January 23

Under sunny skies and chilly morning temperatures in the low 50’s, Caroline, Riley and I start hiking an earthen trail in the 50-acre, George F. Canyon Nature Preserve, one of a dozen parcels on the Palos Verdes Peninsula operated by the local land conservancy.  Soon, I spot white flowers of Wild Cucumber vines and green catkin flowers of an Arroyo Willow tree. Just ahead, I pause and listen to the unusual call of a Peacock. The original Peacock colony on the Peninsula was established in the 1920’s when 16 birds from an aviary on Catalina Island were given as a gift to a local resident. More colonies were introduced in the mid 1960’s. Meant to be contained as yard pets, many birds escaped and established wild colonies that exist to the present.  Continuing west, I’m not surprised to hear the soothing sound of running water, since the hillsides are still draining after a week of steady rain. Likewise, I’m not surprised to hear distant sirens as I observe a Red-tailed hawk soaring high in the azure blue sky. Up the trail, after noticing the red fruit of a Toyon tree, I come across a 1-inch, Scallop shell lying on the ground. Realizing these mollusks live exclusively in salt water and we are miles from the ocean, I conclude it was moved and dropped here by a fellow human being.  Just ahead, I pause to read a sign that describes in detail this unique ecosystem. Turning around to retrace my steps, I spot a Honeybee, with a yellow sac attached, feeding on blossoms of Lemonade Berry. Resembling tiny saddlebags (stock photo), these bright spots of cargo are pollen baskets or corbiculae. Each time a bee visits a flower, pollen sticks to its antennae, legs, faces, and bodies. A bee's legs have an array of combs and brushes. As she becomes laden with pollen, a female bee uses those tools as grooming devices, running them through her body and hair to pull away the pollen. As she brushes herself, she draws the pollen toward her hind legs into those little pockets. As a bee gathers a batch of pollen, she pushes it into the bottom of the basket, pressing it tightly into what's already there. A full basket can carry as many as a million grains of pollen. She mixes a little nectar with the pollen to make it sticky and to help it hold together. Approaching the car, greenery to catch my eye include, a patch of Nasturtium and a slope-side patch of rye grass, planted for erosion control. Near the car, I come upon a 1-inch, edible Sweetbread mushroom that smells like cucumber. 

Once there were acres

For creatures to roam

For trees and shrubs

To make their home

Once there were acres 

Of water and sky

For fish to swim

For flocks to fly

Now there are acres

Where humans thrive

Pushing boundaries

Can nature survive?

 

D. DeGraaf