After my shift at the Visitor Center, I sat by the creek and sketched the view.
monochrome landscape
Tag: malibu creek state park
Keckiella cordifolia
I love these delicate little chalice-like seed pods.
boring
We offered a beginner’s class at Nature Journal Club today, and thirty people came! After spending an hour learning the basics, everyone wandered off to journal their curiosity. Having just done a training on identifying invasive borer beetles, I was interested to record some data about insect activity on a fallen oak log. Boring? Nope, fascinating!
Dryobates nuttallii
I see acorn woodpeckers all the time, but rarely spot a Nuttall’s.
Caloptes aurates
creeky
I’m preparing to lead a Welcome Walk at Malibu Creek State Park, so I created this graphic to explain the creek action. It gets a bit confusing as you walk the main trail because at first the water is flowing one way, but then it’s suddenly flowing the other way. They are actually two different creeks!
Omphalotus olivascens
We saw these huge, gorgeous, rich orange-gold mushrooms growing among the roots of a coast live oak. Apparently this species is bioluminescent! And poisonous. Says Wiki: ”while not lethal, consuming this mushroom leads to very severe cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea.”
i see faces
Allison had just finished telling a story about a comedy show featuring vegaliens, when I noticed some oak tree bark doing a good imitation of a vegetative alien.
Quercus lobata
The squirrels are happy. But the acorn woodpeckers are going to have drill bigger storage holes!
Andricus quercuscalifornicus
A little something I’m working on for school walks at the state park.
