. The flowers are small, but look like cute little faces.

(Oops, just saw a typo on my sketch. It’s Scrophularia. Sounds like a disease, doesn’t it?)

norfolk pine

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Five years ago, we planted a Norfolk pine on the downslope below the lemonade berry, with the goal that it would block the view of the neighbour’s flagpole from our living room. It’s now about 3.5 metres tall and doing its job with pride and gusto. These trees will always remind me of Kiama, where I happily spent my childhood summers.

red-* hawks

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We have both Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks here. Today I realised there’s an easy way to tell the difference, even if you can’t see the colouration. In flight, the Red-shouldered alternates a few rapid flaps with glides. In contrast, the Red-tailed’s wingbeats are deep and slow, with the wingtips often curled up.

the bees moved in

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We have a low retaining wall that was built long ago with an old hollow metal drugstore sign, supported in front by a pile of broken concrete. Yesterday morning I realised that bees have taken up residence inside the sign. I was working around that wall the day before, weeding and watering, and didn’t notice any activity. Was I just oblivious? Or did they move in overnight? Either way, they are welcome.

newton canyon

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I’ve been driving past the Newton Canyon trailhead on Kanan for, oh, 25 years. Today I finally hiked it. It’s very pretty! The canyon sunflowers are out in full force, with lupins about to bust out all over.

When I stopped to sketch the view, I discovered that I didn’t have my usual brushes with me. All I had was a skinny little water brush, which is not my favourite tool. I tried to make the best of it …

descanso gardens

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The stone-fruit trees are flowering at Descanso Gardens, so I went with Urban Sketchers LA, on a chilly morn, to enjoy (and sketch) the display.

While there, I wandered into the California Native garden (designed in the 1950s by legendary nurseryman and native plant advocate Theodore Payne) and saw a ground cover sage that I think would do really well at our place. I believe it’s Salvia Bee’s Bliss — gotta get me some!

bewick’s wren

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Well, spring has sprung and the birds are letting us know about it! Yesterday at Wildwood, the Bewick’s wrens were going off! I’m grateful for tools like BirdNET for helping me improve by bird ID skills, especially as we have so many LBJs (little brown jobs) around here. (Ref 📷: Ashok Khosla)