The 8 Bit Botanist

New years don’t usually feel pretty significant to me these days,  especially after y2k never amounted to anything other than a shitty personal year, but this new years feels different.  Maybe it’s the 7 in the year but I’m feeling lucky!     This post’s photos will be of the delicious food we made,  since I don’t post pictures of my family: the bulk of all my shots this holiday.  I’ll sneak in…

What can I say it’s been a hell of a year. Here’s to 2017 being everything we need and more. I’ve recently made the jump to deactivating my social accounts so I can be more present, and maybe even creative, with the time I gain from not mindlessly scrolling the book of faces and grams. I’m currently raising my toddler so life is full of surprises and moments I’d rather not miss thanks to the many…

I’m alive and look a Lego koi

So it has been quite some time since I’ve posted. I’ve been busy being a new mom but I’m hoping to get a schedule worked out that works soon This past week I popped in south coast botanic garden and captured this lovely koi with my phone. This LA Lego art tour is at the garden until  May so check it out before it moves. http://southcoastbotanicgarden.org/nature-connects-exhibit-previews-scbgf/…

It’s at 91% humidity here at the Port of LA and the fog is coming in thick. The air smells of fresh ocean/aquarium and we are ~ mile from the water when i snapped this shot. Port of Los Angeles at night Following one of the most eventful weekends in a long time the sky has been putting on a great show.  For those that don’t know this past friday So Cal had a fire that actually shutdown the 15 fwy…

Since this blog has yet to have a single minded goal why not a shared a recipe from my ratchet kitchen. It can’t look too bad since L & L Hawaiian BBQ of Glendale favorited my tweet. 

'Homemade' chicken katsu rolls #myrachetkitchen https://t.co/ATzfYn3vET

— JP (@JMPortanova) July 19, 2015

So here it is Get yourself some: Frozen pre panko’d (Or any breaded) chicken (Costco) or panko that yourself but…

So it’s been way too long since I’ve posted and what better day than following the landmark decision of SCOTUS to legalize same sex marriage! I’ll post a photo for friends and family, since I’m told they are sorely missed. Oh and before I dive into the ramblings below I just want to say how disappointed I am in Target, and buybuy Baby for not offering more gender neutral clothing/outfits and GOD…

Today’s photo is of a young California Gnatcatcher perched in the native garden at White point Nature Preserve in San Pedro, ca.

This cute little guy is on California’s Species of Special Concern and since 1993 was listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mock accessed 2015).  Destruction of habitat being the primary cause.  Sadly this bird is only found in the southern parts…

A young California Gnatcathcer

Today’s photo is of a young California Gnatcatcher perched in the native garden at White point Nature Preserve in San Pedro, ca.

This cute little guy is on California’s Species of Special Concern and since 1993 was listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Mock accessed 2015).  Destruction of habitat being the primary cause.  Sadly this bird is only found in the southern parts…

Today’s photo is a beautiful bird known as the Snowy egret. This gorgeous bird was trapped in my Lightroom library and I dusted it off to upload into Calphotos so it can appear in the Encyclopedia of life website (EOL.org) in their next updates. I figured if I can’t get paid to take butt tons of photos, I’d at least like to share the worthwhile ones. I know some are like me and love finding good…

Today’s photos are from a birding field trip I took my students on this past Wednesday.  The Nature Preserve hosts a birding trip every month and I couldn’t pass up the chance to expose them to some real California natives. If you’ve never been and your near San Pedro, you should really go, we saw over 30 different species.

One of the first birds we saw was the Allen’s hummingbird. This gorgeous…

My favorite Ginkgo biloba

A unique specimen found at the LA arboretum in California

Today’s post was meant for last week but WordPress failed me and I lost my entire post, so here it is again: My favorite Ginkgo biloba– the maiden hair tree. This tree is commonly referred to as the maiden hair tree thanks to its fan like leaves. They turn a beautiful gold in the fall before they fall of the tree. The image above shows the…

Today’s photo comes from one of the archives that I always meant to post after I identified the bird.  Fortunately for me this guy was easily identified in my Nat Geo Field Guide to the Birds of North America. It just took a while to post because it was hidden among my ridiculously large photo library.

Above is a male Wood Duck captured in the fall. He appears to be in breeding plumage cruising…

Now no one said being pregnant was easy, but without a doubt no one and nothing gives you an inkling of what you are in for until you are already pregnant and even then, at least half the women I spoke to only tell me they would do it again (I’m like what, you’re out ya mind! The memory is a funny thing, you always romanticize the past, right?) I’m sure there are a few woman who were midwives or…

So hey there inter-web perusers, long time no post.  I’ve been off the grid for a few months and so it’s about time I get back into the swing of things. My lack of posts is in part thanks to some severe nausea that strikes every time I look at a computer/phone screen. Don’t worry it’s nothing serious, I’ve just been playing host to a small life form that shares my partner and I’s DNA. Our little…

I have successfully defended and completed my thesis for my Master’s of Science world and man do I not feel any different. Well maybe a little less stressed.  I think completing my degree in the fall when graduation ceremonies are not being held may have something to do with it, but I was expecting to feel this wave of accomplishment. Still waiting…

However, I have a feeling that I will feel very…