Today I returned to an old favourite, dog-friendly, fossil-laden canyon for a lovely winter hike. The landscapito at the top was sketched from the turnaround point, looking east.
friday hike
Tag: trees
buttress roots
I sat on the rainforest floor to sketch these fig buttress roots, but within a few minutes found myself to be leech food. I hurriedly plucked about six of the little buggers off my legs and arms and abandoned the location. Mt Glorious is indeed glorious, if you love rainforest, and don’t mind leeches.
Kigalia africana
I caught the CityCat ferry over to New Farm Park and went for a wander. The sausage tree caught my eye!
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?
mrbbg
My sister Cass and I spent a lovely morning at the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens, birding and nature journaling, while Uncy Dan took the kids off on their own adventure.
Manorina melanocephala
Family time! Yay! I scooped up two of the young ’uns and took them for a fun weekend with Uncy Dan & Cass.
the waiting trees
You’ve heard of the giving tree, one of the most divisive trees in children’s literature. These are the waiting trees, waiting to be sketched by one who waits.
galling
comparison study
The tropical/subtropical fruit that Australians call pawpaw (Carica papaya) is known as papaya in the US. Americans have their own pawpaw (or papaw)—Asimina triloba—a completely different species, native to the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada.
Interestingly, though we’re Australian, the traditional folk song my mother taught me as a child—“Pick ‘em up pawpaws, put ‘em in your pocket, way down yonder in the pawpaw patch”—is of American origin. The ‘patch’ refers to Asimina triloba‘s characteristic patch-forming clonal growth habit. And presumably the fruit that one picks up has fallen to the ground, and one’s apron pocket is roomy.
I’d like to try American pawpaw. I think custard apples are delicious, so I’m sure I’d like them.
Eucalyptus
There are about 800 species in the Eucalyptus genus; correct identification can be tricky, as features may vary with genetics, environment and tree age. I’m making an educated guess* that the ones at Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills are manna/ribbon/white gums, native to south-eastern Australia.
One thing I find intriguing is the huge variation in gumnut (fruit) size from species to species, from 3mm to 60 or more mm wide. There’s no correspondence with the tree’s height; I wonder what factors determine this feature. These ones are definitely at the small end of the spectrum.
*Ref: Taller Eucalypts for Planting in Australia by Dean Nicolle
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