FRC Scenic As Ever

Went out to Feather River College today to register my youngest son in his first two college classes. The paved walkway up to the main campus, a nuisance to many, is as scenic as ever. A great view of the new media center apparently guarded by some stately Mulleins on top of a dirt pile. After registering, we walked back to the car via the nature trail. Saw lots of ripe Gooseberries, but I was not satisfied with any of my photos of them in situ, so we brought some home and I staged a "still life." The path on the way up was decorated with some nice thistles, Stickseed, and the usual variety of great trees. On the nature trail, in addition to Gooseberries, there were some impressive patches of Dodder in the act of strangling its neighbors.

The Big Seven O!

Well, I turned 70 today and decided to stay home and relax. That decision didn't last long, though. Had a nice lunch on the front porch with my family, got some nice, home-made presents, then sat in my favorite stuffed blue chair. By mid-afternoon, though, the naturalist's itch struck again. I decided to drive out to the Golden King parking lot and see if the Gumplant was attracting any interesting new bugs. The Gumplants were blooming profusely all around the area, but no new bugs. I took a few photos, then decided to head further east on Highway 70. Roadside vegetation looked pretty dry and brown except for the stubborn Chicory and a few others that bloom late. I needed to get near water, so I headed down LaPorte Road toward the point where Big Thompson Creek emerges from Claremont Mountain. That was a good decision. The variety of wildflowers increased rapidly during the last mile as the influence of humidity became obvious. I hiked a hundred yards or so in every direction from my parking spot and found some beautiful photo ops. There was a patch of Bedstraw, Galium sp., that must have been 100 feet long. This square-stemmed, ground-hugging plant is covered with tiny little hooks so it feels sticky to the touch. Then I saw some patches of Yellow Sweetclover, Melilotus sp., and one branch was harboring a white Goldenrod Crab Spider. Several different species of Melilotus are called Yellow Sweetclover and I'm not sure which one this was. Then came the highlights of my wanderings - a great patch of Baneberry, Actaea rubra, and a few sprigs of American Brooklime, Veronica americana. I've only seen Baneberry once before, and I have never noticed it while it was blooming in the spring. The berries are such a bright red that they can't be missed. This is a poisonous plant, so don't be tempted. The berries look a bit like currants. It's a member of that very diverse buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It's interesting to note that Actaea is also a genus of crab. As for the Brooklime, this was the first time I'd ever seen it. At first, I thought it was gentian, but my Audubon guide straightened me out. It's in the family Scrophulariaceae.
Now that I've posted my day's wanderings, my birthday is complete.

More Pleasant Distractions

We gave up on "spring cleaning" this year because we couldn't figure if we actually had a spring. So, now we're doing "fall cleaning." I'm mindful of how many critters' homes I'm disturbing as I gather trash, clear brush, etc. I pretty much destroyed the habitat of this cute little Chorus Frog, so, after getting a few pictures, I placed her in a damp area of our flower garden. Besides these distractions on our property, I also bring my camera whenever I do errands, always hoping for roadside distractions. This ladybird beetle performing a hi-wire act sufficed. Last, another randomly-selected page from my larger Nature Journal. Still can't decide whether I prefer the 6" x 9" size or the 9" x 12". I guess I'll keep working in both.

What in the world is a "weed-like" plant?

While driving around American Valley this first week of August, one sees several different tall roadside plants with yellow blossoms. With not very good distance vision, I'm finding it fun to try to identify them while driving based on subtle clues. I'm seeing lots of Star Thistle, which most people consider to be a weed. Weed in the sense that it is non-native and invasive. That latter term I take to mean "grows where you don't want it to." It's in the same genus, Centaurea, as its more popular cousin Bachelors Buttons. Another common yellow blossom is St. Johns Wort. When it grows along the roadsides among weeds, it is often considered to be a weed. However, it's a native plant and allegedly has important medicinal properties. To many people it is definitely not a weed. Next, especially in the wetter spots by the roadsides, is Goldenrod of which there are several native species. My dad considered it to be a weed simply because it made him sneeze and get runny eyes. Last, the featured plant for this post, the Gum Plant, Grindelia nana. This is a native plant west of the Rockies and is most often seen by the roadsides. For that reason alone many would call it a weed. However, it is a native, and, I believe, quite beautiful. It also attracts a variety of interesting bugs including the Goldenrod Crab Spider. The Wikipedia article on it calls it a "weed-like" plant. I find that amusing. Either it's a weed, or it's not. And, it's NOT. Anyway, it bears close inspection. I found a great patch of it under the sign in front of Golden Dragon restaurant. It produces an attractive, yellow, daisy-like blossom, but, before that, the buds are surrounded by dense, re-curved bracts that remind me of some sort of elegant fishing lure. The buds each have a white pile of gunk that resembles a wad of gum - hence the name. The whole plant tends to look a bit wet and sticky, and this is actually an attractive feature when the surroundings are bone dry and most weeds have gone to seed and dried out. If you see a patch of gum plant in the next couple of weeks, it's worth a visit for close inspection and the chance that interesting butterflies, beetles, spiders, and other critters are visiting.

Nature Journaling Class Coming Soon

I'll be teaching Adventures in Nature Journaling through Feather River College six Saturday mornings beginning September 10. Here are a few pages from my nature journals. We'll be working with words, drawing, painting, and photography in whatever combinations people like. The main emphasis will be on improving our powers of nature observation, asking intriguing questions, and recording our experiences. E.mail me for more info. It'll be fun!

Amorous Arthropods.

I have never stopped by a patch of Showy Milkweed without finding something interesting going on. Today was no exception. As I am working on a pamphlet that explains the difference between bugs and beetles, it was particularly exciting to find examples of both mating, and then to find another arthropod couple "embraced" on the side of my garage when I returned home.

The Sunflower Family

Traditionally known as the Compositae, now known as the Asteraceae, the Sunflower family, or Aster family, is possibly the largest family of flowering plants on the planet. What we generally perceive as an individual "blossom" is actually a tightly packed cluster of flowers. The top three photos clearly show the composite nature of the plant, exhibiting both disk flowers (center portion) and ray flowers (outer "petals"). Some members of the family have only disk or only ray flowers. Why they would still be considered members of this family will be discussed in a later post. I took these photos with aesthetics in mind more than science. However, I'm now reading up on the science of this family and hope to share my findings soon. This past summer, I've been particularly fond of composites as favorite landing pads for beautiful insects, especially beetles. It's possible I'm favoring beetles in my photography simply because they're not quite as shy as butterflies.