Nature upload: the living, traces of the past, finicky finches, and a GAME! =)

The Living

Some lovely lichen I found 'neath an old oak tree

when I was foraging about for some nature coolness.

 

Under the same oak, I found this a few days later.

Looks like a nest with a perfect hen's egg in it, right?

It's fungus. Some kinda puffball, I presume. =)

And, from my field site, a super not great photo of a FABULOUS bird, a phainopepla.

I'd never seen one at the site before, and have only seen them maybe 4 times?

Looks like a black cardinal with red eyes. And makes a sweet little sound.

SUPER cool.

Traces of the Past

Photo that represents much of what I love about my job.

Looking for and detecting wildlife, in whatever form I can.

This is a coyote print in some tasty mud.

And thanks to the smarty tweeple I follow on twitter (e.g., @Laelaps & @LianaBrooks),

I believe THESE are worm tracks.

I only find them RIGHT after a rain storm in areas that are pure dirt (no plants).

I'm super psyched I learned this. Such beautiful tracks.

DH and I were cruising around learning about local mining history.

Our shadows on infrastructure of what I think was a ferry landing at the Merced River.

 It's just off highway 49 (its name is NO coincidence re: 49-er history).

Hills are greening up nicely, around here. Yay! =)

Then we cruised down foothill backroads to where some mines used to be

and found this beautiful fence. I LOVE the way it frames everything.

Finicky Finches

Got photo documentation of our local birds

rejecting the millet in the birdseed I put out for them. =)

House finch grabbing millet to fling...

...annnnd flung!

(See lower right hand corner)

Duly noted. =)

Guessing Game: How Big Is This Oak?

An oak as viewed from within the Ahwahnee in Yosemite NP.

How tall would you guess it is?

If you were standing next to it, how high up would the top of your head go?

Just go ahead and try and picture yourself there. 

Then scroll down to see how tall people are relative to the oak.

derp

derp

derp

So, how close were you to reality?

I think that tree is OVER 70 feet tall.

A towering beauty, to be sure. =)

I hope your winter is cruising along nicely. =)

xoxooxobb

Rando photo fling

Gotta go do fieldwork, but gonna fling a few photos 'cause it's TIME, jeepers! =)

Lovely cosmos face in November.

The Three Faces of Eve (or 3 stages of a cosmos blossom).

We got 2 inches of rain a few days back, so I looked for soggy green stuff.

Lichen and moss assemblage on the shady side of a rock.

First hygroscopic earthstar I've seen this year.

In order to keep my solitary hen company,

she lives with a mirror that she can cuddle up to.

It needed washing, so I brought it outside in the shade & this happened.

One of the joys of stormy weather: places for the sunset to play.

xoxoxobb

ah yahd... the splendor of spring! (wordless post)

Anyone... anyone? More coastal grooviness to remedy blank stares...

=) I'm beginning to wonder if the comments field is broken.

So, to aid your efforts re: Phriday's Photo Quiz, photo phood phor you.

the biggest hint 

lichen & sandstone freakiness I love so much I could gnaw on it

I have issues re: succulents. Nestled in a lichenous lair? *happy sigh* 

Seriously. INSANELY beautiful sandstone. JEEPERS.

And this does NOT capture it.

Does that help?

The next batch of photo hints, should it prove necessary, will be closer to obv.

MORE hints:

I was there last week. I did NOT fly to get there.

The land is owned by the United States of America

(hence my ability to enjoy such a gorgeous place w/out paying a sou).

So, any guesses NOW???

=)

xoxoxobb

canopy survey?

  
These were blasted off our eves when they pressure washed the house yesterday--prep for painting...

From http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7450.html#IDENTIFICATION

"Paper Wasps

Paper wasps such as Polistes fuscatus aurifer, P. apachus, and P. dominulus are large (1-inch long), slender wasps with long legs and a distinct, slender waist. Background colors vary, but most western species tend to be golden brown, or darker, with large patches of yellow or red... they hang their paper nests in protected areas, such as under eaves, in attics, or under tree branches or vines. Each nest hangs like an open umbrella from a pedicel (stalk) and has open cells that can be seen from beneath the nest... Paper wasp nests rarely exceed the size of an outstretched hand and populations vary between 15 to 200 individuals. Most species are relatively unaggressive, but they can be a problem when they nest over doorways or in other areas of human activity, such as fruit trees."

I remember trying to figure out what some of the wasps I saw last summer were, and the long, dangling legs were a key marker, and I think they were the paper wasps.

If you click on the above you can see the texture. You can just imagine these creatures chewing pulp and building the cells.

More from UC Davis on the next type of nest we found:

"Mud daubers are black and yellow, thread-waisted, solitary wasps that build a hard mud nest, usually on ceilings and walls, attended by a single female wasp. ... They do not defend their nests and rarely sting. During winter, you can safely remove the nests without spraying."

We're lucky the species we have here are not aggressive. I've caught them a bunch of times in the house with the old glass-and-post-card trick to transport them back outside, with no problem.

So, while the painters were here scraping, I figured now would be a good time to clean out the gutters (since they have to paint them). So, up I climbed and this is what I saw:

Who knew this cute little canopy of life forms was up here the whole time? (easier to see if you click on the above) Really sweet mosses and lichen. Tomorrow I'll try and take pictures of some species more closely so maybe I can identify some of them.

Switching gears--the three amigos (hens) were out in the garden much of the day, so by the time it was getting cloudy, the two white chickens were hanging out near and in the nest box, which I'd relocated to the garden for them. Upon returning them to their coop (to which they practically jogged, no raisin lure required) I then returned the nest box, squeezing it between the back wall and Moby, who was already perched there, ready to get in and lay.

A few minutes later I returned to find this.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

So, next time you're feeling a little cramped at the office, or at home, remember Edie and Moby resting amicably in the same 1 cubic foot of space. Maybe you'll feel a little better.

biobabbler