Observing late summer in Southern California

Last week, Em, Ro, and I went for a few Observation Walks to try to find frogs for part of Em's 5th grade science assignment.  Summer in Southern California (especially in a three year drought) leaves very little leeway for amphibian sighting!

Rather than call the days a loss, we decided to hike through Malibu Creek and see what was going on in the late summer season.

 

We found wee fish, crayfish, dragonflies, leaf bugs, and a few things I couldn't identify.  Alas, no frogs.

Sadly, we also found quite a bit of litter (see above) in the creek as well.

After an hour of looking for frogs, we decided to take the hike towards the Malibu Creek visitor center and stop nearby with our picnic lunch.  As public school in Los Angeles is already underway, we had the place nearly all to ourselves.  We stopped many times along the trail to watch lizards sunning on the path, to listen to scrub jays chatting in the trees, to feel the dry brush, and to ponder the growing future tumbleweeds in the dry creek bed.  (we love tumbleweeds!)

Coming home, I decided that this trip was the perfect time to incorporate some art into our day.  So, out came the chalks and paper.  And tomorrow, we will show you how our interpretation of the late summer trees was done.  Until then, have a wonderful day!

Such is life, yes, but sometimes it stinks!

Last week, I was sitting outside watching the boys zoom up and down the street on their bikes and scooters.  Rob was practicing banjo in the cooling down evening and I was trying to capture my boys in don't-want-them-to-be blurry photographs.  Trying and failing!  Rushing rushing back and forth on the sidewalk, we enjoyed their laughter and "look... look at me mommy" antics.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted slow movement.  Hmm... my neighbor was making her way up the street with something big and green in her hand.  As she got closer, I realized it was a large branch off of her avocado tree.  A big branch with a teeny tiny nest.  I mean tiny!  It turns out a hummingbird momma had abandoned her nest and my neighbor didn't know what to do about the nest.  She thought Em and Ro would get a kick out of seeing the wee nest before tossing it in the trash bin.

We kept the nest.  The egg you see in the above photo is iddy biddy-- like the size of my pinkie nail maybe at most.  We kept it in the hot/warm garage and covered the nest with cotton balls while researching what to do.  Sadly, so sadly, the branch fell a few days later and the egg cracked.  It was a sad moment... while in all reality, the egg probably would not have hatched, it still upset us-- things like this happen every day and such are the ways of nature, but it happened here, to us, not on the National Geographic channel.  Something so little affected us so much.

We try to imagine that the hummingbird momma has made another nest and is sitting on a new pair of eggs... we wish her well.

Sequoia Day Two

Day two in Sequoia/Kings Canyon, I took lots of pictures while "bringing up the rear" on our hikes. First up, Big Stump Trail... a 2 mile (round trip), ultra scenic and mild hike to view a section of Kings Canyon National Park that used to be part of the timber industry in the late 1800's.

While it is sad to see sooo many majestic trees cut down, it is nice to know the area is now protected for the future. The boys loved climbing on the stumps and fallen trees... hovering in burned out sections of the still standing sequoias, pretending they are mini-dwellings... comparing the small, egg-shaped pine cones to the 200+ foot tall trees they grow into.

In the photo below, my hubby is showing the boys how trees grow in rings... showing the small small amount of time we have been here compared to the life of that tree. While I don't think they fully grasped what this meant, they did seem to understand what we humans are capable of.

After a quick snack, we ventured further into Kings Canyon to Grant Grove to view the General Grant Tree and all the cool artifacts around that area. Did you know that farmers, foresters, poets, photographers, cavalrymen, cattle ranchers and other pioneers used to live in and around these majestic trees?

Having tired Em and Ro out (woo hoo!) we went back to our Lodge for lunch, canoeing, nature exploring and more walking. The photo below is around the back end of the Montecito Sequoia-- a peaceful and beautiful walk we took many times during our stay.

Evening time meant more hot chocolate and games around the lodge fireplace, hot baths and story time before turning in for the night. We had all adjusted to the high altitude and dropped off to bed much easier than the night before.

Up Next: Day 3... How many steps can a 3 year old climb?

Sequoia, day 1

We haven't taken a family vacation since our New England trip in the Fall of '07, so it was high time to get out and have the boys experience something new... enter Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks! I am still sorting through the 458 photos (woo hoo for folder sorting!) and will post a few from each day in a new post.


Day one of course begins with the drive up... somewhat scenic and certainly "I Spy" game worthy, the drive was good. Em and Ro were pretty patient and excited and I also was able to get some crocheting done.

We arrived in a hailstorm! For a family from the desert city of Los Angeles, this was automatically cool and exciting! After checking in at the Montecito Sequoia Lodge, we went to explore the area. (First pic is the view from our room!)
Em and Ro were full of energy and ready to explore! We went down to the lake and played on the canoes, plunked stones in the water, stacked pine cones... all the usual fun kid stuff. When our clothes were dirty enough from exploring, we went in to prepare for dinner.

Now, I have to tell you this right off the bat... finding the Montecito Sequoia Lodge as a place to stay (and booking it!) was one of THE smartest things we did to prepare for this trip! The only thing I can come close to comparing it to, would be the resort in the Dirty Dancing movie... food and activities for the whole family are included for the duration of your stay. Hot tea and hot chocolate whenever you want! (Coffee too... but I don't drink that.) 3 hot meals each day and drinks/snacks available 24/7-- perfect for families! Okay, enough about that for now...

We came up to the room, cleaned up for dinner and headed down to the lodge. From the wraparound deck, we spotted several mule deers around the resort and took one more quick walk before eating. The telescopes for nighttime star gazing had been taken in prior to the storm, but we didn't need to look up for amazing views... just look left and right and right down at our feet.

After dinner, we played games around the fireplace and the turned in early to prepare for the next day. The boys would have none of this "going-to-bed" nonsense and I think we kept half the guests awake for quite a bit! Finally, sleeptime!!