el matador state beach

Yesterday I got the day off from work, so I went to the beach with A! We decided on El Matador State Beach in Malibu, farther out past Zuma, but the amount of exploring afforded by the extra miles made it so worth it. We went down the steps from cliff to shore and headed East (South? I never know, when I'm by the ocean...), and after scoping everything out for an hour, got hungry and set up our picnic lunch atop a big rock right along the water's edge. After lots of egg salad, pickles, chips and the like, we went straight back to exploring...

There was so much to see. A pointed to a runoff from the cliffs that had carried down all these rocks that, over years had gotten smooth and worn down by the pounding of the waves and against each other. I noticed many of the beach pebbles resembled the jasper and chalcedonies that I picked up out of the desert several weeks ago and was extremely excited to see them in a smoother, semi-polished form.

 

As well as interesting mineral specimens, A had his eye out for tiny, colorful, perfect seashells. Check out that gorgeous plum-colored and ridged cowrie! Oh, after some quick research I've learned it is not a true cowrie, but a trivia - Trivia californiana. I've never seen such a beautiful shell like that found on a California beach. Seems like I've been frequenting the wrong ones all my life! In addition to the obvious awesomeness of the mineral and molluscan findings, there was plenty of marine life to see - tide pools full of sea anemones, crabs, limpets, periwinkle snails, and farther out - mussels, sea stars, dolphins! We saw some sea lions while eating/walking around too, sadly looking a bit forlorn as if they were missing their mothers...

 
El Matador is known for its sea caves in addition to its large rock outcroppings, which we explored after lunch. There we stumbled upon ghostlier-colored sea anemones, timed our movements around the caves against the crashing waves, left our flip flops on a rock to triumphantly return to later, all while stooping and scooping and scrutinizing the lovely shells and rocks all over the beach. I did a half-assed job of documenting it all because right off the bat I just wanted to play and enjoy everything, and that won out over preserving the memories...!

 

Today I awoke and felt sore from yesterday's excursions, a tiny bit sandy and the teeniest bit salty. After several errands and lunch I sorted out my beach treasures, slightly less impressive now that they were dry and out of the ocean, but still breathtakingly gorgeous. I added some to a few of my potted plants, sort of like jewelry or visual candy for them, haha. The rest of the pebbles are now atop my dresser in a medium-sized glass apothecary jar - smooth, shiny, vibrant and now a hearty reminder that there's always more out there, possibly better variations of things that you thought you knew - which is a thrilling realization.

golden haze

I recently got several packs of the Impossible Project's PX 680 and PZ 680 film and tried them out over the weekend. Unfortunately, I treated them like the defunct-since-2008, discontinued Polaroid 600 film and when I saw the dark blue emulsion face, was convinced I had gotten a pack of duds. Crushed as I was, I decided to finish off the rest of the box, only to research later and realize that it takes 30-40 minutes and preferably complete darkness to develop one of these Impossible Project images! Argh! So these turned out sickly and hazy, but I kind of like them. My unintentional self-portrait to the bottom right went like this: "Eh, fuckit, this isn't gonna turn out anyway (click)." I secretly enjoyed how carefree I was with these polaroids when I was under the impression that none of them would turn out - with the steadily rising prices of film and film development over years past, it seems like there's an inherently more careful approach to how one approaches a roll or pack of film. But that's pretty much how it should be. It's so easy to take 10+ images of the same thing digitally and choose the best one later. There's nothing wrong with that though, it's the beauty of the medium. 

field trip - hunting for rocks!

Last weekend I serendipitously joined a Lapidary Society when I stumbled upon their annual rocks & minerals/gem show and, after speaking with several senior members, signed up and was excited to learn there would be a collecting field trip the next weekend out to the Lavic area in the Mojave Desert!

I got up at 4:30 AM on Saturday morning so that I could leave by 5 and get to the first meeting point 30 minutes outside of Barstow at 8:30. I met some modern-day prospectors on the National Trails Highway, who were heading out to spend the day mining/panning for gold and platinum. By 9 AM I had met new and longstanding members from the Pasadena, Whittier, and Glendora clubs, and we started a caravan west out to the first collecting site. This first site had an endless bounty of jasper as far as the eye could see, and there were SO many beautiful specimens it was hard not to pick up everything in sight. I took pictures of what I saw but didn't take, but collecting pretty much took precedence over documentation...! From the jasper/agate site we moved on to look for thulite (a green and pink marble), and an impromptu side trip to hunt for chalcedony roses right before heading back on I-40.

Of course a trip out to the desert ensures fine cactus encounters. Here I spotted what I think is Opuntia basilaris var. basilaris at the thulite site, and Echinocactus polycephalus when we were searching for chalcedony roses. I saw some teddy bear/jumping cholla too and made sure to keep some distance from them, but not before checking out their furry, toothpick-like spines.

It was pretty incredible to be in the company of extremely passionate and adventurous people all in the pursuit of awesome rocks and being outdoors in the desert. The average age of the people there was 60, and pros that they were had their collecting jackets/vests, hats, rock hammers/scoops, and walking/hiking sticks to facilitate efficient collecting. Many of them would call a newer member over to show a chalcedony growth atop some rhyolite, or a particularly gorgeous example of thulite with deep pink rivers swirling on a lush green sea, point out a piece of brecciated jasper, or, towards the end of the trip excitedly examine a fossilized clamshell that a new member had sharply eyed and picked up! I feel amazingly charged and alive when I interact with people who have retained a sense of wonder for their surroundings, and who seem impervious to weird modern perils and jaded points of view.

 

Sunday morning I could not sleep in, so after a bit of toast I filled up a bucket with warm water and went to work lightly cleaning the jasper, agate, and thulite I lugged home. I also found some little chalcedonies and druzys that I laid out on a paper towel layer on the kitchen table, but damn was I way more interested in handling and examining every piece than photographing it all! My sister stepped out and watched me for a bit before asking "What are you going to do with all of these?" and I just looked at her, my hands full of gleaming wet rocks and I exclaimed "I don't know!" I realize I will need to have a good-sized house, excellent cleaning/purging habits, a ton of willpower, and a whole lot of nothing to start with (haha), in order to keep my collecting tendencies in check. I'm looking forward to more field trips, because this hands-down beats picking around an excavated construction site all the way, in every way.

your days in one

Joining skein 5 to skein 6! This new skein is super irregular - I've been feeling lumpy, thicker parts of wool as well as skinny, smooth areas...which makes me pretty excited to feel/see these irregularities in the finished knit!

A badass prickly pear (Opuntia) cactus tree amongst some oaks one morning. Not sure of the exact species. I love seeing how this specimen managed to grow up and out to compete for light on the otherwise very shady forest floor. Nature you are, always have been, and always will be utterly amazing.

 

I started one of those "write-down-good-things-that-happen then tip-it-all-out and read-at-the-end-of-the-year" jars at the beginning of the year. I've been treating it as a method of staying positive (duh), and by writing down the good happenings on scraps of used paper I've sort of been recycling, too.

Snagged this Archival roll-top rucksack that was on mega-sale for no apparent reason (??!) last month, and it has replaced my previous work bag, though I don't hesitate to use it for weekend romps outdoors/running errands/everything. I've been a fan of the rucksack-style pack for ages, but have always frowned upon the double-strap style (really inconvenient/time-consuming) and have pretty much been waiting around for years to find one with a single-strap closure in the perfect materials & color (and price!). Really lucked out with this one...

Sand for succulents/bottling for memories.

My string of pearls plant (Senecio rowleyanus) produced one flower this winter that smelled curiously and deliciously like that of a clover blossom - strong, too! It has since gone to seed, but its heady scent was a wonderful thing to come home to and be greeted by after a long day.

I inevitably end up with a handful of images every month that I meant to mention, but lost along the way, so this is my way of rounding them up and keeping track of things! Not really necessary, but it's fun.

excuse me for a second: Bloglovin (<-- knee-jerk reaction to the announcement of the end of Google Reader).

chamomile - german, wild & otherwise

I saw J on Saturday, after not having seen her for a month! We got brunch at the Egg Slut Truck, which is pricey but delicious, and definitely worth trying at least once. I got a 5 oz. 'espresso & milk' from Handsome Coffee Roasters afterward, which I sipped as J and I walked over the 4th Street bridge and all around the adjacent neighborhood - which, even with the presence of newly developed lofts and apartments and hip/up-and-coming restaurants and businesses, the industrial presence of warehouses, barbed wire-topped fences, and railroad tracks still heavily drives the mood of the area. Excellent. As we walked, I noticed lush sproutings of this wild chamomile (Matricaria discoidea), also known as pineapple weed, and plucked handfuls of it, shoving it all into my empty to-go cup as we continued talking and avoiding strange characters wandering around the alleyways.

The cone-shaped flower heads lack any white petals that you see on German chamomile, but upon crushing it, that distinct smell of chamomile as well as a strong pineapple scent arise, and then you know beyond a shadow of a doubt what it is you've stumbled across! I simply plucked off the cushy heads, plopped them into a jar, and steeped them in boiling water until it turned greeny-gold. It tastes exactly like regular chamomile tea, if not better, because it is wild/foraged.

With all these thoughts of wild chamomile buzzing through my head, I noticed that Trader Joe's has their grower's bunches of chamomile in stock, which I unfortunately missed out on last year. So there was zero hesitation on my end today to grab a couple of bunches - the traditional-looking flowers as well as one of the double-flowered variety. The effect of all this chamomile was twofold - uplifting my spirits dampened by a monthly visitor, and soothing a headache and fatigue by either the same visitor or the cursed Daylight Savings Time switcheroo that just happened last night. Thanks chamomile, for helping me make it through the day!

the book of CACTI and Other SUCCULENTS

I guess I talk about my plants an awful lot and well, here's some more of that! I found this book while thrifting last year, but only really began to appreciate its usefulness with my own recent burgeoning cacti and succulent garden. A clarification I was happy to read in this book is that cacti are the "best-known" family of succulents, but all succulents are not cacti (!!!).

I love love love illustrations in old books. It doesn't even matter what they are of, but man, look at these! The close-ups of cactus blossoms and bracts, the image of the lady for scale, and the impeccably handwritten labels matched with the arrows. Amazing.

Propagation methods...

This rolled newspaper trick was such a helpful tip for some of my spinier friends. And the watering tip - essential. Ever since A gave me this baby barrel cactus, I've been keen on collecting my own specimens, but I find that I usually cannot resist the $2 succulents at Home Depot when I make a visit.

Cactus medley! I've been a little lax about identifying all of these...I think most of them are in the Opuntia tribe, except for the one on the bottom...

Aloe vera, jade plant, hen & chick, and Sedum.

It's easier to label these images if you actually know the names of all the plants...!

Last week I came home to see all the pots neatly grouped together, and some of my succulents in glass (on the far left) had been rearranged. The work of mischievous/thoughtful gardeners, I believe! As the days continue to get longer, I like to sit out on the porch with a cup of tea as I watch the last vestiges of sunlight stretch, linger, then fade away.

foraging - stinging nettles

I've always been curious about the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) in European folklore and, more recently, its role as a nutrient-rich wild food source. I found a patch of beautiful new-growth nettles and gingerly harvested a few stems and leaves until I managed to pluck a leaf off of one plant and have it slap against one of my knuckles despite my gloved hands (note: use thick leather gloves! I only had a pair that was rubberized on the palm-side and knit/woven on the top and foolishly figured those were good enough). Immediately I felt its notorious sting! Luckily there was plenty of chickweed growing amongst the nettles, so I plucked a few stems, mashed them up and rubbed the poultice onto my hand; within a few minutes the sting was far less severe and never got the chance to swell.

Back in the kitchen I boiled some water and examined the goods. Check out those trichomes, eek! They're composed of silica and are basically natural hypothermic needles with a venom-filled bulb at the base of the structure. The slightest touch breaks off the tip and delivers a good dose of sting to whoever's unfortunate enough to disturb it. I'm glad I know how the sting feels now, but am even happier that I didn't, oh, fall face-first into a big patch of these guys while I was clumsily foraging about. Anyhow, I enjoyed the nettles as tea, which is famously great as a spring tonic that clears nasal passageways/sinuses/detoxifies the system. Or something. I honestly was just very curious about its flavor, which I would describe as earthy and robust and totally worth getting stung for. I was a little nervous about consuming the greens after steeping them for tea, but their quick boil/soak in water definitely removed the sting from the needles, so I had the wilted greens with some eggs along with my tea. Tastes a lot like spinach!

And here is the stinging nettle in its natural element. I regard these guys in a totally different light now, for the better!

postcards to faraway friends

I've had a slew of overdue letters to write to friends in far-off places (not really though - they're all on the same continent as me), but lacking the time (tsk tsk) and attention span to sit down and write thoughtfully, I figured I ought not to write, than to write half-heartedly. This has always been a struggle for me, in many parts of my growing-up life, but I think it's worse to not attempt something for fear of not reaching perfection than to try, even a little half-heartedly, and churn something out.

Several nights ago I had a few scraps of bristol board left over from an ongoing project, so I cut them into 4x6 rectangles and began doodling. For some reason I felt compelled to draw eyes, which I haven't really done actively since what, high school? And upon finding a new favorite tumblr that same night, and seeing all these moody, contemplative landscapes scrolling right in front of me, I referenced many of those images as I placed enormous eyes all over them. These drawings were more like exercises, as I was switching from light-to-heavy hands or vice versa, realizing how much patience is required for GOOD stippling, and trying but not-trying-hard-enough to successfully render water. I have much to improve on! It was fun, though. After finishing a handful of these drawings I flipped them over and started dashing off thoughts and questions and updates to send to friends in New York, Connecticut, Texas, and good old California.

   

It's funny and sad as I realize that a few people I had considered close friends with here are ones I'm no longer on speaking terms with - whether that happened from unfortunate miscommunications/conflicts of interests/outgrowing each other, amicably or not-so-amicably. I remember having a conversation with one of these friends a year or so ago and it was so twisted, for we spoke to each other about how our best friendships or meaningful connections are scattered all over the country/globe and are everywhere except here in LA, right to each others' faces, haha. I guess by then I should have known that that person and I were hanging on for no real reason other than longevity/not wanting to feel alone. Anyway, my thoughts on that have changed - I maintain those meaningful connections outside of LA, and have a small but amazing handful of people I've been growing to know better, and hope to nurture lasting friendships with here as well. So I guess it is time for me to make more postcards, to send to these not-so-faraway friends, to remind them that I am thankful to have them in my life, regardless of how often I get to see them.

elyria canyon

I felt pretty suffocated by the urban environment the whole past week, so this morning I went to Elyria Canyon Park in Mt. Washington, which is only a few miles from where I live. Apparently this spot boasts one of the "finest" California Black Walnut woodlands, which were once plentiful in California but now exist only in scattered pockets like these. Said walnut trees were in the beginning stages of budding today when I visited, and they were beautiful indeed. With the park being in a canyon, one is surrounded by beautiful hill-top houses, but as I had wanted to escape into nature, the sight of the houses and adjacent developed neighborhoods made me feel ever more restless and slightly regretful of my decision to explore new places (note: which is not a bad thing - I was glad that I was getting out of my comfort zone). I tucked a sprig of black sage into my pocket as I reoriented myself for the way out, but then I spied an opening to the north, where I realized the park continued.

 
It was after this point on really, that the trail sparked my interest again...! This path took me way down, low enough that I couldn't see any man-made structures whatsoever. Just trees! I don't mean to sound overly picky about this hiking spot by the way - it's a good thing subjectivity makes the world go 'round. The trails aren't challenging by any means, but the variety of birdsong and the quietness of the canyon is a major plus. It wasn't until I climbed another hill and reached a bend, that I got REALLY excited.


See this? Mistletoe! American mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum) to be exact. I've always been fascinated by their "witches broom" clumps that I'd see in the barren branches of deciduous trees, and I finally got to see some low enough to the ground to investigate these crazy parasitic plants. It's kind of a good thing that I was alone on this walk, because I was positively gleeful at this discovery, and took my sweet time to investigate its berries, leaves, and attachment to the host tree.


Not too far down the hill from the mistletoe-laden walnut trees was this gigantic patch of prickly pear cactus. Beautiful! I made off with some tiny growths off of a fallen paddle, that I wrapped in a bandanna and placed into my backpack.

Around the prickly pear patch were tons of lupine and these curious other purple blooms. I think they're a variety of blue-eyed grass, which is part of the iris family. I couldn't stop looking at them, but didn't try to take any home with me. Edit: They're wild hyacinths (Dichelostemma capitatum capitatum), another name for them being 'blue dicks' hehe!