ciào for now

Pinnacles National Monument, East Entrance
April 16, 2009

I've been so active on Nature ID lately that I don't want to leave some of you hanging. I'm heading to Italy and will get back to blogging in a couple of weeks. Sorry, most travel pics aren't posted here since they're outside of my "local nature" criteria for this blog. "Local" is defined as within a couple hours drive from the Central Coast of California. I'll publish your blog comments and reply once I return.

I spotted the first crane flies of the season in our stairwell last night. I'll be sad to miss capturing pics and posting the steady procession of at least 5 different crane fly species in the coming weeks. It's really quite a sight and I've been planning to document the timing of the different crane fly emergences since I started this blog last year... but who can say no to Rome?

As a heads up, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is hosting the 49th Annual Wildflower Show, with much hard work by the local Monterey Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, on Friday, April 16-Sunday, April 18, 2010, 10am-5pm each day. It's well worth the $3 donation if you're interested in native plants! Usually, there are easily over 675 species and considering our spring rains, I'm expecting a bonanza year. I suggest going first thing Friday when all the cut wildflowers are still fresh. Vern Yadon, former director of PGMNH and author of Wildflowers of Monterey County initiated this annual wildflower exhibition and despite his gaining years is dedicated to spending an exhausting Thursday before the show-opening to ID every plant specimen brought in from the area (note: for some rare plants, he's managed to grow in pots to avoid the whole cutting issue). The CNPS members sell recommended plant ID books and will answer your questions. Last year I researched online and figured the CNPS's show is consistently the 2nd largest in the world, in terms of identified, wildflower species count. The granddaddy of them all is Western Australia's Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show. Some wildflower shows in South Africa are impressive, but they don't seem to be as consistent.

May you all enjoy the early weeks of spring's blessings!

I miss sunny sunrises.

sunrise from home
March 12, 2010

posted 06/22/10 - The marine layer seems to have settled in for the summer around here. Some people call it June gloom. To see what this is like, see an earlier posting. Quite frankly, despite the lack of sun, I'll take the cool coastal fog any day over the 90+ degree weather inland. However, I'm starting to get sentimental about seasons again. The picture above is to add a little sunshine to my morning.

snakefly
Agulla sp.
Order Neuroptera > Suborder Raphidiodea

Every spring I find at least one or two snakeflies resting in the early morning on our balcony. They never seem too eager to fly away; maybe it's chilly out for them or they're still groggy from a previous day's activities. I scooped this one up in my favorite flat container with plans to look at him under my dissecting scope and test whether a decent e-picture can be had through a scope lens. I kept him for a couple hours in the office until the sun came up, but he escaped through a miniscule hole in the container and promptly sat next to my computer. Unfortunately, the morning got away from me and I settled for taking a pic on a sheet of white paper as the sun was rising. I especially like the prehistoric-looking shadow in the second picture. I let him go, but by late afternoon, this fellow was back on the office window looking in on me when I returned to my computer.

Wikipedia says they are now in its own Order, but I'm old school and still consider it a neuropteran, aka nerve-winged insects. Jerry Powell and Charles Hogue state there are at least a dozen species in CA.

ps 04/07/10 - For a truth in advertising confession, the last pic was actually from the early morning (as evidenced by the direction of lighting) and not in the late afternoon. For a pic of another snakefly sighting, see today's post.

pss 03/25/11 - I spotted my first snake fly this year on our balcony today. Simply recording my observations.

an edited blog update

In the past week, I've added over 30 backdated posts from recent outings and some as far back as 2006. Remember, Nature ID posts reference actual dates of observation.

I've developed the bad blog habit of editing, deleting, correcting IDs, and adding labels and ps notes (formatted mm/dd/yy). Unfortunately, google reader and other subscription services can't keep up with my prolific changes and will still show old or deleted posts. Apologies if my editing causes some links to not work properly.

Nature ID has been accepted to Nature Blog Network, not to be confused with the more scientific blogs on Nature Network or the facebook app NetworkedBlogs (I'm no longer on facebook, so this was a fail). I've added the NBN badge to my site in the sidebar under followers. Generally, I'm not a big fan of widgets, applications, or so-called networks, but I think Nature Blog Network is worthwhile. Check it out!

ps 03/12/10 - My husband suggested I add links to the 30+ new and edited posts, so here's a partial list:
* about Nature ID
blue butterflies
x: Carmel Valley Road
x: Garland Ranch Regional Park
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Nuttall's milkvetch