Interesting Observations: Part 2

Sharing some interesting findings

The gloomy, wet days of January will feel worth it when, in the next few months, orange-colored poppies will start popping in canyons and hills across California. The way they create floral mosaics with yellow mustard and purple lupines is absolutely breathtaking. Anyway, if you don’t know, California poppy is the State flower of California.

Cattails grow on the edge of water bodies. Green in summer, they turn brown by autumn. Waterfowls use the thick reeds as nesting sites. Some people forage the young spikes of cattails.

Being a Biology student, I had read about sea anemones. But living near the Pacific Ocean offered me several opportunities to see these beautiful marine creatures. I have spent many afternoons checking out the anemones in the tide pool. They belong to Coelenterata phylum in the animal Kingdom. Jellyfish and hydra are their relatives.

To the east of California stretches the expansive Mojave desert. You can see zillions of Joshua trees dotting the landscape.

Nobody gives much thought for lichens. They are dual symbiotic organisms made of algae and fungi. Lichens release acids that corrode rocks and create soil particles. I like to see the vibrant-colored lichens.

Thank you for reading. I welcome your feedbacks.