KVelligan
@kvelligan.bsky.social
Defend what you love. Read, contemplate, the read some more.
Found this little dude on my outdoor table today (it’s glass - that why it looks like it’s floating). I think it is Phidippus adumbratus. It was gone before I could get a better picture. It was about a half inch long. Jumping spider!
Snake sunbathing on the trail. Probably a black diamond or Southern Pacific rattlesnake.
Penstemon newberryi known by the common name mountain pride or Newberry's penstemon. Favorite flower of John Muir.
Shortly after seeing the iridescent clouds, there was a huge flick of birds circling. I couldn’t tell what kind they were.
Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. Also called Irisations after the Greek goddess Iris, goddess of rainbows and messenger of Zeus and Hera to the mortals below.
A covey of California quail (Callipepla californica) out searching for snacks
Yes, you’re totally hidden. I never would have notice that fluffy butt sticking out if I hadn’t seen you run in there. 😂🐰
Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Native to Western North America, from South California to Southern British Columbia and Alberta. 🦋 🌿
I'm endlessly fascinated by how life shapes life. When the Earth Was Green grew out of that affection. 🌱
When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
bookshop.org
The Eminent Cake@eminentcake.northsky.social · 12mo agoWhen the Earth was green by Riley Black @restingdinoface.bsky.social is a brilliant weaving of science and storytelling that takes you through the interlinking of plants, animals and their environment through time. 🧵
From the native garden: Solidago or goldenrod starting to bloom. Gonna have a bee palooza here pretty soon 🐝🌿
The diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus). Native to the California Floristic Province in the states of California and Baja California. It eats fungi growing under rotting tree bark and is frequently found under oaks. Lives long for a beetle - 8 years. It is flightless, with fused elytra
Transitioning to day. The Sierra Nevada never disappoints.
Sun on the wings of this raven look indigo blue, reminding me that scrub jays and Steller’s are also in the Corvidae family 🌿🪶
Pods starting to burst open on the milkweed and release the seeds with their silky hairs. Note the red and black milkweed bug on the dry pod. More info in alt text. 🌿
Now blooming in the native garden: Eriogonum fasciculatum - California Buckwheat. Drought tolerant, important for pollinators, erosion control benefits, post wildfire mitigation, used in a variety of indigenous medicines. The flowers turn a lovely rust color in the fall.
From the native garden, now blooming: California aster. Corethrogyne is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its only species is Corethrogyne filaginifolia (syn. Lessingia filaginifolia). There does seem to be a ground cover variant, but mine are tall
Walk down any street in Los Angeles and the majority of plants and animals you see are non-natives. Biologist Craig Stanford walks us through the native and introduced mosaic of flora and fauna in L.A.’s unique and extensive wildland urban interface and their impact on its ecosystem 🌿
Hello beautiful! Do you like the narrow leaf milkweed I planted for you? Are you laying eggs so your little caterpillars can feast? 🐛 The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. The caterpillars only feed on narrow leaf milkweed.
Adelpha californica, the California sister, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. They are common in California, but can also be found in western Nevada and Oregon, as well as in northern Baja California.
The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. This one was at the old sawmill pond in Verdi, Nevada 🪶🌿
Argemone munita - commonly called flatbud prickly poppy and chicalote. "Munita" means "armed", in reference to the many long prickles. Native to California, also extends into Baja California, Arizona, and Nevada. Similar looking to Matilija poppies with their “fried egg” flowers
Pussypaws(Calyptridium monospermum, synonym Cistanthe monosperma). Native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California
