View allAll Photos Tagged treebeard
This is an interesting little Syrphid Flower Fly (family Syrphidae, order Diptera) on flowers in the mint patch of the garden. If you look close, you can see that its lapping blue pollen from a stamen. I believe the little fly with the Popeye-like enlarged femurs is genus Syritta or Tropidia in the subfamily Eristalinae. See this photo from last year. HFDF! (San Marcos Pass, 19 August 2016)
This little group of trees reminded me of a scene from lord of the rings when Treebeard called for a meeting with the other ents.
This is a collage of photos of the same Slime Mold (Myxogastria, Myxomycetes) in the woods over the last week. I believe they are the genus Stemonitis, all shot on the same well-rotted fallen branch of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae). I got the photo on the left of the egg-like plasmodia a week ago on January 12, here. Then the plasmodia ripened into chocolate-colored "hot dogs on a stick" the next day on January 13, here. Then the new sporangia started releasing spores on January 14, here. Then I skipped a few days as the sporangia didn't change much, but by January 19 yesterday, you can see that the sporangia (with raindrops!) have been releasing their spores - "flying Mother Nature's Silver seed to a new home." It's a neat progression that shows how these microscopic critters get from one decomposing branch to another fresh one. See this photo for a bit more info about these fascinating creatures. (San Marcos Pass, 19 January 2018)
Just these two photos today, as I'm computer-weary after working all day on the newsletter for the Santa Ynez Valley Natural History Society all day. I'm just about done. I'll send it out to a few society board members for review and comments tomorrow and hopefully get it to the printers on Monday. It was cold and too windy for photos today anyway as our small storm blew through, good timing.
I Absolutely love this funko . I was realy sad when I learned I had missed out on the Funko POP! 6": Lord of The Rings - Treebeard. So when I found out that this time it was going to have merry and pippin on top of treebeard i just had to get it.
The Lord of the Rings
Pop! Super Treebeard with Merry & Pippin #1579
ENT
Battered, weathered, persevered. Defied man, nature, time, wars and is still going strong.
(c)2018 martijnvandernat.nl all rights reserved
Here is a little Crab Spider (Thomisidae) on a new flower of native Telegraph Weed (Heterotheca grandiflora) in the Asteraceae plant family growing in our canyon today. The spider is posed like the diamond ring effect of the recent eclipse! The composite plants are kind of weedy, mostly growing along roads, photo here - but they are native. This is the first flower I've seen, at least in our canyon. I believe the spider is genus Mecaphesa because of its hairiness. I believe this one is male with those enlarged palps. (San Marcos Pass, 2 September 2017)
This is a tiny Trashline Orbweaver (genus Cyclosa, Araneidae) spider on its web, with raindrops from our rain last night. Usually these spiders hang upside down in the center of their webs, but this one has been displaced by a water drop! This one has a clean web, but in time it will develop a "trashline" of the bodies of its prey along the midline, see this photo. I've just started to see these spiders this year - or am I just starting to notice them? Arachtober 28. (San Marcos Pass, 28 October 2016)
This is an unusual view of a large Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia, Oxyopidae) on a stem of California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum, Polygonaceae). This green spider is actually straw-colored - they are highly variable. I had a Silver Argiope (Argiope argentata, Araneidae) spider all lined up in the buckwheat to be my first Arachtober photo, and ... just yesterday the phone company people walked all over it! (It was near the base of a power pole.) I hope the spider is still there, just hiding for a day from the trauma. Oh well, I showed a Green Lynx Spider as my last photo for Arachtober last year, so it's appropriate that it be my first photo this year. It's a treat to be on the prowl for new spiders every day this month. Arachtober 1. (San Marcos Pass, 1 October 2016)
It was another pleasant day with the temps mostly below 80°. There was some wind, and that's expected to become worse over the next few days.
“Side? I am on nobody's side, because nobody is on my side, little orc.”
The Two Towers:
digital tip jar: buy me a coffee
I believe this is a native terrestrial Land Snail (Gastropoda), probably a Shoulderband Snail, genus Helminthoglypta in the family Helminthoglytidae. I found it under loose bark on a log in a woodpile. The snail took off - moving at a "snail pace" of course, but still too fast for the low light at the time. I took a lot of photos, and this one is not too bad. This is a native snail and NOT one of the pesky Garden Snails that are so common in the lowlands. I often find their empty shells (like this), but I rarely find them alive and crawling like this. I believe they are mostly nocturnal and stay out of sight. (San Marcos Pass, 11 December 2018)
There were no more clouds today, but there were no big winds as expected either. We're still under a NWS Wind Advisory until noon tomorrow. The woods are starting to feel dry, so this may be the last day to photograph what the rain brings . . . at least until our next rain arrives. That may be as soon as Sunday night - but maybe not.
Here is another yellow Crab Spider (Thomisidae) on a flower of native California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia aka Lessingia filaginifolia, Asteraceae) in the woods today. This is a White-banded Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes) or a Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia), see this photo and this photo. Arachtober 28a. (San Marcos Pass, 28 October 2023)
Quite the build: - Treebeard striding through the forest of Fangorn--his forest, as non-hastily as possible.
Difficult build for the time, but it's finished. ~God Bless
This is a tiny Lace Bug in the family Tingidae (Heteroptera, Hemiptera) on a leaf of Trask's Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon traskiae) in the Boraginaceae or Hydrophyllaceae plant family. It looks slightly different from the usual lace bugs that I find on Wild Sweetpea - more spiky and less bumpy, compare this photo. I wonder if they are plant-specific? These bugs have remarkable net-like lattice-work on their body that reminds me of shogun-era samurai armor - but it also looks like bubble-wrap! There's a skinny bug inside the armor. You can see its antennae on the left. (San Marcos Pass, 21 April 2015)
Update, 22 April - I guess they are plant-specific. Alice identifies this as Corythucha eriodictyonae and I found it on a Eriodictyon shrub. BugGuide lists a slew of different species on different host plants. I'll have to come back sometime and look for the one on our native sweetpea.
This is looking close at a detached petal of native Late-flowered Mariposa Lily (Calochortus fimbriatus) in the Liliaceae plant family, showing the inside of the flower. You an see one of the nectar glands that form bumps on the outside of the petals, see this photo. These glands produce nectar which attracts insects. Yep, these fantastic plants are still lowering in our summer-dry mountains. They are slowing down in the higher mountains where I got this shot, but they are just starting to flower in the canyon at home. This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Member's Choice: Texture" - HMM! (East Camino Cielo, Santa Ynez Mountains, 13 July 2017)
This is looking close at shell fossils in a sandstone rock I found in the summer-dry bed of the Santa Ynez River. I don't buy postcards or coffee cups as souvenirs to remember my travels, but I do like to collect interesting rocks and fossils when I find them. This photo shows an expanse of an inch or two, but I have another photo of the whole rock here. It now lives in our garden. This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Souvenir". HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 15 October 2017)
Another early pre-rain hike today, this time on Mt. Seymour. I managed to find my way onto a shared mountian bike track (which meant a few quick jumps to the side), and came across a lot of Old Man's Beard.
This is the secret crown hidden in the throat of a garden flower of Rose Campion (Silene coronaria) in the Caryophyllaceae plant family. I'm sure it's a queen's crown with those royal colors! This flower has a crown or corona - think "coronation" instead of beer. In botany, the corona is an extra ring of flower structures besides the usual sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils - e.g. in milkweeds and orchids. I'm not sure if the crown in this flower counts as a botanical corona, but it's good enough to give this plant its species name. This is one of those "plant once, have forever" plants. I think we got it decades ago from my mom, and it's been coming back in different places in he garden ever since. Note that it hasn't spread to the woods. We also have the native Mexican Pink (Silene laciniata ssp. laciniata, Caryophyllaceae) in our mountains which has a similar corona on its flowers, see this photo. This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Queen" - HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 31 July 2017)
www.instagram.com/claudiogentil.fotografia/
Please do not "comment" with "group awards", "comment codes" or other types of ready-made phrases. Thanks.
Se decidir seguir pelo caminho em frente , não se esqueça de apagar suas pegadas. Se não souberem por onde anda, também não lhe poderão retardar.
Si decides seguir recto, no olvides borrar tus huellas. Si no saben adónde vas, tampoco podrán frenarte.
Si vous décidez d'aller tout droit, n'oubliez pas d'effacer vos traces de pas. S'ils ne savent pas où vous allez, ils ne pourront pas non plus vous ralentir.
Wenn Sie sich entscheiden, geradeaus zu gehen, vergessen Sie nicht, Ihre Fußspuren zu verwischen. Wenn sie nicht wissen, wohin du gehst, werden sie dich auch nicht aufhalten können.
もし直進することに決めたら、足跡を消すのを忘れずに。あなたがどこへ行くのか分からなければ、彼らもあなたを遅らせることはできないだろう。
"While I dance I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. That is why I dance."
~Hans Bos~
"Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!"
~Constanze~
We dance for laughter, we dance for tears,
we dance for madness, we dance for fears,
we dance for hopes, we dance for screams,
we are the dancers, we create the dreams.
~unknown~
--
Inspired by a dear friend, her love for a special tree, and her sensitivity and visionary abilities. Thank you!
This is a close shot of the gorgeous wings of a small Sonoran Blue (Philotes sonorensis) butterfly. This is a male. It's interesting that the lady butterflies in this photo are even more brilliantly colored than the gentlemen, which reverses the usual pattern with butterflies and ducks that the males are more brightly colored than the females. This is a tight crop of a wider image, see my [Next] photo (here) for the original. I looked for a female butterfly or to get closer to a male, but this shot from last Tuesday is the best I could manage this week. It will do as my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Orange and Blue" - though I'm not sure if the blue quite covers 80% of the image? Remove it if you have to, and HMM anyway! (San Marcos Pass, 28 March 2017)
This is a tiny Lace Bug (Tingidae, Heteroptera, Hemiptera) on a furry leaf of Trask's Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon traskiae, Boraginaceae). I believe this one is species Corythucha eriodictyonae, and it's probably host-specific. They really are small, about 750 pixels long in this 1:1 macro shot, which comes to 2.9 mm - less than 1/8 inch. (See here for how I figure.) We have different lace bugs on Wild Sweetpea that are bumpier and less spiky, compare this photo. These bugs both have remarkable net-like lattice-work on their body that reminds me of shogun-era samurai armor - but it also looks like bubble-wrap! You can see the eyes and antennae of the skinny bug inside the armor. (San Marcos Pass, 10 June 2019)
Here are front and back views of a remarkable Bee Fly (Bombyliidae, Diptera) that seems to have a face on each end! It's working a new flower of native (but weedy) Telegraph Weed (Heterotheca grandiflora, Asteraceae) in the woods a few days ago. I believe this fly is Geminaria canalis - there's nothing else is like it. You can see its long proboscis and true eyes on the left, but what's really remarkable are the those dark "faux eyes" on its back end that reflect light just like Jumping Spider (Salticidae) eyes. I have another nice shot of the whole fly in this photo, and see this photo to appreciate its value as mimicry. These unusual flies are never common, and this the first one I've ever seen in our home canyon. HFDF! (San Marcos Pass, 5 October 2020)
Old oak tree on the Tolkien Trail, Ribblesdale, in winter. The inspiration for the Ents of the Lord of the Rings, perhaps?
This is the shell of a native terrestrial Land Snail (Gastropoda), probably a Shoulderband Snail, genus Helminthoglypta in the family Helminthoglytidae showing its spiral shape. It's NOT one of the pesky Garden Snails that are so common in the lowlands. These are creatures of the winter rainy months and not the end of our dry summer, but I remembered this one from last year, and there it was right where I remembered it. (I may have another photo of the same shell from January 2.) The whole snail is about an inch across. I do find living snails in the mountains now and then, see this photo. This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Spiral". I agree, it's kind of an obvious response to the assignment, but I've been preoccupied with spiders lately! HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 22 October 2017)
This is looking close at the end-grain of a fossilized whale vertebra found locally - at least it's some kind of marine mammal. I believe this photo shows the matrix of the bone, transformed into tiny geodes. This whole scene is less than one inch across. I have a shot of the whole bone in my [Next] photo. As I recall, I collected this fossil a couple of decades ago near Point Conception in Santa Barbara County - but it's been a few years! It's probably of Miocene age. This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Member's Choice: Abstract Macro". HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 24 August 2017)
I found this impressive bottlecap-size Orb-Weaver Spider (Araneidae) in its hideaway in an apple tree on the wild edge of our garden. If you look close, you can see that it's touching a line to its nearby web, like using your index finger to sense the line while fishing. I believe it is genus Araneus with those paired humps, probably Araneus gemma or A. gemmoides. (These species are known to cross.) I have another photo of the same spider from a week ago here. It's a proper Halloween spider, and I hope it sticks around. Arachtober 4. (San Marcos Pass, 4 October 2019)
I think some trees, just like people, come to life in the offseason or Winter, when we can see better their true form. With this Broad Leaf Maple Tree, we can also see its many lichen beards and moss covered arms cantilevered and spreading out over the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.
I suspect this is the fly responsible for the maggots consuming the Honey Mushroom (Armillariella mellea) in my [Previous] photo. It's sitting just a few inches away from the mushrooms in in this cluster. It's about the size of a house fly. I guess that it's a Heleomyzidae fly in the genus Suillia, but I'm not sure. I'll keep trying to get a shot on the mushroom instead of on sandstone. HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 11 December 2016)
We did get a bit more rain last night and today, but just a bit, just half of 1/10 inch. That's enough to keep the oak mulch wet and the mushrooms happy - the saprophytes if not the more interesting mycorrhizal mushrooms. There are still rumors that a strong storm bring rain to us on Thursday and Friday. We stand at just 43% of normal rainfall, so we could use it.
(Update - I've never posted to the Macro Mondays group before, but it sure seems to generate visits!)
This another tiny Crab Spider (Thomisidae) waiting for prey on a leaf of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae). I honestly don't know what prey it expects to find here, but I've seen several of these spiders on oak leaves lately - there must be something. The general hairiness of the spider suggests that it is genus Mecaphesa - again. The spider is about 900 pixels long in my original photo at 1:1 magnification, so I figure it's 3.5 mm long - a bit over 1/8 inch. (See here for how I figure.) Those odd hairs on the leaf are the star-like stellate hairs that these leaves have. Arachtober 19. (San Marcos Pass, 18 October 2017)
This is a tiny mushroom growing from a fallen leaf of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae). I put my pen in the photo for scale, with a 0.7 mm ball - about half the size of the mushroom cap. If you want to be exact, the mushroom is about 400 pixels across in this 1:1 macro shot, which comes to about comes to about 1.6 mm. (See here for how I figured.) This is also my photo for the Macro Mondays group. The theme this week is "Redux 2016" aka "My Favorite Theme of the Year", and I reckon the theme "It's Alive" (Dec. 12) covers most of my photos, including this one. It might also fit the theme "Pencils, Pens, Erasers and/or Paperclips" (Oct. 10). I've only been participating in the group for two weeks, so I picked a theme I've used before. HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 25 December 2016)
(Hah - I just noticed that my photo is pretty suggestive too, but that was not one of the categories!)
Today was a nice enough day to be out with my camera, but it was cold - in the 20's last night, and only up to the low 40s today. It was icy this morning. The radar loop shows a cloud mass moving towards us, but the forecast says it will remain off the coast. Who's right?? It's cloudy right now, which may warm it up a bit - if it doesn't bring more rain!