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Crotalus helleri

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JR3
rattlesnake

It was a snakey day in the Park today! Greg Nemes kicked off the Junior Ranger program with a session on snakes. We didn’t see any live specimens that hour, but he found a toad to show the kids.

A short time later, Ranger Allison was removing a rattler from the bridge over Stokes Creek, and throughout the afternoon at the VC, lots of visitors came in to report rattlesnake sightings. (Also seen that day: a bobcat and a mountain lion!)

Cercocarpus betuloides

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Cercocarpus betuloides

Mountain mahogany is one of my favourite chaparral shrubs. Right now, clusters of yellow flowers are attracting hummingbirds, butterflies—and nature journalers! It’s especially notable for its long, feathery seeds that curl like delicate spirals and glisten in the sunlight. The name Cercocarpus translates to “fruit with a tail,” a nod to these distinctive seed plumes. Despite its name—given for the dark, mahogany-colored bark—this native plant is actually in the Rose family.

Steatoda nobilis

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Steatoda nobilis

Thursday is yard work day, when we fill two green bins with oak leaves and offcuts, chipping away at the accumulation that’s been filling the carport. As I shovelled the leaves into the bin, lots of fat false widow spiders crawled out of the mulch, including this seven-legged mama.

Steatoda nobilis is native to Madeira and the Canary Islands from where it is thought to have spread to Europe, and continued to spread to other parts of the world including the United States, Chile and Colombia. It is now regarded as one of the most invasive spider species globally. It is considered moderately medically significant, with most bites causing symptoms comparable to those of a bee or wasp sting.