Author: miyastephanoff

Location: A backyard in Redondo Beach

A brief description of the site(s): The backyard area is about 400ft2 and on the edges of the concrete, there are about three feet of soil where there are planters and pots and patches of plants. Some of the plants were clearly purposefully planted but there are also many wild volunteers that have settled down. 

3 signs of spring: The air has gotten warmer and the sun is beginning to be out for longer. I have been waking up earlier because the sun has been entering my room earlier in the morning which is a spring occurrence for me. I also now can smell our tomato plants when I go into the backyard. There were some volunteer tomatoes from our compost and they were replanted in a planter outside my window. They are starting to bud and I even found two flowers on one of the plants. My cats have been chirping at and catching more bugs than a few months ago. I have been discovering chewed on butterflies and moths in the living room. So even if I don’t see butterflies when I look outside, I know they’re out there now.

3-5 leaf descriptions: The tomato plant appears to have a rhomboid-shaped leaf. The snake plant has linear shaped leaves, even though they are a little sad. And the provision tree has compound lanceolate leaves.

tomato snaketree.HEIC

Narrative: I went out at about 6:00 in the evening and the weather was moderate. It was 63 degrees, clear skies, and a slight breeze. I heard a few birds chirping but couldn’t find them in our yard. It felt really calming to be outside for the new dozen minutes that I was.

Date: 24th March 2020

Location: 33.83, -118.39 and at approximately 60 feet elevation.

Site Description: This site is at a coastal bluff in Redondo Beach and the plants and animals recorded were located on a side of a steep hill where the soil was only mildly sandy.

Species Account:

Sea Fig, Carpobrotus. 4” tall, most commonly known as an ice plant, covered nearly all of the hill and had a few flowers in bloom every few feet. https://www.americansouthwest.net/plants/wildflowers/carpobrotus-chilensis.html

Rabbitfoot Grass, Polypogon monspeliensis. Species of grass native to southern Europe but now found all over the world. About a foot tall and growing in bunches around the Sea Figs.

Cheesewood Mallow, Malva parviflora. Native to Northern Africa, Europe, and Asia. Growing in large batches with leaves 6” wide. There were no flowers currently in bloom.

Botta’s Pocket Gopher, Thomomys bottae. Native to western North America, specifically California. Seen digging a hole and removing plant life surrounding its hole by bringing the plant down into the hole. Only ever showed its face, not any of its body. https://ovlc.org/ojai-wildlife/bottas-pocket-gopher/

Bird Grasshopper, Schistocerca. I found this insect on my walk to the site. I witnessed a predator-prey interaction as my cat, Frankie, attacked and ate the grasshopper.

Narrative: It was sunny, around 60 degrees F, and mildly windy. There were a surprising amount of people at the beach that were in groups close together.

Additional Photos and Media:

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