Complements

We explored trails around Oakland Camp on Sunday and found most snow melted and stirrings of animal activity.  I brought home a couple of Stellar's Jay feathers from a site that looked like a jay was somebody's meal.  Saw a few spiders, but it's still winter.  As I write this, we're expecting another storm tonight probably bringing snow.  This morning there were some dramatic clouds and a great rainbow.  During the afternoon the wind picked up and the temperature dropped.  Looks like lots of invertebrates might have to descend into the soil again. 

More omissions

 Lo and behold, I find that two photos intended for my previous post did not load.  I might need some tech help to discover whether I'm being careless, or if I can blame some other entity for these omissions.  The above photo includes two slugs that were enjoying (I think) hanging from the under surface of a Pecky-cedar board.  The local temperature must have been a good 20 degrees or more above the air temperature above.  I love how small invertebrates, and even some small vertebrates, identify and take advantage of small spaces with suitable conditions for living when conditions nearby are not.
 The photo below shows a Raven that had just taken off from a corral fence.  I sent this one to a friend to point out the 45-degree taper at the trailing edge of the tail.  I was lucky to capture the bird at all, much less to get a shot barely clear enough to show that feature.  I'm not a practiced bird photographer.  Ironically, a few minutes later I stopped to check my mail and walked to within 10 feet of a Raven that was busy browsing a dumpster.  I could have taken a close-up, but the camera was in my car.

Note-taking with a Camera

 When I leave the house with my camera, it's not always with the goal of capturing gallery-worthy images.  Sometimes I think of it as a lazy way of taking notes.  We're in another one of those periods that one might call "between storms."  We don't know if spring is really here, or if another blizzard or two will materialize.  In that spirit, when we have a relatively warm day I wander around to see if any plants or animals are waking up, cautiously testing whether spring is here.  The top photo, taken at the side of North Mill Creek Road, is of new leaves of Filaree or Storksbill, one of the first hardy weeds to emerge after a snow melt at this elevation.  Filaree is a kind of wild geranium.

 The next item that stood out against a mostly brown layer of last year's weeds was a shiny penny.  When I was a kid, such a discovery was considered a source of good luck.  On this day, what first came to mind was that at today's copper price, it costs about 1.7 cents to make a penny.  Somehow that doesn't seem like a symbol of good luck - unless you run a copper mine.  I left it there.

 Then I came to an area with lots of pieces of bark and old boards more or less embedded into the surface.  They looked like they had been undisturbed long enough that they might be good hiding places for the first ground-dwelling invertebrates to approach the surface safely.  I tipped over a few and found Earwigs, including a pair that had just mated or were about to.  Not the difference in size of the pincers, the male being the one with the larger pair.

 Under a nearly rotten board I found a very young Pill Bug.  This one was no more than 1/8 inch long.  They have direct development so the tiny young have the same basic anatomy as the adults, the latter reaching lengths of 1/2 inch or more.

Either I'm being careless or my blogging software is rebelling because the last photo I thought I had loaded is not here.  It was a pair of slugs on the underside of a Pecky-cedar board.  If I find the photo worthy of the trouble, I'll put it in my next post.

Omission

For the previous post I numbered the photos one through twelve, then discovered that number two did not post.  Here it is.  About a half mile south of the spot where I photographed Lassen Peak I spotted this great Osprey nest on top of a California Incense Cedar.  Most of the trees along this stretch seem to be around 200 feet tall.  How did I spot this nest?  By not looking at the road as carefully as I should.  In spring, when I get more daily practice, I usually drive right on by a sighting like this until I find a safe place to turn around, then come back and park only in a safe place and walk to a good place to take the photos.  Honest!  Now, you do the same.  I don't know my bird nests really well, but I'm guessing this one's Osprey because of the location and the fact that I've seen Osprey in this area.  I've seen Bald Eagles on the other end of the lake, but never here.  I would imagine that residents and Audubon Society regulars know this nest and its residents like neighbors.

A Sunny Drive

 Another glance at Lassen Peak before heading south toward Quincy, and again I reminisced on the many times I've made the hike to the top experiencing all kinds of weather and meeting interesting people from 8 to 80.  One time while hiking with high school students we suddenly had an electrical feeling not unlike that from rubbing a balloon on one's skin.  There was a northwest wind and we had the feeling something scary was going to happen, so we headed down the trail as quickly as possible without risking life and limb.  The feeling increased and we all felt our hair stand up.  Just as we got to our van we saw the first lightening bolts strike the peak.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Like today.

 As I approached Canyon Dam, I began to see the great Sugar Pines that one sees for a couple of miles along Highway 89 in that area.  To someone who grew up back East, Sugar Pine Cones never lose their appeal.  We have a dozen or so around the house, and it never fails that when we have a guest from the East Coast, we have to give one or more away.

 The pattern of branches near the tops of Sugar Pines is fascinating, too.  Sometimes the longest branches are near the top, that spread out look contradicting the stereotypical taper toward the top of the trees we used to draw in elementary school.  Sometimes it's easy to identify Sugar Pine from a mile or more away.

 The one in the center of this photo might have been trimmed by a lightning strike.  The trunk looks thick right up to the top where it probably broke off.

 From the same spot, in anther direction, I spied an Incense Cedar with some impressive clusters of Mistletoe near the top.

 This relatively young Sugar Pine was particularly dense with cones.  Maybe next fall this will be a good place to add to our collection of gifts for our East Coast visitors.

 As I approached the Greenville Y, I shifted my attention to things on the ground.  First, I tipped over pieces of bark hoping to find bugs, but  it was still a bit chilly.  I did find this beautiful pattern of Slime Mold.

 A large rock that I check nearly every time I pass by this spot is already sporting a nice early crop of mosses and lichens.

 The moss in the center of this shot shows the sporophyte and gametophyte generations of the moss and a nice patch of lichen to the left.

 Another attractive lichen.  Click on this to see more detail. 

An impressive demonstration of microclimates was here on this talus slope.  The air temperature was probably in the 40s, but the larger pieces of basalt were well over 100 degrees, hot to the touch.  Bugs will be rising to these warm places soon and the lizards and salamanders will not be far behind.

A Sunny Day

This was one of the more inspiring views from my trip to Susanville yesterday.  I'm posting this shot as a reminder to tell the rest of the story before day's end.  Every time I look at the mountain from the East Shore of Almanor I review my adventures in days past of the various hikes I've taken to the top and of the first time I climbed down into the crater.  In the mid-60s I remember there was still steam coming out of some of the cracks.  To a flatlander from Massachusetts, that was very exciting. 

Around Fredonyer Pass

 Despite the cold weather, the south-facing slopes around Fredonyer Pass were picking up enough heat from the sun to hint at spring. Here the Mahala Mat looks a little yellowish, but will become a darker blue-green later.  The flower buds are showing, though, and I'm confident that spring will arrive eventually.

 There are some great lichens near the summit, this patch on a fallen-limb of California Incense Cedar. 

 The Juniper had lots of healthy-looking berries, but the foliage is rather dull grey.  Presumably it'll green up soon. 

 Here's a juniper dwarfed by a tall Incense Cedar.  Lots of lichen near the top. 

 This chimney has been standing longer than I have.  It's a couple miles west of Fredonyer Summit.  Used to be a Chevron station among other things. 

Near the chimney. this is the view southward toward Quincy.  These photos are from Thursday's trip.  I went to Susanville again today, but the new set of photos and story will have to wait until tomorrow.  I picked up a serious sore throat and I've been fighting an eye infection.  It was sunny today, so I got some nice photos.  A good night's sleep will put me in the mood to tell about them tomorrow.