So many wildflowers on today’s hike! I counted 32 different species, including several that were new to me. This one’s figwort or bee plant. The flowers are small, but look like cute little faces.
(Oops, just saw a typo on my sketch. It’s Scrophularia. Sounds like a disease, doesn’t it?)
The stone-fruit trees are flowering at Descanso Gardens, so I went with Urban Sketchers LA, on a chilly morn, to enjoy (and sketch) the display.
While there, I wandered into the California Native garden (designed in the 1950s by legendary nurseryman and native plant advocate Theodore Payne) and saw a ground cover sage that I think would do really well at our place. I believe it’s Salvia Bee’s Bliss — gotta get me some!
S & I spent a lovely hour or two at Point Dume, sketching the view and watching the whales (six!) and dolphins. It was unseasonably warm and the sea was silky smooth. Gah, I am so lucky to live in this beautiful place (with the colours of the Ukrainian flag) 😊
I’ve been doing some fern-spotting, and sketching, in Malibu Creek State Park. More to come!
This gift from Annette lives on a shady shelf outside my kitchen window, where it seems very happy, and makes me smile daily.
It was another windy, chilly day at the coast so I headed over the hill to my favourite sheltered trail, the section of the Backbone between Piuma Rd and Tapia Park, also known as Piuma Ridge Trail. I love that place—it’s shady, ferny, moist, and mostly human-free. Perfect for just sitting on a mossy rock and breathing it all in with eyes closed, enjoying my daily dose of nature therapy.
I saw an interesting and new-to-me plant, so did some sketch-noting and looked it up when I got home. It’s Warrior’s Plume (Pedicularis densiflora), a perennial root parasitic herb that attaches to the roots of other plants to obtain nutrients and water. I only saw a few plants; I wonder how widespread it is. It doesn’t appear on the 1983 list of the Flora of Malibu Creek State Park, so maybe it’s a more recent arrival, or perhaps it’s too rare to have made it on the list? Regardless, it’s very pretty!
It’s been six weeks since I hiked Mishe Mokwa/Sandstone Peak and the difference is stark. The muddy trails and babbling streams are just a memory now. That December rain was lovely, but there’s been nothing since. We’re certainly not seeing a wildflower superbloom this spring.
It was pretty windy here at the coast, but I found a sheltered spot in Topanga State Park to sketch-hike (sketchike?). Even though I once lived in Topanga, I’d never explored Dead Horse Trail, part of the Backbone Trail system. I’m glad I checked it out; it’s short but very pretty.
I was minding my own business, sketching the riparian plants in a secluded spot by Malibu Creek, when I was suddenly aware that I was not alone. In fact, a Large Creature was right at my back. I was so startled—and then immediately relieved that it was not a mountain lion* or a crazy human. It took a second for my adrenaline to calm down and for me to start sketching the friendly doe, who slowly (silently!) wandered off. I aspire to be so quiet in the wilds.
* A pet dog was taken by a lion a couple of days ago, a few miles from here.
hashiworks 