March 7

The morning sky is sunny with temperatures in the low 60’s as our daughter, Allison joins us for a hike on Fern Dell nature trail in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. Covering more than 4,000 acres of natural terrain, this is the largest municipal park and urban wilderness area in the United States. We begin by following an earthen path along the edge of a narrow stream shaded by huge Sycamores, Live Oaks and Redwoods. Lush vegetation line the stream bed including, 2-ft long leaves of Elephant Ear and Philodendron. Up the trail, I pause to watch Koi fish swimming in a shallow pond. These fish are an ornamental species that descended from the carp family. In the 1600’s, Chinese farmed carp in rice paddies, a practice that traveled to Japan where the Japanese noticed color variations and bred them, creating the Koi species. Japanese bred them for perfection, prized them in collections of royal families and immortalized them in royal artworks. Chinese farmers originally bred Koi for eating, however, later they were bred as pets for their unique and striking colors and not for consumption. It wasn’t until the 1900’s that Koi were bred in the United States. Moving along, since the trail name includes the word “fern”, it’s not surprising to spot some, including, Button, Lady and Sword. Nearby, colorful blossoms of Fuchsia and Elephant Ear catch my eye while high up a snag, I get a quick glimpse of an Acorn Woodpecker. These birds are best known for their habit of hoarding acorns: they drill small holes in a dead snag, then harvest acorns in fall and store them in these holes, to be eaten during winter. Such a "granary tree" (stock photo) may be used for generations and may be riddled with up to 50,000 holes. Nesting is a group activity, with several adults (up to 12 or more) taking part in incubating the eggs and feeding the young in a single nest. They also spend considerable time catching insects on the wing. Turning around, I pass a stand of Bamboo stalks and a Fox Squirrel digging for nuts. Near the car, I stop to notice the colorful blossoms of a “yesterday-today-and-tomorrow” plant. Its long name fits for more than one reason. The flowers change their color from one day to the next, starting out purple, then turning lavender and finally becoming white as they mature. Plus, this tropical evergreen shrub is a long, persistent bloomer. After the first, heavy bloom in the spring, it will produce more of its showy, fragrant flowers in the fall, or anytime during the year.

 

Waning winter

Wandering west

Treading trails

No time to rest

Waterfalls

Mountain crest

Verdant valley

Osprey’s nest

Still my cause

Still my quest

Exploring nature

Her most and best

 

D. DeGraaf