The largest shell I find on our local beaches is the wavy turban snail. I was alarmed to learn that this gastropod is being harvested for food in growing numbers, with no oversight and no research. Sounds like another extinction waiting to happen. And before that, a radical decrease in the size of the turbans, as they pick off the largest ones.
This stone buddha has been beside a local trail for quite a few years. He is hidden when the weeds are lush and re-emerges as summer ends and the grasses die back.
I got to wondering about the triggers for a deciduous tree’s leaves to turn brown in autumn. How does an individual leaf decide to turn? And what makes one part of a leaf turn first? I’m humming along to The Byrds as I ponder.
When they say “annual average” rainfall … what does that really mean? Average over how many years? And with weather becoming more extreme year by year, does the referred-to “average” change every year? Does the term even have meaning anymore? Enquiring minds want to know.
I noticed a milkweed plant that was experiencing all its seasons at once. Nice!
I sat beside Century Lake and watched this bright little dragonfly return over and over to the same piece of bent grass. I decided she must want her portrait painted, so I obliged.
Whenever I see a curled leaf—especially in my garden—I get curious about what’s inside the burrito. In this case, I’m pretty sure it’s a tobacco budworm or fruitworm, neither of which I want in my veggie garden. Sorry little wormie!
Swatches rubbed from the plant material itself. Love all those tones!
The small and large feathers were so different in colouring and size, that I didn’t suspect they came from the same bird. I was trying to come up with a scenario as to why both birds might have lost so many feathers in the same place. My reference book, and iNaturalist, led me to the much more likely explanation.
I wonder who ate the meadowlark?
I’m an early-to-bed kinda girl, so I’m usually fast asleep by the time the creatures of the night come out to explore and hunt. I’d really love to see a ringtail, but the last live observation recorded in iNaturalist in my area was in 2014. (There was a roadkill recorded in 2022.) So I’m thinking my chances are slim, even if I become nocturnal myself.
It was a quiet day at the MCSP Visitor Center on Sunday, so I sketched these taxidermied specimens in between chatting with visitors.
hashiworks 