There’s a big century-plus old pump at the Park that spent much of its life being flooded by the creek. It’s now been moved to higher ground, and some of the guys are working on sprucing it up, chipping away at decades of rust.
men at work
Tag: malibu creek state park
sharing the love
Twenty 7-12 year olds (and their parents) now know the difference between a valley oak and a coast live oak, though hopefully that’s not the only thing they gained from our time together 🌿💚
ardea herodias
procambarus clarkii
Call me up next time there’s a Procambarus clarkii removal day in our watershed; I’d love to participate.
oak glade
I slipped into a part of the State Park I hadn’t visited before, and followed a deer trail under overhanging boughs, to discover this secluded open glade within a circle of coast live oaks. I lay down on the thick bedding of dry, prickly leaves, my sketching bag as a pillow, and watched the dappled light dance above me.
For a few minutes, I stopped thinking about what the US Supreme Court did yesterday. I just breathed.
ground squirrel
I can’t say I’m a fan of ground squirrels, given the harm they do to our hillside and garden. But this little fella reaching up to grab some slender oats was pretty darn cute.
don’t eat the lilies!
After completing this sketch, I was hiking back down the trail, and met a group of young adults on their way up. One guy asked me if there was asparagus growing nearby, because he’d just picked and eaten some. Uh … no. There is no asparagus growing here. After reminding him that all plants in the Park are protected, and that some are poisonous, we parted ways. A little further down the track I found the broken plant. I knew it was some kind of lily about to flower, but it wasn’t till I got home I learned that it was Toxicoscordion fremontii (Frémont’s deathcamas or common star lily). As the name suggests, it’s highly toxic to livestock and humans.
I hope he’s OK, but … what a foolish human being! People, don’t go eating plants in the wild unless you know for sure what they are!
the meadow
The scene is sketched from the same spot as yesterday’s, but now facing northwest instead of southeast. The Meadow at Malibu Creek State Park won’t be green for much longer; it was lovely to enjoy its verdure for a whole weekend.
field ecology
Just back from a fabulous Field Ecology Weekend, camping with the Malibu Creek and Topanga State Park docents, and learning from a wide range of teachers. I have many pages of notes to review and digest, and new areas of interest to pursue. Obsidian knapping and animal tracking were highlights!
stumped
So many trees and wildflowers to sketch, but this stump is what caught my attention.
hashiworks 