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

nice buns! gorgeous bobcat strolls past

I am such a nerd, I tweeted this photo

to Jillian Michaels and her podcast producer, Janice Ungaro,

Let's play Name That Gopher!

Bear alerted me to this creature's activity near our back door.

Botta's pocket gopher, a.k.a. valley pocket gopher,

a.k.a. Thomomys bottae.

Tho' fast moving (so somewhat blurry),

you can still make out the stylish white spot on its head.

No real clue to it's gender, so unshackle your imagination,

and let it roam wild, free to encounter any suitable moniker.

Please submit your suggestions in comments.

=) Thanks!!

The prize, as ever, is GLORY!

xobb

p.s. now that I look at it more closely, the white marks could very well be where fur is NOT, and is in the shape of their impressive incisors, so perhaps our little friend is a bad-wild-donkey little fighter!

Phriday Photo quiz answer + extra Yosemite bits

 
Waiting in line to get into the park, saw this guy trotting toward me so thought well, MAYBE I can get my camera out in time. I flung the lens cap off with one hand, and pointed the camera at him (no time for looking through viewer). Then he was gone. Can't believe he's actually in the frame.

Apparently if someone makes like they're going to feed him, he'll put on a begging show. I wonder if he tap dances?

In case you didn't know, feeding wildlife is never a good idea for the animal (for lots of reasons), and frequently one can tell which animals are fed human food because they look so much less healthy than their 100% wild cohorts. Seriously, you can tell from yards and yards away.

Anyhow, I got into the valley, got onto the bike, and riding toward Happy Isles, saw this on my left, adjacent to the campground.

And I thought, hey, this might be good fodder for a photo quiz.

View downstream at Happy Isles bridge; Basket Dome is da big rock.

Biking to the Ahwahnee to meet Bear for brunch:

Then, the view to your right (east) as you pedal down this path:

That's part of Royal Arches on the left,

and Half Dome on the right.

Biking in Yosemite = HEAVEN.

Nice job to the ladies with the correct answers to the Phriday Photo Quiz. Their "guesses" are in the comments on that post. biobabbler isn't quite her usual loquacious self, of late, so that'll have to do for now.

Hope everyone is well, and is able to maintain a reasonable temperature.

xobb

I'm smelling our new visitor RIGHT NOW...

 
Will show pictures I TRIED to take of same (did not do well) tomorrow (it's late) but was v. pleased I figured out (via other evidence I'll share tomorrow) that someone new was on our property. BEFORE the smell.

=)

Gee, can ya guess who?

bb

ps at this VERY MOMENT I am hearing quiet sounds RIGHT outside the window that is 5 feet from my left leg. !!! (it's VERY dark, here...)

the sometimes emotional impact of detecting wildlife...

  

Thanks to Camera Trap Codger for cluing me in to this:

From the bbc, obviously.

=)

Data is a good thing.

bb

one San Diego zoo pic, then I type...

 

This is probably my favorite pic from the SD Zoo trip, AND it's a native species (bonus). If you click on it and zoom in, you can see some of the amazing iridescence on the male's head. STUNNING. Until the 1st time I was in this exhibit, I didn't even know they had iridescence on their head. Swoon!

bb

New carnivorous mammal species discovered!

 
Here's the article and pics, to boot. Small, toothy creature, called Durrell's vontsira, cruises the wetlands of Madagascar. A VERY small area. Apparently there are other vontsira species around, but this one has clear differences so they are quite confident it's a new species.

This photo is from the Durrell Wildlife Conservancy Trust. 

As IF I've been to Madagascar--I wish! 

BTW they took some quick data on the few they caught, then released them.

Unfortunately, Madagascar and its wetlands are an ecological mess and there are many endangered and otherwise imperiled species there, including this one. They guess there's only a few dozen of these guys.

Drat.

Looks to me like the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's involvement is why the creature was discovered, so if you're interested or motivated, I'd go to their site to learn more/donate.

However, it is exciting. At least they are now known, and that is good.

So, next scrabble game, try vontsira on 'em, and have your URL citation ready. That'll learn 'em to under estimate you, and the power of science!

=)

more recent visitors

  

These are the Jr. High school-aged turkeys I've mentioned which have been cruising around under the watchful eye of 2-3 adults. It's fun when all you can see of them is quivering grass.

 

First young fawn I've seen this summer.

Startled the (probably same) fawn this morning when I popped out of the back door to let the chickens out. The fawn SPRING leaped to its mom, behind the coop, and stayed there after they decided I was not there to harass them. =)

Better than tv.

biobabbler

turkey trot

Yesterday I finally got myself to drive in costume (as "runner") to where I run. This is a beautiful landscape with pretty much no dogs, almost no traffic, and a gravel road with views of the mountains and a long field filled with pale mares. GORgeous. Decided NOT to do my little "getting to 5K" routine but just do the usual run 3 min, walk 1, repeat, gig. Fine.

At the very start, during my warmup walk I spied a turkey.

(Technically this is and others are from our property, spring 2009, but you get the picture.)

Then a few more.

(dig the freaky pale one!)

Then more; a brown river of turkeys was flowing in front of me.

They were clearly alarmed by my presence, and their group was divided by the road, so ones on my right were rushing for safe places to slide under fencing to rejoin their group. I took my earbuds out 'cause I figured they'd be chatting mightily via their (not so) little contact calls (my presumption re: function of calls). I was not disappointed, and stopped walking to calm them. And to absorb this event.

They are charming, and seemingly very attached to one another.

Finally, after much anxiety, panicked chortling, and mistrusting glances my way, the splinter group scuttled across the road and up the hill to reunite. I counted 24 in all.

They are beautiful. I do enjoy them in and of themselves, but, they do NOT belong here--not native west of the Sierras. This is a huge pet peeve of mine that Fish and Game is paid $$$ to plant NON-NATIVE species which compete with and potentially spread disease to NATIVE species including, oh, I don't know, the STATE BIRD?!?! (California quail, a ground-dwelling bird like the turkey) among others, plus who knows what they're doing to the invertebrate population (which did not evolve with these HUGE creatures), the stability of the litter layer, etc.

(Studs Turkey)

So, I don't dislike them (the turkeys or F&G). I think they're just trying to get along. But I deeply dislike this policy.

How is it okay? I'd really like to see an EIS for this...

Anyhow, that's one of the things I thought about as I then trotted down the trail to see my other running companions, the stunning grey mares. I will work on bringing a SMALL camera along 'cause this place is gorgeous, and I really should share. =)

In the mean time, this has been another (phew, somewhat cathartic!) installment of...

the biobabbler