Exploring Divine Nature

2010-08-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

Some days we take our chances and head off on the trails into mountain lion country, but I have to say - I am not quite this crazy!

Me my Shark and I from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo.

You can read the OC Register's Science Blog article about it here.

June (July!) Gloom

2010-07-11T04:34:00.000-07:00

Dana Point, California

crystalline ice plant

can you see the silver line of sunshine along the horizon?

Live Oak Trail

2010-05-22T02:38:00.000-07:00

If you live in Orange County and haven't taken a drive through Live Oak Trail, you're missing out. It starts on one end at Cook's Corner which is on El Toro Road on one side, Santiago Canyon Road on the other. (Santiago Canyon starts right by Irvine Park) On the other end of Live Oak Trail is Trabuco Canyon Road which turns into Plano Trabuco Drive and takes you right into Rancho Santa Margarita and the 241.

View Larger Map

With cross streets with names like "Hunca Munca" and "Honkey Dory", horse stables, grazing cows, beautiful wildflowers and over-arching oaks along the way, it's a fun Spring drive for the whole family.

O'Neill Regional Park is right along the way so you can stop by and take the kids up and around Edna Spaulding Trail. Parking is $3 on weekdays, $5 on weekends and you'll want to avoid hot days. The hike can get pretty miserable, but on a cool day in the Spring, it's wildflower heaven.

Coulter's Matilija Poppy (AKA The Fried Egg Flower)

California Everlasting - smells wonderful

Golden Yarrow along the trail.

And don't forget to stop by the Trabuco General Store on your way home. There's a lot to look around at...

and they have old fashioned sodas and cucumber chili popsicles! I didn't have the nerve to try it this time, but now I'm kind of wishing I had just to say I did.

So grab your kids and hurry on out before the wildflowers and chili pops are all gone!

Sundog

2010-05-15T01:50:00.000-07:00

We headed to Peters Canyon Regional Park to find bluebirds to hold and pet.

No bluebirds, but we did see Yellowthroats, Red Shouldered Blackbirds, tree swallows

and this...

The picture doesn't do justice - there were many more colors than you can see here. I checked on Sciencedude and sure enough, they'd seen it also. They had this to say:

It’s the work of ice crystals at high altitude, said Rob Balfour, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

If the sky were overcast, we might see a complete ring around the sun, Balfour said. But because it’s only partly cloudy, we only see a portion of the ring.

“Generally speaking, those clouds are between 20,000 and 28,000 feet,” he said. “The freezing level is sitting right at about 15,000 feet, so it’s pretty much all ice crystals up there.”

So amazing!

That's what I love about nature - it's more common that not for something spectacular and unexpected to happen right before your very eyes.

Western Bluebirds in OC

2010-05-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

The OC Parks Wildflowers Blog just posted about Western Bluebirds and had a link to this LA Times Article.

I have seen these bluebirds at places like O'Neill Regional Park. They're beautiful birds.

This little tidbit from the article caught my attention:

...visiting boxes can be rewarding in itself. Sully Reallon, 80, of Capistrano Beach marveled at how people-friendly the bluebirds are. "I can take that box, pick the mother up, count her eggs, stroke her head, put her back in the box and close the door," he said. "They don't mind at all."

The OC Parks blog post said Yorba Regional Park had quite a few nestboxes. Peters Canyon Regional Park also has many.

Happy Birding!

Fossils in the Creek

2010-05-01T01:37:00.001-07:00

If you live locally, you're going to love me for this post.

This past month, the Lord, in all His wisdom and grace has providentially, pointed us to the most fantastic little nature outing! You will never believe this place exists in OC.

And the best part is that there are NO RANGERS to tell your kids what they can't touch!! (No offense, I like the good kind of rangers, just not this kind.)

So the schedule was adjusted and our CM nature study group headed there this past week. What's so great about it?

Well... there's a creek, with rocks, and trees...

A creek side Eucalyptus grove that feels like a forest to a little person...

I can hear the non-natives snickering now, but alas, this and Gum Grove are about as close to a forest as our kids will get without heading into the foothills.

A hollow Sycamore tree with mangled roots for climbing...

and steps inside heading all the way up if you're the dangerous type...

(to get up these you have to rest your entire weight on them at one point, and they're old, so if you go, and your man knows about these things, bring him with you, have him check how sturdy they are, then let me know. Being that I have 3 lives completely dependent on mine, I opted against it. I did get confirmation this past week that a young adult recently climbed up it, so do what you will.)

these boys thought it was the perfect place to have their lunch...

They found this dead skunk - surprisingly, it didn't smell bad... yet.

another found these frog eggs. See the tadpoles ready to hatch?

There was a recitation - look at that smile of joy as he shared a fun poem with friends. A beautiful thing.

And there are oh so many kinds of rocks in the creek...

While we don't study rocks until YR4 with Ambleside, it's never too early to put them in touch with 'things'...

Nature teaches so gently, so gradually, so persistently, that he is never overdone, but goes on gathering little stores of knowledge about whatever comes before him. ~Charlotte Mason

A Child learns from 'Things.'--We older people, partly because of our maturer intellect, partly because of our defective education, get most of our knowledge through the medium of words. We set the child to learn in the same way, and find him dull and slow. Why? Because it is only with a few words in common use that he associates a definite meaning; all the rest are no more to him than the vocables of a foreign tongue. But set him face to face with a thing, and he is twenty times as quick as you are in knowledge about it; knowledge of things flies to the mind of a child as steel filings to magnet. ~Charlotte Mason

And this never gets old does it?

But wait, it get's better... there are fossils in the creek!!

and even better...

A complete whale skull, seen in this picture below, was discovered in this very creek just a few years ago.

So in case you're local and want to go, here are directions to the locations we went to:

For the hollow tree, enter the creek trail by the circle at the end of Manalastas and head Southwest (to the left). It takes you, in less than 5 minutes, through a small grove of Orange Trees and the tree is on the right side, not completely obvious so have the kids look for it. There's a cliff here so it's harrowing for the little ones. My suggestion: Take them down to the creek to putz around instead of trying to keep them away - one of ours came very close but for the grace of God. Just northeast of here, before the bridge is where the whale fossil was found.

The grove of Eucalyptus trees creek side with tons of rocks and a tree fort with a bee hive can be found by entering the trail here and heading Southwest. The area is a bit seedier with graffiti, broken bottles, and foul mouthed teenagers hanging out after school (at least it was like that when we went) so you may just want to find a better spot heading Northeast of Trabuco or make sure you go during school hours.

Happy exploring!

Oh, and this can happen too so bring a first aid kit!

Miner's Lettuce

2010-04-12T23:43:00.000-07:00

Who knew!? It's edible and tasty. Can't wait to try the smoothie.

Riley Wilderness Park

2010-04-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

After reading about a friend's visit to Riley Wilderness Park, we decided to head out there this past weekend.

It's one of the lesser known parks in Orange County, tucked up in the hills by Coto de Caza.

If you're looking for fields of wildflowers, this is not the place. I did find some new ones that I still haven't identified though...

My friend Sophia identified this one for us, it's chamomile.

The good news is the "dry pond" on the map is not dry yet.

In fact, it's teeming with more life than you'd ever imagine!

Here's a short video I put together with all the clips I took. So interesting!

Can you figure out what those little beetles are? They're not whirlygigs, those are greyish silver. There had to be a billion of them there.

Heading home as the sun begins to set, the landscape takes on a glow that my camera just never can capture just right... it's enough to make you want to stop time and children and everything else and take out a fresh canvas, a comfy chair, some paint.... a nice hot latte, to see if you could do any better.

Wish I could...

capture that sky... I'd love to hang it in my room!

Off The Beaten Track

2010-04-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

I know the sign says "Stay on trail"

...but my husband says "let's go"

and... well... what can one do?

So we peek into places like this...

that turn into this...

and this...

and this...

and catch a glimpse of this...

This box didn't have a sign, but I knew we're not to touch it

...but my daughter's curiosity got the best of her

So she opened it...

and was thrilled to find a nest with three of these...

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Rancho Mission Viejo

2010-03-30T01:14:00.000-07:00

More interesting finds from our ventures outdoors this week.

Today's pictures are from a hike we took up into the hills from the parking lot at Remington Senior Apartments, right by the fire station. There's a trail across from the fire station that heads down into the cover of some very, very large, climbable oak trees.

You'll see paths and hills carved into the trail by dirt-bikers. The kids love running up and down them.

The trail winds through the oaks then comes out into the sunshine for a bit of an uphill climb. One section is really steep, but gets you up to the ridge for some really beautiful views.

Here's what we saw...

Ground Pink

Lupine

Splendid Mariposa Lily as it looked on our way up the hill

The same lily as the sun was setting on the way down - it closed

Wishbone Bush

Wild Cucumber

Salamander - found this guy while digging with a stick through the fallen oak leaves in the shade. I thought it was an earth worm and was about to show it to my 2 year old when I noticed its head looked different and it had legs.

Horehound - I see this everywhere now. You can boil the leaves to make a sore throat remedy. You can also make horehound candy with it.

The next pictures are from earlier in the week at the tidepools in Laguna Beach.

Unidentified caterpillar on deerweed

I believe this is some kind of coralline algae - pretty

goose neck barnacles, they look like crab claws

And last but not least, a bit of a poem from our studies this week...

Mother-my-love, if you'll give me your hand,
And go where I ask you to wander,
I will lead you away to a beautiful land
The Dreamland that's waiting out yonder.

~from Child and Mother by Eugene Field

A Conspiracy at the Mudflats

2010-03-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

My daughter pointed out that the water level was noticeably higher when we arrived at the Newport Mudflats on Thursday. It is one of the few remaining estuaries in California, and I had read that several times, but it wasn't until today that I actually learned what that really meant.

After some searching, I found a lab manual from Fullerton College discussing the ecology of this area and here are some interesting things it says about this area:

...an estuary is an embayment along the coast of an ocean, with a generally steady supply of freshwater washed down from rivers. An estuary is a sort of mixing zone where water from the sea and water from the land meet each other.

The water environments in Upper Newport Bay are always changing. For example, during a flood tide (when the tide is coming in), sea water pushes into the bay, raises the water level and salinity, and changes the water temperature. During ebb tide, sea water retreats, the water level and salinity are lowered, and water temperature changes again. Tides strongly influence activity in the estuary. Each day, the bay experiences two high tides and two low tides.

The zone where these two water resources meet and mix is called the Null Zone. It consists of brackish water — less salty than sea water, and more salty than freshwater.

You can read the rest of the manual here. So interesting to read after knowing it first.

There were many shorebirds - I recognized willets, there were probably sandpipers, dowitchers, and godwits as well.

And here is a 'conspiracy' of black skimmers - the only bird in the US with a bigger lower mandible than upper. They drag their lower bills through the water to catch small fish.

Mudsnails...

We found a bunch of these Bermuda Sorrel - aka Bermuda Buttercup, African Woodsorrel, Sourgrass by the head of the trail where we park. The kids love the sour taste of their stems.

On The Hills and In The Aquarium

2010-03-17T01:23:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from our trek up the hill last week...

a silvery blue

black mustard beginning to cover the hills

lupine (have you read Ms. Rumphius?)

morning glory (bindweed)

Here's what I found happened to our giant water bug last week. Can you see what happened? (Hint: It didn't have a full grown baby!)

I found these interesting looking creatures in our tadpole aquarium - they're planarians.

Who knew!?!

Barn Owl Webcam at Starr Ranch

2010-03-12T01:53:00.001-08:00

My friend Johnna just gave me a heads up on Starr Ranch's Barn Owl webcam that is broadcasting a nest of 5 barn owl chicks right now. Amazing! If you have enough time to watch, you'll see the parent fly in with a rodent every now and then to feed the chicks.

A Little Friend

2010-03-06T20:57:00.001-08:00

It was hard to resist romping through the beautiful grassy fields full of wildflowers...

And it was no surprise when I found this little guy tagging along for a ride on my 2 year old's pants. It's a Pacific Coast Tick.

I've learned to strip the kids down after springtime hikes and check them from head to toe to make sure they haven't picked up any of these guys along the way. Just one of those things we have to learn to live with!

Early Wildflowers

2010-03-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous,
God hath written in those stars above;
But not less in the bright flowerets under us
Stands the revelation of his love.

~From "Flowers" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Monkeyflower

Indian Paintbrush

Blue Dicks

Bindweed with crab spider and what looks like a tick

unidenfitied yellow flowers - identified! These are fiddlnecks - don't know why I thought they weren't, they didn't seem as curled as the ones we saw in Chino Hills last year. Goes to show you what a year will do. I believe it's called "Momnesia" :)

unidentified white flowers - identified! These are popcorn flowers :)

Wild radish

Miner's lettuce

unidentified purple flower

bluedicks

bush sunflower (encelia)

2010-02-20T01:26:00.000-08:00

This is my catch up on all my pictures post. Excuse the randomness.

The beach after the heavy rains we had here. See the pack of terns that blended themselves in with the seagulls? They're the "coolest" looking birds in my book.

This was from last week at the beach, a much warmer, nicer day. This lady found this grebe in the water, she thinks it was hit by a wave or sick. She also thought it might have been an immature bird based on its size. It was a rare treat to see it so close and my daughter got to pet it.

This was the sunset that day - Valentine's day. We watched the sun sink all the way into the sea together. Beautiful. And if you look along the horizon you can see Catalina's silhouette. What a blessing to live in this beautiful place.

Here's a dumpy, stinky looking gutter by us. Most times when we poke around in it, people passing by make comments like "Ewww!" or "Yuck!" It is. But it's a treasure to us, a whole world in and of itself.

Look closer, look at what's just hatched! Tiny baby tadpoles :)

And this was the best find of all - a sac of frog eggs! We've raised frogs from tadpoles we caught, but never from this!!

Speaking of frogs, we went to the stream by us last week and the kids found this: A Giant Water Bug! It eats frogs, fish, snakes, snails, insect larvae, etc. It can deliver a pretty painful sting with its beak so it's also known as the "toe-biter" and it flies! To think these were in the stream all those times we walked through there!

Here's some fresh poison oak just sprouting along the side of the stream.

Laguna Caves - Aliso & Wood Canyons

2010-02-19T23:54:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the hiatus in the posting, life happens, priorities take over, and the blog gets neglected. You understand :)

Last weekend we took some friends to the caves at Aliso & Woods Canyons. The first mile and a half trek on the paved road to the main trailhead isn't very exciting. We put the kids on bikes to keep them from getting tuckered out early. But the open space, so rare in Orange County, felt amazing.

On our way, my 6yo son took a pit stop to relieve himself. He was barely off the trail when we heard this....

Oh yes, it's that time of year again when it just isn't a good idea to be wandering off into the brush. This is the second rattler we've seen in Aliso & Woods out of the three total we've ever seen.

Here's cave rock. Wind and water erosion has formed many caves like it in Laguna. Unfortunately, most of them can't be conveniently accessed along a trail like this one.

This is dripping cave. Legend goes that stagecoach bandits used it as a hideout. You can still see the holes that they bored into the rock and the heavy soot residue from their fires on the topographically ridged ceiling. This was the first time we went when it was actually "dripping".

This tree and others provide a shady oak canopy as you head towards the cave. There's something magical about walking under the cover of these trees that dot the hillsides in South County. It's a beautiful, welcome respite during a long, hot hike. I just love the character of its branches.

Fort in the Woods

2010-02-11T01:33:00.000-08:00

I took the kids to a fort we found out in the woods a few minutes away from here. East Coasters will laugh when I call this the "woods", it's not, but it is for us as close as we'll get to the woods around these parts of Southern California. It's actually a collection of big heaps of dirt someone made along a trail we like to hike. It's hidden, but easily accessible if you know where to find it. The teenagers use it for a hang out as evidenced by the left over carpet, wooden furniture, graffiti and broken bottles. The kids like picking up the little plastic BBs and empty CO2 magazines they leave behind as well.

Unfortunately, my camera batteries weren't charged (some blogger I am!), so these are my ugly cell phone pictures from today. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how much my son complains that he doesn't want to go or how much of a cranky mood we can be before heading out the door, a bit of nature cures it all.

As soon as we get there they start poking around, pulling on this, looking under that, crafting and creating ideas of what to play and do.

They found this dead tree with logs under it. Just a heap of junk, to a child, A FORT!

A snail!

A woman's touch...
(she doesn't realize it's caution tape with radioactive symbols on it - and I wasn't about to tell her it wasn't just pretty ribbon).

Not sure what this is for

A teeter tot of course :)

A door!

Fix the pretty ribbon first :)

It was a fun day - and they made me promise to bring them back asap!

We also noticed all kinds of green and yellow things have sprung up - grasses, weeds, moss, lichen, these spongy looking mushrooms...

is this sulphur shelf? It's a baby one if it is.

Spiraling wild cucumber shoots for bracelets...

Here's a shot I took a couple weeks ago of my daughter in the rain... see how the hills are all turning green? Can't wait for Spring!

Here's a shot from our local beach a couple of days ago.

A beautiful drive down PCH

We found several of these sandworms as we dug holes in the sand.

Well, it's late and I need to get some sleep! I know this blog has been so dull lately, but rest assured, Spring is coming and it's going to be a good one!!

Hail!

2010-01-22T03:38:00.000-08:00

We hardly get weather out here in California so the heavy rain has been pretty exciting. The hail, though short lived, is even more exciting. As soon as we heard it tapping on the windows, we ran outside and sure enough, this is what we saw

I don't know why, but I was surprised that they were little round balls like this. Maybe I was expecting random shapes of all sorts.

When we got back inside my husband pointed out Revelation 16:21: "And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe."

Hmmm... might want to avoid that one!

Weather Report

2010-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hawks at Gum Grove

2010-01-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

There's so much fun in being able to identify something you see, or hear in this case, in nature. Last week as we headed down our usual path at Gum Grove Park in Seal Beach, we heard these hawks calling to each other. We'd heard them a few times before and had even seen them perched on one of the branches high up in the Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees.

Whatbird.com has some good audios of bird calls and after listening to a few; the Cooper's hawk, the Red-tailed hawk, it led me to the Red Shouldered Hawk, BINGO! The call matches our mystery hawk's exactly :)

Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain and more Rain!

2010-01-18T01:14:00.000-08:00

When they predict rain in California, it's relative. But when they say it's going to rain for 5 days in a row - you know you're going to get some spurts of real rain in there. It is a rather momentous thing around here since we've been in a heavy duty drought for some time now.

Figuring they meant some sprinkling here and there, we headed out for a Sunday afternoon hike. I've seen this trail called Ladera Ridge, but I'm not sure what it's official name is. I took these pictures on the way home so it's much wetter than it was when we started.

Here's the start of the paved road that leads up to the trail...

You can see it from the parking lot of The Ranch Sports and Grill in Ladera Ranch.

Heading up the paved road, there's a water tower up on the left.

Here's the start of the trail off on the right, about 3/4 of the way up to the water tower.

This is a short, but steep uphill climb up to the ridgeline

Here are the views looking back over Ladera

Here's the communications tower at the top of the hill

And here's why it's so worth the climb...

Even with it being overcast, it is still a fantastic view. Pictures don't do justice. The hills just keep rolling and rolling into the mountains beyond. Invigorating... completely. And look, it's turned green from the last time we had rain

At the top, you can go right or left. We headed to the right this time, I believe it's Southeast.

I was amazed at how much life has already sprung up in response to the last rainfall we had.

Dodder...

Lemonadeberry...

Deerweed...

I thought this might be wild grape, but I came home and looked it up...

It's wild cucumber or "manroot" which produces spiky fruit in the spring.

See how it travels? I've seen this stuff take over an entire oak tree.

I'm not sure what this is, but it's cute :)

Bindweed...

More views... those mountains all the way over there are the same ones I blogged pictures of on the Vista trail post a couple weeks ago. They're also in this blog's header. They are the twin peaks of the Santa Ana Mountains. Santiago Peak (5,687ft) and Modjeska Peak (5496ft) named after a world famous Polish stage actress whose historic home, by the way, is available for tours.

Mountain Lion bait.

The Hills Are Alive...

A little friend found along the way. I wonder where he'll go in the rain.

It was worth the trip - even on a rainy day!

Chino HIlls State Park

2010-01-10T23:39:00.001-08:00

We headed out to Chino Hills State Park today. I was soooo disappointed when I realized I'd left my camera at home - so all the pictures here are from my cell phone. Except the one below is a map of the park from their website.

Instead of parking outside the gate on Elinvar Rd. like we did on our last visit, we saved ourselves the almost three mile walk and drove the fire road to the campgrounds. As soon as we parked, the kids hopped out and my son opened what looked like a bear box by a campsite and found this:

It was as dead as a doornail, and completely hollow. Which lead me to think maybe a tarantula hawk had gotten to it.

We hiked up Ranger Ridge Trail, the view was beautiful. The snow on the top of that mountain way out there is as close as we've gotten to it this winter.

Once we got past the first steep hill, the rest was pretty easy going, my 2 year old could walk the rest.

Here's what this same area looked like last May - only four more months, I can't wait!

There were many of these scats around - they are pretty common in SoCal. I still don't know what it is. I wonder what fruit it is eating because I haven't seen any reddish fruit anywhere around.

The black mustard has been dry and dead since Summer. Makes for great sword fighting practice for a boy who just watched Lord of the Rings.

And a great "stick forest" for kids who like that kind of thing

It is no doubt a contributor to the fires that rage through the hills of California every year. It was only a little over a year ago when 90% of the park burned.

There are a few eye sores that run through the park... but the views are still spectacular and worth the trip.

Mule deer tracks

Thanks to the recent rains, there was a bit of fresh greenery along the trail.

And signs of Spring to come. I believe this is some sort of Lupine.

There were several trails of calabazilla. The leaves were all dead, but some of the gourd fruit was still laying around.

For pitching practice of course!

And for kicking down the hill and watching it roll.

We headed left and down towards Telegraph Canyon Trail.
You can see the burned Black Walnut trees here showing promising new growth. These trees are rare in California and are lucky to have survived the recent fires.

We found the walnuts all over the ground, all of them open like this. Don't they look like little pig noses?

As we headed back to our car, it was getting late. At the entrance gate, there were two signs. One that said "Closes at Sunset" the other said "8:00am - 5:00pm" with notification that they were closed Monday - Thursday now. Due to the budget crisis here in California, the State Parks have had to cut back significantly. We figured if we got out by dark, we'd be okay, you know, like at Target, when they say they close at a certain time, they're still checking people out thirty minutes later. You're safe as long as you get there before the last person in line is checked out. Plus the rangers do a sweep and all to make sure everyone's out before they lock the gates... right?

Well we got to the car at 5:10 pm. By the time we got the kids in the car, packed up, drove back up the fire road to the gate, it was around 5:20 and it was dark and...

the gate was locked!

They locked us in!

No rangers in sight, just darkness and this big chain of locks between us and freedom.

First course of action - try and get it to unlock or open! No luck.
Second course of action - call the park! No phone number... anywhere. (Thank God we had cell phone coverage)
Third course of action - call the police. Yes! They answer and say they're coming!

By the time the police got there it was 6:00 p.m. Let me tell you, 40 minutes is a LONG time to look at a locked fence in the dark contemplating your fate. Just as we were driving out, the park rangers drove up.

The whole situation reminded me of a parenting conversation I was having with my friends last week about first-time obedience with our kids. If you dish out the consequence the first time, every time, kids really will obey the first time. If you let it go the first, second, third time - you're training them to disobey. Sometimes we train them not to respond until our voice gets to a certain decibel level. But I digress...

We were effectively trained today to get out of a state park BEFORE the closing time. After we narrowly escaped with our freedom, we headed to the City Broiler, where my hubby had left over trade certificates from when he worked for an advertising firm. What a treat! The food there is just fantastic.

A nice dinner and their blueberry pomegranate martini helped ease the painful experience.

Here's what's in the drink:
PAMA
Blueberry Vodka
Sweet & Sour
and the juice of 2 limes, or was it 2 wedges?

Shake and serve

Now I'm going to bed thankful to be sleeping in my own bed tonight!

Wetlands

2010-01-09T01:13:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

We've had a stretch of wonderfully warm weather here in Southern California, it's been in the high 70s for long enough that we've been heading out in t-shirts without bothering to check the weather report.

This week our nature study group headed out to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, a conservancy that is home to many migratory birds.

There was visibly more algae in the water than usual, which the "Amigos de Bolsa Chica" website said is typical in the Spring with warmer water. Perhaps the algae doesn't know it isn't Spring yet?

I just love this sign!

The kids love it here too - although they often scare the birds away with their loud voices :)

My friend Arica took this one - reminds me of an Ansel Adams.

In the afternoon, the marine layer began rolling in. Fog always makes a place seem so dreamy to me - like in fairy tales. I love it.

On our walk back, we found three Great Blue Herons perched in the same trees where we saw their nest in the Spring. Jen thought they must be the young birds still sticking close to the nest. Can you see all three?

Here's a picture I took of the nest back on Feb. 28, 2009. It looks so messy and loose to hold such big birds. I could still see the nest there in the same tree, but I neglected to take a picture of it this time.

To another year of exploring divine nature!

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

~New Year prayer from The Valley of Vision

Homestead Hoffman / Vista Trail - O'Neill Regional Park

2010-01-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

The weather has been wonderfully warm so we headed out to O'Neill Regional Park today for a New Years hike.

Wild cucumber

See how it travels?

Oaks with all kinds of personality provide a wonderful canopy along the trails

Mountain views

California sagebrush grows all along the trail. You can see it's budding here.
It is wonderfully fragrant.

Even a 2 year old can learn to identify it and enjoy its fragrance!

Beautiful colors of lichen

Because the trail is hidden from the sun by the mountain most of the day, it was wet and dewy

This looks like the artist's fungus in my field guide

The trail was still muddy from the recent rains

Here's my daughter asking me if I want another "daughter" holding out the "dodder" in her hand. Kids make hiking so much more fun :)

Here's a gall. These are pretty common on the oaks at O'Neill. I haven't been able to figure out what type of creature makes these - I think they're all made by wasps. Here's a page with pictures of many types of galls found in California. So interesting!

This looks like some type of mistletoe on this tree. I see it often, but don't know much about it other than it is parasitic.

Deer tracks - I read that they spread their toes like this to prevent sinking into the soft ground

Would you look at that beautiful sky!

Slow pokes!

New segment shoots on the prickly pear

Look at all the beautiful prickly pear fruit!

Setting aside wildfires and landslides, the house tucked away in the middle of this picture is where I'd love to live

Vista point. Since my camera doesn't take wide pictures, I took multiple pictures to show the 360 degree view, starting with this horrible eye sore of a cell phone tower that marks the location of our vernal pool.

This is the picture I doctored for my new header

Now look at this picture, can you find my 2 older kids in the middle of the dried up vernal pool?

Here's a closer shot

Here's what the ground around the pool looks like - little frogs make their dens in these cracks and I assume they overwinter in there

I made her pose for this one :)

A lot of little droppings around

Here's what my kids built while I was taking pictures.

Man in his element

Here's a nice trail map at Vista Point.

Can't wait until spring to see our favorite little pool filled again!

The Mudflat Trail

2009-12-27T12:31:00.001-08:00

We recently headed back to the Mudflats again. I love how dense the trees and shrubs are here - and even though it is urban runoff, the stream running through it makes for extra fun.

The kids found plenty to do on the trail. Who needs Jumpin' Jammin' when Nature entertains?

And of course, the Johnson boys always find something interesting...

Arroyo Willow

2009-12-26T15:20:00.000-08:00

On our recent trip to the Newport Mudflats, my friend Arica noticed these...

What blooms in December?

Apparently, Arroyo Willows do. I read that the catkins, pictured above, bloom before the leaves do. They are male catkins in the picture.

I went back through my pictures from last year and found these from last spring...

these are female...

these are male...

And look at what the female catkins do in the spring - one source called it "dehiscing".

Alternately, it could be called "bringing joy to children" - don't you think?

Here is some more info on this riparian plant we often see on streamside trails...

The arroyo willow is a riparian woodland regular, thriving along the edges of streams where it enjoys the moist soil it requires. This small tree grows to a maximum of about 10 meters in height, and has alternate, hairy, entire leaves that are lanceolate-elliptic to oblanceolate in shape. In the spring, the catkins appear before the leaves do.

Willows have a talent for propagating from vegetative tissue and thus growing from cuttings. They're so good at it that hormones derived from willows are often used in nurseries to help other plant cuttings take root. Another useful chemical first derived from the willow is Aspirin. Long before that, Native Americans had many uses for this flexible plant. An infusion of willow bark or flowers was used to cure a variety of ailments from fevers to itchiness to diarrhea. The inner bark was made into rope, the shoots used for baskets, and stakes provided structure for thatched houses.

Iridescence

2009-12-17T01:47:00.000-08:00

My husband found this lifeless hummingbird on the street in front of our house today. What a treat! We've always been curious about their brilliant feathers, but have never been able to see them for more than a moment and never close up. He brought it in for us to take a look at and the feathers are nothing short of magnificent. Another one of God's creations that you can't help but just stand in awe at.

Here's what it looks like from the side...

Here's what it looks like head on...

The color is just brilliant. We had to move it back and forth several times to believe our own eyes. I believe it's a male Anna's hummingbird since the iridescent coloring extends to its forehead. If you notice in the picture above, there is some threadlike material coming from its beak, maybe its beak got stuck because of it and it starved to death.

Now look at the body feathers, they look dark and dull from this angle...

From here, they are iridescent green.

So how does it work? Here's an explanation from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Structural Colors

Adding to the diversity of avian colors are colors produced by the structure of the feather. The best known example is the gorget (throat feathers) of many hummingbird species. The iridescent colors of the gorget are the result of the refraction of incident light caused by the microscopic structure of the feathers. The refraction works like a prism, splitting the light into rich, component colors. At certain angles little or no light is reflected back to the viewer and the gorget can appear black. As the viewing angle changes, the refracted light becomes visible in a glowing, shimmering iridescent display.

It also says that during the dive display, he plummets in a near-vertical dive, which on sunny days, the dives are oriented so that the sun is reflected from the iridescent throat and crown directly at the object of the dive.

A Puddle!

2009-12-12T01:29:00.000-08:00

Look Mommy! A Puddle!!
Can I Mommy, can I?

Yeah..
GO FOR IT!!

Whoo Hooooooo!

Wheeeeeee!

Ahhhh ha ha ha!

Ooooooooh mud!!

Squishy...

Mucky mucky

And look, walk through the mud...

then jump in the puddle to wash off!

Look at the mud all over my bike Mommy. I like it, it looks like I just came from an adventure.

So they get wet, they get dirty - isn't it worth it?
If not today, when?

You Will Know Them By Their Fruit

2009-11-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

Have you ever struggled to know whether you should take someone's advice or not? A well-meaning relative, a close friend, a neighbor, a teacher, an adviser?

I was reminded again of this verse last week as we stopped by the young orchard in our neighborhood...

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Matthew 7:15-18

Notice that although the verse calls them "ravenous wolves", which brings to mind easily recognizable evil, they are so "inwardly", and so outwardly, they may appear well-intentioned, concerned for your well being,

knowledgeable, reasonable,

helpful, caring, fun and satisfying.

It is only upon closer inspection that you will find the truth.
You will know them by their fruit.

How is the fruit they bear?

Take a good look.
Is it well? Is it good?

In this orchard's case, almost all the fruit has split from over-watering. The fruit plumped too fast for the skin to stretch and a whole year's crop is wasted. So disappointing after waiting all spring and summer for a sweet harvest!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

A Thanksgiving

For summer rains, and winter's sun,
For autumn breezes crisp and sweet;
For labors doing, to be done,
And labors all complete;
For April, May, and lovely June,
For bud, and bird, and berried vine;
For joys of morning, night, and noon,
My thanks, dear Lord, are Thine!

For loving friends on every side;
For children full of joyous glee;
For all the blessed Heavens wide,
And for the sounding sea;
For mountains, valleys, forests deep;
For maple, oak, and lofty pine;
For rivers on their seaward sweep,
My thanks, dear Lord, are Thine!

For light and air, for sun and shade,
For merry laughter and for cheer;
For music and the glad parade
Of blessings through the year;
For all the fruitful earth's increase,
For home and life, and love divine,
For hope, and faith, and perfect peace,
My thanks, dear Lord, are Thine!

~~John Kendrick Bangs 1862-1922

Frog Heaven

2009-11-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

This video was taken in late Spring of '09 but I thought it was worth reposting here. My husband runs trails and comes to this spot sometimes to find solace and meet with God. He told me about this vernal pool with frogs everywhere and at the time, we had about 3 frogs we had kept through the transformation process. We got them as tadpoles which are herbivores, easy enough to feed with algae tablets, and had kept them after they metamorphosed into frogs which are carnivores - fed on flightless fruit flies. After having had them for about a month, I was done with getting them fruit flies and was ready to release them. The vernal pool seemed perfect for them - secluded, peaceful, romantic. I imagined they would be very happy there with all the other frogs.

So we packed them in a tupperware container with a tiny bit of water, put them in our lunch bag cooler and trekked up the 2 mile trail to get there. Once we were there, we released them and poked around to see all the other frogs. My son somehow tripped one of the dens and they all came hopping out en masse. The vernal pool is located by the cell phone tower close to the end of Live Oak Trail that begins in O'Neill Regional Park. It's mostly uphill and can get very hot quickly on warm days. We ran out of water on our way back that day - kids were great though. We stopped at the little Feed Store on Live Oak Canyon on the way back and got ourselves some ice cold water. Ahhhh.........

Hope it was a happy ending for our little frogs!

Thistles

2009-11-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

This verse is ever more present for me at this time of year when all the grasses are dry and brittle, and the thistles appear in their twisted, tormenting way.

And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

Genesis 3:17-19

"Camp"

2009-11-13T12:24:00.001-08:00

The flier below arrived at our door the other day. Couldn't help but think of this quote by Richard Louv in Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder:

Not that long ago, summer camp was a place where you camped, hiked in the woods, learned about plants and animals, or told firelight stories about ghosts or mountain lions. As likely as not today, "summer camp" is a weight-loss camp, or a computer camp. For a new generation, nature is more abstraction than reality.

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

Prickly Pear

2009-11-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed the Prickly Pear lately? The yellow and orange blooms of summer have made way for its deep red, pear-shaped fruit, which I recently read is very tasty.

Well a couple of days ago as we were taking the kids for a hike we came across some very ripe looking prickly pear fruit. I didn't have gloves, but I did have a plastic bag and a friend's knife so I collected two of the fruit into the bag without touching them.

Unfortunately, I still got several of the spines in my fingers! Apparently, there are two kinds of spines on the plant and the fruit. There are the large, smooth, fixed spines which are visible. These are easy to avoid. There are also much less visible, smaller hairlike spines called "glochids" which easily penetrate the skin and detach from the plant.

These glochids are what were all over my plastic bag and that's how they ended up in my fingers. They're hard to see and consequently, hard to remove once they're in there. But you can feel them!

They sat in the car for about two days before I got around to Googling how to eat prickly pear. Apparently, handling them with tongs and running them under cold water while scraping them gently with a knife will get rid of most of the spines. I was a bit leery after my first painful experience so I handled it with tongs until the skin was completely off.

Cut the rough end off - look at all that juice!

Slice the skin lengthwise. They do this much better in the video, I took too much of the meat off here because I was doing it with tongs.

And there you go! Prickly pear fruit.

Isn't it a beautiful color? The juice is such a gorgeous pink.

The kids and I, my hubby and Grandma all tasted it as is and agreed it is very, very tasty! Tart and sweet - kind of like a tart watermelon flavor with a plum-like texture to it. We're definitely getting more!

Here's a video that explains how to harvest and prepare prickly pear

And here are some fun things you can make with Prickly Pear.

Prickly Pear Sweets and Treats
Prickly Pear Margaritas
Prickly pear sorbet
Prickly pear cactus fruit salad
Prickly pear cactus mojito
Prickly pear juice with lime, ginger, and honey
Tuna Juice (prickly pear is also called tuna)

Enjoy!

Mudflats

2009-10-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

The truth is there is something wrong about the way we value our children’s development. … We have a very narrow view of what children need. We don’t understand that play is important enough to allow children to get dirty. ~Roger A. Hart, Director of the Children’s Environments Research Group at The City University of New York

But it wasn't all about the mud...

Another gorgeous day to play...

and do laundry!

In Our Front Yard

2009-10-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

Look at what my daughter found on our Salvia 'Hot Lips' bush today. Can you guess what on earth it is?

I knew right away, because I had searched for it for some time last year after seeing a pregnant Praying Mantis. It should hatch sometime next Spring - something to look forward to already!

Here's a picture of that Praying Mantis I took over a year ago. Maybe it's Grandma to the babies in this egg sac. It's amazing how that little black dot of any eye will follow you around as you observe it.

This was her very pregnant abdomen:

I found this exoskeleton the same day. I had no idea they molted.

Can you see her in this picture?
She sits right beneath the flower, in perfect position to attack her oblivious prey.

Success!

I spent some more time looking into our pond last night. Observing nature - even if it's in yucky pond water - somehow brings a dose of peace to my often keyed up state.

I flashed a light in to see what was going on in this other world resting on our table. Here's a video of what I saw. The voices in the background are my family talking about 'Baba' - grandma - flying in an airplane today.

I have no idea where to begin to identify these worms. Being bottom dwellers, I bet they are decomposing something in the mud. I'm happy they're in there and not out here!

Pond Creatures

2009-10-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

I recently read a section in Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study on Insects of the Brook and Pond (p. 400). And there's a lesson in there (lesson 102) on how to make an aquarium. Not the kind with tropical fish and coral, the kind with aquatic insects that you catch yourself and sustain with aquatic plants and pond water.

So we headed down the road to the creek, which has standing water in places, and on the way we saw this gorgeous Gulf Fritillary. Its colors were irridescent and just beautiful to see.

Here is what is looks like from above. It was sunning itself right in the middle of the path. It's amazing how different their coloring can be inside and out. My 6 year old son was grumbling about how he just wants to go! while I was getting this shot :) He doesn't appreciate my blogging just yet.

We got to the section of the creek where we saw the dragonfly laying eggs and collected some water plants and pond water and used a small tea strainer we had handy (for lack of a better tool at this time) to catch something - anything. Don't worry, we won't use it for tea anymore :) We really had no idea what we'd get except maybe a dragonfly nymph or a waterboatmen since we'd seen those before.

I found this clear gooey stuff on a water plant I collected. I think it's some sort of an egg sack, it has a lot of little speckles in it. I wonder what they are.

And here's a video of some little insects that we collected. They look metallic and are hard when you pick them up as if they have a shell of some sort. They're very quick and fun to watch.

I looked back in the Handbook of Nature study when I got home. Can you guess which one these insects are?

I checked number 14 first, the whirligig beetle. Its name and description sounded right:

One may see companies of these bluish-black, flattened beetles whirling about over the surface of brooks or ponds. Their eyes are divided in such a manner as to appear as four eyes - two looking into the water and two looking into the air.

Then I Googled whirligig beetle and found this video that confirmed it. Mission accomplished! Can't wait to show my kids the video.

The Weight of Glory

2009-10-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Our pastor, in discussing Romans 8 this morning, read the following portion from C.S. Lewis' sermon, The Weight of Glory, which was originally preached in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, on June 8, 1942.

It so well described what I have often felt within myself when I'm out in nature that I thought I would share it here.

And this brings me to the other sense of
glory—glory as brightness, splendour,
luminosity. We are to shine as the sun, we
are to be given the Morning Star. I think I
begin to see what it means. In one way, of
course, God has given us the Morning Star
already: you can go and enjoy the gift on
many fine mornings if you get up early
enough. What more, you may ask, do we
want? Ah, but we want so much more—
something the books on aesthetics take
little notice of. But the poets and the
mythologies know all about it. We do not
want merely to see beauty, though, God
knows, even that is bounty enough. We
want something else which can hardly be
put into words—to be united with the
beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it
into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become
part of it. That is why we have peopled air
and earth and water with gods and
goddesses and nymphs and elves—that,
though we cannot, yet these projections
can, enjoy in themselves that beauty grace,
and power of which Nature is the image.
That is why the poets tell us such lovely
falsehoods. They talk as if the west wind
could really sweep into a human soul; but
it can’t. They tell us that “beauty born of
murmuring sound” will pass into a human
face; but it won’t. Or not yet. For if we
take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if
we believe that God will one day give us
the Morning Star and cause us to put on
the splendour of the sun, then we may
surmise that both the ancient myths and
the modern poetry, so false as history, may
be very near the truth as prophecy. At
present we are on the outside of the world,
the wrong side of the door. We discern the
freshness and purity of morning, but they
do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot
mingle with the splendours we see. But all
the leaves of the New Testament are
rustling with the rumour that it will not
always be so. Some day, God willing, we
shall get in. When human souls have
become as perfect in voluntary obedience
as the inanimate creation is in its lifeless
obedience, then they will put on its glory,
or rather that greater glory of which
Nature is only the first sketch.

Arroyo Trabuco Trail

2009-10-21T01:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of the Arroyo Trabuco Trail? My husband likes to run trails and fills me in on these great places. It was our first time back since early Summer. I wonder what's changed?

It's an incredibly diverse trail that runs through the narrow strip of O'Neill Regional Park that comes in through the residential communities tucked up in the hills of South Orange County, California. It's one of our very favorite hikes.

We spent the last two days exploring the trail between Crown Valley Parkway and Rancho Santa Margarita Parkway.

Look at all the plumes of the pampas grass. Aren't they so beautiful and elegant?

The kids like them for tickling :)

There are creeks to cross - my husband and kids like to call them 'Dangerous River Crossings'. The first few times we tried to take our shoes off and keep them dry, but there are so many crossings so we eventually gave up. Now we just hike with wet shoes and it's completely okay. And our sneakers get really clean in the process.

But why just cross the dangerous river when you can head up it and explore?

And it's shallow enough that your babies can play too. Watch out for the slippery green algae though, it grows in long strands and some kids won't like it.

Look at these giant California Sycamore Trees!
There's a whole grove of these along the trail.

Look at how beautifully twisted and mangled they grow.
It reminds me of a tree we are reading about in Tree in the Trail, although that one is a Cottonwood.

I bet you didn't know Shrek lives along the Arroyo Trabuco trail.
Look at the color of that swamp! You'll definitely get an "Ewwwww!" out of someone when you get there. It's fun to throw sticks into and there are plenty of trees overhanging the swamp for anyone willing to test their balance and luck.

More dangerous river crossings. Alright guys, that's far enough!

Oh look, cocklebur along the edge of the creek.

Ooooh, a tunnel!

Whoa, it's dark.

And more river crossings!

A bamboo forest! In Orange County?

It's actually giant reed - apparently a major problem in California. They're trying to eradicate it. We think it makes a really cool jungle type of atmosphere. Makes for a great walking stick if you can break a piece off.

Here's my son learning that it's much harder to break the green branches than the dry ones :) He's helping eradicate.

Oh look, the coyote bush is in bloom.

So is the mule fat. Did you know they call it 'mule fat' because when the mules eat it they bloat?

More river crossings. And look! A snowy egret. I wonder what it's catching in the dangerous river?

And who says California doesn't have fall colors?
Just look at that beautiful red poison oak.

California Buckwheat has turned a very dry and brittle rust. If it didn't fall apart so easily it could be the perfect ingredient for a fall wreath.

There's Toy on - lore says Hollywood was named after it.

And here's what the lemonadeberry looks like now.

I finally figured out what those stalks of yellow flowers that are popping up everywhere are - telegraph weed.

They make a nice background in this picture of my daughter don't they?

And look, they turn into little poofy seed balls! I bet those make many, many more weeds!

Well, the sun's setting...

Time to head home and wash these sopping wet socks!

Flame Skimmer

2009-10-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Another new blog!

This one to satiate my ever increasing appetite for nature.

I am drawn to it, alive in it, rejuvenated by it. My human soul is linked to it in ways beyond my comprehension. At every turn is a new beauty to behold, a mystery to be solved, a perfect design to appreciate; a sure glimpse into the character of God Himself.

I hope to post many more interesting discoveries here in the future. For now, to kick it all off, here's a video of a dragonfly we came across today. I believe it's a flame skimmer. My guess is that it's laying eggs. Enjoy!