Archiving my Twitter, Facebook and other social network activity
We’ve had a wet winter, so the seasonal marsh has actually filled up a lot more than it has for the last few years. In addition to the full ponds (including two on either side of a road that was still muddy) I saw a lot of birds, including a crane that was swaying back and forth until it took flight, lots of ducks and geese.
A few more photos on Flickr if you’re interested
#marsh #nature #birds #photography
I went back to the same marsh I’d visited in early December, after a few more rainstorms. The ponds had spread, covering trails I’d walked along just a few weeks earlier. Ducks and geese had arrived in force.
I could also swear I heard a frog, but I couldn’t see it, and even with the weird southern California seasons, I don’t think it’s the right time for frogs to be out. I should’ve asked at the visitor center.
#photography, #nature #geese #marsh #pond
Finally got around to curating my photos from an August hike at Madrona Marsh in Torrance, California. This was the first time I’d ever been to the marsh that there was *no standing water left*. Usually the lowest part of the preserve still has some ponds even into fall, but this summer, it had all dried up.
Full album (12 items) on Flickr
#photography #marsh #summer #dry #nature #flowers #fungus #spiderwebs
Some sort of flowering scrub brush in the dry part of Madrona Marsh preserve. Some parts of the preserve have ponds year-round, some collect rain in winter and spring, and some are always dry land with grass or chaparral.
Lizard duo. There were at least three hanging around on and around this olive tree, sunning themselves and keeping an eye on the unpredictable humans following them.
Photo taken at: Madrona Marsh Preserve and Nature Center
Found some green!
Seasonal Wetlands: Summer vs Spring by Kelson Vibber
It finally occurred to me to put together a side-by-side image of the one spot I managed to take photos of on both hikes!
On the right: May in Madrona Marsh, after winter and spring rains filled up the low-lying areas of the preserve.
On the left: Late August in the same spot, after summer had dried up the pools. Despite the drought, and helped along by a couple of freak summer storms, the ground is still holding onto enough moisture that the floor of the vernal pool is covered with low greenery instead of dry grass.
I know, it’s always better to put “before” on the left, and I tried it with that layout, but it ended up looking better this way.
I returned to Madrona Marsh at the end of summer to see how much it had changed since spring.
8 new photos on Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelsonv/
Photo taken at: Madrona Marsh Preserve and Nature Center
The last of the seasonal wetlands at Madrona Marsh, a nature preserve surrounded by suburban Torrance, California. These pools spread over the grounds each winter and spring with storm water, and dry out each summer.
And it really is surrounded by the city. Housing tracts on two sides, retail on the third, and a Target on the fourth, just a few dozen yards to the right of this spot.
#marsh #trees #nature #madrona #madronamarsh #torrance #whpmyoasis #water #california #southbay
Note: check description on Flickr
Photo taken at: Madrona Marsh Preserve and Nature Center
Seasonal wetlands at Madrona Marsh. Winter and spring rains fill up these shallow pools, which become home to birds, frogs, insects and more during spring and summer. By the end of summer, the pools dry up until the next year.
The rain has had a surprise effect on the wood chips blanketing one of the local playgrounds. Warned the hobbit away from these mushrooms.
I must have seen at least 100 squirrels just walking down one block in Irvine. That’s the EDGE of the lot. There must be even more inside.
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Observations uploaded to iNaturalist in 2019:
There were a *lot* of squirrels in the hedge and lawn between an empty lot and the street. I posted on Twitter at the time that I’d seen at least 100 along the edge of the block.
