SUMMER FIELD SKETCHES
Debs Test Plot
By Hannah Pae
Debs Volunteer, Terremoto designer
The atypical amount of rain this spring has resulted in some exciting lush growth as the soil underfoot gladly absorbs the extra moisture. The cool and dusky scent of CA sagebrush surrounds us as we pull milk snails off the stems and leaves of purple lupines that pop up amongst the salvias. On other days, we carefully free sprawling coyote brush and monkeyflower that have happily outgrown their protective gopher baskets. A desert centipede wriggles itself deep into bark mulch while wild cucumber drops its spiky lime green fruit and winds its tendrils through a bank of deep green toyon. The peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains are laden with snow in March when the Encelia flanking the trail up to the test plot starts to let out the first of its yellow flowers. By July, the snow has melted and the Encelia is in full ecstatic bloom.
The following is a series of field observations, memories, and moments collected from the past few months while volunteering at Debs Test Plot.
Debs Test Plot
By Hannah Pae
Debs Volunteer, Terremoto designer
July 10 2023
The atypical amount of rain this spring has resulted in some exciting lush growth as the soil underfoot gladly absorbs the extra moisture. The cool and dusky scent of CA sagebrush surrounds us as we pull milk snails off the stems and leaves of purple lupines that pop up amongst the salvias. On other days, we carefully free sprawling coyote brush and monkeyflower that have happily outgrown their protective gopher baskets. A desert centipede wriggles itself deep into bark mulch while wild cucumber drops its spiky lime green fruit and winds its tendrils through a bank of deep green toyon. The peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains are laden with snow in March when the Encelia flanking the trail up to the test plot starts to let out the first of its yellow flowers. By July, the snow has melted and the Encelia is in full ecstatic bloom.
The following is a series of field observations, memories, and moments collected from the past few months while volunteering at Debs Test Plot.
