wow, little pig #2 must have had much better building skills than i have. my house of sticks lasted exactly as long as it took me to snap a photo and no longer, and there was no huffing and puffing needed to blow it down. which is a shame really, because it took us an hour to create and i was hoping to freshen up my shelf of nature collections with this striking cube.
open box assembled from cherry tree twigs
saint paul, minnesota
the last image in my laguna beach series. i wish i could have stayed for all four seasons.
eucalyptus leaves
laguna beach, california
since starting STILL blog, i have become preoccupied with seed pods. so when i saw these beauties in laguna beach last weekend i couldn’t wait to photograph such striking additions to my growing seed pod collection. well, it turns out they are not seed pods at all. they are fruits, and they are called, believe it or not, gumnuts. there appears to be some debate about whether the “gumnut tree” is a form of eucalyptus or its own genus called corymbia. but for the time being it is still common to refer to them as “eucalyptus gumnuts”. which i have now done.
eucalyptus (aka corymbia) gumnuts
laguna beach, california
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are they edible?
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Again, the memories are flooding back with each entry you make of Laguna. I remember the incredible smell of the eucalyptus (try spelling THAT quickly on the keyboard!) trees in a cool breeze on the road to the beach. Clears out the cobwebs in the brain. The trees, if I’m not mistaken, are an immigrant from Australia I believe. Unfortunately, their oil is explosive in wildfires, so they’re not appreciated during fire season, but their beauty and majesty are well-loved by many. I remember tossing the “gumnuts” at my sister for revenge, not unlike snowballs here in Michigan.
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I LOVE your blog!!! I was admiring each image…savoring them almost, imagining the wondrous world of Turtle Lake, Minnesota, so ‘foreign’ to me. When I saw the gumnuts, I almost squealed b/c it was something I recognized and thought we finally had something in common to where I live!! Then, I had to laugh when I saw it was from Laguna Beach. No wonder it was so recognizable…I live in Orange County (Mission Viejo). I love what you do, because, like you, I am compelled to take photos of ‘nature’ at the Oso Creek Trails every time I walk my dog there. It is my little bit of the ‘wild’ in the middle of our city. I’ve never known what to do with all those images over the years. While I may edit them to dramatize patterns, colors or ‘feel’, they remain unprinted and unposted. You are an inspiration.
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i just spent four days in southern california visiting a friend who lives in laguna beach. we visited several of the nearby beaches. i had high hopes of beachcombing for all sorts of STILL blog worthy treasures. but at the entrance to every beach there are now signs that say the beach is a sensitive ecosystem, that no beachcombing is allowed, and the only item you can take away with you is sea glass. i totally admire this. so i used my open journal to lay out a few washed up strands of seaweed and kelp, snapped a quick photo, and then returned the items to their respective homes. everyone was happy.
kelp and seaweed
laguna beach, california
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that is a really great way to conserve and still let us appreciate the beauty. thx
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Ahhh, miss Laguna terribly. I was raised not 10 miles from there. Had a painting shown in the Laguna Arts Festival when I was young. I see that beautiful textured sand sticking to your kelp in your photo. Good times and good food!
Thank you for bringing back great memories.reply
okay, it appears thistle has sneaked its way onto my list of favorite STILL blog subjects. other than the nuisance of trying to handle the dagger-sharp stems and occasionally trying to dig the prickles out of my foot, i find it otherwise irresistible: in fact, i am temporarily a dangerous highway driver, peering out the passenger window at whole embankments painted lavender by thistle season. this variety, with its diminutive flowerhead, is abundant right now in the wetland areas beside our dock just before the line where the cattails start to dominate.
creeping thistle (or canada thistle)
turtle lake, saint paul, minnesota
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i am a big thistle fan myself. I especially love how something so prickly can produce the very softest thistle down
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