This peony is endemic to southwestern California (USA) and northernmost Baja California (Mexico). It grows on dry hillsides in the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities of the coastal mountains.
The plant dies back in the summer, and tolerates little or no water while dormant. It puts forth its compound leaves after a good winter rain, which this year happened in mid-November. So we’re seeing the flowers already, before the end of the year. Nice!
Our nature journal group met at Will Rogers State Historic Park to journal the fire recovery. Will Rogers himself loved eucalypts, and many are planted there. I noticed that the epicormic growth and the crown sprouts were all being ravaged, and took a closer look.
The squirrels are happy. But the acorn woodpeckers are going to have drill bigger storage holes!
A new-to-me arachnid! I didn’t observe the spitting behaviour myself.
Before leaving Palm Springs, I spent a few hours in the desert oasis of Andreas Canyon on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. There’s spectacular geology, and a permanent creek bordered by dense California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), the only palm species native to the southwestern United States. Pretty velvety goldenrod was flourishing in the dappled shade. Such a gorgeous place to ‘forest bathe’ before the long drive home.
I’ve never seen such a little stick insect before. It looked like a scrap of hay.
My friend Kristine told me about Headwaters Corner; Kim and I checked it out as a location for our next nature journal club meetup. It’s lovely!
Reading up on this grasshopper, I learned that it is a problematic invasive species in Hawaii. In 2004, a major swarming event on the island of Nīhoa devastated approximately 90% of the island’s vegetation. Likely introduced to Hawaii several decades ago, it has since spread throughout the archipelago, aided by its ability to fly over 300 miles across open ocean!
That last fact blew my mind. 🤯
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