What Natural Selection Hath Wrought

All these photos make me think of mathematics, for some reason. First, from top to bottom, they are: Gopher Snake, Daisy with Two Guests (that I can see), White Alder, Mountain Dogwood, Spanish Clover, and Ponderosa Pine. Remember, you can click on any photo for a close-up - in fact, you can click twice for a closer close-up.
The Gopher Snake, West Coast version of what we used to call the Bull Snake in Florida, is dead. A victim of road kill. Kids in camp brought it to me and seemed thrilled to be able to safely handle it and hear what I had to say about it. These beauties can perform a very convincing imitation of a rattlesnake by hissing, coiling, spreading their jaws, and vibrating their tails in dry leaves. Many have probably been killed out of fear that they were rattlesnakes. Then there are people who will kill any snake if given the chance. Sad. Anyway, some kids are bringing this one home in a cooler, and they'll seek the proper materials to preserve it.
The daisy echos my previous post, "Flower within a Flower." I photographed it because I was intrigued by the unusual looking (to me) fly. I didn't notice the crab spider until I saw it on my monitor. Crab spiders, which can change back and forth from white to yellow, although slowly, make a living by appearing to be a flower which attracts pollinators - then, zap! I've often photographed the white phase against a yellow or green background and the yellow phase against a white background, and have even caught a few in the act of catching their prey.
I photographed two attractive leaves, the White Alder and the Mountain Dogwood, because I am trying to decide, as a teaching tool, whether I will use photos or actual pressed specimens. The actual specimens will dry out and their color will fade, so, in a way, photos are preferable. But there's something about being on the trails and collecting that is more attractive than photography. We'll see. Maybe give the kids a choice.
Spanish Clover, which also grows in my driveway, is a subtle beauty. A very small flower and a grayish-green foliage. There's something about the blossoms in the pea family, Fabaceae, that reminds me of human faces. Even if you could not describe an absent face in any detail from memory, it is easy to recognize a face when in its presence. It's almost always easy to recognize a member of the pea family.
Last, the pine cone. On the western slope of the Sierra, the dominant pine is Ponderosa, and on the eastern slope it's Jeffrey. In Plumas County, the passes over the Sierra Crest are not very high so these two pines cross over and intermingle. A little poem helps us tell them apart: Prickly Ponderosa, Gentle Jeffrey. This refers to the spines on the scales. You can see how the ones on this Ponderosa cone stick outward so you would not want to get hit with a thrown cone from this tree. The Jeffrey cones, however, are easy to use for touch football games. After looking over these photos, can you see why they make me think of mathematics?