Update at the Dilley Preserve - 30 October 2009

All photos in this update (except for one) were taken by Thea Gavin on 30 October 2009 at the James Dilley Preserve. Photo of the Twiggy Wreath by Jennifer Wood ;)
Above: Sycamore leaves in the morning sunlight.

10-30-2009: This morning at 7:45 AM, Thea Gavin (www.theagavin.com) and I went on a nice little hike on Canyon trail in the James Dilley Preserve. It was a nose-numbing 46 degrees outside, and our warm bodies were the only ones shivering in the otherwise peaceful, waking landscape.



We were greeted immediately by a very healthy-looking coyote - and I was ecstatic!; I realized that this was the very first time that I saw a coyote in our park (sounds strange, doesn't it? after all this time???). After the coyote went on his way, we headed towards the sign-in table, where we spotted some beautiful deerweed in bloom, and lots of croton. (Croton pictured to the left! along with my hand. Thea says I make a wonderful hand model. I am thus now rethinking my career.)




Lining the beginning of the trail were a few of my favorite sage scrub plants, including beautiful displays of California Buckwheat, new growth on California Sagebrush, and new blooms of Twiggy Wreath. (To right: Twiggy Wreath). Of the more remarkable changes to be noticed were the new white and pink flowers which crowded the crowns of the buckwheat plants, creating a very colorful compilation of brown, red, pink and cream tones. (To left, buckwheat). This new blooming reminded me of the power of rain and its gift of life the plant community. (We did get some rain this past month, along with some humidity and lower temperatures, and some of the plants have taken advantage of the situation to get their reproductive processes underway!)



As the sun rose higher in the sky, beautiful silver linings haloed the dried out phacelia (right), and warmed up the air sufficiently for the bees to begin vibrating their wings and to start a new day of flight (below, left).















Update on the lemonade berries in the park: While I recently observed that the lemonade berries on our trails were lacking in zing, some of the lemonade berries at Dilley have a slight zing left in them. It really depends on location, and on the shrub/tree's individual timing.

Thanks for reading!
Jennifer

"In All Her Glory" - Acrylic on Canvas by W. Bradley Elsberry

"In All Her Glory" ~ Acrylic on Canvas ~ 36 x 48" ~ C. 2007
by W. Bradley Elsberry

After a photo taken by Mr. Elsberry on the old Laguna Canyon Road in 2005.

Take a look at a not-so-distant past, when the old Laguna Canyon Road was a two-lane, winding path from the ocean to the freeways. Now, go back in your mind, quietly, slowly. Do you remember how dark and mysterious that road was, when you drove along it at night? How many curves did you count in that road, and how few cars passed you by? Do you remember seeing the cattle by day? How about the hippo? And what about the view that you had at the north end, looking out towards Irvine?

It is true, that simple two-laner is no longer with us, and the memory of it through first-hand experience may likely end with those who are now in their early twenties. At twenty-five, I sometimes find myself making a conscious effort to keep my recollections of the old canyon road vividly sketched in my mind. Luckily for me, there are archives to consult when my memory lacks - including photos, written accounts (stories, poetry, news articles, etc.), and art. These resources fill in the gaps and educate me about the past I never knew, before my existence on Earth even began.

Yet, references to the past do not have to come strictly from the past. Today, through certain forms of expression, we can bring back the old canyon road in its myriad colors and curves, and recount the thousands of stories of those who traveled upon it. This is especially the case with art, and more specifically, with painting.

In August, I wrote about Candice Bohannon's magnificent oil on canvas entitled "Cardoons," painted in 2008. (Read the post on "Cardoons" HERE). "Cardoons" acts very much as a testament to the changing destiny of Laguna Canyon Road, as it evokes in its very imagery the transition commanded by man from a time of simplicity to an era of booming construction and heavy commuting. With the orange fencing representing mitigation work along the 133, and the cardoons' presence suggesting man's disruption of the soil layers, "Cardoons" asks us to not only understand the new reality of the much larger and expanded Laguna Canyon Road, but to bring back into view the simpler road that we lost to changing needs.

Local artist W. Bradley Elsberry of Irvine also brings back the memory of the old Laguna Canyon Road through his acrylic on canvas entitled, "In All Her Glory," painted in 2007. It is this very special work that I wish to share with you all today. Elsberry's piece gives us a beautiful glimpse of a part of the road (or part of the land sitting just beside the old road) that can no longer be accessed today, for its very existence has been forever modified by tractors and construction. It also evokes the native life that was lost, and the implications of such a loss on our consciousness. Below, you'll find a few of Elsberry's personal comments, that he has graciously accepted to share with us on the blog.

"This portrait of this tree could be considered a "Nude" since at this point in her life cycle she has at last shed all her leaves and the late afternoon light guilds the beautiful form and textures normally hidden from view. While this tree is no longer green it should be noted that there is new growth coming up from her roots. At first glance desolate, this is actually a look at a moment when the time of day, the time of year, and this time of transition in this tree's life give us a clear golden look at this Oak tree's strength and beauty.

"I photographed this tree along the side of old Laguna Canyon Road in 2005 and it was not spared when the new road went through. I like to think that some of the smaller Oaks still standing are her offspring." - W. Bradley Elsberry

Elsberry's paintings are currently being represented by Len Wood's Indian Territory Gallery in Laguna Beach, and can be seen on the gallery's website HERE.

Until next time,
Jennifer

Volunteer Voices: Chuck Wright

Today I received an email with some inspired poetry, written by LCF volunteer Chuck Wright.

In order to maintain the poems' visual composition, I am unable to publish them on this blog, but I have put them here: PLEASE CLICK HERE to read Chuck Wright's poetry! (Thank you, Chuck, for sharing your pieces with us!)

Please email me with your contributions and we will be able to develop a section online entitled "Volunteer Voices."

Contact: Jennifer at lagunacanyon@gmail.com

Laurel Loop Update: 24 October 2009

Trail Update - 24 October 2009 - Laurel Loop (Lower Laurel Trail and Willow Trail)

Hello, Friend!

This morning I hiked Laurel Loop (started on Lower Laurel, to finish at the end of Willow), from 8:45-10:20 AM. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, with warm temperatures, a beautiful blue sky with few scattered clouds, and the sweet smell of mulefat perfuming the air.

(photo on left: view from Lower Laurel today, looking towards the Laguna Canyon Road)

It had been a while since my last visit to the Willow Staging area, and the land somehow "feels" different to me, as if it is fuller, a bit heavier, less dusty - perhaps due to the recent rain that we received this month?

As I was on somewhat of a schedule this morning, I could not take my usual four hours to minutely observe what was going on in the canyon. I did succeed, however, in obtaining a general overview of the loop, and noted a few of the more obvious changes, to share with you today.

It was absolutely fantastic to get out on the trails again. Here are a few of my observations, for the record:


1. The Lemonade Berries have lost their Zing! Bam! Punch! and most of the "slimy" coating has left, leaving only a nice coat of oak woodland dust to color the berries a darker hue of red (bordering red-black in some instances). Their tart, lemon taste has almost faded completely. Guess we'll have to wait until the next batch comes along...





2. The fuschia-flowered gooseberry is just starting to leaf out on Lower Laurel, in the oak woodland portion. Exciting!



3. Toyon is in bloom in certain areas of Lower Laurel Trail. Take a look at these beauties!!!





4. I have a tradition of taking a photograph from this vantage point, of the California False Indigo and the surrounding plants/trail. You can observe the changes in the area in comparing this photo with the others, HERE.



The leaves of the False Indigo, especially their color loss/gain, was noted.


5. Speaking of color, Len Gardner recently mentioned the color of the Poison Oak at Aliso and Wood Canyons. He expressed his amazement at "the color in the poison oak leaves, which seems to be at a peak now. Even though poison oak starts to get color as early as June in some drought-stressed locations, most does not color up until this time of year. Right now, it's really very colorful." On Laurel Loop, the beautiful colors of green and red are also visible, especially in the oak woodlands.

As I mentioned in my earlier post today, I am excitedly awaiting your contributions to the blog! And I will be posting some art on the blog this next week. So, stay tuned!

Keeping it WILD,
Jennifer Wood

We are Back on the Blog - and So Are You!

Hello Everybody!

Well, I have a lot to catch up on, since the last time I posted (exactly 3 weeks ago - ouch!). The absence of news has not been without cause - a sprained muscle in my foot was the culprit, keeping me immobile and off our trails! For those of you who have checked in regularly, I apologize for the wait and for the lack of news. But thank you for your loyal readership!

Being unable to get outdoors and enjoy the coastal sage scrub, the oak woodlands, the grasslands, etc. these past three weeks really made me feel badly for the handicapped, who have little-to-no chance of enjoying our canyon like the rest of us mobile, healthy bipeds do. Sure, while I was on crutches for most of my injury, and could probably get up enough courage to visit the Nix Nature Center and look at the canyon through the windows, I knew that it would be impossible for me to "crutch-it" up Little Sycamore, Lower Laurel, Willow, Canyon, and all the other trails. Almost everything became "off-limits" to me - it was like a cruel taunting, a mirage of water in a dropless desert. Nope, I couldn't step onto the single tracks. I couldn't go even 10 feet up Little Sycamore. There was absolutely no way to get away from the canyon road. And even if I had found someone to push me in a wheelchair, it would have been in vain, for our trails are in no state to accommodate such contraptions.

Being handicapped and forced into a state of immobility also highlighted in my mind just how much the canyon has become part of my normal, weekly lifestyle. To not be able to get a whiff of the mulefat or the California sagebrush when Saturday came around left me with a noticeably duller, blander weekend. To not know how the birds were doing or with what kind of intensity they were singing their songs, and to not be able to watch the subtle changes in the plants, I felt increasingly out-of-the-loop, in another world, waiting, as a sailor far out at sea, to cross the interminable horizon and to reach my home port again.

A few of you have recently received requests for contributions to this blog, and I am excited about the articles, photos and observations that you have mentioned you will share in the upcoming weeks and months. Please let me know if you have any questions - you can email me any questions and your contributions at lagunacanyon@gmail.com.

Many of you have recently discovered my blog through the newsletter, "Canyon Views," sent home to you just recently. If this is your first time here, I strongly encourage you to get a feel for this blog by looking through the archives and reading some past posts. Recently, I have attempted to include fine art, depicting scenes of Laguna Canyon, in this online setting. If you know of any artist who has been inspired by Laguna Canyon and has shown this inspiration in their works, please let me know, and I will be happy to feature their art. A magnificent work by W. Bradley Elsberry is coming soon - so stay tuned!

So! To Come:
- Original Acrylic on Canvas by W. Bradley Elsberry
- Updates on the Trails of the Canyon
- Your contributions, comments, and questions? :)

Your friend keeping it WILD,
Jennifer Wood
lagunacanyon@gmail.com

California Coffeeberry, Stinking Gourd, and Mysteries at Aliso and Wood Canyons Park

Hiking at Aliso and Wood Canyons Park this morning with a friend, I came across a plant that I hadn't met before on the trail: California Coffeeberry! Here's a quick photograph of it (see left). For more pictures of the California Coffeeberry taken today, please click HERE.

"California Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) prefers somewhat more moist conditions than the other Rhamnus species and is more prevalent in somewhat shady environments, such as canyon bottoms and near creeks. Leaves are soft and elongate, with rounded margins. The fruit is a two-seeded, relatively large, round berry that turns red before becoming black at maturity." (p.261 of Oscar Clarke's Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs).


I also was excited to note the large leaves of this stinking gourd plant. (Note the poison oak surrounding the stinking gourd - I made sure my friend, who is "giving me a hand" with scale in the photo, wasn't touching any of it!)

I asked a few of my knowledgeable plant friends about the size of the leaves, since I have been used to seeing leaves just a bit larger than the length of my hand at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park ( the Willow/Lower Laurel trails instantly come to mind ). Here, at the Aliso and Wood Canyons park, the leaves were double the length of my hands! I have been told that this larger size is quite normal, given the better living conditions this plant has at Aliso and Wood Canyons. Truly, with its more abundant water supply and good sun exposure allowing optimum growth, there is no reason for the leaves to be smaller than they are currently. It just goes to show you what more water can do for our native plants... I'd love to see this kind of growth in our plants at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park!

A few final observations from the trails this morning:

- I noticed some bush mallow (with lavender colored flowers [we also have a white flowered bush mallow in the canyon]) in full bloom on Wood Canyon trail. Most of the bush mallow in our parks has already been in bloom months ago; yet Oscar Clarke notes in his Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs that bush mallow's flowers "may occur over a wide range of seasons, given sufficient precipitation" (180). I wonder if this particular bush mallow plant has been in continuous bloom since May/June when I first started to notice the mallow blooms in the canyon and on Irvine Ranch lands - or if this is the first blooming since a long while... It really makes me want to get out more than I do, plant myself in the earth amongst the rest of creation, and just watch us all grow together. I'd have so many more answers!

- There weren't any bees buzzing in the tree along Wood Canyon trail that I had come to know well (about 1 mile from gate 7?). What happened to their hive? Why the total absence of bees? Earlier this year, bees were buzzing all about the tree, flying back and forth from all over, and making themselves known to all. Who can tell me about bees, and why none were to be heard/seen today? (The hive is just after this water crossing, to the left, if walking towards Soka University on Wood Canyon Trail. Note the atrocious non-native plant thriving in the water. WHAT IS THAT PLANT? YUCK!)

- The weather today was just glorious. How lucky are we to have such sunshine and such deep, blue skies in the beginning of October?! Yet let us be wary as the Santa Ana winds come upon us - in these drought conditions, every season seems to be fire season - your heightened awareness of your activities and of others will help us all keep our treasured parks safe.

That's it for today - hopefully I'll have more updates for you soon.
And I'm counting on some of our newest volunteers to send me their submissions! ;)

With the cry of our local red-tailed hawks in my heart,
Jennifer