Warning: indelicate post: You have not lived until...

...you have had a chicken fart in your hand. =)

Cracked me up.  A hand full of warm, soft feathers while transporting a chicken from A to B--that's when it happened. The possibility of this happening never even occurred to me before then (Monday).

I told my friend on Skype and laughed all the way through the story.

Yes, me, fancy (newbie)-web-site-building science person. And a chicken farts in my hand.

I love how working with wildlife and/or domestic animals will keep you down-to-earth.

It's tough to maintain a superiority complex when you've been pooped and/or peed upon by (multiple species of):

mice (hundreds during thesis field work)
rats
snakes
lizards
birds
frogs
salamanders
marine invertebrates
terrestrial invertebrates

And that's just off the top of my head. So to speak...

=)

Do you all have any other species (groups or extra cool individual species or stories) to add to the list per your experience?

the biobabbler

We are humming birds' seastars...

[biobabbler date: 4/28/2010]

Early this morning I spied my first hummingbird actually using our feeder.

Since then, I've seen several more visits. Very exciting for me, as this is my first feeder and I REALLY want good pictures of a few hummingbirds. So, hoping word will spread.

One was actually SITTING while feeding (I'm guessing a female Anna's, Calypte anna). I was on the phone so couldn't get the camera, plus I was loathe to scare it away. But, what a rare treat to see one of these metabolic wonders looking calm, and moving deliberately (lean head back, put beak into feeder, feed, pull beak out, rest: repeat).

Knobby sea star, Pisaster giganteus.

I was musing earlier today that we are probably hummingbirds' sea stars. We move so slowly, by comparison, that all of our goings on are probably barely detectable.

biobabbler

look at this...

amazing creature...


Who knew moths could be so outrageously stylish and stunning! This one's in Turkey.

biobabbler

How big is your plot?

 
"The final plot size will be 25.6 ha (320 m x 800 m), with 10.2 ha completed as of 2009. All woody stems (trees and shrubs) are mapped at dbh (1.37 m). Canopy trees are generally 100 cm to 200 cm dbh."

All woody stems?!?

This week we are hosting two folks involved in the Yosemite Forest Dynamics Plot project, where one can find such a plot. Be sure and scroll down that web page to see what their (amazingly intense) data look like.

This project is a great example of the sort of critically-important but hard-to-fund-forever (tho' that is the plan) long-term projects required to truly understand forest dynamics, like why the number of really huge trees is declining.

The BBC did a nice 5-minute video on it, Mapping America's Giant Trees, filmed in the Yosemite forest, interviewing the P.I., Dr. James Lutz.

Our house guests are in town for a Fire Science Symposium at Yosemite NP this week. It's not every day you get to idly chat with house guests about LIDAR and forest ecology--nice!

And even Max, our local bobcat, kindly stopped by (being in the neighborhood) to say hello.

=)

biobabbler

Answer to last week's photo quiz

 
Yes, it's redbud Cercis orbiculata. You guys got it right away--nice work! =)

another mystery caterpillar...

Found yesterday on our wheelbarrow's tire.

biobabbler

P.S. Just went out to tend the chickens and that same creature was on  my black boots, very near the tire. Seems to like black, and to be about a foot off the ground. Had to relocate it to the grasses.

Pampas catharsis; an epic in 60 minutes

(biobabbler's log: Saturday, April 24th)

Today I tasked myself with getting rid of 3 pampas grass plants.


If you are not familiar with these creatures, they are a noxious, invasive non-native plant that I developed a distaste for when in so Cal, hearing nightmares about peers getting ripped up by pampas grass blades when trying to remove them. They can grow to well over your head.

Ours had been burned a few times (oops), but kept returning. Decided at last that the all mighty shovel was in order.

So, I go out there mit visor, sunscreen, gloves, and my favorite and well-used shovel in hand.

Begin digging out offender #1. Instantly flash back to my resource management days (e.g. GS-4, if you know what that means) when non-native plants and I were mortal enemies.

Dig, dig, dig. Sweat. Work around the (3-foot) root ball in a circle. Hit rock, squat, dig by hand, dislodge and chuck rock, return to shovel work. Repeat. Hit tough spot and jump with both feet onto shovel. Make more progress.


It's almost creepy how satisfying it is to hear the crunch of the shovel connecting with and severing roots. Sweet.


Finally it gets to where I can finally shove the root ball over and use the shovel and my hands to disconnect the last critical roots. I haul it out of the pit and lay it down, roots up, so it has no chance of survival.

Veni vidi vici.


So, that's the 1st. Do pretty much the same for the 2nd. Sweaty, having fun, can see clot of dirt in hair, which is wild and flopping every which way.

The 3rd one is different.

It's next to another pampas plant, and seems to be connected to it, 'cause right where they are closest, I cannot get the shovel in at ALL. Not a centimeter. Hard as a rock.

Turns out it's a THICK root.

Fine. Using my reliable test-taking-technique of doing all the easy parts first, I dig everywhere else. Undermining and weakening the enemy.

At last, I'm at the tipping-the-ball-over phase.

Of course it is stuck at that same spot.

I look at it.

I think.

I look at it some more.

And think about which are my strongest muscles. And formulate a plan; primitive, but promising.

I squat down very close to it, on the (slightly) uphill side.

Then I proceed to kick the snot out of it.


I mix it up: 1st right leg, then left, now both.

I kick and kick and kick. Grimly determined. I will not lose.

And it gives a little.

Heartened, I kick faster; it loses more ground.

Finally, it disconnects--and is out! Face down, roots up, in humiliating and utter defeat.


Covered in mud, I laugh out loud, and say "You LOSE, sucker!" and feel fanTAStic. Huge grin.

The gray squirrel in the Pondorosa over my head flits from branch to branch, unconcerned. I laugh maniacally.

God, I love resource management.


=) the biobabbler

humming bird feeder...

 
Got this from a friend of mine (wildlife biologist--Thanks!! =) ). I've NEVER put one up in my life, but figured I'd try it out.

Truly, those of you who know me and my amazing powers of procrastination, this is a minor miracle.

And I put it close enough to the window that I might get some decent pics for y'all.

We'll see.

Check out the super cool mirror images of the trees, with the sky in between. I assume this is due to convex and concave surfaces, plus the wonders of water, or something? Anyone? Any enlightenment here would be appreciated (all you physics phans).

Anyone has any h-bird feeder advice, I'm all ears. For starters, how often do you change the water? I know mold & bacteria are anathema, so every 2 days? Thoughts? I really want it in the sun so I can see h-bird colors best.

the biobabbler

Plant corn when oak leaves are as big as squirrels ears

From "Skippy's Vegetable Garden", a gardening blog I LOVE, which lists (I presume old?) phrases re: what to plant when based on what is going on around you. Delightful.

But, the lead, above, is my favorite 'cause it's such a cute image, and we have so many of both.

the biobabbler

Easier quiz this week...

 
Because last week's was kooky difficult (unless you're a lepidopterist), this one should be more do-able for folks. =)

What is this? Took photo 2 weekends ago.

biobabbler

P.S. Perhaps I need to rename this Weekend Photo Mystery?

So beautiful...

... so simple.

We get our rosemary from landscaping (where we know they don't use herbicides).

I set it in water to wash, and was struck by it's beauty (esp. up close).

I love when exceedingly simple, even mundane things surprise me like this.

biobabbler

gigantic thistle... it's what's for dinner.

 
It's so bizarre to think about. Eating a thistle.

This is by far the largest thistle (uh, artichoke) I've EVER SEEN at a grocery store.

I HAD to buy it.

It dwarfed my cutting board (isn't it gorgeous?).

It dwarfed my steamer.

It dwarfed my bowl.

And it took so long to cook, I've eaten 2 veggie burgers and roasted potatoes and carrots while waiting, so I guess it's lunch tomorrow.

A thistle not to be taken lightly.

Hm, maybe this one is so big, I can bear to make something other than a straight artichoke feast out of it.


(Cue heroic, Superman music)
And this concludes another exciting chapter of...  
Adventures in the Produce Aisle!

=) biobabbler

Frazil ice flowing in Yosemite Creek...

 


Check it out!

the biobabbler

Project BudBurst + photo quiz answer in that day's comment

 
Project BudBurst is a cool "national phenology and climate change field campaign for citizen scientists."

There are top 10 species that they want reports on when those species in your area are budding, flowering, and blooming. They'll also accept reports re: other species.

Issue is: Spring has crept backward (earlier) in the year by days and days over the last 10-20  years, and fall has walked further away. This affects lots of things (since everything is connected in ecology), but in any case, phenology (what blooms when through the year) is a key tool to track and measure this change.

Anyhow, an easy and fun way to make a contribution to real science.

=)

biobabbler

(P.S. the answer to the Phriday Photo Quiz is in the comments of that post)

Fire? What fire? ...uh, where'd everybody go?

So sayeth the Yucca whipplei at the Station Fire, which burned last year. It was the giant fire near Los Angeles that burned and burned and burned. Huge.

It's very clear from driving in the area that this was one of those just-get-out-of-its-way fires. SO steep out there, SO dry (even in April after a wet winter).

However, the vegetation is very much coming back--at least some of it, in some areas.

Check out all the tiny rivulets formed by the rain washing down the hillside. I'm guessing that's because of the over- and understory being pretty much gone, and the hydrophobic nature of crispy hillsides. It's a cool visual effect, although it indicates erosion. Plants are busily re-sprouting (puff of green at the base).

The yucca, like charred pineapples, dot the spare hillsides. And many were blooming, sending up what look like the biggest asparagus spears you've ever seen.

Is this where pink elephants get their trunks?

Possibly my favorite photo of the day. Y. whipplei firing on all cylinders:

Here's a close up of the Y. whipplei flowers, amazing photo courtesy of Noah Elhardt who generously gave it to the public at large.

And can you guess what area did burn, and which did not?

For some plants, there's nothing they love more than a good blaze. Some require it to reproduce. Some just benefit from the additional light, decreased competition (cleared over and understory), the fresh deposit of ash, etc.

There were several species out there this weekend doing GREAT, thank you very much. STUNNING display in places.

This, I believe, is Phacelia minor, a.k.a. wild Canterbury bells. Thanks to the friendly stranger who was there, for pointing me in the right direction, and thanks to the Regional Flora of Santa Monica Mountains (they're nearby) for getting it down to species.

One picture of this Phacelia that I found on the web had a conspicuously charred shrub branch right next to it, dated 1996. Guess it's followed fire before? =)

This looks to me like Mimulus brevipes, wide-throated yellow monkey flower. Screaming color, especially piercing over the purple Phacelia.

 

These scenes, versus the wildflowers, were a larger percentage of the landscape. Being a minimalist, I loved it.

So much spare, striking beauty after an inferno.

Reminds me of a friend who's house burned to the ground a few summers ago when Mariposa county had a serious conflagration. Her animals were rescued, but she basically ended up with the clothes on her back. There had been a stout tree in their front yard, and even the stump was gone. Just ash.

She told me, months later, whispering like a criminal, it was kind of a good thing. No baggage. No huge weight of THINGS that you own and lug with you wherever you move (if all the stuff didn't mentally prevent you from moving!). No mortgage. Of course, everything she was wearing had been donated (and sort of looked it), but she didn't care.

The fire-induced spareness brought a lightness to her being.* She was really grateful, and felt freed.

Just like the post-fire plants. Basking in the elbow room, the uninhibited sunshine, and the crinkly soil.

They are all the better for it.

biobabbler

*Thank you Milan Kundera

Get thee to the Grapevine...

 
It's ON.

What/when are the rockin' wildflower hot spots in your area?

I remember coastal San Diego peak bloom = March, apparently Grapevine = April, and Mount Rainier, up at Paradise = July.

biobabbler

What do turtles and bacon have in common?

 
Apparently, everything.

For my herpetological pals.

Couldn't resist.

Thanks to the amazing, brave folks at from http://thisiswhyyourefat.com (turtles there, just tack on "/page/5").


Think I'm cooking something light for dinner, tonight...

=) biobabbler

P.S. Road trip this last weekend, so will be processing and selecting photos to share. We cruised the aftermath of the Station Fire near L.A.

photo quiz Phriday--5.51 hours late

    
Sorry it's tardy. Had it drafted, just spaced on posting it. Here she is!

 

Who am I?

(photo taken at Hite Cove Trail, Saturday, April 10th)

the biobabbler

Hognose histrionics--amazing shots of red phase over-actor

Death of a Red-phase Hognose Snake: A play in 3 photographs.

 (Dramatic interpretation by biobabbler.)

With no further ado...

  

"Oh, lawd, what did I eat? I don't feel well at all..."

"cough, cough"

"wheeze"

 "Gack!"

"I'm dead. Gone. Might as well just toss me aside.... "

My new favorite animal. =)

These pics are courtesy of a friend of mine in Kentucky, taken by Shannon Runke of Louisville, KY. The snake was found under a log during a field trip in Pennyrile State Forest (April 10th--last Saturday).

How amazing are they? SO envious of the people on that field trip. Apparently Dr. Zimmerer (above, holding snake) almost didn't spot it. But, he did. =) Nice work!


In case you don't know, this animal is playing dead as a defense. A dead snake is so much less appealing than a live one, eh? Well, particularly if you're not into carrion. A fabulous and apparently quite convincing adaptation.

Have you ever seen anything "play possum"? If so, what species was it? Were you fooled (at least for a moment)?


the biobabbler

the day of the Steller's jay, apparently

 
We've been invaded. Not the best picture, but they're active creatures... and GORgeous. Jeepers.

That's Fanny, checking it out.

the biobabbler

Peddling petals... wildflower outing trailer

 

Not a lot of time today (must crank on big project), so not even looking up the spp. names yet, but here's a few to whet your appetite for subsequent posts. Adventuring further into spring.

Last shot is a small-moth-on-flower question I've not yet answered: Who is it? (...asked the parrot of the plumber.)

Indian paintbrush, Castilleja spp. (at this point I'm sticking to genera).

It is particularly electric this year. Just pulsating pigment. Breathtakingly brash.

 Possibly my favorite pic (esp. w/o watermark....)

Small, mysterious mothiness (on woodland star, or some such)....

Update per skepticalmoth (see comments):

" ...looks like a Gelechiidae or Blastobasidae or something similar."

This preview brought to you by: ActuallyHaveaProjectThat'sDueSoonandLoadsofWorkbutCANNOTLeaveBlogAloneandPhoto-less.

the biobabbler

100th post is a was, + Phriday Photo Quiz answer...

Didn't notice it, but the post re: Indian paintbrush/caterpillar was my 100th post. Woo-hoo. =)

Not sure it means anything, except my friends on Facebook have a bit less blather to wade through.


And the answer to the Phriday Photo Quiz (which I'll try to post Tuesdays, or so) is SPIDER EGGS. I find that photo fascinating. I've never seen anything like it. The one on the lower right hand quadrant looks like a yolk with 8 legs.

So, there you go, and congratulations to Wendy for getting the answer 100% correct! =) Honk Honk! And, of course, thanks again to my east coast contingent for sharing that picture with me, and allowing me to post it here.

the biobabbler

Only saw the (cough) flower when I took the picture...

 

Zooming...

Little did I know it was a baby picture. =)

the biobabbler

(P.S. It's snowing!)
(P.P.S. I called this owl's clover earlier. Nope. Probably denseflower Indian paintbrush, Castilleja densiflora Castilleja brevifolia (see comments). Oops! Well, learning is a BIG part of what I wanted from this blog.... =) )

Woah, there, salamander!

Not all tiger salamanders in California are our friends...

Some are from Texas!

Freaking OUT!

Bizarre moth coincidence!

I read, for the first time this last week (what, 2 days ago?) about "fairy moths" at http://skepticalmoth.wordpress.com. He's got some nice pics and I stare at the crazy long antennae.

Today I see (as in take pictures of) THIS!

Pattern is the SAME as some (species) that he showed. The long antennae are much harder to see on the 2nd shot (which I'm guessing is female?) but she's in much better condition (re: ragged wings or no) than the male. She had much more sheen to the dark parts of her wings. And much more obviously red head, male was much hairier, and maybe all that black hair makes it harder to see the red, or he just has less. You can see hints of some red.

ANYhow, what are the freakin' odds? CANNOT believe my luck. Cripes.

Emailed Mr. Skeptical Moth for his verdict, and I'll keep you posted.

Learn an animal 1 day, sure I've never seen them before, find it WITH CAMERA and they're super mellow on the flowers, TWO DAYS LATER?

Woah.

This is why I say, on occasion, I am so lucky sometimes, it's laughable.

Yay!  =)

the biobabbler

Our phirst photo quiz Phriday!

     

This delightful picture courtesy of SIL on the east coast, showing what was found by my niece.

What is it?

=)

biobabbler

ooh, here's the amphibious caterpillar VIDEO EMBEDDED. aloha!

  



Mahalo to Dan for being the intrepid and ever inquisitive entomologist/conservation biologist/evolutionary scholar, and for Science Friday for, as ever, making me happy.

Aloha!

=) biobabbler

the Humboldt squid...coming soon, to a beach near you

 



  

This is David E. Hamm, a friend of a friend (they were Scripps pals together and still hang out) talking about the ever more abundantly and widely present Humboldt squid...biggies cruising further and further north. Lots of footage of them swimming while Dr. David speaks, and he even dissects one for the kids. Cool!

THE shot I wanted at Hite Cove, and the joys of digital photography...

         
So, rather than bury the lead, here's the shot of the field of flowers I really wanted while at Hite Cove.

Relevance of "the joy of digital photography" lead? It's photo # 275 for that day. If It'd stopped 2 minutes earlier, I would never have gotten the sea-o-flowers shot I wanted.

Lesson?

Just. Keep. Shooting.

California poppies and blue-eyed gilia.

Two orange and purple shots. Lovely to see in person. Hard to capture on film.

The beautiful and elegant prairie star, my guess, Lithophragma parviflorum.

A wacky shooting star. Love this thing.

Last shot for today: looking out of my window, waiting for the light to change, on the drive home.

biobabbler

chicken photos, because it's sunny and they're happy

They're out enjoying the sun today, snow's melted, and it's close to 60 F, so dust bathing is in order.

Moby Chick on the right, rolling the back of her neck in the soil. Edie's on the left, taking her time selecting the perfect bathing spot.

Cinder.

Cinder, my brainiest chicken.

LOVE her. Seriously. Ask anyone.

More sun predicted and 60s temps for the next several days. Guess I might have to hoof it back to Hite Cove or the valley this week to what new flowers are blooming. Maybe Chinese houses?

biobabbler

tree of the week--not your usual tree-identification method...

The source of this story is
http://www.globaltrees.org/, but I learned it through their Tree of the Week Facebook page, and the tree of the week is:

The Wollemi Pine, or Dinosaur Tree (Wollemia nobilis) is an ancient tree, which was thought to have become extinct about 2 million years ago until it was rediscovered in 1994 in a gorge only 150 km north-west of Sydney, Australia. Once found all over the world, the species now numbers less than 100 mature individuals in the wild.

 

First of all, I must have you re-compute "extinct about 2 million years ago." That I did not catch right away. I've been around a few species that had been thought to have been extirpated, but due to, you know, fairly recent development, like in the 1960s-1990s.

This leads to what I thought was the best part, in a comment by an administrator:

Good question Eileen, it would seem that nobody had found the trees, as some of the individuals were thought to be over 1000 years old. The tree was reduced to a few small populations in remote areas of the Wollemi national park in the Blue Mountains. One of the National park rangers discovered the species whilst out trekking and brought a sample ... See Moreback to be identified - it was then matched with fossil specimens and the species was 're-discovered'. There is lots more information at www.wollemipine.co.uk

Makes me so proud of that ranger, but what I thought was most freaky about this very exciting discovery, is the necessity of bringing your tree sample back to the office and comparing it to a FOSSIL to confirm the species id.

That. Is. Nuts.

Anyhow, made me happy on many levels. LOVE it. Nice work, folks!!

And, of course, reinforced the incredible importance of setting aside protected lands to preserve our natural heritage. You never know what you'll end up saving.

=)


biobabbler

Out early this a.m. to tend chickens I saw...

Spring.

biobabbler

Easter eggs...

... courtesy of Cinder, and either Moby or Edie. =)

Sign of a good weekend...

  

Luggage, field backpack, sundry outdoor gear, fuel, and a box of new trail-running shoes! (city time = shopping time)

Don't normally need this much for 2 days, but I had 2 days of sampling, 2 parties, and decided to actually dress for the parties vs. show up algae-covered, salty and smelling like dying pelagic micro-fauna...

Good times!

Grapevine blooms last weekend...up to the color yellow

There's a tiny smidge of orange, too.

Years ago I happened to be driving through the Grapevine when the hills were painted with huge swaths of yellow, orange, blue and purple. It was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen.

This year I was a little too early for that. However, it was definitely busting out the yellow. Here's some pics taken at 65 mph...

(oh, and at the end, poor shots but of STUNNING purple at the northern foot of the Grapevine--a SEA of purple lupins abloom. Amazing.)

Lavender seas. It's about 4,000 times better in person. Give or take.

Thus ends today's Flash-o-So-Cal blooms. If you are able, I recommend getting out and looking, if it's time where you are. Down there, and up here in the Sierran foothills, it is time.

the biobabbler.