February 25

After an intense week of entertaining relatives and traveling congested highways, Caroline and I find respite in Hopkins Wilderness Park, a natural oasis in the heart of Redondo Beach. On a sunny, cool afternoon we follow an earthen trail to the edge of a small pond where we spot some basking Red-eared Sliders and swimming Koi. These hybrid carp are a symbol of luck, prosperity and good fortune in Japanese culture. Proceeding on a perimeter path around this 11-acre preserve, patches of Wood Sorrel brighten the winter landscape. Other colorful blossoms of note include: Wild Radish and Sow Thistle. As the trail turns and leads me along a steep bluff, I pause to look beyond the sprawling urban landscape to the snowcapped peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains, 30 miles to the east. Also, I think about how for thousands of years this land was used as a lookout by Native Americans, then as a Minuteman missile site during the 50’s and 60’s, before the city secured it as a nature park in 1977. Further ahead, while glancing up at one of several Ponderosa Pine trees, I not only observe several egg-shaped cones but also a fist-size gall caused by a rust fungus. Continuing on the trail, a sudden movement on the ground draws my eyes to a 3-inch, Western Fence Lizard barely visible on the leaf litter. These native reptiles can change color from light grey or tan to nearly jet-black, but probably use this ability for thermoregulation while basking and not to camouflage themselves. As the trail turns toward the bright sun, long shadows of leafless tree branches decorate the ground in front of me. Looping back toward the trailhead, we are pleased to see an elementary school group using the park for an outdoor education activity. Nearby, the wispy red blossoms of a Powder Puff tree and the white blossoms of a Wild Plum tree catch my eye. Coming to the end of the trail, I could not ask for a better conclusion than a close up view of the ornate wings of a resting Western Tiger Swallowtail.

Mother Earth

Nature the host

Winter wonderland

California coast

Flowers to flaunt

Birds to boast

Winter wonderland

California coast

Azure skies

I admire most

Winter wonderland

California coast

D. DeGraaf