Horned lizards’ first line of defence is to stay very still; this, along with their excellent camouflage, makes them difficult to spot on the trail. But I know where they hang out along the Musch Trail, so if we look very carefully, and if they crawl just a little bit, we may be rewarded with a sighting.
I was curious about cumin plants, as all I know of them is their seeds. An essential ingredient in many mixed spices, chutneys, and chili and curry powders, cumin is especially popular in Asian, North African, and Latin American cuisines. The seeds’ distinctive taste is warm and aromatic.
The cumin plant, I learned, is small, slender, herbaceous annual with finely dissected leaves. The flowers are borne in characteristic flat-topped umbel clusters and are white or rose-coloured. Cumin is in the same family as other popular edibles such as caraway, parsley, dill, carrot, celery, cilantro, fennel, and parsnip. I wonder if the greens are good to eat? Why do we only consume the seeds? I need to try growing it. I wonder if my culinary seeds will sprout?
The dark-eyed junco, a small New World sparrow, is found through most of the US, Canada, and northern Mexico. There are a bunch of sub-species classified into different groups; we have the Oregon or brown-backed group here in Southern California. They mainly eat seeds, and the occasional insect. This one flitted away through the branches then turned back to look at me. I see you, Mr Junco!
We rarely get spectacular cloud formations here, but I am fond of the fluffy rolls that sit on the ocean’s surface some mornings. According to Wikipedia, roll clouds are a type of arcus cloud, usually associated with thunderstorms. However they can also arise along the shallow cold air currents of sea breeze boundaries, which I assume is what we are seeing here.
It’s that time of year!
‘Twas a grand day to hike Hondo. I spotted a new caterpillar, and learned more about it when I got home. The genista broom moth, Uresiphita reversalis, is light to medium brown with a dark spot on each top wing. The hindwings are yellow or orange with some brownish-gray shading toward the edges. Genista caterpillars feed on acacias, brooms (Genista spp., thus the common name) and lupines, among other species. They ingest and store alkaloids from their host plants, which make the worms bitter or even toxic to mammals, birds and some insect predators. So don’t try eating them!
From a class with Jean Mackay.
After all these years of living nearby, I finally paid a visit to Santa Cruz Island (limuw) with the Channel Islands Nature Journalers. I was keen to spot the extremely cute, iconic Island Fox, and was not disappointed. Urocyon littoralis is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California, with a unique sub-species occupying each island. They are generally docile, show little fear of humans, and have figured out how to open backpacks to get at your sandwiches.
It was a lovely day spent with like-minded, happy folks. Thanks to Karen and Jeyla for organising the trip.
I’d never noticed that a tomato’s seeds were arranged radially inside the fruit.
Tomato seeds are remarkably resilient, surviving the heat of the compost bin and the acids of the mammalian digestive tract. Every time I spread compost on my garden, tomato seedlings pop up, and I’m happy to let these volunteers grow*. Given the competition from other hungry critters, I usually pick the fruit at first blush and ripen it indoors.
*Squash/pumpkin seedlings, on the other hand, are plucked at first sight. I don’t have room for their sprawl.
hashiworks 