On a fence behind the Nature Center at Tecolote Canyon Natural Park one can find many colorful paintings of native wildlife. The fence follows a dirt road that leads to a hiking trail through Tecolote Canyon.
The paintings of spiders, butterflies, beetles and other insects were recently completed by students at University City High School. I believe the paintings of mammals, reptiles and birds have been on the fence for some time.
Colorful paintings of insects and other wildlife on a fence behind the Nature Center at Tecolote Canyon Natural Park.California Root Borer Beetle. Lucero Rayos.Black and Yellow Garden Spider. Nour Barbakh.Anise Swallowtail. Lawdyka Solano.Spotted Cucumber Beetle. Kayla Kenney.Tarantula Hawk. Andrea Angeles and Christian Covarrubias.Western Tiger Swallowtail. Tyler Coehrane and Lauren Ferrer.Darkling Stink Beetle. Morgan Boland.Roseate Skimmer. Issac Felcher.Silver Argiope. Zaynab Albaghdadi.American Lady. Aurora Godinez Quevedo.Green Lynx Spider. Jamison Legaspi.Harlequin Shield Bug. Jakob De La Cruz.Datura Weevil. Jacob Stoermer.Green Fruit Beetle. Makayla Srioudom.Vivid Dancer Damselfly. Miyoko Seldon and Andrew Bayot.Pruinose Squash Bee. Quincy Stone.California Sister Butterfly. Steffany Shapow.Coyote.California King Snake.Great Blue Heron.Striped Skunk.Southern Pacific Rattlesnake.Western Scrub Jay.Raccoon.Red Tailed Hawk.Southern Alligator Lizard.Anna’s Hummingbird.Bobcat.Pacific Gopher Snake.Gray Fox.Western Fence Lizard.Great Horned Owl.Spotted Towhee.
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Someone walks toward the Nature Center on Tecolote Family Day.
Today I headed over to Tecolote Canyon Natural Park. While I frequently drive around this narrow San Diego city park, which serves as a nature preserve inside Tecolote Canyon east of Mission Bay, I’ve never taken a single step inside. When I saw that an event called Family Day would be happening today, I decided to pay a visit!
What did I discover? Read the photo captions to find out!
A sign near entrance to the Nature Center provides information about Tecolote Canyon Natural Park.A narrow strip of natural habitat preserved in San Diego. Tecolote Canyon features hiking trails and a refuge for wildlife.Sign inside the Tecolote Nature Center. The park was originally dedicated in 1977. Houses, yards and streets surround this area where the native environment still survives.Many interpretive displays can be found in the Nature Center. The coyote is Tecolote Canyon’s largest predator.One sign describes San Diego’s Coastal Sage Scrub habitat, which is found in a small part of the world, along the coast of Southern California into Mexico.The Brown Towhee is one of many birds one might spot in the canyon.Along Tecolote Creek lies the Riparian Woodland habitat. Water attracts animals from the dry hills, and native trees like willows, cottonwoods and sycamores grow near the creek’s banks.One of the displays shows Lemonadeberry (a common chaparral shrub in San Diego), Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry, and a California Thrasher.A topographical representation of curving Tecolote Canyon, which you can see directly below Mission Bay. Up is west, right is north.Many of the plants and animals now in Tecolote Canyon are the same as those here 200 years ago. Golden eagles and mountain lions, however, have vanished because this natural space is too limited in size.Families enjoy a special day and learn about the canyon’s environment. It’s Tecolote Family Day! There were lots of educational displays and activities at the Nature Center.Activities at Tecolote Family Day included a scavenger hunt for kids, art, music, dance and a silent auction.Inside the Nature Center, one table had lots of displays concerning insects! Another one had snakes.At another table I was shown a coyote skull.I believe these beautiful poppy paintings were part of the silent auction.A friendly parrot was at a booth promoting Zovargo, a local business that offers animal summer camps for kids.These kids were dancing to a fun song about pollination!Nearby I discovered the Tecolote Native Plant Nursery.Work is ongoing to take back the native habitat from invading plant species.I saw some signs about the importance of composting. It enhances soil and protects watersheds.Behind the Nature Center, near an amphitheater and native garden, I saw this example of an e’waa, a simple willow branch structure built by the Native American Kumeyaay.A sign depicts the Tecolote Watershed. Pollutants can flow down the creek and enter the soil, Mission Bay and eventually the Pacific Ocean.Several signs can be found around the small native garden. This one, Aromas of the Canyon, depicts Black Sage, White Sage and California Sagebrush.On the way to the hiking trail that leads into Tecolote Canyon, one might spot this owl!Hikers read the sign at the Battle Trail trailhead.Welcome to the Battle Trail – Nature’s haven in the city.I start up the easy trail. The vegetation in Tecolote Canyon is still green in late spring, after a very rainy winter.This lush greenery will soon dry out in the Southern California summer and turn mostly brown.I am greeted by cheerful yellow flowers.I believe this house on a post is for bats. I’ve seen similar boxes in other open space parks around San Diego.A family heads into Tecolote Canyon to explore nature.
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The 2017 Fiesta Botanica in Balboa Park featured lots of plants, flowers and useful botanical information.
Of course I had to go to Fiesta Botanica! I love flowers, plants, sunshine and Balboa Park!
What used to be called Balboa Park’s Garden Party is now Fiesta Botanica, in keeping with the surrounding Spanish-style architecture. And who would want to miss a colorful fiesta!
I’m sorry to say I missed the floral wagon parade this year, because I was privileged to receive a very special morning tour at the San Diego Museum of Art. I’ll probably blog about that tomorrow.
Anyway, I just happily wandered about Fiesta Botanica after leaving the museum and did my best to learn a little about gardening and the miraculous world of nature. There was quite a lot to see!
As the annual event got underway, a large crowd gathered on El Prado to enjoy gardening displays and San Diego sunshine.I missed the Floral Wagon Parade this year. A number of tours and lectures were held in the beautiful gardens of Balboa Park.The Southern California Plumeria Society had a very active booth.So did the San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society!I learned this is a fig atop a huge Ficus dammaropsis leaf.As I walked about I spotted this colorful banner with a hummingbird and American flag. Perfect for Memorial Day weekend!Gorgeous blooms were being shown by the San Diego Epiphyllum Society.The Friends of Balboa Park has a number of great future projects. I like the idea of a platform around the giant, now-fenced-off Moreton Bay Fig, which stands near the Natural History Museum. A raised platform would allow visitors to more closely approach the majestic giant, while preventing the pressure of human feet from compressing the soil and endangering the roots.Photograph taken in the Alcazar Garden.Amazing blooms in the Alcazar Garden. Not sure what they are.As I walked back along El Prado, I got another photo of the smiling plumeria folks.Artist Michelle Gonzalez of Spanish Village was sitting in the Plaza de Panama painting three of Balboa Park’s landmark towers: the iconic California Tower and towers from the House of Hospitality and the House of Charm.The Zoro Garden had a number of butterfly releases which proved very popular with families. I saw butterflies flitting all over the place!Checking out one of the floral wagons that participated in the morning parade down El Prado. I believe this one was sponsored by Save Starlight.In Spanish Village, I was stopped in my tracks by this amazing painting by artist RD Riccoboni. An image of Claude Monet composed of flowers!
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Senna Osawa, Tamayo Watermelon, mixed media, Second Grade, Kumeyaay Elementary.
Look what I discovered!
The San Diego Museum of Art has a free exhibition of art that was created by local school students. It’s called Young Art 2017: Beyond the Ordinary. You can find it in Gallery 15, which leads from the museum’s outdoor sculpture court to the restrooms that are often used by diners at Panama 66.
Every two years, a new exhibition of Young Art is presented by the museum. All I can say is once you step through the door your jaw will drop! Dozens of outstanding, truly amazing works of art line the walls and fill a few display cases.
Inspired students from Kindergarten to Twelfth Grade, from schools throughout San Diego County, have created all sorts of fantastic still life artwork, including paintings, drawings, mixed media, photography and ceramic sculptures. Some of the students have written a sentence or two explaining their thoughts and creative process.
My quick photos of these few examples barely scratch the surface. I just chose some of the art that I personally like. Funny–perhaps my favorite piece was created by a talented young artist in Kindergarten!
If you visit Balboa Park, you must take a look!
Beyond the Ordinary. Young Art 2017. Amazing, inspired artwork in a free exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park!Catherine Zhao, Message in a Bottle, painting, Twelfth Grade, Westview High School.The Great Fruit Bowl, a drawing by many Christ Church Day School Second Grade student artists.Fizzah Arshad, Tea, drawing, Ninth Grade, Otay Ranch High School.Arissa Diaz-Lelevier, Multi-media Still Life, mixed media, Eighth Grade, Stella Maris Academy.Mirabella Komniey, Pitcher, mixed media, Fifth Grade, Vista Grande Elementary.Emma Cecil, Enticement, painting, Twelfth Grade, Torrey Pines High School.Camryn Melendez, Apricot Sunrise, drawing, Eleventh Grade, Westview High School.Eric Pak, Flora and Skull, painting, Twelfth Grade, Westview High School.Karina Spinazzola, Lemons and Lilies, drawing, Eleventh Grade, Westview High School.Anh Huynh, Distilled, painting, Twelfth Grade, Westview High School.Caden Glazner, Time for Tea, painting, Third Grade, Del Sur Elementary.Joy Zou, Tea Time, drawing, Eleventh Grade, Westview High School.Bella Anderson and Cate Hunsberger, Medieval Lunch, painting, Seventh Grade, Coronado Middle School.Skylar Britt, O’Keeffe Flower, mixed media, Kindergarten, Kumeyaay Elementary.Jenna Vo, Magritte Floating Still Life, mixed media, Fourth Grade, Kumeyaay Elementary.
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Bat ray rises against glass of an outdoor tank at the Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista.
Before my hike through Sweetwater Marsh, I enjoyed a visit to the Living Coast Discovery Center, which is located inside the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Exhibits inside the center and clusters of wildlife tanks and enclosures outside allow visitors to see and learn about the animals that make this refuge their home. The place is just right for families, with kid-size educational displays, short, easy paths, and even some picnic tables. If I were a young kid, having a birthday party here would be really cool!
After checking out the exhibits at the Living Coast Discovery Center, I ventured over to an adjacent building that is the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex headquarters. Some great displays outside provide more information about the unique and beautiful wetland that stretches in all directions. Not far from this building, one can easily find a hiking trail that leads across the marsh to San Diego Bay.
The Living Coast Discovery Center, located in the Sweetwater Marsh Unit of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, is where to get Back to Nature.A short bus ride takes one from the parking lot near Interstate 5 through the protected Sweetwater Marsh to the kid-friendly education center.People near the green sea turtle exhibit at the front of the Living Coast Discovery Center.Many species of reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish are on display inside the small center. There’s even a mouse house popular with kids.Outside, visitors can explore exhibits featuring sharks, rays, birds and tortoises. One can also look across the surrounding Sweetwater Marsh.Actions on land affect San Diego Bay. Pollution runoff flows via creeks, rivers and storm drains into the marsh then out to the ocean.A leopard shark. They are plentiful in the waters off San Diego.This 3-million-year-old fossilized tusked walrus skull was found in the area. 470 different species have been found as fossils here, including sperm whales and now extinct flightless auks!Enclosures in the aviary area contain clapper rails, shorebirds and ducks.A blue-billed ruddy duck swims in a pool of water at the Living Coast Discovery Center.In other parts of the aviary area one can see vultures, hawks, eagles and owls.A red-tailed hawk.Beautiful artwork on one building’s side shows a beach and birds in flight. Swallows have built nests above it near the roof.Bronze sculpture of a coyote. Many other works of wildlife art can be viewed around the center.Sign near an enclosure describes the Sonoran desert tortoise.A tortoise take a slow stroll outside the Living Coast Discovery Center.This amazing art depicting marshland birds is just outside the entrance to the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex headquarters.Large signs explain the role of a wildlife refuge.National Wildlife Refuges are safe havens for species. The first one, at Pelican Island in Florida, was created in 1903 by Theodore Roosevelt.Map of the extensive San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.The wildlife refuge contains great biodiversity. The animals and plants are all parts of a complex and sensitive ecosystem.Different forms of life can be found in subtidal channels, mudflats, the low marsh and high marsh. The changing tide allows birds to feed and variously adapted species to thrive.Wildlife can find it hard to thrive in urban areas. The conserved habitat of this refuge is a critical safe harbor for many native species.This place is special. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps to protect its wild residents.A green sea turtle, one of those residents of San Diego Bay!
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A wall inside the San Diego Art Institute features artwork by 3rd and 4th grade students at San Miguel Elementary School.
Check out some fun artwork at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park!
Inside the museum-like gallery you’ll find a wall splashed with a large grid of images created by 3rd and 4th grade students at San Miguel Elementary School. The project is called Loteria Reinvented.
Loteria is a Mexican game of chance similar to bingo. Loteria utilizes a tabla–a random grid of pictures–and matching images that are drawn from a deck of cards. The students were introduced to the game’s history, then made versions of the game unique to San Miguel Elementary School. Each student reinterpreted an original Loteria card, drawing their version on a 17 by 23 inch panel!
The colorful wall can be seen at the San Diego Art Institute until late May. The student artwork will then be displayed at Museo El Trompo in Tijuana.
Each panel is a student’s reinterpretation of a Loteria card. Loteria is a Mexican game of chance similar to bingo.Cupcake. Dragon. Face. Glasses. Tree.Kitten. Fish. Teacup. Boat. Bull.Flag. Bridge. Dream Soccer. Lion. Shooting Star.Flower. Flying Girl.Visitor at San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park checks out Loteria Reinvented!
UPDATE!
I’ve learned that this was a project of Collective Magpie. They were the artists who developed “Loteria Reinvented” as a 3-month residency at San Miguel Elementary School. They worked with the students to create this collaborative participatory art!
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People walk along Broadway near the entrance of the SDSU Downtown Gallery.
One of the sites that I visited this weekend during the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE 2017 was the SDSU Downtown Gallery. I’d never stepped into the small art gallery before. Rotating exhibits feature the work of faculty and students at SDSU.
The building in which the gallery is housed, located at the corner of Kettner Boulevard and Broadway, served as the 1911 Station B power plant of the San Diego Electric Railway. The historic railway, which served a large area of early San Diego, was established by John D. Spreckels.
According to a short tour and handout I was given, a circa 1900 building at this location served as an earlier San Diego Electric Railway power house, railcar barn and paint shop. Some enormous doors still exist in the building today where train cars would enter and exit. I also learned the extravagant 1897 Los Banos bathhouse stood at the building’s northwest corner–but there remains no trace of that historic old structure.
In 1921, San Diego Consolidated Gas and Electric Company purchased Station B, and two additions to the building were subsequently made. The additions were designed by famed architect William Templeton Johnson.
Today the original Station B power plant contains powerful works of art, and forms a section of the base of the skyscraping Electra Building, a modern residential development built in 2008.
Please enjoy some photos of the gallery and the historic building.
If you love art and find yourself downtown while the gallery is open, swing on by!
Now part of the high-rise Electra Building, this originally was the 1911 Station B power plant of the San Diego Electric Railway.Historical ornamentation above the front entrance of the SDSU Downtown Gallery.Walk through these beads to enjoy a small but dynamic art gallery in downtown San Diego.Works on the gallery walls were produced by faculty and students at San Diego State University. Exhibits change every few months.Description of current gallery exhibit by faculty and students of San Diego State University. Every Which Way investigates artistic experience and human movement.Visitor to the gallery checks out thought-provoking artwork.Fear/Less, 2016, by Troy Guard.Works of human imagination along one wall.The serigraphs on this wall were made by students in the SDSU Graphic Design program. Imagery depicts ocean and desert ecosystems as migratory environments.More eye-catching works of art.Some of the pieces are quite unusual and creative.A short tour begins in the SDSU Downtown Gallery–Just one fascinating tour during the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE 2017.We are shown various photos, including Station B behind Santa Fe Depot in the 1960s. The smokestacks were removed in the 1980s.Old photo of Los Banos, a bathhouse which was located just south of Santa Fe Depot. The neo-Moorish structure designed by William S. Hebbard and Irving J. Gill opened in 1897.One of the enormous, heavy doors is opened from inside the historic building. I was told these were used for a railcar barn.Our small tour group walks down the sidewalk along the Broadway side of the SDSU Downtown Gallery building.Now we are at the southeast corner of the large Electra Building, which rises above the historic San Diego Gas and Electric building.A symbolic painting inside the SDSU Downtown Gallery. Waves Inside, 2016, by Alison Zuniga.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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A young student’s colorful poster celebrates equal rights and protections. These are established by the United States Constitution. Equality for all. We the people.
Please enjoy a few photos that I took yesterday as I walked down Broadway past the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse. My eye was attracted by happy, colorful artwork created by children on display in some windows.
These posters were designed by young students last year for 2016 Law Week. They celebrate principles that are enshrined in the United States Constitution.
(I have many blog posts coming up pertaining to this weekend’s San Diego Architectural Foundation OPEN HOUSE 2017 event. A couple of the locations will probably be featured on my Beautiful Balboa Park blog. And it might take me some time to prepare everything. Stay tuned!)
2016 Law Week Poster Contest winners in a window of San Diego’s downtown Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse. Students from a variety of local schools participated.…insure domestic Tranquility… We get along with each other.…in Order to form a more perfect Union… Make things better for all who live here.…Secure the Blessings of Liberty… We have freedom.We the People of the United States…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Smile Train is a charity that helps local doctors perform cleft surgery for children around the world. Each operation transforms a life.
This week, as I walked to and from work, I noticed posters that promote two different charities. Both organizations help vulnerable children around the world.
I figured I’d blog the photos and help out just a teeny tiny bit. If you’d like to read the posters and learn more, and perhaps become involved or provide a donation, click the images and they will enlarge.
Child Fund International fights poverty. They help deprived and vulnerable children worldwide to be healthy and receive an education.
A mushroom fair was held this weekend in Balboa Park inside the Casa del Prado. The event was put on by the San Diego Mycological Society.
There’s a fungus among us! I’m not kidding! (Groan.)
All sorts of mushrooms were on display inside Balboa Park’s Casa del Prado today during a special show by the San Diego Mycological Society.
I wandered through this cool “mushroom fair” and took a good look around. And I learned quite a lot!
Check out a few fun photos and some informative captions…
Mushroom enthusiasts check out all sorts of displays at the mushroom show. Mushroom facts, art, and food products like jerky were plentiful.Several tables exhibited different types of mushrooms one might encounter in nature. The San Diego Mycological Society puts the fun in fungus!These mushrooms are all edible. Some are said to taste better than others.A basket full of Bolbitius vitellinus. Labelled edible but mediocre. According to Wikipedia, it’s inedible. I’m no expert, so don’t ask me.Cooking with Wild Mushrooms. (Click image to enlarge the sign for easy reading.)Okay, these are definitely poisonous! Children were advised not to touch. I steered well clear!Here’s a monster yeast fungus so villainous that Captain Marvel had a tough time coping with it.I do know that much of the art displayed at the mushroom show was tasty!Check out this fascinating poster and the following photo. Spore prints show how spores are ejected from the mushroom gills.These spore prints strangely remind me of human thumbprints.An inventive artist created some spore print cards, hand made from mushrooms found in San Diego! Cool!Volunteers from the San Diego Mycological Society are collecting mushroom specimens found throughout the county. Tiny tissue samples will be scientifically barcoded for species identification.All sorts of arts and crafts, books and fascinating stuff was for sale at the mushroom fair.Colorful mushroom ornaments!
UPDATE!
I swung by the annual event again in 2018. I saw many of the same interesting exhibits, and snapped a couple more fun pics…
Spore print cards and a fun fungus pillow!Cool mushroom artwork for sale.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 