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

Natural History Lecture Series at the Orange County Great Park

Hello all - I am posting this information here since the events are close to our park and the subject matter is pertinent to what goes on in Laguna Canyon. More updates on our beautiful canyon will be coming soon!

On the Orange County Great Park's website, http://www.ocgp.org, one can find this very exciting announcement: (Click here to access their page directly)

October 8 and 22, 2009
7:00 PM, at Second Harvest
Free Parking & Admission

The Orange County Great Park will be a new center for experiencing our natural world, and understanding how people and our environment can advance together. The first expression of this mission is a new public and free evening lecture series offering new insights into our natural and dynamic world of Southern California. Our first speakers this fall will confront issues critical for us to have a sustainable world.

After the presentations, there will be ample time for a public discussion of the issues these fascinating speakers will present to us.

Lectures will be held adjacent to the Great Park in the Executive Conference Room of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, 8014 Marine Way, Irvine, CA. Please enter Marine Way from Sand Canyon Avenue and follow the signs to Second Harvest Food Bank.

For information please call 949-724-7420.

Lecture Schedule

Native California Bees Looking for New Real Estate
Thursday, October 8, 7:00 PM
Presented by Gordon Frankie, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology at UC-Berkeley
Pollinators are necessary partners for our food supply, critical for California agriculture, as well as sustaining our natural habitats. Dr. Frankie is a world expert on the ecology of bees and their fascinating adaptations for survival. After years of studying tropical and California bee species, he has begun to focus on our urban environments, understanding the hundreds of bee species around us, often ignored, and their role in sustaining our home gardens and communities. Have you thanked a bee today? Let Dr. Frankie tell you why you should!

21st Century Megafires in Southern California: Adapting to Fires in Paradise
Thursday, October 22, 7:00 PM
Presented by Jon Keeley, Ph.D., U. S. Geological Survey, and Adjunct Professor of Ecology, UCLA
Wildfire! A constant concern and fear for our human communities, and a big factor that molds the natural world around us. We struggle against fire, every year, yet the plants and animals of our region have managed to survive for eons under the pressure of regular and devastating fires. Dr. Keeley is a world expert on the “ecology of fire,” how plants manage with this stress and how the habitats around us persist and change as fires sweep through. How do they do it? What does the future hold for our communities as the frequency of wildfires changes as our climate changes?

Destruction of Wildliife Habitat Next to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

Hello to all.

This past week I was contacted by Marcus, a concerned fellow resident of the area, who has become very concerned, frustrated, and saddened by the destruction of wildlife habitat just next to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

His message was as follows: Hi, We live adjacent the end of the Lake Forest Road.
They bulldozed that area a couple of years ago to start to make way for the connection to the 133. Yesterday and moreso today they have been cuttin tall trees in a grove that does not block the road direction. Please see our site http://www.shinhill.com for the area. Tomorrow I will have pictures up of the current destruction.

There are three endangered species there among others:

Check this map for a map of the area that links these species:

http://imaps.dfg.ca.gov/viewers/cnddb_quickviewer/app.asp

I called the fish and game dept and got a run around. What can be done to stop it?

Unprocessed CNDDB Data for TUSTIN Quad (3311767) - 20 elements selected Record QUADNAME SCINAME COMNAME FEDSTATUS CALSTATUS 1 Tustin Ixobrychus exilis least bittern None None 2 Tustin Accipiter cooperii Cooper's hawk None None 3 Tustin Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus California black rail None Threatened 4 Tustin Rallus longirostris levipes light-footed clapper rail Endangered Endangered 5 Tustin Calypte costae Costa's hummingbird None None 6 Tustin Selasphorus sasin Allen's hummingbird None None 7 Tustin Picoides nuttallii Nuttall's woodpecker None None 8 Tustin Eremophila alpestris actia California horned lark None None 9 Tustin Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus sandiegensis coastal cactus wren None None 10 Tustin Polioptila californica californica coastal California gnatcatcher Threatened None 11 Tustin Vireo bellii pusillus least Bell's vireo Endangered Endangered 12 Tustin Dendroica petechia brewsteri yellow warbler None None 13 Tustin Icteria virens yellow-breasted chat None None 14 Tustin Aimophila ruficeps canescens southern California rufous-crowned sparrow None None 15 Tustin Chondestes grammacus lark sparrow None None 16 Tustin Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi Belding's savannah sparrow None Endangered 17 Tustin Ammodramus savannarum grasshopper sparrow None None 18 Tustin Carduelis lawrencei Lawrence's goldfinch None None 19 Tustin Choeronycteris mexicana Mexican long-tongued bat None None 20 Tustin Calochortus catalinae Catalina mariposa-lily None None Results for EL TORO Quad (3311766) - 34 elements selected Record QUADNAME SCINAME COMNAME FEDSTATUS CALSTATUS 1 El Toro Anaxyrus californicus arroyo toad Endangered None 2 El Toro Spea hammondii western spadefoot None None 3 El Toro Elanus leucurus white-tailed kite None None 4 El Toro Accipiter cooperii Cooper's hawk None None 5 El Toro Buteo regalis ferruginous hawk None None 6 El Toro Athene cunicularia burrowing owl None None 7 El Toro Eremophila alpestris actia California horned lark None None 8 El Toro Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus sandiegensis coastal cactus wren None None 9 El Toro Polioptila californica californica coastal California gnatcatcher Threatened None 10 El Toro Vireo bellii pusillus least Bell's vireo Endangered Endangered 11 El Toro Icteria virens yellow-breasted chat None None 12 El Toro Aimophila ruficeps canescens southern California rufous-crowned sparrow None None 13 El Toro Ammodramus savannarum grasshopper sparrow None None 14 El Toro Rhinichthys osculus ssp. 3 Santa Ana speckled dace None None 15 El Toro Eumops perotis californicus western mastiff bat None None 16 El Toro Neotoma lepida intermedia San Diego desert woodrat None None 17 El Toro Actinemys marmorata pallida southwestern pond turtle None None 18 El Toro Phrynosoma blainvillii coast horned lizard None None 19 El Toro Aspidoscelis hyperythra orangethroat whiptail None None 20 El Toro Aspidoscelis tigris stejnegeri coastal whiptail None None 21 El Toro Salvadora hexalepis virgultea coast patch-nosed snake None None 22 El Toro Thamnophis hammondii two-striped garter snake None None 23 El Toro Crotalus ruber ruber northern red-diamond rattlesnake None None 24 El Toro Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Forest Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Forest None None 25 El Toro Southern Cottonwood Willow Riparian Forest Southern Cottonwood Willow Riparian Forest None None 26 El Toro Southern Sycamore Alder Riparian Woodland Southern Sycamore Alder Riparian Woodland None None 27 El Toro Southern Riparian Scrub Southern Riparian Scrub None None 28 El Toro Streptocephalus woottoni Riverside fairy shrimp Endangered None 29 El Toro Pentachaeta aurea ssp. allenii Allen's pentachaeta None None 30 El Toro Dudleya multicaulis many-stemmed dudleya None None 31 El Toro Nama stenocarpum mud nama None None 32 El Toro Nolina cismontana Peninsular nolina None None 33 El Toro Brodiaea filifolia thread-leaved brodiaea Threatened Endangered 34 El Toro Calochortus weedii var. intermedius intermediate mariposa-lily None None

Watch a little footage that Marcus took on September 22, 2009 (the movement that you'll see on your screen near the end may leave a cold, dark pit feeling in the center of your stomach - it did for me...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_brrwOBgNZ4


After trying to find some contact information for Marcus, so that he could avoid getting the run-around and start getting results, I realized once again how tragic it is that we are unable to stop the destruction of our wild lands just by individually stepping outside, walking up to those "in charge" and speaking sense to them (yes - SENSE, not "cents"...). Yet perhaps even more tragic is my lack of a fully combative spirit/attitude, faced with this desolate news. Sure, I'm a dedicated naturalist and volunteer for the Laguna Canyon Foundation and the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, and I'll post this information on my blog tonight, hoping that those who follow it will become aware of this issue and make a difference in their own way - but will this actually change anything at all? Will I really have done "my part" in posting this information online? Will your awareness help our lands?

I could write paragraphs on the moral implications of the challenges that we face daily here in Southern Orange County in regards to our natural lands - but we all know what they are, and we all know what's gone wrong. So tonight, I leave you simply with a single question, one that I will ask myself as I get quietly into bed: What will it take for us to want to help Marcus in his search for justice, for protection of these lands? What will get us motivated enough to become the true authorities, the true stewards of the land?

Until next time...

The Results are in for Laguna Beach's Coastal Cleanup Day (9-19-09)

California Coastal Cleanup Day: Laguna Beach September 19, 2009

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of California Coastal Cleanup Day, nearly 800 volunteers here in Laguna Beach took part in what has become an international event that focuses on removing debris from the open spaces, streams, lakes, estuaries and marine habitats worldwide.

In Laguna Beach 2800 lbs. was collected, consisting of 1600 lbs. of regular trash plus 1200 lbs. of recyclables.

Unusual items found were an intact lobster trap found in a Heisler Park cove, a brand new folding chair still in its wrapping, a large metal crate plus a small vessel boom and winch system.

Combining forces to supervise the cleanup of almost 5 miles of sand plus 1 mile of the Aliso Creek streambed were Michael Hazzard (Aliso Creek Steelhead), Rick Conkey (Help Blue Water) and Roger von Bütow (Clean Water Now! Coalition). They were assisted by numerous critical site leaders who helped organize the yearly event and gave up their beautiful Saturday morning to help turn the tide against trash locally.

Volunteers from Tesoro and Upland High Schools came out in force along with other local students plus our usual boy and girl scout troops from inland. Approximately 2/3 of our volunteers do not live or work in Laguna but travel significant distances to do their share for California’s coastal ecologies.

Kudos to Michelle Clark of Waste Management of Orange County who helped by having her crew collect and weigh the trash for us, also the underwater folks from South OC Divers and La Verne Dive Club sprinkled throughout the coves that pulled up their fair share.

Personal thanks to: Perennial participants Hearts of Montage led by Christine Loidolt, John Krill (Laguna Beat), Joanne Sutch, Art Fahy, Earl Longstreet, David Marchese, Trevor Keetch (Pacific Edge Hotel), Mike Cohan (Spencer Recovery), Bill Thornton (South OC Divers), Michel Olyer (Advisor Upland HS), Michal Peri (GS Troop 2084), Joseph Hassine (Tesoro HS) and the Dr. Russ Hill clan.

As a state-wide effort coordinated by the California Coastal Commission, we’re grateful to their educational program staff, Eben Schwartz and Shannon Waters, who also assist us throughout the year in our local Adopt-A-Beach cleanups.

Contact: Roger von Bütow Clean Water Now! 949.715.1912

CPR and Wilderness First Aid Training at Willow Staging Area, 09-19-09

On Saturday, September 19th 2009, a group of volunteers and naturalists for the Laguna Canyon Foundation participated in CPR and Wilderness First Aid Training.


From 8-11:45 AM, Compression-only CPR and Wilderness First Aid techniques and preparation were covered. Here are a few of the emergency scenarios that were reviewed (list non-exhaustive):

• Breathing is present yet labored
• snake bites
• fractures
• bleeding
• choking
  
• shock management
• asthma
• heart and stroke conditions
• stroke vs. heat stroke
• clinical health survival chances

All participants practiced their compression-only CPR techniques along with placing a victim into the "recovery" position. Watch the video HERE to observe the proper technique for the RECOVERY position.



Kirsten asks a question, other volunteers and naturalists listen attentively.

Mike telling the group about first aid preparation.

The rest of the photos below are those of volunteers practicing their Recovery Position skills with volunteer Damon. Thanks to everyone who came and participated in CPR Training! You are helping to keep our parks safe and WILD!

Volunteer Orientation A Success!

On Saturday, September 12th, 2009, the Laguna Canyon Foundation hosted its final Volunteer Orientation for the 2009 calendar year.

This last group of incoming volunteers was quite inspiring, not only due to their collective interest & passion for the South Coast Wilderness, but also due to their sheer number! An all-time record turnout of 26 new individuals was reported on Saturday!

Laguna Canyon Foundation's volunteers are so important to the vitality and preservation of our beautiful South Coast Wilderness. Here are just some of the essential roles that they take on during their hours on duty (list non-exhaustive):

• they greet the visiting public at the major "staging areas" (Trailheads) of the park, ensuring that everyone has the information and equipment they need to fully enjoy their experience on the trails (providing maps, brochures, water, advice, etc.)
• they participate in trail maintenance
• they participate in plant restoration days (remove non-native plants from the park's trails)
  
• they work in Laguna Canyon's nursery of native plants
  
• they work at the front desk of the Nix Nature Center, fielding the public's questions both on the phone and in person, recommending appropriate hikes, taking reservations for the park's monthly led hikes and activities, assisting Foundation and County staff, etc.
  
• they participate in special events throughout the county as representatives of Laguna Canyon Foundation
• they are the eyes and ears of the land, reporting both exciting discoveries of wildlife activity as well as suspicious activity in the park - keeping our knowledge of what goes on in the wild as current and complete as possible.

To all of you who participated in the latest Volunteer Orientation, thank you so very much for joining us - we are so glad that you are on our team! And to those of you who have just discovered us, be it online or in the canyon, we can't wait to welcome you, too!

Please feel free to contact Volunteer Trainer Jennifer Wood at lagunacanyon@gmail.com for more information on how you can become a volunteer for the Laguna Canyon Foundation.

Become a Volunteer for the Laguna Canyon Foundation

Laguna Canyon Foundation's Volunteer Orientation

Saturday, September 12th, 2009 from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM
at the Nix Nature Center - Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

Learn about various volunteer opportunities, from greeting park visitors to helping with wilderness restoration projects, leading hikes and other activities.

Full Moon Hike at Willow

Full moon at Willow - September 4, 2009
Photo taken at 8:30 PM on Willow Trail

This evening, Laura Cohen led her wonderful Full Moon Hike at Willow, starting at 6 PM. We started up Lower Laurel Trail, along which Laura spoke about the beauty of our cherished wilderness and the importance of celebrating the special moments that we either step into or create - both in our park & in life in general.



Starting on Lower Laurel there were many acorns to be seen on the Coast Live Oaks, as seen below.


High above and far away from us, sat a raptor of some sorts. In binoculars, I believe to have observed yellow talons and a yellow beak. The body of this raptor was a dark brown with red highlights, through and through. He/she was huge!!!!! What I love about this photo is the aura of light that surrounds this majestic beauty. Anyone want to say this is a rarely seen Golden Eagle? Laura and I are hoping it was!


The poison oak and the California Buckwheat were displaying rich and varied hues of red, contrasting wonderfully with the various yellow and blue greens, and that creamy golden tone that I love so much.


Our California False Indigo that I have been tracking over time was rather droopy and dry - no doubt due to the heat spell that we've been having. Usually, False Indigo is found at higher elevations - I felt badly for it.


But my feelings went quickly from sad to happy ones when I turned around and saw this beautiful rose-colored cloud grouping in the sky.


It was in the mid-80s when we began our hike at 6:00 PM and it was quite warm the whole evening, especially going up Lower Laurel (which is no easy walk in the park, let's admit it). In fact, the heat combined with the upward climb and challenging terrain reminded us of the importance of knowing the trails and coming to the park prepared.

Which leads me to my (important) side note.

For those of you who are volunteers and naturalists, please remember that it is vitally important to ensure that the public understands what the trails involve and demand physically. If you are leading/sweeping a hike, please tell your visitors what they can expect (what kind of terrain, elevation gain, for how long) and give an idea of how it might be more challenging for certain physical limitations (bad backs, knees, ankles, etc.).

For those of you coming to the park on your own, do your best to inform yourself as to the conditions of the trail and to what you need to get out and back safely. If an advertised hike sounds appealing to you because of its title, make sure to read the description of the hike, and double check with the hike leaders before embarking on your journey to make sure that the description in words truly reflects reality. (If the word "strenuous" is used in the hike's description, but you have a really bad back and cannot do inclines without shooting pains every ten seconds, don't just overlook the mention of "strenuous" because you want to see the full moon on a hike in the park... believe me, it's not fun!!!)

So now that my side-note has been said, what were the other memorable highlights of the evening? Hearing poorwills in the dark as we descended Willow, listening in the not-so-quiet night to Laura's bat detector (and me making tricky sounds to fool us all), Ranger Sarah using the black light to detect the florescence of rat urine, and learning about how cats need only 1/16th of the light that we humans need to see objects clearly were definitely highlights for me.

And then, of course, there was the moon.
Hope to see you on a Full Moon hike in the near future!

California Coastal Cleanup Day : September 19th

Please mark your calendars! And thanks to Roger Butow of Clean Water Now! for communicating this important date!

Our Canyon Inspires! Cardoons by Candice Bohannon

"Cardoons" - Oil on Canvas - 2008 - 30x48" - by Candice Bohannon http://www.candicebohannon.com

Last Friday afternoon, I was flipping through the August edition of Southwest Art, when my eyes were drawn to a beautiful image of an oil painting by Candice Bohannon, entitled, "Cardoons." "Hey!" I instantly shouted out in surprise, "that's Laguna Canyon!" And yet for a few moments I doubted my instant identification - after all, I was holding in my hands a national magazine focused primarily on the Southwestern art culture. What would Laguna Canyon's pesky non-natives be doing here?

Yet I couldn't manage to doubt myself for long. No, I was sure of it. The lighting was right. The energy was right. The dried-up grasses in that golden cream tone that I absolutely love were perfectly represented, and that annoying orange-colored plastic fencing so often used in mitigation was providing that subtle reminder of man's disturbance on the 133. It couldn't be anywhere else but from our canyon.

So I read the article, which kept the actual location of these cardoons rather vague. The painting depicted cardoons that Candice saw in "Southern California," in an "area [that] was soon to be cleared for a new roadway." Then I read that Candice had studied at the Laguna College of Art and Design. "Well, only one way to know for sure," I concluded, "I'll just write to her."

A few days later I got a response from Candice. My instincts were right. These cardoons were from Laguna Canyon. Not only that, but Candice is more than happy to share her image of this beautiful painting with us on my blog and websites!

It is so tremendously awesome to see how truly connected to Laguna Canyon we can become when we spend the time to intimately connect with the land and living beings on it. I definitely feel that I have been doing something right this past year, in getting to know the canyon's trails, plants, and animals; when I can flip through a national magazine and instantly identify in an oil-on-canvas a section of disturbed grassland along the 133, I have an unshakable, magnificent proof that I have become part of the canyon, and that the canyon has become a part of me.

Please read more to discover more about Candice, the Southwest Art article, and my future plans for the blog/websites! Thanks!


As Candice Bohannon's blog explains,

Southwest Art Magazine has featured Candice Bohannon in the August 2009 issue as the editors' choice for up-and-coming talent. Along with color reproductions of "Cardoons" and "Marie Masson" the magazine has published a particularly astute article about Bohannon and her work.

The article is as follows:

Candice Bohannon drove past a patch of wildflowers called cardoons for years before she decided to paint them. At first, she recalls, she was content to merely grab the prickly plants from the side of the road and bring them home. “I came back home with a lot of wounds because they are very thorny,” Bohannan says with a laugh. Not long ago, however, the cardoons seemed particularly stunning. And she knew the area was soon to be cleared for a new roadway. It would be their last season. It was time to capture them on canvas. “I love how weeds can sometimes be very beautiful. Cardoons grow wild everywhere in Southern California with very little water and nurturing,” she says. “They are so forceful and willful.” Bohannon not only talks about the wildflowers as if they have human characteristics, she paints them that way, too. Anyone who saw her painting in the California Art Club’s Gold Medal Show recently might have observed that the spiny weeds did, in fact, convey a human-like energy, almost as if they could walk off the canvas and onto the floor of the museum. At 27, Bohannon was one of the youngest artists featured in the juried show. Already an award-winning painter, she most recently was named a semi-finalist in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Her painting captured an elderly woman afflicted with dementia. Unlike some artists, Bohannon relishes working in many genres—still life, landscape, figurative. “I paint things that interest me,” she says. What doesn’t interest this Northern California-based painter and sculptor though, is art that comes from a cynical point of view, mocking and tearing apart things she holds dear. For Bohannon, art heals and awakens emotions as well as brings substance to light. She explains with this analogy: “Great artworks can be related to a feast, the meal laid out for you: beauty, thought, emotion, and kinship. It can leave you feeling full or perhaps serve to awaken the appetite further. But it will never leave you empty.” Universal themes are what interest her most, and she looks to many of art history’s great painters, such as Rembrandt and Michelangelo, for inspiration. “I’m not going to paint the inside of my car or my daily sandwich,” she says. “Those things don’t register an emotional blip on my radar screen.” Growing up in Applegate, a small mountain town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, Bohannon says she was a quiet and shy girl. By the time she started thinking about what she wanted to become, she realized that she loved and was good at only two things: writing and visual art. Thus, after high school graduation, she headed for the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, CA, which seemed like the big city at the time. Since graduating from there, she has returned once again to Applegate, where she shares her life and art with her husband, Julio Reyes, also a talented emerging artist. Bohannon’s studio is in her home, and it’s not unusual for her to spend more than 100 hours there working on a single piece. But her method is strictly spontaneous and embraces variety. For example, when she met an intriguing woman at a wedding in Baltimore last year, she asked her to sit for her. When she saw a horse at an equestrian center, she watched it for hours and then painted the white equine as a symbol of innocence. Although it’s early in her career, Bohannon is self-assured about her career choice. As she writes, “I create because I must create, it is what I was born to do. There’s no other life for me.”

See more of her work at www.candicebohannon.com.

By the way: one of my new goals for this blog will be to showcase artists inspired by the beauty of our treasured canyon. If you know of any inspired artists, please send me their information / names / website addresses! Thanks!

Local Artist: Rachel Uchizono

Update Thursday, August 13, 2009: Rachel sent me another image. This was her painting for the Best Of Plein Air Show 2008: "Laguna Laurel." Beautiful! Thanks, Rachel, for sharing your talent with us!



Local artist Rachel Uchizono has recently painted a few scenes of Laguna Canyon. Please visit her website at www.racheluchizono.com and see her works in person at the Sawdust Festival, at booth # 407 right next to Greg Thorne (#406).

Some of Rachel's work can also be seen at Studio 7 Gallery North.

Please visit her website for all contact information.

Laurel Sumac's Developments and More

This afternoon at 1 PM I did the Laurel Loop, starting on Lower Laurel and finishing on Willow down all the way to the parking lot. It was very hot, about 86 degrees F, and I only crossed paths with 3 other hikers, and one biker over the course of about 2 1/2 hours.

If you are planning on hiking during the summer at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, please make sure you bring lots of water, sunscreen, and that you wear the appropriate clothing and a hat!!!

I hadn't been able to check up on the plants since my last post on June 8, 2009. Here are some photos with a few notes to give you the update on what I saw. Enjoy!



At the beginning of Lower Laurel. Note the buckwheat in flower, and the overall dryness of the grasses.

Continuing along Lower Laurel. Please stay on the main trail and do not go off trail towards the caves - those are off limits, even though people have trampled so much on the grasses that it looks like there is an official trail!!!


The weirdest thing? Poison oak (foreground clump of green) in a grassland in 86 degree weather in dry, sunny conditions, on Lower Laurel. I am definitely confused on this one.

Poison oak next to the California False Indigo - now here the Poison Oak makes sense - and has a beautiful red color to it in areas... wow!

The lemondade berries have, in most parts of our park, seen their glorious days come and go. However, many of them still have a bright dark red / orange-red. I would not advise tasting them anymore, most of them are dirty / covered in dust. ( I didn't even try).



The progression of Laurel Sumac in flower/fruit. All three photos taken on Lower Laurel trail.

Hey, cool! Remember the False Indigo in bloom? Check out the fruit/seed now.

Here's another shot of the False Indigo, for the records.


Ghost Rock in the hot sun. Beautiful clouds behind.


This little critter was fun to notice on some California Buckwheat in bloom.


Bedstraw on Lower Laurel!

A final little note: recently, two mountain bikers visiting our park cut off the head and tail of a rattlesnake near Camarillo / South Stagecoach - and even boasted about it to people they met along the trail. Please stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Park Rangers, County Staff, or the Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteers/Staff. We need everyone's help in keeping our precious park WILD.

Thanks!