Foggy morning at the park, with the pale coyote statue howling into the mist.
coyote in the mist
Category: Uncategorized
desert dreaming
It’s been way too long since we went to the desert, and looking at the current temps out there, we clearly missed the spring window. Gotta schedule a trip for autumn, for sure.
Agaricus bisporus
I decided to sketch, and learn some more about, my snack.
Lithobates catesbeianus
I’ve heard bullfrogs a couple of times recently (at Malibu Creek and the pond at Rocky Oaks), so got curious about them. This amphibian is invasive here, as well as in South America, Western Europe, China, Japan, and southeast Asia.
Bullfrogs are voracious, opportunistic, ambush predators. Their stomachs have been found to contain rodents, small lizards and snakes (including the young of the California endemic giant garter snake, a threatened species), other frogs and toads, amphibians, crayfish, other crustaceans, small birds, scorpions, tarantulas and bats, as well as the many types of invertebrates, such as snails, worms and insects.
Earlier this year, the Utah Department of Natural Resources began tweeting tips on how to catch and cook bullfrogs in an effort to encourage residents to help control the growing population by catching the invasive frogs for food. Bullfrogs are also used for dissection in science classes, but this demand is never going to outstrip the supply!
Would you ever eat bullfrog?
Sketched from a Creative Commons photo by Carl D. Howe
Toxicodendron
This could be the poison oak encounter that I won’t be forgetting for a while. It can take several weeks for the rash to appear, but I’m already feeling (psychosomatic?) tingling on my forearms.
However, the Humboldt Lilies were fab!
zoom in
Now my hands smell all nasturtiumy.
slow morning
Coffee in my favourite mug, current book and a zoom meeting. Now it’s time to get outside and pull some weeds.
garlic harvest
I didn’t set out to grow a crop of garlic; I just poked a clove into the ground here or there among other things. But underground they multiplied, and here we are — six fat heads.
Nycticorax nycticorax
The Black-crowned Night Heron is a medium sized heron with a long head and a funny way of making its neck disappear when at rest. A juvenile was hanging out at Legacy Park this morning. I loved the lime-green legs.
These birds are among the seven heron species observed to engage in tool use. They lure or distract fish by tossing edible or inedible buoyant objects into water within their striking range. Smart!
Romneya coulteri
The Matilija Poppies are putting on a lovely show in the Park. Romneya coulteri is native to California and northern Mexico. The plant grows from 2 to 3 metres (6 to 9 feet) tall, with very large flowers that somewhat resemble a fried egg.
The flower is the largest of any California native species. It was nominated as state flower in 1890, but the California poppy won the title in a landslide.
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