Garden Jaunt

I'm posting like a crazy woman to catch up on what's been going on. Not really but more than usual. One afternoon I had a hour free so I headed to the garden at the Madrona Marsh to take some pictures. As I was walking towards it, I noticed that the greenery seemed to be wilting because of the recent heat and thought I might have missed the spring bloom but armed with my macro lens I can see things magnified.

I took this picture in Feb and just thought they're unusual.

And look what they turn into! Pretty neat and funky.

I could stare at them all day.

Close up of one of the buds(?).

I guess it shows that you never know what's out there until you look carefully. :) Enjoy it.

More photos later....

Afternoon

I spent an hour yesterday afternoon roaming the Madrona Marsh which has experienced a record year of rain and boy does it show. Lots of birds such as ducks and others I can't identify take advantage of the water.









It is nice to have this nature preserve tucked away in the heart of Torrance to enjoy.

Don't Fence Me In

Even though there's rain for the rest of the week, I felt the need to be outside. Good thing the marsh is nearby so I could take some pictures.



I didn't go into the actual marsh but the garden area by the info center. Lots of blooming plants, bees and even a hummingbird. I wanted to stay close by to the car in case it started raining.



Have a look at the full set dated 2-16-11 for my photos here.

On the Outside Looking In

I guess this winter break has gotten me a tad squirrelly with near constant rain the first week, the rush of holiday activites, Josh's birthday then ACK...only 4 more usuable days of break. I procrastinated horribly with Josh's Star of the Week where he is the special student so he had to make a poster showing his favorite things and what makes him special.

But I'm off subject, on January 1st I decided the family should walk to Madrona Marsh since the recent rains should have filled the marsh to a typical marsh-like state. Boy, Joshua acted like it was going to be awful and boring but once he got going, he chatted with Tyler and bounced around like usual.

We only live about 1/4 mile away from the marsh but it occupies a massive block and the only entrance is on the farthest end. As we reach the marsh, Hector comments that maybe it might be closed today. Huh? Of course, it didn't occur to me that he might be right. Sure enough the gate was locked but I said we could still walk around the garden portion and around the marsh. Luckily, the fence has metal rods so it was easy for me to stick my camera through it. We could see tons of ducks diving their heads down to feed on whatever mucky stuff they eat.








Overall, I was pretty happy with my photos. :)

Oh, and we saw a dead skunk in the street who was obviously heading to our house but didn't make it.

Marsh Stop

The boys and I took a quick walk around the marsh after school. Tyler got a new digital camera for his bday so he was eager to try it out. Not a lot of see but we're anxious to see how the rain will change the landscape.

While we enjoy the marsh, I'm sure this area contributes to our skunk issues.

Bug sighting. :)

Field Trip

The kids and I took a nice walk throught the Madrona Marsh. It was a sunny yet windy day and the last few months of rain has brought the land to its marsh-like state.

The kids had some binoculars and another camera so they're happy to look about and take their own pictures.

We did see some kind of heron (?) so we had fun creeping about trying to get a closer look.

TGIF

yay, Friday is here!! We have a full weekend planned and Tyler leaves for camp on Sunday. Gulp!! I'm excited and anxious...I know he'll have a great time but we'll miss him terribly especially Joshua. Tyler did mention today that he'll be homesick and that we shouldn't do too much fun things with Josh while he is gone.

I didn't remind him that Josh and I have a sleepover date at the Wild Animal Park. I need to keep Josh entertained while his big bro is gone.

Hopefully the pictures that I took today at the marsh will appear in my Flickr box to the right. I will some more later but those are pretty it. It was overcast this morning so I was hopeful that it might be coolish but no, the sun came out and it was hot. We spent most of the time in the Marsh center where the A/C was on full blast. We had fun looking in the microscope and looking at all the cool creatures.

Gotta run and take of finishing my chile verde for dinner tonight. Yum.

Madrona Marsh

This morning I managed to meet up with Veronica at the marsh for a quick photo field trip. We found a few things to shoot but I can't wait for the fall/winter when the rains come to transform the marsh.

I'm still loving my macro lens even though I take lots of blurry pictures. Working on the manual focus; I need to be faster.

Lockdown

Today was very exciting for us here at home. Joshua's classroom field trip to the marsh was lots of fun but there was also a "shelter in place" emergency at the kids' school. We had left the school with the class around 9:30am and walked about 1/2 mile to the marsh.
Everything was going just fine with our tour guide Dan. He showed us tortoises, toads, a king snake and a hummingbird nest. We were touring the marsh when the teacher told me the school was on lockdown. That's about the time we noticed a helicopter circling the area.
At noon I had to leave to get back home to watch Amber. On Sepulveda there were several police cars and another at Nadine blocking the street. I was let in and that was the longest 2 blocks I had to walk. There were 3-4 more police cars further in with the helicopter still hovering above us.
I wasn't sure how to contact Sherri since she doesn't have a cell phone but she made it to my house through another street. Phew. I relayed the message that she wasn't needed at school so it was best that she and Amber hang out until we had to pick up the kids. As we were leaving the house, I noticed the helicopter was gone so I thought it was all over. Um, no.
The teacher called me on my cell phone that the class was still at the marsh since the school was still locked. Oh. It was a good thing I left my car at the school and that street wasn't blocked. Mrs. E had all the kids in the building and they were perfectly happy with coloring pages and puzzles. Of course, soon after the lockdown was lifted. At least the older kids could get out at their normal time, otherwise they would have to stay put. Uffff.

http://www.insidesocal.com/crime&courts/2009/05/breaking-news-search-for-burgl.html

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_12309271

There is the info I found but we are home safe and sound. The doors are locked and the windows are closed. :)

Drama over so here are some photos.