Saw a pair of young male California Quail (my favorite bird) running around my lawn during my lunch break. They were too fast to snap a photo, so my observation record from Cornell Labs Merlin Bird ID app will have to suffice. You can check out other great photos and listen to their unique calls on California Quail Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We're often visited by a large flock (10-15 birds) who love to peck around searching for bugs under our olive trees while one of the adult males surveys the land perched on our back fence.

I enjoyed painting bread at the SCA’s Barony of Wintermist Arts & Science night. I’m a much better scientist than an artist. Can you guess which one’s mine? 🤣

Here in dry Southern California, some native plants have adapted to our Mediterranean climate by fruiting and flowering in winter when more water is available. Manzanitas form dormant flowering shoots at the end of the previous year's spring growth that remain dormant until the next growing season, where they act like a "big toe testing the water" (Dr. V. Thomas Parker, Calflora Database) for moisture availability.
[Photo by Diane Etchison - 2019, Calflora Database]

WISE members Sandra Monroy, Lisa Marriott-Smith and Cindy Cuasito enjoyed a PowerHub Lunch and Learn today. Sandra was the featured Subject Matter expert. Good job, Sandra!