Camp De Benneville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/12/2023 This month I attended an art camp held in the San Gabriel Mountains. I never went to sleep-away camp as a child, but now can relate better to the many movies based on the subject. Although the focus of the camp activities was on art workshops, there were other activities such as group hikes, yoga, and archery. We slept in bunkbeds (lower for us old folk) and ate our meals in the big central building. I enjoyed the concept, but as a slightly introverted person, spending time surrounded by sixty-five people, and artists who created art eight hours a day, was a little intense for me. So I ducked out to spend time on my own birdwatching, exploring the forest, and photographing wildlife (chipmunks!!!). Camp De Benneville Pines, Angelus Oaks,
CA 09/08/2023
These images will serve as inspiration for my future art projects at home. Photographing wildlife in the forest is challenging because the lighting is poor and the trees are very dense and tall, but I managed.

Camp de Benneville Pines is located in yellow pine forest with various pines, fir trees, and black oaks among other trees. Rocks are everywhere and would be a geologist's delight, I am sure. There are lots of metamorphic rock, granite, schist, and gneiss. One day, perhaps, I will learn more about rocks and trees, but fauna has my prime attention.

White-headed Woodpecker - Dryobates albolarvatusWhite-headed Woodpecker - Dryobates albolarvatus
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/12/2023 Steller's Jay - Cyanocitta stelleriSteller's Jay - Cyanocitta stelleri
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/09/2023 Since it is September, most of the birds, that come up to the mountains to breed, have already left.

I did see a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Townsend's Warbler that will soon be visiting me, along with many of their kin, down at the coast for the winter. The resident birds were quite vocal. Mountain Chickadees and Stellar's Jays were abundant. ​I saw several fluffy immature jays. Red-breasted, White-breasted, and Pygmy Nuthatches, Acorn, White-headed, Hairy, and Nuttall's Woodpeckers tapped on trees and made their distinctive calls. Northern White Skipper - Heliopetes ericetorumNorthern White Skipper - Heliopetes ericetorum
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/10/2023  I enjoyed birding by ear.

Butterflies, moths, and other insects caught my eye and camera. Northern White Skippers were all over the Fleabane.

Southern Chipmunk - Neotamias sp.Chipmunk - Neotamias sp.
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/09/2023 Sagebrush Lizards and a beautiful blue-tailed Western Skink scurried over the lichen-covered rocks and in the pine and oak leaf litter.

Western Skink - Plestiodon skiltonianusWestern Skink - Plestiodon skiltonianus
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/11/2023

There was a family of four Mule Deer (mama, papa, and two young ones) that I saw at a distance during one early morning walk. California Ground Squirrels, Western Gray Squirrels, and my most favorite, chipmunks, scampered around everywhere. Chipmunks are distinguished from squirrels by the lines through their eyes. I even caught one chipmunk in mid 'flight' as it jumped great distances from rock to rock.

Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/10/2023 On one of my walks, I passed the archery range. I always like to try to catch birds in flight, but since I was not having much success, I spent a little while trying to catch arrows in flight. That too was a challenge, but I finally reached success when I had the instructor help lead the coordination.

The Art SHowThe Art SHow
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/12/2023 The art classes were well structured and taught by very accomplished artists. I took the morning intensive (three hours each morning for five days) in monoprinting. The teacher was a delight. We had some instruction and then a lot of trial and error on our own with guidance from the instructor if we asked. I find it difficult to be creative during a class, so rather than work on a masterpiece, I chose several small exercise pieces to try out a technique or materials. I prefer to work in shorter, more sporadic increments as the mood hits, so I found it a bit challenging to spend so much time working at it.

Each afternoon, there were two shorter workshops offered, some taught by the instructors of the other intensives. I opted to take only one each day. I attended rock painting. While others did beautiful work, I found more beauty in the natural rock painted by lichen. I took journaling. It was fun to do collage work from magazine scraps, something I don't normally do. I went out on my own and did a little nature journaling in ink and watercolor.

I loved the acrylic pour workshop. I could see that that would be a lot of fun, but very messy. Lastly, I took oil pastels. This was my favorite. I hadn't used pastels before. The instructor was fun and a very good teacher. She took us step-by-step through the process. I might actually try that at home. The last day was a group art show so we could see what everyone had done.

My Acrylic Pour TileMy Acrylic Pour Tile
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/10/2023 My Acrylic Pour TileMy Acrylic Pour Tile
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/10/2023 My Oil PastelMy Oil Pastel
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/12/2023 One of my MonoprintsOne of my Monoprints
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/12/2023 One of my MonoprintsOne of my Monoprints
Camp De Benniville Pines, Angelus Oaks, CA 09/12/2023






These six days confirmed for me that I am a Naturalist, Photographer, and Artist --- in that order.

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimMooreNaturalist/

Watch the slideshows or click on the links to look through at your own pace. Links open in a new tab.

Vertebrates (Birds, Reptiles, Mammals):    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/camp_de_benneville_vertebrates

Invertebrates (Insects and Spiders):    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/camp_de_benneville_invertebrates

Plants, Rock, Fungi, Lichen, Habitat:  https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/camp_de_benneville_habitat

Art and Activities:  https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/camp_de_benneville_art