Just a little caterpillar making their way through the grass on dewy fall morning. Enjoy the journey and have a great day.
Tag: ecology
In the Fall Grass
Despite the fact that mornings are starting to dip below freezing, this little guy is still hanging in there and looking quite comfortable with his antennae blowing in the breeze on a colorful fall morning.
Just Rosy
After 4 days of drizzle, rain, drizzle, rain..a rosy sunset was well…just rosy. Photographed in the Bunsby Islands off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.
Three bee salad
A favorite at picnics near and far.
Take three bees, an assortment of flowers, dash of pollen and splash of nectar, blend together and voila, a fine little dish recreating the bounty of summer.
Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend.
The fruits of their labor
Working hard from spring through summer the plants have done their thing. Now all that hard work is proudly on display.
The Choke Cherries have ripened and will provide food for bears and birds and even a human or two.
The Oregon Grape has produced berries of purple-blue that will help feed the grouse and pheasants as well as waxwings.
The wild rose has a a tough go of it as these bushes are a favorite food of deer. These Rose Hips were hanging high on the only branch not trimmed low to the ground by a local family of deer. A mother Mule Deer and her two fawns can really make quick work of a rose bush.
The snowberry bushes are numerous and cover the forest understory. This year they have done well and the berries will provide food for songbirds, game birds and many small mammals as winter rolls into town.
The plants have been busy and the fruits of their labor show.
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant: Cleome serrulata
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant: Cleome serrulata was a wonderful late blooming wildflower near us this year. It drew numerous species of bees, and butterflies, from near and far and always had visitors when in bloom providing pollinators with a generous sip of nectar.
Growing up to 4 ft tall Bee Plant stands out in the fields of tall fall grasses.A beautiful and very sculptural wildflower Bee Plant is fun to photograph as well.
According to the USDA “Cleome serrulata is an important cultural plant for many Southwestern Indian tribes. The young, tender shoots and leaves are good sources of vitamin A and calcium. In the past they were used as potherbs or medicinally as teas for fevers and other ailments. The seeds were ground and used to make gruel or bread. The Navajo still use the plant as a source of yellow-green dye for their beautiful wool rugs and blankets. Many pueblo tribes use a concentrated form of dye, made from boiling the plant into a thick black resin, to paint designs on pottery or for decorating their baskets.”
On this particular afternoon the little green sweat bees were enjoying the plant to no end.
Every flower seems to have a visitor.
And one last look as even the bee fly mimics got in on the action.
Good as Gold
The Aspen tress are doing their thing and a day spent soaking it up is an experience as good as gold.
Happy fall to all.
Three billion birds.
The findings of a study published yesterday in the Journal Science demonstrate that North America has lost 30% of it’s birds population since 1970. The authors of this study suggest that this loss of almost 3 billion birds is like a canary in the coal mine and conclude their abstract with the statement “This loss of bird abundance signals an urgent need to address threats to avert future avifaunal collapse and associated loss of ecosystem integrity, function and services.”
National Geographic summarizes the Science article well touching on the reasons why bird populations are in decline and why birds matter.
Habitat loss in the name of development another example of a fools progress.
Another strip mine, another strip mall. The human population is striping the planet bare. Time to take action and make sure your local governmental representatives at all levels work to protect habitat, the environment and the future of every species that inhabit the planet.
Like fingers
A wonderful and unusual fungus growing like fingers from the earth along the path of old tree decomposing lying just below the earths surface.
There were several cluster each with a wonderful beauty that made us ponder life myriad forms. Each form with a place and each important to the whole.
The diversity of life is natures greatest gift.
On the forest floor
After a mile or two of a hike that began in tall grassland and meadows we suddenly entered a stretch of trail that wound it’s way through a luxuriant forest filled with treasures of all kind. From beautiful Woodland Pinedrops to what seemed an unending variety of ground covers, the landscape was transformed. From dry to wet, from brown to green, you never know what you’ll find on the forest floor.
Unusual fungi and tiny white bells.
Life took many forms and all play a part in the ecosystem of the forest floor.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend and some time to explore.
nature has no boss 
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