Corralitas Drive: Mega Wind

Photo: Corralitas Drive Neighbor, February 17, 2017, 10:30 AM.  The wind was pretty incredible in a yard that's usually pretty well protected from wind.  Last night, TV newscasts were warning people not to go to work if they didn't have to today.

Corralitas Drive: Rainwatch

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, February 3, 2017.  Non-native but naturalized Peruvian Pepper Trees (behind and to the left of the gargoyle) are a common hillside tree in our area, that managed to thrive during the drought even in areas where the native Black Walnuts were not doing well. 

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge:
February 3, 2017: 0.2"
Rain year to date: 18.08"
 

Corralitas Drive: Let The Clean Up Begin

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, January 23, 2017.  Three storms in five days has neighbors getting fit by cleaning up their yards.  Sure, those iconic Canary Island Palm Trees frame photos dramatically, but your love of the tree will be tested after hauling a few dozen of the 15' to 20' long palm fronds up the hill and cutting them to cram into the green bins. (This is just the first batch.)

Corralitas Drive: Rainfall Totals

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, January 5, 2017. More light rain was captured by the spiderweb than the dirt. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Saturday's rain did not seem like much, but we caught more than expected in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge...

January 7, 2017: 0.15"
Rain year to date: 8.45"

Corralitas Drive: Purple Rain Last Night

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, May 14, 2016.  Jacaranda season.  Watch your step - the bees get drunk, stumble around and partake in even the spent flowers on the ground.

Corralitas Drive: No, Live Gophers Are Not Indoor Toys

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, May 5, 2016.  A neighbor moved quickly when one of the cats brought a fat, fluffy gopher,  "skeezicked but alive," into the living room.  The neighbor immediately jumped up and flung the gopher out the door and took some photos.  "The gopher was clicking its teeth ferociously." 

Apparently, the cats thought it was too plush to kill.  The neighbor spotted the still skeezicked gopher hanging out on the patio a few hours later.

While unusual, it's not the first time we've seen gophers above ground.  You just don't expect them in your living room.

Gophers are annoying in the garden, taking entire tomato plants down into their holes (yes, really, I watched it happen last year) and killing your favorite young fruit trees.  However, they serve and essential role in the food web, tilling the soil, providing flood control as well as serving as food for coyote, fox, bobcat, hawk and snake.

Silver Ridge Way: Defensive, Drought Tolerant & Fire Resistant

Photo: Joan Stevenson, April 21, 2016.  And beautiful too. 

Photo: Joan Stevenson, April 21, 2016. If you want to ignore the landscaping on your steep hillside lot, Opuntia cacti are a good choice for our dry hillsides. There's an impressive patch of this hardy cactus, on the Red Car Property, below a home on Lake View.  The cactus stores water in its large pads so it does not burn easily.  It's also an attractive cactus to plant near windows and fences to discourage criminals.

Click here for all our defensive landscaping posts. 
 

Silver Ridge: Beetle Larvae?

5:20 PM, Correction: Looks more like a lady bug pupa.

Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016.  Yellow bugs were out in force in Stevenson's yard.  We're not sure, but this might be Old Fashioned Potato Beetle Larvae that has not yet begun to decorate itself in its droppings. 

Corralitas Drive: Spring Sprung Early

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, March 19, 2016.  In case you missed it, the Vernal Equinox occurred last night at 9:30 PDT. 

Silver Ridge: Who's Lurking In The Tree?

Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016.  While working in her yard, Stevenson caught sight of a rather large bug keeping an eye on her. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016.  It was a rather large yellow grasshopper.  Check out the spikes on the hind legs. 

It's the first bright yellow grasshopper I've seen in 26 years in the neighborhood.

Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016.  Stevenson wrote in a text "This grasshopper is rather obvious in the spring greens...he's letting his legs completely dangle, hoping I'll go away."  Indeed he looks to be saying, "nope, nothin' to see here, move along.  I'm just a dying leaf."

Resources for insect ID:
Bug Guide
What's That Bug?

Corralitas Drive: Rainfall Totals

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  Generic rain photo on Corralitas Drive.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas rain gauge...

December 19, 2015: 0.25"
Rain year to date: 0.82"

Normally, the "rain year" would have ended June 30.  However, this year California joined the rest of the country, and will report rainfall totals between October 1 to September 30.  Who expected to have significant rain between July 1 and October 1?  There will always be an asterisk next to the 2014-2015 rain year on Corralitas Drive, which ended with 15.17."  We got an unprecedented 4" between July 1 and September 30.  Otherwise we would've been closing in on 5" this rain year already - way more than normal.
 

Corralitas Drive: Chicken Of The Woods Is Playing Chicken This Year

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 13, 2015.  Every fall, we look forward to the giant yellow mushroom sprouting at the base of a Corralitas neighbor's Eucalyptus Tree.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

According to Mykoweb, Chicken of the Woods is unlikely to be mistaken for another species.  The showy fungus does vary in its shade of yellow from year to year and even throughout its several week life span.  The large mushroom is generally more scenic than just a lump hiding in the iceplant, sprouting every year from the roots of the same tree, between October and early December.

Click here for all our neighborhood fungus. 

Disclaimer: The Corralitas Red Car Property Blog prefers to quote reliable sources, such as CalFlora and California Poison Control on the issue of toxicity. MykoWeb is the resource everyone seems to refer to for mushrooms. The Los Angeles Mycological Society has a recommended reading list. 

If you are eating your way through the Red Car Property, we DO NOT recommend you eat any plant you find in the Red Car Property neighborhood without first doing your own research.

Corralitas Drive: Gulf Fritillary Mating Fest

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2015.  Last week, Gulf Fritillary Butterflies (Aragulis vanaillae) have been running amok and mating in my backyard lately.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)  

Gulf Fritillaries are really striking butterflies with bright orange on the top of their wings; brown and white on the underside of their wings.  The brown is even shaded to look three dimensional.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 15, 2015. Once they land they remain attached for so long, I had a plethora of shots to choose from.  I could see how their underwing camouflage works to their advantage with such long mating sessions. A predator might not be able to differentiate the butterflies from a mass of dry leaves, twigs or branches backlit by the sun.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 13, 2015.  A few days earlier, I happened to have my cell phone in hand when a pair of Gulf Fritillaries were tumbling through the air in the backyard.  

Gulf Fritillaries, are among the most common butterflies in the neighborhood.  Their larval food plant is non-native, exotic Passion Flower.  
 

Corralitas Drive: Fall Fungus Season

Photo: Diane Edwardson, september 21, 2015.  An Agaricus deserticola  popped up in the shade of a Hibiscus, where the communal semi-feral cat likes to hang out.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

I'd never seen these mushrooms  in the neighborhood until this year.  According to MycoWeb, they are a desert mushroom.  After 4 years of drought, they fit right in Los Angeles.  I've seen them in the desert, where they look just like rocks.  They seem to sprout about a week after a good rain, just like this one did.  

Disclaimer: The Corralitas Red Car Property Blog prefers to quote reliable sources, such as CalFlora and California Poison Control on the issue of toxicity. MykoWeb is the resource everyone seems to refer to for mushrooms. The Los Angeles Mycological Society has a recommended reading list. 

If you are eating your way through the Red Car Property, we DO NOT recommend you eat any plant you find in the Red Car Property neighborhood without first doing your own research.

Click here for all our fungus fun.

Corralitas Drive: Chive Flowers Attract Tiny Native Bees

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 2, 2015.  According to UC Berkeley's Urban Bee Lab, there are around 1600 native bee species in California.  I'm not even going to attempt to ID the 1/4" long bee I watched drink from the chive flowers.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 2, 2015.  We always see a variety of bees and blue butterflies on and in the chives.  The UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab has a section on seasonal gardening for bees, along with links to regionally appropriate advice. 

We've documented green, blue-green, and rust, gold & black bees.  Click here for all our bee posts.  
 

Corralitas Drive: Marine Blue Butterfly

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 2, 2015. For a "blue" butterfly, Marine Blues do not like to show off their blue parts.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Corralitas Drive: Voracious Baby Grasshopper

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 27, 2015.  I wondered what had been eating the one Hibiscus flower I had this summer.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 27, 2015.  At whopping half inch long I might have missed him if he wasn't so nicely contrasted with the flower.   Of course this little green grasshopper will grow into something much larger and fearsome.

Corralitas Drive: Ambush Predator

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 22, 2015.  The 2" long Praying Mantis is still hanging around near the spiderweb in the Bougainvillea. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 22, 2015.  Since she's same shade of beige/brown as the stems of the plant, she's very hard to find now that she's hanging out up among the flowers. 

Click here for all our Praying Mantis posts.

Corralitas Drive: Defensive, Drought Tolerant, Fire Resistant Landscaping

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 21, 2015.  Once established, night blooming Cereus cactus produce showy 8" flowers open only at night. (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Corralitas Drive: Mosquito Check!

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July25, 2015.  If you've got a garden, chances are, you had buckets out to catch last weekends' torrential rain.  Now you have mosquito larvae swimming around.  If you haven't already, use it to water your plants today, before the the next generation of mosquitoes takes flight. 

Be sure to check your yard for standing water and don't let it go to waste!  Plan ahead for next winter's rains by looking at the drainage from your roof (and your air conditioner's condensate drain for that matter) and consider installing rain barrels and/or drainage swales.  According to the MWD website, the DWP may still be offer rebates on rain barrels, but good luck with that.