April 12, 2012 Union Bay Natural Area Sketching Day

Today our class walked down to the Union Bay Natural Area to practice our field sketches. The first thing I drew was a dandelion. The dandelion has elongated rectangular petals that graduate to the middle of the flower where there are tiny hair-like structures that are yellow as well. The petals at the very bottom of the flower are yellow on one side and green on the underside. The stem has a rubbery feel and is not very sturdy-it feels amost hollow like a straw. The leaves are very thin with tiny hairs. The next thing I observed was a Garter Snake. I was walking through the tall grass, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted movement and saw a thin black snake with a light green/white stripe up the middle of it. It slithered away in an "S" shape when I approached and went deeper into a thick layer of dead grass. I also spotted many small himilayan blackberry vines in the grass. The weather that day was mild with dark rain clouds with occasional sun peaking through. Toward the end of the class it began to rain.

Himilayan Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus
Apple Tree, Malus domestica
Dandelion, Taraxacum
Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis
Jumping Spider, Salticidae

Posted on June 1, 2012 01:41 AM by andymj