I went off trail, down by the creek, and watched the little fishies, while listening to birdsong. Then I noticed this interesting fungus that reminded me of confetti sprinkles. iNaturalist tells me it’s in the Anthracobia genus.
Anthracobia
Tag: nature journaling
Salix lasiolepis
It was so good to meet with SMMNJC again this past weekend. Due to vacation, holidays, and wildfires it had been four months since I’d got to hang out with the gang. We welcomed four newcomers, and all enjoyed our time in the sun. I got curious about the arroyo willow flowers and identified male/female. Did not identify the odd stem growth, but mysteries are OK by me.
Phoradendron
Now that the sycamores have dropped their leaves, it’s easy to see the parasitic plants. I wondered how mistletoe seeds can get a hold on the underside of their hosts’ branches. Turns out the seeds are sticky!
map your walk
Lovely winter’s morning hike with many moments of delight. Lots of shades of buff, tan, and grey, but also some surprising new green popping up, despite the lack of rain so far.
Epilobium canum
I notice, I wonder …
looking closer
I thought I knew the eucalypts on our block! I went out to observe and record the rate of fruit (gumnut) drop, and to my surprise learned that adjacent trees are actually different in significant ways.
This process, and learnings, delighted me … and engendered even more questions, to be explored in the future.
Penstemon centranthifolius
I’m pretty sure these were scarlet buglers (Penstemon centranthifolius) in great profusion in the northern part of Cheeseboro Canyon. We’ll have to go back in spring to be sure.
seasonality journal
Kate Rutter is one of my favourite people in the nature journaling community. She’s smart, creative, generous, kind, and “rambunctiously experimental”. I enjoyed her zoom session today on creating a concertina journal to record daily data relating to weather, day length, moon phase, temperature, precipitation and more. Not sure if I want to do it myself for 2025, but I’m thinking about it.
Acacia podalyriifolia
Many of the green spaces in this suburb have more grass than tree cover. But Alice Mawson Reserve is thick bush. I spent an hour or two meandering through, and when I emerged I was greeted by a couple of kids on their scooters. “Isn’t it great in there?” they yelled enthusiastically. “Did you see any spiders or snakes? Did you see any koalas? Did you see any lizards? How big?”
I pulled out my sketchbook and they exclaimed over it. The boy said excitedly “I draw too! Every day!” Then they were off on their scooters. The whole interaction made me smile. A couple of nascent nature journalers, perhaps?
Entomyzon cyanotis
“What is the name of that honeyeater with a blue face?” I wondered. Oh right, of course …
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