Fun times with the nature journal club. Turns out that adult tarantula-hawk wasps eat milkweed nectar, when they’re not catching tarantulas and laying their eggs in the paralyzed bodies. How sweet.
Pepsis mildei
Images
stamp with me
Postage stamps are tiny works of art that represent a moment in time and culture. What a pity that they are used so rarely anymore. Even I, inveterate maker and sender of cards and letters, have greatly reduced my use of stamps this year. Instead, a phone call on a birthday has felt sufficient — but is it really? I want to get back to my practice of sending snail mail. I can’t keep using the fire as a mental excuse.
ojai valley museum
Ventura County has nearly 40 museums; maybe I’ll get around to visiting (and sketching at) all of them. The closest one is right here in town, and it’s quite charming, with a mixture of history and contemporary art.
if a tree falls
peachy keen
I’ve been wanting a pair of water sandals since the warm weather hit. I looked for second-hand ones for about a month, until finally springing for a new pair.
Calochortus plummerae
We found a late-blooming Plummer’s mariposa in a rocky part of Serrano Canyon, as well as running water! We’d crossed the dry creek bed several times on the way up there, so it was a real surprise to see Serrano Creek blurbling along at this point. It seemed a good place to stop for a while, then head back.
cleaning day
free fruit
Ammophila aberti
Last journaled here.
Soehrensia spachiana
The torch cactus is native to western Argentina, and is commonly sold in nurseries in North America. It reaches 2 metres in height, and like many cacti, has big showy flowers that open at night. There was a pollen-drunk bee buried so deep in this one, I only noticed it because of the movement of the stamens.
hashiworks 