Arboretum Butterflies and other odd insects

Walking the UW Arboretum allows many opportunities to see flowers, insects and animal in their own habitat. Here are some recent pictures I took on my last visit near Seminole Road.

Yellow flowers were blooming!

Japanese beetle finding lunch.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail!

Dew drops

Crane on duty.

The Great Web Escape

On a Friday evening, my daughter, daughter-in-law and I walked around the backyard with the dogs darting through the woods. All of a sudden, my dauther stopped in her tracks and screamed. There in front of her was one of the largest spider webs I had seen in the backyard. We all sort of freaked out for a second trying to think how big the spider might be. It had woven its web starting on the corner of a swingset, but yet it hung through the yard, away from the swingset. We could not see where that tricky spider had attached its silky web, but thought it must somehow be connected to a tree a few feet away.

The next morning it was cold, wet and just starting to rain when I walked the dog to the backyard again. Out of the corner of my right eye, I saw a movement. I jumped back thinking it must be that giant spider out cruising on its web.

I was wrong. It was a dragonfly that was caught in the web. It was struggling so hard to get loose. I flew back to the house and grabbed my camera as the rain started to come down harder. I tried to set up a couple pictures of the dragonfly, but it kept moving so fast and the rain was coming down, so I didn't do a good job getting a picture of it.

I realized that I didn't want the spider to eat the pretty dragonfly, even though I know how the food chain works. I took a stick and moved it through the web, freeing the dragonfly. It fell though, rapidly to the ground. Thrashing and turning, the web was still holding it captive. I moved the stick under the dragonfly until it could get its legs on the stick. Then it shook once and off it flew. Freedom!

I have now been told, that since I stole the spider's food, that it will come looking for me!

Ladies in the sky

As a biologist, sometimes I think I know enough about trees to understand them. I know these grand ladies have leaves and branches and xylem and phloem and roots that sink into the soul of the Earth. I understand photosynthesis and how trees give us life through sharing their circulation of gases with us.
What I don't understand sometimes is how the ladies in the sky survive year after year without someone tending to them. We worship to our roses, pluck pests off our tomatoes and mow the grass into neat little rows. But the trees are just there, doing their thing for us day after day. Of course, these ladies are also engaging habitats for the birds providing nooks, crannies and hollows for nests. They stretch their high wire branches just close enough so the squirrels can leap to safety. At the same time, some insects are chewing at her center, and yet she proudly stands. They shake, creak, and groan even bowing down to the ground in a grand curtsy to the wind.
Here is a poem about trees, that seemed to fit my thoughts on trees.

Think Like a Tree

by Karen I. Shragg

Soak up the sun
Affirm life's magic
Be graceful in the wind
Stand tall after a storm
Feel refreshed after it rains
Grow strong without notice
Be prepared for each season
Provide shelter to strangers
Hang tough through a cold spell
Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring
Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky
Be still long enough to
hear your own leaves rustling.

Pictures were taken in Livermore, CA at a winery.

Follow the Arrows!

While walking the dog in the neighborhood, I suddenly spotted a light blue arrow on the bike trail. As you can see, the arrows continued right down the path. They even went around the bend. What was this?

Was it something from workers who were looking to install cable lines? I kept following it to the main road.

Once I hit the main road and crossed, I was pleasantly surprised to find more arrows.

Then low and behold, I found this written on the sidewalk.

Yes, someone had chalked tadpole pond and drawn one last blue arrow pointing to the water. . This pond is not really a pond, but a spillway for excess water that pours off the streets when it rains. My curiosity piqued, I wandered down to the water. Tadpoles were everywhere! Thousands of them lay on the bottom, floated and darted around in the water.

The grass was already full of tiny frogs that had made the transformation into adulthood, although they were still very tiny.

What a wonderful idea! I am not sure if it was a parent with a child that made the arrows, or some children out on their daily bike rides, but they marked the spot so that everyone could enjoy these wonderful steps of a tadpole becoming a frog!

I have been unable to identify the frog yet, as it is so tiny and is just a gray color right now.

I have added a link to UW Madison's Field Guide to Frogs in Wisconsin. It is a site that is easy to use for children.

http://seagrant.wisc.edu/frogs/field_ids.html

I think we should have more arrow nature hunts in the neighborhood. Maybe I will add one of my own to the trail and mark a plant or tree for the children to find!

Teenage Squirrels

We looked out one afternoon to see a bunch of squirrels around the birdfeeder. After we looked at them for a few minutes we realized that they were young squirrels, teens, if you wish. They were not as big as the other squirrels in the yard. They had a grand time climbing, leaping, chasing and eating what tidbits were around.

Baby Blue

Hearing repeated chirping, I headed under the deck to investigate. There was a nest tucked up under the deck boards. I could just barely see the bird peeking out.

The nest had wires sticking out of it that the mother must have tucked in, maybe so they could hook up their IPods or computers.

After watching the nest, I learned that the baby bird was a Blue Jay. This is what the baby will look like when it is an adult. Credit for the picture is http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/33969  by juditu

I found a great website that has information on the Blue Jay. I like the site because it has pictures, videos, and also sound clips so that you can hear the Blue Jay sing. The site is called All About Birds.

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/id.aspx?spp=Blue_Jay&gclid=CJLPjcyL3qkCFUvCKgodPGaUYw

 

Here is a piece of information from this site.

This common, large songbird is familiar to many people, with its perky crest; blue, white, and black plumage; and noisy calls. Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and complex social systems with tight family bonds. Their fondness for acorns is credited with helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period.

 

I had no idea they helped move acorns around so that we had more acorn trees in the world.

Santa Cruz Nature Hike

12

Jun. '11

Santa Cruz, California has wonderous places to observe, touch and photograph nature. This seagull was taken when we were on a hike along the coast. The wind was in a nasty mood that day as it churned the water into foam, but the animals held their ground. The sea gull looked no worse for the wear, but we had frozen fingers and crazy wind swept hair.

While at the tidal pools, my cousin told me to put my finger into a sea anemone! It was one of the coolest things I have ever felt. The tentacles of the anemone slowly closed up around my finger and I could feel a suction type pull at my finger. My daughter said she wished she had a video of me because I was screaming I was so excited. They were beautiful there, just under a few inches of water, waiting for a fish or some other small organism to land in their tentacles. Here is a little info on anemones from the National Geographic webpage.
The ornately colored sea anemone (uh-NEM-uh-nee) is named after the equally flashy terrestrial anemone flower. A close relative of coral and jellyfish, anemones are stinging polyps that spend most of their time attached to rocks on the sea bottom or on coral reefs waiting for fish to pass close enough to get ensnared in their venom-filled tentacles.

Roots of a redwood. I just liked this picture because it showed the enormous roots that help a redwood survive. I am not sure how many thousands or hundreds of year old these would be. They almost look like deer antlers piled up or bones. A bit philosphical here, but we must learn to protect nature and the environment more than we do. I think we take it for granted. I would like others to see Santa Cruz they way that I got to see it when I visited.

Succulent Glory

12

Jun. '11

Succulent Glory

The heat of the Livermore, CA climate has only allowed my daughter to grow succulents on her deck. These two photos were taken when I was visiting her at the end of May. As a biologist, I am intrigued by the shape and form of these plants. In the top photo I was thrilled to see the silvery grey, green leaves that grow outward in radial symmetry. Such perfection can be found in nature, as there are few blemishes, if any on the leaves. The bottom photos shows her little garden and the other species that occupy the space. While there, I purchased a new succulent for her birthday, called a split rock. It looks just like a rock has been split into two pieces and new growth comes from the middle of the split. Awesome!

Succulent Information:Succulent (Latin: succos = juice, sap) plants from more than 60 families and 300 genera have evolved special water-storage tissues in thickened or swollen leaves, stems or roots as an adaptation to arid environments. By making the most of scarce available moisture, succulents can survive in habitats that are far too dry for most other plants.   http://www.succulent-plant.com/succulent-plant-families.html

The New Bird Species!

New Bird Species

After I started feeding the birds, I didn’t think it would be long before the squirrels learned that the food was floating near them. Here is a squirrel that William caught a picture of one afternoon when he got home from school. The squirrel was swinging and dangling to try to eat. He did get a belly full.

I also had a feeder hanging for goldfinches which was torn open. I am assuming the squirrel leaped onto the little white sack and hung on until it ripped open. Can’t you almost hear the squeals of delight knowing that food just landed everywhere!

I don’t mind the squirrels eating the food, it is there for all, but it does mean I have to buy more to keep everyone satisfied.

Squirrel Facts
Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis
At-a-Glance
• Mating: Polygamous
• Peak Breeding Activity: Two periods of the year—December-January and May-June
• Gestation: 44 days
• Young are Born: February to March and July to August
• Litter Size: 2 or 3
• Young Leave Parents: At 14 - 15 weeks
Number of Litters per Year: 1 or 2
• Migration Patterns: Year-round resident
• Typical Foods: Nuts, seeds, and fruits of hickory, beech, oak, black walnut, tulip tree, sugar maple, flowering dogwood, buckeye, wild grape, pawpaw, persimmon, butternut, and black cherry, also insects.
* Found on the Ohio DNR website http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/graysquirrel/tabid/6646/Default.aspx

Nimble Musicians

Cardinal breaking seeds.

Mona on a stroll.

Black capped chickadee

Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature has furnished them to the shame of art. Izaak Walton (1593-1683).

This week I loaded a bird feeder with food for song birds. To date I have seen robust robins, cardinals, blue jays, quick flying finches, sparrows and a black capped chickadee. Watching them made me realize how many birds I do know. Part of that is due to my biology degree, but the majority I learned while growing up with Grandma Violet and Grandpa Verne. I remember when they would come and stay in the winter or spring that they would put a birdfeeder on our picnic table. We would watch the birds fly in and eat. I learned many of the birds from spending afternoons with them. Sometimes they would pull out a birdbook and show me how to look them up. Yesterday in honor of my grandparents, I went to Half Price books and bought the book, Field Guide to Backyard Birds of the Midwest by Cool Springs Press. I have already been looking for new birds that I hope to attract over the summer, like a glorious purple finch, a common yellow throat or a flicker.

At school we had the luck of finding a baby great horned owl behind the soccer field hanging out in the tree. We did not see the mother anywhere, so were hoping that it was old enough to find its own mouse. It would follow us with its eyes, which was exiciting. I have never seen a baby owl that close. I did not have my camera, but another teacher said he will share pictures with me.

I have added a picture on Mona when she was scurrying around the deck this week. She has enjoyed the spilling over of the bird feeder. Her new territory is to run under our wood pile from the trees that fell over the winter. I am sure she will find many nooks and crannies to hide in there.

I was thrilled to find out that I have another chipmunk living on the back deck. Maybe this is their housing set up. ”You sleep out front and I’ll take the back bedroom.” My neice, Bo, has named the chipmunk Boda. Since I do not know which sex either of the chipmunks are, I do not know if there will be babies. What fun it would be to see a baby one peeking out from the flowers or under the deck!

Spring must be coming, because when the rain fell this week, a rainbow streaked the sky. I caught a picture as it started to fade. It must be good luck for Shamrock Lane! Now if I could only find that pot-o-gold!

Bracket Fungi

Spring in Wisconsin

Mona is back! My chipmunk made it through the winter. She was happily filling her cheeks with songbird seeds yesterday. Will they make her sing? She cheeps in the mornings while sunning herself on the rocks. She is fast and strong after this long, cold, winter.

Sucre, my dog, and I walked through the woods today to try to capture new plants emerging from the dirt. The fiddlehead ferns are still whorled pretty tight, but I am hoping they will all be open next week. I pulled an old one from the ground and was surprised that it still carried thousands of tiny spores. Survival of the fittest at its best.

In the woods I have small white flowers covering the ground like carpet. They have yellow centers. I do not know their name, but will find it out. There is also a mysterious plant that has palmmate leaves (3 of them) arising from a thick stem.

We cut up another tree today. Our third. We are becoming regular lumberjacks. Of course the wheelbarrow went flat twice during our work. We finally hauled everything by hand. I think this quote sums it up!

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~Margaret Atwood

Grass Awns Dangerous to Dogs

Sucre, our dog, was thrown into an unknown illness last week when we found out from the vet that he had a grass awn.
Short history: We found a lump Thursday night. Called vet on Friday. By Sat. it was baseball size and draining. Vet found a piece of plant in Surce’s skin. She was worried it would travel to his lungs and put him on pain meds and an antibiotic.

It turns out grass awns are nasty little devils that are part of a plant or a seed with a barb on it. Once it goes into the skin it can’t back out like the slivers we find in our fingers. They can travel to the lungs and cause pneumothoraxs and spine problems too. I did read that UW Madison Vet school was one of the best places to take a dog that had an awn. That made me relax a little bit.

So far Sucre is doing well. The wound is not healed, but it is no longer draining. We go back to the vet tomorrow after school. Hopefully she will declare him well.

Now, we need to rid our woods of any of the plants that cause these awns. Gaby, my friend, said she would crochet him a vest to wear!

Here are some websites in case your dogs are in the woods, or fields that may have these plants.

http://www.meanseeds.com/
http://drbarchas.com/foxtails
http://www.essfta.org/Health_Research/grass_awn.htm