The latest observations from Len Gardner

I'll be the first to complain about the dearth of posts here on the blog, given the amount of beauty that there is to write about in our treasured Laguna Canyon. For all of you followers who have been disappointed in my lack of blogging during these past few weeks, please accept my sincerest apologies!

Of course, there are good reasons for this lack of posting - the first of which is that my camera is in for repair (going on its third week now!!)... so until I have it back, I cannot take any photos of the canyon and its plants. Boohoo!
The second reason is more general in nature - in short, life has just gotten more hectic! With a heavier work schedule, I have been without my usual two days of connecting with the canyon's natural rhythm.

Thankfully, during these two chaotic weeks, Len Gardner remained faithful to his duties and sent me a report on Sunday, June 21st. For all of you Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteers and Laguna Canyon visitors, this is your time to shine - consider contributing your thoughts and observations to the blog. Don't worry about grammar or form - just submit! The more voices we get on the blog, the richer our experiences will be, both online and on the trails.

Until my next post, I wish you all a wonderful rest of the week. Thanks for following this blog!

Len Gardner's report, 21 June 2009:

I was in Little Sycamore this morning. I was helping Laura with her Father's Day special hike.

The most interesting natural history note for me was to see Sacapellote, Acourtia microcephala, in full bloom. This plant is an exuberant flowerer. It's pink-purple blossoms, when taken en masse, are quite striking. I also found it interesting that its leaves are turning yellow and drying out even as it rushes to complete its flowering.

Oscar Clarke, in his Santa Ana Flora, says its "foliage dries by autumn." This year, autumn evidently comes early. Of course, this is indicative of our long-term water deficit. This year and last year were a little sub-par, but three years ago was drastically deficient (about 4.5 inches). We still haven't recovered from that disastrous year.

It was nice to see one Calochortus weedii along the trail. Last year they seemed to be everywhere. This year, only a few.

Someone in the group said they heard that the forecasts are looking more positive for a return of El Nino conditions later this year. I hope so.

http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/e

nso_advisory/ensodisc.html

Quarterly California Coastal Commission Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup in Laguna Beach: Saturday June 20th

For Immediate Release Laguna Beach
Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup Kicks Off Summer

Join the Clean Water Now! Coalition during the Summer Solstice weekend by participating in our Quarterly California Coastal Commission Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup in Laguna Beach.

The cleanup is Saturday, June 20th, from 9 am to noon at the following 3 sites:
Main Beach (HQ), Victoria Beach, and Treasure Island/MontageResort & Spa.

Gloves, bags and educational materials provided. Community service hours for youth groups. Wear a hat or bring sunblock!
Stick around and shop locally.
Contact: Roger von Bütow rogerbutow@cleanwaternow.com
Phone messages: (949) 280.2225
Website: http://www.cleanwaternow.com/


Our next, regularly scheduled beach cleanup will be the BIG yearly event, California Coastal Cleanup Day, now an international effort with nearly 100 countries and over 28 US States participating.
CCCD: Saturday, September 19, 2009 9 am to noon
California Coastal Commission website for more information:
http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/pendx.html

CLEAN WATER NOW! COALITION
P.O. Box 4711, Laguna Beach, CA 92652 - 949.280.2225 - www.cleanwaternow.com
“The Clean Water Now! Coalition is dedicated to the protection, restoration and
preservation of aquatic and riparian ecologies worldwide.”

Full Moon Hike at Willow, Laguna Canyon

Last night, June 7th, I had the immense fortune of going on the full moon hike at Willow, led by Resource Specialist Laura Cohen. From 6 to 10 PM, we enjoyed the sights and sounds of a canyon cooling down from the heat of the day.

Going up Lower Laurel Trail first, we watched as the tops of the hills were crowned with the last rays of golden light, and listened to the playful hummingbirds as they fluttered and whizzed about us, as if to tell us a special message from the trees.





I noticed that Toyon is in bloom along the trail...








...along with our wild berries, either in bloom or in fruit (please do not pick the berries but leave them for others to see and the animals to enjoy!)











There was also something else going on here. We're going to investigate it and let you know what it is ASAP.






Once we reached Bommer Ridge, it was nearly dark, with only a bit of light to allow for a breathtaking sight of a buck (deer) in silhouette against a pink-purple sky. It was simply a magical moment!

Laguna Coast Wilderness's Full Moon hikes are always very popular - their sign-up lists fill up fast! Call the Nix Nature center at 949-923-2235 and inquire about reserving your spot for the next full moon hikes in July and August!


Remember: Park hours are from Sunrise to Sunset; Parking lot hours are from 8 AM to 4 PM. Thanks for respecting the hours, the trails, and all sentient beings that you come across while enjoying the great outdoors!

Weekends at the Nix Nature Center Insect and Arthropod Day, June 7, 2009

Yesterday, Sunday June 7, 2009, from 1 to 4 PM, the Nix Nature Center was filled with sounds of excitement, curiosity and joy, as children and their parents discovered the fascinating world of insects and arthropods. Special thanks to Dr. Sue for bringing all of her buggy friends to the Nix and sharing them with all of us!

(For more information about the Nix Nature center, the Laguna Canyon Foundation, and the various activities at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park / South Coast Wilderness (including the Aliso & Wood Canyon Trails), please visit www.lagunacanyon.org.)

>>> CLICK HERE for a short clip (video) of the whole group singing part of Laura's Insect song!<<<

"Imprints" by LCF Naturalist Gigi Logan

The earth is so sensitive to touch that the slightest of things can leave an impressionable imprint. These imprints are there to tell us a story, for tracks and signs are the language the earth uses to speak to us. Once you learn its ABCs the stories become more detailed with intricacies of a day’s events. Events that are privy only to the natural world and its participants.


Dick Newell (www.octrackers.com) began teaching me about tracking by emphasizing that tracking is simply becoming aware of your surroundings. If you are not aware, you can hike for miles and miles and not see a thing. Because the mind seems to spend a good part of the time on past or future events, it blurs the only moment we have…the present. By leaving the past and future thoughts at the trailhead you can hike only a few steps and begin the first page of many captivating tales.

Finding the tracks of a flicker on a sandy, dry area can tell you the flicker more than likely found an ant hill to feast upon. And if you look around closer you may even find its scat filled with ant shells and sand that was consumed while pecking at its meal. The flattened grasses that carve out a light trail tell of a highway the local animals use on their daily travels throughout the land. Scat containing red berries can be that of a coyote that had foraged a Toyon shrub during winter when this shrub berries. The coyote must have had a poor hunting day for like other predators; meat would be its first choice.

These and other stories are left for each of us to read. Some are entertaining while others have meaning and lessons about life. As I hike I now look for tracks and signs of what the earth has for me and on one of my walks I spotted a leaf on moist ground and thought…hmm is there a story underneath? Of course… a story and much to my surprise a work of art!

In nature,
Gigi

Some Really Cool Crawlies (& Bugs/Butterflies) in Laguna Canyon

We have been finding a bunch of really neat spiders, beetles and other crawly critters on the trails these days. Now equipped with a fabulous camera, we've been pretty pleased with the photos we've taken home.
Take a look at these and see for yourself!
(on left: rattlesnake near Nix Nature Center on 1 June 2009)



Spider on Bommer Ridge right at the entrance to Crystal Cove, 26 May 2009.














Striped racer on Old Emerald Falls trail, 26 May 2009.






Stunned Tarantula on Lower Laurel- had just been stung by the Tarantula Wasp. This was the first sight that we had of it on 1 June 2009 before we started filming the scene that just followed. Watch the video of the Tarantula hawk dragging the Tarantula back to the latter's burrow HERE!







Huge! On the fossil interpretive part of the Nix Nature Center outside, on 1 June 2009.















On Lower Laurel in the grassland areas on 1 June 2009 at 10:30 AM.














On Lower Laurel on 1 June 2009 at 1:15 PM.

Fall Color - California Style: An essay by Len Gardner

Fall Color - California Style
by Len Gardner
June 1, 2009

What could be crazier than seeing fall foliage -- that blaze of reds, purples, yellows and oranges for which New England is justly famous -- in June? Well, you can. Just go out into our wild areas.

Right now, many Poison Oak plants are stopping photosynthesis and turning their leaves shades of scarlet, crimson and some tones that haven't been named yet. The same untimely fall madness was evident last month in the leaves of Fuschia-Flowered Gooseberry. Even the sedate and sensible Black Sage seems a little wacky. A lot of its leaves are turning yellow, even as its pale lavender blossoms hang on. (to left: Fuschia-Flowered Gooseberry on Lower Laurel Trail 01 June 2009, photo by Jennifer Wood)

What's happening here is that these plants are preparing themselves for the season of adversity. The difference between California and the northern and eastern states is that our adverse season is the summer, not the winter. Instead of freezing temperatures and ice, our plants have to contend with months of searing heat and parching dryness. Some are better prepared for this great annual stress than others. All have their adaptations.

One strategy many of our species have in common with those of northern latitudes is deciduousness, the seasonal dropping of some or all leaves. In the north, deciduousness saves tender tissues from frost and ice damage. In our semi-desert climate, it is a way to stop photosynthesis. This makes sense when you realize that photosynthesis consumes water, and water is in short supply. (to right and below: Black sage on Lower Laurel Trail 01 June 2009, photo by Jennifer Wood)

Plants stop doing photosynthesis before they drop their leaves. This means they stop producing chlorophyll in the soon-to-be cast off leaves. Chlorophyll is the pigment that gives healthy leaves their green color and is essential in doing the work of photosynthesis. Free of chlorphyll, other underlying pigments, such as carotenoids and anthocyanins, are now revealed. Thus, the leaves briefly turn red or yellow or some combination before dropping off. In no longer doing photosynthesis, these leaves are now nonfunctional. The plant cuts off their water supply and they soon fall away.

When we learn this, we understand that the "unseasonal" colors some of our plants show in May and June are not really unseasonal. They simply reflect a different meaning to the seasons. On the dry hillsides of our local wildlands, summer is not the season of exuberant growth. This is not the eastern or northern forest, where the heat and long days of summer combine with abundant rainfall to produce a frenzy of photosynthesis. On the contrary, the dry heat of summer we experience brings on the killing days, the time that tests each plant to the core.

Our summer, then, is not the season to grow; it is the season to survive. For our native plant communities, the living is not easy in the summertime, and relief is still months away. There are further trials and tribulations to come in the Santa Ana winds of October, November and sometimes December. Only after all these challenges do our plants get a break, when (hopefully) winter storms blow in once again.

It is only when you look at our California seasons with the eyes of an Easterner that you think they are off kilter. But they are not so senseless. There is a logic here. It is the grim logic of survival in the face of six or more months of relentless drought. So, we Californians enjoy our fall colors in June and when Easterners tell us we're crazy, we just smile.

For further reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll

Easy: http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html

Moderate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn_leaf_color and
http://www.mtcubacenter.org/whats-new/FallColors101807.htm

Harder: http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa082602a.htm

Do you have an essay you'd like to contribute to the blog? Contact Jennifer at info@natureinorangecounty.com. We can't wait!