August 2024 – Page 2

Procyon lotor

Published on August 21, 2024August 18, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

Yep, it was a raccoon — we heard a lot of chittering and hissing as we tried to sleep.

Eucalyptus conferruminata

Published on August 20, 2024August 18, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

Fun gum tree at the El Capitán State Beach campground. The ranger tried to tell me it was a Myoporum but he was nuts.

Colias eurytheme

Published on August 19, 2024August 11, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

I was admiring the vivid magenta bougainvillea when an equally vibrant butterfly came by for some nectar.

snake tongs

Published on August 18, 2024August 10, 2024 by Hashi1 Comment

Our neighbour friend gave us a most practical gift, with the caveat that she hopes we never have to use it. Given that we relocate rattlesnakes a couple of times a year, I’m glad to have this device. It should be safer than the much shorter kitchen grabber tool we’ve been using.

Lema daturaphila

Published on August 17, 2024August 11, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

I’ve started a dedicated garden journal, to keep track of my plantings and also the pests. Here’s a new one for us, the three-lined potato beetle. I noticed the cape gooseberry leaves were being munched. Close inspection revealed plenty of eggs and larvae, along with a single adult. There‘s surely more — I need to add beetle-hunting to my morning routine for a while.

passiflora

Published on August 16, 2024August 8, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

Canis latrans

Published on August 15, 2024August 8, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

The coyotes at our place have been unusually bold lately, coming within meters of the house in the middle of the day. We always ‘haze’ them to discourage their presence, yelling and chasing them. Bodie puts on a good show, but she’s getting old, and the coyotes seem to know she’s not much of a threat anymore.

sierras

Published on August 14, 2024August 13, 2024 by HashiLeave a comment

I’m preparing for a trip to the Western Sierra Nevada Mountains; this book is coming with me. Quote by John Muir from the intro: “The coniferous forests of the Sierra are the grandest and most beautiful in the world, and grow in a delightful climate on the most interesting and accessible of mountain-ranges, yet strange to say they are not well known.” At minimum, I hope to learn to identify a handful of new-to-me trees while I’m there.