I love spring

On the road

My commute home from work site--skirting the storm.

 It's so great to see the hills all green after years of drought.

Check out how the rainbow is doubling itself (at the bottom).

One of the cutest things I've EVER seen: baby killdeer

with its siblings and very busy parents at Merced National Wildlife Refuge.

Check out that TINY wing! =)

Snow goose, also at the Merced NWR.
That beak makes me think of a sock puppet, for some reason... =)

This native phlox was SO frothy & pink (on highway 166) we HAD to pull over

during our drive to Carrizo Plain NM.

The Carrizo Plain NM: a fascinating place.

Heaven for a minimalist, and I was anxious to visit, since

the last time we saw it, it was 4 years into a drought.

 Soda Lake stirred by wind.

Carrizo Plain had greened up nicely, thanks to El Niño.

Desert candle (Caulanthus inflatus), a species I'd never seen before, at Carrizo Plain NM.

Another thing we saw from the car & stopped to investigate. =)

We drove up elevation from Carrizo & found purple puddles of Phacelia. So great!

Closer shot of Phacelia--love those flamboyant anthers. =)

More wildflower puddles, north and uphill of the Carrizo Plain.

Back home

Band-tailed pigeons appeared under our bird feeder—that was a first!

They are SO much bigger than mourning doves (upper left corner).

Love their bright beaks & feet.

Ladybird beetle upon lilac. Ah, spring! =)

 The new climbing rose we just bought is making me swoon.

 I have a thing for anthers...

Wavyleaf soap plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) beading water beautifully. =)

Lovely variegated miner's lettuce (Claytonia spp.) on our property that caught my eye.

So stylish! =)

Last, a wild hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum) on our property.

What an elegant beauty.

I hope you all are having a marvelous spring (or fall).

It's a pretty amazing thing.

xoxoxobb

I FINALLY planted milkweed seed. WOOT! =)

Did some work in the a.m., then in the afternoon felt unwell.

DH prescribed gardening.

Who am I to question him? =)

So, planting milkweed seed was priority one.

I weeded this iris plot (protected fm. gophers via that wire mesh)

and got to work.

I took photos 'cause I've learned that where I plant X Y and Z

stays in my brain about 15 minutes.

Next day, it's gone.

SO, I made these! =)

And here's the details, re: the seed packets.

I'd researched it in the past to find spp. native to California

and which help monarchs specifically, butterflies in general.

Note the one above likes to be over 1,000 feet in elevation: we're 3500, so we're a go!

Note: "packed for 2014" means I shoulda planted them 2 falls ago,

but, whatever.

Planted is better than not planted.

Part of learning to garden is learning to quash the perfectionist.

Just. Do. Something.

Also, I paid for these (& a bunch of to-be-planted-in-spring kinds)

versus looking for a free source. 

My priority was get the right spp. for our area & bugs.

Didn't cost much, anyhow. =)

Next, I had to protect our seeds from the HOARDS of hungry seed-eating birds:

Before I learned this trick, I'd plant seed mixes and get almost nothing.

I concluded I was a crap gardener.

Turns out, dark-eyed juncos (& friends) kick through & eat seeds on & under the ground.

So, I protected newly planted areas in the above manner

and suddenly I had LOTS of BABY PLANTS! Total miracle.

=)

Next I need to attach that wire mesh to wood so it's safe for wildlife.

But, now, having followed my husband's recommended cure,

I am now well, AND I've got 3 species of milkweed planted in our garden.

Some of which can grow to 5 feet. SWEET!!

One of the best things about gardening is it gives you things to look forward to.

Like stunning, fabulous flowers attracting stunning, fabulous insect life

that I then get to ogle and PHOTOGRAPH.

Woot!

xoxooxxobb

Snapshots of spring

 This hymenopteran (tiny bee? wasp?) was DOA, discovered while I was weeding.

It is SO TINY I had to carry it on a saucer

with a glass over it to keep it from blowing away. 

The irises are blooming, now. Not all of 'em, but this one is going at it. =)

See the TEENY tiny thrip?

An extremely small insect

living in an impossibly beautiful place.

Western fence lizard watching me photograph irises.

I'm not sure that's an approving gaze... 

The "beard" in bearded irises reminds me SO strongly of nudibranchs.

I'm JUST in love with irises. And the ones I have smell amazing, too. That's a requirement. =)

A local native, golden brodiaea. Beautiful buttery yellow faces beaming up at you.

Even with the drought, they're making a good showing.

They're just shorter than usual, if I remember correctly.

Yay, natives! 

An extremely tiny spider (crab spider) atop a pale owl's clover flower.

For a sense of how tiny thrips are, look at the pale part of the bloom,

center left edge. 

Zooming WAY in, there's a few thrips.

Can you find this tiny section in the previous photo?

One last moody gaze from a still-unfurling iris, this year's very first.

A great thing about irises, since I am clearly deeply in love with them,

is that they love OUR climate.

They don't need summer water.

They just sit there, high and dry, through the drought,

waiting for the rainy season to return.

Lovely, since my standards for the drought tolerance

of plants I'll allow in our garden is rising every year.

I hope your spring (or fall) is progressing beautifully.

xoxobb

Flinging photos: Sierra Nevada lower-montane life in early March

 This appeared at our window last night & I almost had a heart attack:

It's a ceanothus silkmoth (ID thanks to @CrawliesWithCri), 3.5-5 inch wingspan. AMAZING.

Just look at that gorgeous abdomen! So stylish, jeepers.

After taking some photos w/my confused camera (why shooting at night??)

I went back inside & turned off our lights so it would stop being confused by us,

and continue on toward finding a mate, or whatever it would normally do. =)

So, walking in the dark house, smiling quietly,

my husband said, "Welcome to Samantha National Park."

I'm glad he understands. =)

Baby Blue Eyes and Friends

Photographed first baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii) on our property this year, March 3rd.

When I uploaded the photo, saw I captured one of

the so tiny (presumed) globular springtails in focus. So cute!

If you scroll back up to the flower photo, can you find the tiny bug?

For amazing shots of all kinds of these cuties,

much clearer, and much closer up,

check out Ed Phillip's photos on Flickr.

Truly, his work is superb,

and there's such diverse colors & patterns in these species.

He finds them in leaf piles on the ground. So, so cool.

Love and Death

Just this morning, saw evidence of a spidery romance on our window...

I think it's a female up top, and a male down below.

"So, Bob. How'd the date go last night?"

(no response)

"Bob?"

Presumed female looks as innocent as possible...

batting her perty eyelashes.

Dating in the spider world is risky business.

Other Visitors

Teddybears of the insect world, a bee fly appeared recently.

Super hard species to get good photos of--they're very speedy and restless. 

For much better photos:

The subfamily Bombyliinae has lots of the fuzzy types.

Check out this shot--WOW. SO CUTE!

We flung out some birdseed & got lovely visitors, including this spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus).

The redberry (Rhamnus ilicifolia) is blooming--it's an extremely subtle event.

At least to us. Lots of tiny bugs are floating around it, so for them it's shouting.

Those teensy green blooms are barely discernible to my eyes.

Squinting hard I can pick out the white stigma to know which are open.

Miner's lettuce (Claytonia spp.) is also blooming happily.

 Another fan of the birdseed: a brave western gray squirrel.

 And last, early for Easter, a black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) plays peek-a-boo.

Happy spring!

xoxobb

2 manzanita shots to go, please...

Busy, but today's assignment was "red"

(for the 30 day photo challenge by @just_go_do_it)

so as soon as I realized that meant some quality time with manzanita,

I grabbed the Nikon and headed out.

I find myself gazing at this plant like I'm in love.

Just staring and staring.

So beautiful. We're very lucky to have them here.

SO many wildlife species eat the berries,

and they are early bloomers in the spring,

which gives a low hummmmm to the landscape

as thousands of bees merrily pollinate them

to begin their little bee lives for the year.

Maybe I am in love. =)

xoxobbb

Photo roundup (yee-haw!): last of 30 day photo challenge

 Tweeted these pups a while back, but here I'll make 'em BIGGER.

=)

Skipping around a bit...

Day 27: Portrait

The ever-charming brown pelican.

Apparently the blue eyes mean romance is around the corner…

Galveston, TX

Day 26: Candid photo

Ring-billed gull being a jerk, just 'cause it can.
Galveston, TX

Day 25: Time
(I'll keep it small in case it freaks you out--I get that.
You can click on it to see it larger

This fox's time is up,
but its tail is still beautiful…
Seems appropriately framed: the fallen.
Golf course north of Houston, TX

Day 28: Calm

Taken during flight home, TX to CA.

Clouds: I forgot what they looked like.

Somewhere up high

Day 29: Family

Niece holding shelly discoveries from Galveston, TX beach.

Day 30: Christmas

Beautifully decorated "Christmas" tree.
Golf course north of Houston, TX

Sweet gum, which, tho' I know them from San Diego,
are actually NATIVE to Texas.
This one was GIANT. And gorgeous.

<Checks end of 30 day photo challenge off her to do list,
with thanks to @just_do_do_it>


So, 2014…

Not big on entire year summaries, pardon.

I MAY go to a conference later this month.
A wildlife biology conference.
And possibly help recruit biologists for our company.

If so, should I dress like a corporate head hunter?
Put on high heels & wear lots of perfume & makeup?

Or, wear 100% field gear,
including oversized safety suits for inclement weather,
and carry a snake stick & wear gaiters?

Really, though, I think we should print out LARGE shots of
some of the BEAUTIFUL places we've done work,
and the SUPER cool wildlife "we've" seen.

That's the way to a wildlife biologist's heart…
at least, mine.

=)

xoxobb