This agile amphibian climbed onto the glass of our patio door overnight. It’s a Baja California Treefrog, and thanks to the rainstorm yesterday, came out of estivation for a walkabout and some snacks. This treefrog is distinctive for its black eye stripe. In springtime, these native frogs’ calls are easily heard in the Santa YnezContinue reading “Baja California Treefrog”
Author Archives: Mashabu
Bordered Mantis: A Closeup
This insect was perched on the patio wall, keeping perfectly still when I reached for the garden hose. Thinking it was a leaf that had blown in with the recent Santa Ana winds, due to its color and body shape, I turned away. A second look revealed that this four-inch-long creature was not a storm-tossedContinue reading “Bordered Mantis: A Closeup”
It Never Rains in California
Hurricane Hillary is now a tropical storm, but she has a lot of water to disperse before retiring to the north. Check out EarthSchool for a current snap of the potency and location (zoom in for best results). For a majority of SoCal residents, this is the first major tropical storm of their lifetimes. TheContinue reading “It Never Rains in California”
Notes from the Canyon – August 6, 2023
~ This year’s juvenile Common Ravens have moved from newly hatched to branchlings to fully fledged birds. This group, occasionally harassed by Red Shouldered Hawks and heard outside our windows, continued to beg earnestly for food whenever the parents flew back with snacks. Starting this week, we heard no begging calls whatsoever. It’s time toContinue reading “Notes from the Canyon – August 6, 2023”
Littoral Learning
At the foot of Temescal Canyon, within earshot of the roaring traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway, a littoral ecosystem emerges with the twice daily tides. In the intertidal zone, on a boulder-strewn jetty constructed perpendicular to the shore to slow the beach erosion, limpets are busy growing alongside two species of barnacles and mussels.Continue reading “Littoral Learning”
Oddments
~ The American robins have found the seeps in Santa Ynez Canyon and are flocking to drink, en route north. Larger than their European counterparts which are house sparrow-sized, they are reliable visitors to birdbaths and often found around hackberry trees in winter. In spring and summer, they’re easily spotted with earthworms and insects in theirContinue reading “Oddments”
Flying with Ed Ruscha
On a recent flight east, I saw this amazing earthly production. Leaving the Los Angeles basin around one p.m., housing quickly cedes to the desert. Mountains erupt, giving way to valleys, some fertile. Then Mother Nature pulls out all her geologic parlor tricks. Majestic escarpments, hued russet, pink, apricot, salmon and wheat, all undulating inContinue reading “Flying with Ed Ruscha”
Coyote
After moving to Point Dume in 2019, we heard people mention that the November 2018 Woolsey Fire had driven coyotes out of the Santa Monica Mountains, across the Pacific Coast Highway and into residential neighborhoods. An important member of the ecosystem, the coyote keeps rodent and rabbit populations in check. A couple of weeks agoContinue reading “Coyote”
Lesser Goldfinches
California sycamore trees are frequently seen in gardens and on public property around Southern California. The seed pods of the trees that dangle in winter are brown orbs, about one inch in diameter. But to lesser goldfinches, these seeds are lunch! Malibu Lagoon has sycamores growing between the Pacific Coast Highway and the estuary. OnContinue reading “Lesser Goldfinches”
Sea Stars
King Tides arrived this weekend in Southern California, and with them, a rare opportunity to see marine life that’s typically underwater. On Broad Beach, in western LA County, this constellation of five sea stars was spotted at low tide on a large boulder. Considered a keystone species in intertidal zones, sea stars keep mussels inContinue reading “Sea Stars”
Mashabu 