so... I just heard a new noise, outside whilst in the dark...

 
At first I thought it might be a raccoon, so I went out, terrifying sword (plastic broom) in hand, ready to defend the hens.

Stood out there and heard calls that, since one came from not far up a pine tree, and it kinda sounded like a squirrel chuff, if squirrels were to chuff, didn't seem very raccoon-like. Maybe, say, a squirrel?

And I heard fainter return calls to my left, in between the calls from the creature on my right.

hm...


A tag team of squirrels making noises in the dark?

Seemed very unusual squirrel behavior.


Standing motionless in the dark, ears out, having already clicked the broom's safety-lock back on, I wondered. And looked left and right, squinting.


Then, something flew north from about four feet up the nearby tree, making the call I'd heard.

And its friend flew north, too, calling back.


Yup, apparently not a squirrel, biobabbler.

Probably a bird.

'Cause, you know, it flew.


Looked fairly substantially sized, in the pigeon realm.

Do owls make mild, little, possibly-mammal-sounding contact calls when hanging out near the households of curious broom-wielding blondes?


Happy for any suggestions from the peanut gallery. Will be looking up owl sounds tomorrow.


Right now, must continue cleaning, 'cause the ants are flirting with an invasion, sending numerous scouts afield...


G'night. =)

bb

xobb

more species in bloom chez-nous (at our house)...

            
Walked around our property a few days ago, searching for any species newly in bloom, and very nearly walked right past this beauty.

I believe it's a Sierra gooseberry, Ribes roezlii (http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7137). Just learned from my beloved Calflora that it's a California endemic! Nice.

A gorgeous, dramatic bloom, and a flush of them, but this is why I almost passed it: they're cleverly hanging below the branches, so the shrub, even in it's full glory, looks like this.

Not exactly a show stopper.

And to redress an earlier oversight, here's the steadily blooming white leaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida).

You can pretty much hear when they are in bloom.

The background sound on our property changes from nothing to the steady hum of many, many bees when this plant blooms. The first time I stepped outside and heard it I was quite confused. There's such a profusion of blooms on just one tree, and we have dozens, that en masse they change the soundscape entirely.

(I am presently being chortled at by an early morning robin, singing to greet the sunrise.)

Mystery plant that I must try to figure out. Small guy. Blooms smaller than fingernail.

Here's a better shot of a different mystery plant, the tiny, tiny bloom I blogged about earlier.

(I'm starting to think this robin has a head mic like Madonna--this is a loud song!)

Body of tiny bloom. Cute little rounded spade-shaped leaves.

Our local Dodecatheon representative. Looks like they've just started blooming at our house. I'd say, based on the leaves, it's Henderson's shooting star, Dodecatheon hendersonii.

Here's a hint of things to come, along those lines...

A veritable profusion of Dodecatheon plants... this site should be awash in blooms before too long. I love their sweet, simple leaves.

And lastly, a mystery grass species...

It's near the very edge of our property. I'll have to figure out whether it's friend or foe, and to what degree, before I decide what to do with it. Once you are professionally trained to rid the native landscape of exotics, it's hard to stop... 

NOT that I've been terribly conscientious about that on our property, outside of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) patrol. Maybe this blog will inspire me to address the non-native issues we have in a more methodical way.

As if I used to get paid to do this. =)

the biobabbler

P.S. Anyone know what any of these mystery plants are, by all means, enlighten me. Guesses are welcome. =)

promised bud, new spp to me and mystery bee-thing...

      
The Dichelostemma capitatum (bluedicks) bud I promised...

As always, looks MUCH better big.

Dove's-foot geranium, Geranium molle, a new one for me. 

Thanks to CalPhotos (calphotos.berkeley.edu) and http://www.birdmom.net/wildflowerindex.html for chucking me clues.

And now for a pollen covered bug I have an urge to hug...

It was fun to watch it bumble around, moving like a bumper car.


And now, the mystery insect. It appeared as I was taking pics of poppy/bluedicks.


Looks v. bee like and I KNOW I've seen something like this before, but I cannot find it in my books... And I cannot find my Powell and Hogue's California Insects book, drat it all... 


ooh, just figured out it's probably a male bee fly (family = Bombyliidae)? Pics are NOT sharp, darn it, but they're all I have. It was flying, after all... =)

Here you can start to see the LONG legs...

Best view of face. Guessing male 'cause it looks like the eyes are connected, but it's not super sharp, and the head looks flattened on top...

Best view of super long legs and proboscis...

Bee bailing.

Bye!

So, can any of you folks confirm or deny my guess? Sierran foothills is locale (Hite Cove Trail). I realize a serious i.d. is not possible due to mobility of creature, lack of focused view of wings, etc.

Anyhow, it was a very exciting and unexpected visit by a cool creature.

the biobabbler

more newly bloomed species...

  

Now that the red maids and red-stemmed filaree are blooming like mad, there are two new species to add to our list of bloomers.

1. popcorn flower (a.k.a. Plagiobothrys spp.)

Just noticed this blooming yesterday.

2. and a mystery flower.

It's a tiny bloom, so you really need to click on this to see it at all... I'm not sure I've even consciously noticed it before. First saw this about 4 days ago.

Working on i.d.s for these, will keep you posted re: what I determine.

1st thing Jepson's* says about identifying Plagiobothrys (there's many species in California) is it's essential to have the nutlet (the seed). Jepson's, typically, is scrupulously efficient in its language, so confirming my suspicion that they mean what they say, the page where many of the different species are drawn, in many cases, the only thing drawn is the nutlet.

Ah.

Guess I gotta find a nutlet, or wait for one to mature.

=)

Next I will share pics from yesterday re: disturbance-loving flowers (and cool bugs therein), and muse on disturbance-loving species--and my tiny (and presumed) role inadvertently aiding, through tromping around for lizards, a plant species so rare that Jepson's lists it as "PRESUMED EXTINCT."

biobabbler

* within the pages of biobabbler, "Jepson's" always refers to "The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California" edited by James C. Hickman. I have the 1993 edition. It's a MAJOR reference for biologists with an exceedingly robust reputation. A smidge over 1400 pages. A truly amazing resource.