A gift for my sister.
windfall
Tag: nature
under the oaks
I sat in the thick oak leaf mulch to sketch this burned, twisted stump. Across from me, Jeyla was drawing mushrooms. My view spiralled upwards. Hers focused downwards. Together but apart, we breathed the damp, earthy air.
Stereum
Stereum species are wood decay fungi with simple, shelving fruiting bodies. Common names for species of this genus include leaf fungus, wax fungus, and shelf fungus. This one might be Stereum ostrea, also called false turkey-tail.
gum leaves
galling
I cracked out the old iron gall ink and dip pen to sketch an oak gall and acorns, because why not get meta?
Iron gall ink is one of the most frequently found inks in manuscripts from the 5th to the 19th century. The American Declaration of Independence was penned with this ink, as were many drawings by Leonardo da Vinci At its simplest, it is made from four main ingredients: oak galls, iron sulphate, gum arabic and water.
plants of the park
I’ve been working on this one-pager to use on our school walks — a limited field guide to the plants the kids might see year-round in the most accessible areas. It might have to expand to two pages; I have thought of more things to add!
Petoskey stones
I went down a rabbit hole researching scales, and found Petoskey stones, fossilised Hexagonaria percarinata corals. Learn something new every day!
mix / match
Though I still like to start with a recipe, I’ve definitely become a more freewheeling cook over the years. Current herbs in the garden: mint, tarragon, chives, basil, sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary. Most used: basil, thyme and oregano.
Lynx rufus
We bought some new skulls for the Visitor Center (legally and ethically obtained).
Malosma laurina
Catching up in the PerpJo. Not much is flowering now, but the sumac is!
Malosma laurina is a large, rounded evergreen shrub or small tree growing 3 to 5 meters tall. The fragrant leaves and stems, being full of volatile compounds, contribute to the characteristic fragrance of chaparral. The flowers give off a “woodsy-herbal” smell, reminiscent of green apples and turpentine.
The fruit is a whitish drupe 3 mm in diameter with a smooth, flattish stone inside. The Chumash crushed and ate the dried fruits of Malosma laurina and also used the root bark to make a tea for treating dysentery.
Laurel sumac grows natively along the Southern California coastline in frost-free areas. It’s a very tough plant, hard to eradicate — if a fire burns its above ground parts, a large burl underground will re-sprout. It grows new leaves and stems all year long, even during hot dry summers, when most native plants stop growing.
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