why these NPS scientists do what they do... short video w/GREAT scenery

Which has a NUMBER of people in it

whom I was lucky enough to get to know back in my PNW NPS days. =)

2 of 'em even came to my Christmas party. =)

InSANE scenery ahead!

Why We Work from NCCN Science Learning Network on Vimeo.

And if you know of any science-nerdy folks

whose work focuses on nature,

you might make sure they know that the NPS

is one of the places they could work.

xoxobb

800th post potpourri

classic bb photo of yore: taken whilst upside down & mega happy

at Mt. Rainier NP, hiking w/ marvelous friends.

So, not that I think numbers like this really matter, but

800 posts?!?

Apparently "biobabbler" was apt.

FUN combo of teddy bear sunflowers & pole beans I planted.

Frozen whimsey. Heaven.

I'd been thinking about what this one might be,

like a potpourri of random bio-dorky things

I've been doing & seeing & thinking lately.

'Cause that's what this blog is, really.

freakishly HUGE hole in our heads,

a.k.a. the sinus cavity. FREAKS me OUT.

But, then I randomly clicked on "insert image" in blogger,

and it brought up ALL the photos from this blog.

Trip down memory lane.

Amazing post-storm sunset after cruising Yosemite.

So, I'll share my recent things later.

For today, a random smattering of previous postage.

wetland outside New Orleans, weirdo lighting heaven.

Hi! 

Western toad at our house. Note wee size via clover comparison. *sigh*

& the 4 letter code for it is (was) WETO so we biodorks call it "wee-toe". It is wee.

bb training volunteers in rocky intertidal monitoring by doing a demo plot.

At Cabrillo NM years ago. Upgraded water wear since then. =) & now I am a volunteer.

Bambi in the yard! teeter, teeter....

Point Reyes National Seashore. Heart. Majorly.

beloved coworkers' tootsies. Good shoes for Rattlesnake Land.

Note snake gaiters on lower right. Smart. But, HOT.

Freaky things lakes do when they freeze. Had no idea. Tenaya Lake, Yosemite.

k.

Thank you all for checking in and commenting, etc., over the years.

You are are the BEST!

800 hugs.

bb

Monday photo quiz + Yosemite snowstorm update--it's a doozy!

 
Photo Quiz Because-I-Wanna-&-I-Owe-You-for-Last-Week

If I saw this:

In Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, which is in Louisiana, who most likely created these holes?

=)

Good luck.


Wacky Yosemite Weather Update -- Yosemite NP is closed for now...

We are presently surrounded by 1 foot of snow (kinda snowed in and it's still falling), and Bear is on a conference call with park leadership to figure out what they'll do re: the park.

 (looking east from our house, note "sun" by the grey pine (top right),

biobabbler's garden, cloaked in a foot of snow, and in the foreground on the right, 

a fruitless tree that is, clearly, NOT from this climate. Tree comment: "Oof!")

As of this minute, per the Caltrans SUPER USEFUL road conditions web site (oops, and late update from overhearing Bear) all roads into Yosemite are closed right now (9:30 a.m.) due to snow, rock & mud slides, trees all over the place, etc.

Quite the storm we had, and it's still going.

(beautiful snow patterns at the top of a pine)

This is a good example of why some folks in the park are REQUIRED to live IN the park because if something like this happens, there are still NPS Rangers around to help.

Seems there is no power anywhere (as of 9:50 a.m. today) in the park and El Portal (a town just west of the park where many NPS offices are and staff live). Amazingly enough, we have power at our house, internet, etc. Phew!

Apparently folks at Badger Pass (ski resort in the park) could not get out last night, so I'm guessing they had quite a slumber party at the ski lodge.

 (Chicken coop. Note roof of "porch" wire mesh, NOT solid, yet snow is there. Also,

if you look very closely, you might see our Rhode Island Red (Fanny) on the right, 
just above the snow, saying Hi.)

And HERE is the forecast for Yosemite Valley...

More snow!

Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley Weather

Yesterday, Sacramento (where I flew into night before last) was experiencing flooding or almost flooding, and every single creek, pond, river, many fields, and even something called "Dry Creek" that I saw on my 3.5+ hour drive home (south on 99 then east on 140) was flowing with brown water.

Also, night before last was a crazy rain and wind storm in Sacramento, so my plane landing and van trip were rather exciting (details later), but I slept like a rock once I got to my friend's house, despite super loud storm.

Apparently, New Orleans tired me out.

I am very glad that my first time EVER driving home without stopping from Sacramento was yesterday, 'cause just before I got to our street, snow appeared laying everywhere, slush covered the road, and the rain changed to sleet. I'm amazed I got up our (1/4 mile long dirt uphill) driveway. Phew!


Biologist Perspective

We've got lots of precipitation. YAY!!! =)

Of course, this may, depending upon where the spring wildflowers were pre-storm, dampen or delay (or both) the wildflower display, but I'm all for super cool, put-you-in-your-place nature happenings so we remember how very small we really are relative to the power of the planet.

(Looks like a wintry creek. It's 4 feet from our back porch. =) )

Mother Nature throws down, and we just have to deal, 'cause, although we can affect nature, when it comes to big events like this, we are just tiny mammals scurrying about on the surface. She takes no notice.


xoxobb

upside down mountains explained...

 
I have on a few occasions taken upside down pictures.

This only happens if:
1) I've been steeped/hiking in quality nature,
2) there are comfy rocks around which make me want to stretch out like a cat in the sun,
3) there are great views,
4) I've eaten recently or am eating,
and
5) I'm over-the-top happy.

Typically, 1+2+3+4 = 5. (math folks, please forgive my poetic license)

Anyhow, on this particular day I was hiking with friends at Mount Rainier National Park. Parking at Sunrise, we hiked toward the burroughs (first and second burroughs, ended up just seeing but not getting to third) via Frozen Lake. (pretty big pics today, so click to enjoy)

Hiker heading across a talus-y but blessedly ice-free trail: Frozen Lake is just past the end of this hillside, on the right.

Looking back (northwest: can just see frozen lake left of the people), this is the part of the hike I thought might end in my death. Happily, it did not. Hence photo (Yay! I'm ALIVE!)

View west.

View southwest.

 

 Then alit on second burroughs.

Check out this CRAZY scale check (teeeeeeny people).

In your FACE mountain.

This is the last photo I took before I flipped.

I blame it all on Mount Rainier grandeur happiness overload.

I stretched out on my sun-warmed lunch site, lay back to see what the view was like behind me, and took some photos, much to the amusement of passers by.

I'd found a very cozy rocky sitting area, was facing my two dear friends, and staring at this gorgeous, lilliputian alpine plant community (which I adore and admire), as I shoved a sandwich into my maw.  (sigh)

 panning from left to right...

Way too happy.

These flowers were up there: can they get any more perfect?

I think not.

 Last shot I took before 2nd flip shot.

That plateau on the right is where we saw (from very far away) mountain goats.

If you'd not read that post, my friend (wildlife biologist who works there) SMELLED them many minutes before we saw them. And they were far away. How's THAT for knowing your stuff?!? Wow.

This was a snack shot (biobabbler requires frequent stops for eating; my friends are ALL very patient).

Photo slightly altered to protect the identify of my friend, who is ever-patient and understanding of happiness-fueled goofiness.

Here's a view of where I was sitting for the snack stop:

Beautiful, comfy rocks, beautiful lichen, crazy view, AND stuffing food into my face = why I flipped 2nd time.

Hiking alone frequently, I got into the habit of including my shoes/legs in the shot to prove I was there. Or, shadow shots. Or both. =) It's not the clearest pic, but the shoes crack me up.



Anyhow, that is the FULL explanation of that series of flipped photos.

They were flipped 'cause I flipped.

'Cause Mount Rainer is THAT amazing.

=)

xobb

(for other pics from that trip, see this, my most conceptual post ever)

Mumday surprise interpretation--delayed

  
See, the site I used to watermark (and shrink) my pics is having problems: server keeps timing out.

Meanwhile, here's a picture from that day, and this is the slope I walked across (note icy snow ahead) without killing myself, which is probably partially responsible for the happiness overload that ensued very shortly thereafter.

So, pardon the delay, but the whole story will arrive before too terribly long.

=)

biobabbler

Wintry kisses from Mt. Rainier days of yore

  

 Happy Holidays =)

biobabbler

P.S. We're hoping to go sledding sometime this weekend. I hope I hope I hope!
P.P.S. This is my 400th post! =) Ho, ho, ho! =)
P.P.P.S. Check out this adorable invertebrate holiday celebration. =)

Mumday's Purely Posies translated

 

 Magenta paintbrush, Castilleja parviflora, from Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park.

It's VERY hard to capture this color on camera. It really glows and vibrates at you.  The distinctive pink/purple cast is very different from the orange and reds of paintbrush I see around here. It looks amazing amid all that green!

Anemone, or pasqueflower (per my Wildflowers of Mount Rainier book), Anemone occidentalis.

These look like GIANT strawberry flowers to me. My favorite thing about this flower, described as "an early bloomer of subalpine meadows," is the seed phase of this flower, where it looks like a Dr. Seuss character.

 How cute and woolly are they?

This beauty is called Cusick's veronica, Veronica cusickii.

It is described by the Wildflowers of Mount Rainier book as: "of all the blues, blue-purples, and violets at Rainier, the color of Cusick's veronica may suproass them all for richness and sensuality." Oh, my! Ya think the author, Laird R. Blackwell, is a fan, maybe? I LOVE how the anthers and pistil fling themselves out from the plane of the petals. SO dramatic!

Beargrass, Xerophyllum tenax.

Neither an inherently interesting, nor a species-typical photograph, it is, however, a plant I appreciate and is important at Mount Rainier, as is used by Native Americans for various things (leaves in basket weaving??), so I wanted to include it. Frequently, the stem presents the flowering head via an elegant,  sweeping curve, but I saw the best ones when passing by in a car... =)

According to my book the stems can be up to FIVE FEET TALL, so you can bet on a background of deep green, these things can be seen from forever away. I'd seldom been out and about taking pictures when they were blooming, so it was a treat to see them dabbing the hillsides.

 Best guess is Lewis monkeyflower, Mimulus lewisii.

I have always loved monkeyflower. This is the first flower I learned about as a kid that was described as having a face. And how can that name NOT capture the imagination of kid?

The (IMHO) hypnotically beautiful avalanche lily, Erythronium montanum.

I just want to STARE at them.

All day.

biobabbler

more MORA (Mt. Rainier) for Mumday; purely posies

  

bb