I sowed a packet of southwest flower seeds some months ago. The California poppies were the first to bloom, but now the ‘regular’ poppies are ready to burst forth. These flowers remind me of my maternal grandparents, who grew them in their front yard in Sydney. I wonder what colours we’ll get? So far, there’s just one pink bloom.
I just found this in my drafts folder. I think I painted it last November.
I went to Ormond Beach in Oxnard with the Channel Islands Nature Journalers. It’s an interesting place, a little hard to get to, bounded by a port, a Naval Air Station, a power plant, and a superfund* site—a former metal smelter—that is high in aluminum, magnesium, and other metals. Some of the waste contains radioactive thorium and radium.
Sounds yucky, but because of its lack of appeal to the beach-going public, it’s a great birding site! There’s a protected lagoon and wetlands, and more shorebird species are known to use Ormond Beach than any other site in Ventura County. Two endangered species, the Western Snowy Plover and the California Least Tern, nest there. We went with a guide from Audubon, so it was primarily a bird-watching event, but as usual, the plants called my name.
*I learned why highly polluted locations are called superfund sites. It’s because that’s the amount of money that is needed to clean them up. Check here to see if you have one near you (US only).
I rarely eat fish, but yesterday the salmon sounded good. Unfortunately it was a bit overcooked and tough 😩 So much for that splurge!
hashiworks 