Papilio rutulus
Tag: smmnjc
Malosma laurina
exoskeletons
At first we thought it was a dead tarantula, high and dry on a rock. The others hiked on ahead while I stopped to examine it more closely. All the parts were hollow and feather light, in fact they started blowing away in the slight breeze once I poked at them. Pretty sure I was looking at a recent molt. The pedipalps are especially cool. I brought them home with me 😁
Sambucus mexicana
I thought I was familiar with elderberry’s thin, soft leaves, so it was a real surprise to feel the thick, leathery leaves on this shrub. I don’t know if this is an outlier, or I have simply been unobservant till now. More data needed.
bark study
Liriodendron tulipifera
Our club joined up with the Channel Island Nature Journalers for a visit to the local botanic gardens.
on a log
A dying tree supports so much life—insects, lichen, fungi, bacteria, reptiles, plants, small mammals. I sat by this log and recorded a few of the organisms I could easily see.
Rhus aromatica
inside outside
boring
We offered a beginner’s class at Nature Journal Club today, and thirty people came! After spending an hour learning the basics, everyone wandered off to journal their curiosity. Having just done a training on identifying invasive borer beetles, I was interested to record some data about insect activity on a fallen oak log. Boring? Nope, fascinating!
