Surprise in my Flower Pot.

Some time in August we had an organizational zeal: re-planted flowers, added fertilizers, cleaned a few boxes of dried moss, lichen, sticks and rocks and added seeds into our bird feeder. Some spilled soil was scooped back into my hanging flower pot and new things started to grow... first it looked like tall grass, later we recognized millet :), some things grew and were gone before we were able to identify them but my favorites are tiny sunflowers! They came out in early December and are still hanging in there - even though we had some below freezing nights and I stopped watering anything for a while...
Life finds a way :)

Another slug

Reticulate tail dropper

A few weeks ago it had rained a bit and, as I sketched a Banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus) devouring the leaves of a Wild cucumber (Marah oreganus) plant, this little fellow ambled across the rock I was sitting on and buried itself in debris that had built up in a crevice in the rock. It was gone before I had a chance to sketch it but I lucked out the next day when I saw a white mushroom glowing in a patch of Poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) and went closer to inspect it. Not only did I find fungi but I found two of these little slugs having a feast. I was able to pick up the mushroom and take it out of the Poison oak and sketch one of the slugs while it ate, then return the mushroom to it's original location with the slugs still attached.

Though slugs don't actually have tails this native species is called Reticulate tail dropper (Prophysaon andersoni) because they're able to self-amputate the back end of their bodies much in the same way that lizards release their tails when captured.

 Learn more about Tail droppers:
Identification Guide to Land snails and Slugs of Western Washington
Wikipedia
Living Landscapes

May 2012 - Yellow Bush Notes

May 2012 - Yellow Bush Notes, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

After a little research I think this bush is Fremontodendron
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremontodendron

Here is a photo of my sketching process:

Dressing up to do battle

 

One afternoon, at the end of March, I went looking for one of my favorite spring wildflowers, Marah oreganus, also known as Manroot and Wild cucumber. It sprawls along rocky places and I had recently discovered that it grows wantonly  in a partially quarried rocky area in Howarth Park. As usual, I had trouble figuring out how to draw this long, sprawling plant and was thinking about giving up when I heard a tiny ruckus on the next rock over. I looked up to see two Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis), in colors I'd never seen before, fighting and posturing with great vigor. I thought there might be a female involved and I soon found her, peering out of a crevasse on a ledge below the action. The males continued to interact with one another for quite a while. Then one of them left, only to return again, and they picked up where they'd left off. A bit later they both went to opposite ends of the slab and rested up for the next round. The female had climbed out of the crevasse and looked a bit exhausted, though she began to recover (from what?) before very long. As the males resumed their battle, a young lizard climbed up the to view the proceedings from the edge of the rock. One of the males chased him away and I watched as he headed my way, only to stop short when he noticed me noticing him. When I once again turned my attention to the territory struggle, the female had climbed up the cliff and was standing next to one of the males. The other male turned around and headed off slowly through the grasses at the edge of the battleground. I watched him until he disappeared and when I looked back at the victor and his mate, I was astonished to find that his brilliant colors and pattern had reverted to a pattern almost identical to her drab brown!

November 2011: Meeting a Ring-Necked Pheasant

November 2011: Meeting a Ring-Necked Pheasant, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I was in the middle of my jog - in a quiet, calm state of mind on a little foggy and wintery colored piece of road by the wetlands. And suddenly this large splash of color walked out of the bush! It had all the looks of someone who owns this whole place and I was allowed to look at him for a while - to be able to identify him later and draw this from photos :)

Point Lobos: Cormorant Carcas, Black Oyster Catcher and Southern Sea Otters

November 2011: Point Lobos, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Our visit started with a blast: a couple of southern sea otters (enhydra lutris nereis) were soaking by the rocky shore in whaler cove. One of them looked very content and calm. Another (a little smaller) was incredibly playful and moving extremely fast: washing his face, scrubbing his back, checking out armpits, splashing water onto paws and chest, wiggling his tail, swimming around and jumping over his calm buddy. I think it was mother and son - based on my personal experience :)

Nearby a very bright-beaked oyster catcher was working on a clam: sliding it between rocks, then hitting it hard and eating his prize piece-by-piece.

I am partial to cormorants since I saw one under water. We saw many that day - but this one was, sadly, dead and dry.

September 2011: Spiders

September 2011: Spiders, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Lots of spider activity around me lately: beginning with early morning visitors and breakfast friends and ending with these - rather extensive nets in the neighborhood. Spider on the photo of the process has a belly length of about 1 inch... I witnessed it at dinner time and I think based on what I saw it will get larger soon :)

September 2011: Great Egret at Lunch

September 2011: Great Egret, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I had a wonderful lunch time - watching great egret hunt for his lunch :) Very patiently, very slowly, then one quick dab and gulping the catch... another wait...

A rather large cormorant popped up a few times but quickly disappeared so all I got of him was a quick note :) 

Here is my phone shot in the process.

June 2011: Herons and Egrets Tree

June 2011: Herons and Egrets Tree, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I recently found this amazing alley of trees with dozens of birds nesting. Surprisingly very loudly! I was able to identify egrets and black crowned night herons and enjoyed listening to the conversation for a little while trying to make out where nests were.

June 2011: What I Saw in the Sky Today

June 2011: What I Saw in the Sky Today, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I had a bit of time in the park and decided to keep my head up :) And only man-made things were slow ;)

May 2011: Cornflower

When I first saw this mystery flower:

my first thought was that it's a version of cornflower - and a few days later I found this one to compare :)

May 2011: Cornflower, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

May 2011: New Flower Identification Challenge

May 2011: New Flower Identification Challenge, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Another flower I cannot identify.
It has fuzzy stem, leaves and bud that looks as it's inflated and has a pointy end - that's where flower it sticking out. But when flower is gone this little bud-box stays - just becomes a little redder I think. This plant was climbing a tree with just a little help and otherwise occupied quite a territory by spreading vines all over other flowers.

May 2011: What is this flower?

May 2011: What is this flower?, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Another identification challenge!

May 2011: what is this flower?

May 2011: what is this flower?, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I need some help identifying this flower :)

Update:

LaBrea and the Beach

LaBrea and the Beach, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

Every time we go to the LA area, I need to see the tar pits. I've always loved prehistory and history, and fossils, bones, geology...this is a fascinating place.

Next time I need to take a folding stool so I can sit where I haven't sketched before. They have benches, but they're fixed, of course!

And then, of course, NEED THE BEACH.

I lost some of my little goodies from the beach, but at least these made it home with me and got added later...

Mar. 2011: Avocets

Mar. 2011: Avocets a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

Avocets are amazingly busy birds and beautifully graceful in the way they dip the head and move it across the segment of the water right in front of them. I had a chance to spend about 30 minutes in their company recently and here are some results :)

Feb. 2011: Park

Feb. 2011: Park a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

I love magnolia trees - all kinds and these beautiful Japanese pink magnolias (I think Magnolia × soulangeana) are amazing to draw - with lots of color even for Californian Spring ;)
This time while I was drawing tree trunks my little sketching companion brought me a whole collection of "magic" petals - someone stepped on them and we discovered lots of amazing patterns - "probably created by invisible creatures who live in these trees" ;)

Shepherdia

Shepherdia
Originally uploaded by apple-pine

Back in November I was in the park with some friends who recommended to try these berries. The tree looked amazing - very green, bush-like and covered in bright blood-red berries. Rather tasty :)

I think it was Shepherdia argentea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherdia_argentea

Jan. 15, 2010: Hidden Villa - New Piglets

Jan. 15, 2010: Hidden Villa - New Piglets
Originally uploaded by apple-pine

New piglets in Hidden Villa. Tiny, very fragile. Some are sleeping. Some are huddling. Some are eating. And a very tired mom :)

Happy New Year!

We heard this tree before we saw it - lots of crows were fighting and feasting on it. When we approached large birds ran away - and immediately a flock of small birds took their place :) Lots of half-eaten, very bright persimmons on a grayish day, wonderful songs of a happy little birds. Great way to start a year!

Wishing you all the best :)