My daughter gifted me the four pan mineral suite from The Art of Soil. The pigments behave a little differently to regular watercolours, so I’m enjoying playing with them to learn their properties and how best to use them. They are very muted and grainy, which I love. They can be mixed with other brands to good effect. (The bright green above includes some Daniel Smith green gold.)
I was walking the dog in Legacy Park when I spotted the distinctive shape of an ibis! It’s the first time I’ve seen one in America (they are very common in Australia). The white-faced ibis Plegadis chihi is sighted so infrequently in these parts that my birding apps didn’t even offer it as a possibility. But I checked with my naturalist friend Suzanne, and she confirmed the ID. It was a pretty metallic bronze-green colour. Made my day!
I painted this for a much-loved sailor, then realized that this is not the type of turtle that lives in their waters. Oops. Hopefully the gift will still be appreciated 😊
I had fun watching this gull repeatedly drop a mussel from considerable height onto the exposed rocks. Eventually the shell cracked enough for the bird to get its dinner.
Coming up: a big batch of pesto.
Like yesterday’s lavender, basil is in the Lamiaceae family—along with mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, and thyme, and other medicinal herbs such as catnip, salvia, bee balm, wild dagga, and oriental motherwort.
Lamiaceae stems are frequently square in cross section, but this is not found in all members of the family, and is sometimes found in other plant families. It’s a good indicator, but not dispositive. It’s the flower shape that really indicates belonging. Hmm, that’s a good topic for a future nature journal page.
The lavender’s fading, but the bees are still enjoying it.
The English word lavender came into use in the 13th century, and is thought to derive from Old French lavandre, ultimately from Latin lavare from lavo (to wash), most likely because crushed lavender flowers would be added to water for bathing, and washing hair and garments. It belongs to the Lamiaceae (mint) family.
This one’s for A, who loves tiny goats.
(Sketched from Creative Commons images by Greg Schechter and Israel_photo_gallery)
Lots more hoots on recent nights. I still haven’t seen one, but I’m happy they are hanging out. Eat some gophers please!
Curly wet eucalyptus bark found on the driveway.
hashiworks 