Learned something new!
monstera deliciosa
Tag: nature journaling
striped racer
After stopping in a shady spot to paint a profusion of Sticky Monkey-flowers, I came around a corner of the trail and surprised a California Striped Racer. It tried to climb the trunk of an oak but didn’t get purchase and fell to the ground! I have never seen a snake ‘fail’ like that, and we were both momentarily stunned. Faster than I could whip out my phone, it recovered and raced off through the undergrowth at its signature speed. Sorry for disturbing you, little buddy!
eastern tailed-blue
I attended a Youtube Livestream last night with a super-enthusiastic entomologist, who weekly magnifies and explains one insect for our edification and sketching pleasure. She goes fast and meanders frequently—it’s pretty hectic (but fun). I filled several pages with scribbled notes and sketches which I consolidated into this page after the session.
digger bees
A large section of our hiking trail was a-buzz with bees, and it was quickly apparent that the action was happening on and close to the ground. Not knowing much about these ‘ground bees’, we gave them wide berth and I did some research when I got home.
What I learned was so fascinating, that V & I went back yesterday to observe them more closely. Each bee, laden with pollen, was crawling into a hole then emerging a few seconds later to collect more. How did she know which hole was hers? How long will she live after her work is done?
Now we know where they are, we’ll try to go back in 10 months to see the next generation come forth and mate. Fun!
cucurbita pepo
Well how about that. A zucchini is a kind of berry.
bougainvillea
I know nature journaling isn’t about making pretty pictures, but sometimes it’s nice to do both on the same page.
pinyon jays
It’s always a pleasure (and an education) to take a class with John Muir Laws.
red-* hawks
We have both Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks here. Today I realised there’s an easy way to tell the difference, even if you can’t see the colouration. In flight, the Red-shouldered alternates a few rapid flaps with glides. In contrast, the Red-tailed’s wingbeats are deep and slow, with the wingtips often curled up.
bewick’s wren
Well, spring has sprung and the birds are letting us know about it! Yesterday at Wildwood, the Bewick’s wrens were going off! I’m grateful for tools like BirdNET for helping me improve by bird ID skills, especially as we have so many LBJs (little brown jobs) around here. (Ref đź“·: Ashok Khosla)
ferns of mcsp
I’ve been doing some fern-spotting, and sketching, in Malibu Creek State Park. More to come!
hashiworks 