Arquivos de periódicos de julho 2018

01 de julho de 2018

Numbers Game

Who's counting? Likely most of us! Amzapp has passed 5000 observations [congratulations!], Ellen5 is gunning for 10,000 (should we start a lottery on predicting the date? I pick Oct 3, inshallah!) I have enough pics un-uploaded to pass 1k, not that I know what the heck I photographed beyond animal, vegetable, or mineral.

No, numbers may not be the goal here but are a fun sideshow. :) Important? Nothing cosmic, but it can be motivating. A game within a game. And as somebody said, the object of life is to find a game worth playing.

Posted on 01 de julho de 2018, 08:09 PM by thebark thebark | 6 comentários | Deixar um comentário

02 de julho de 2018

My Favorite Observations!

For striking specimens, for first observations in an area, for serendippidy, here is a list of favs, to be, updated.

Some of the most interesting finds I misidentified or even failed to see in the photograph! Huge element of chance, particularly since I hardly ever spend more than 2-4 hours a week roaming about camera in hand. When I roam I move fast, taking a photo every 40-50 seconds on average. Who knows what I overlook?

Horse Crippler Cactus. Stumbled across one in bloom, here. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11405206 That such savagely-spined plant should have such a delicate flower! Seen 5 Horse-Cripplers so far, two at Dunbar Lake, three at Lubbock Lake Landmark, including the tame transplanted one in front of the building.

I love Feather dalea! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13785501 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13773234

James' Prairie Clover! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/12169399

Some plants are so neat and compact they are a joy to look at. Gordon's Bladderpods are like that. Oenothera sp. These Bluets: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13792858

Some observations turn out to be firsts for Lubbock. NONE of these did I identify myself.
Stemless Point-Vetch, beautiful and a first for Lubbock County and maybe the South Plains. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13785495
Cursed Crowfoot, same. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13766547 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13766546
Tainturier's Chervil, even less common. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10743210

An intimate interlude for two horned lizards in my yard. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/12336108

Posted on 02 de julho de 2018, 02:48 PM by thebark thebark | 3 observações | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

05 de julho de 2018

174 Species and counting!

It looks like we may go over 200 species for the area in plant species alone! Quite a tribute to the Civilian Conservation Corps that built the park and to the State of Texas and Lubbock Parks & Recreation that managed it, for allowing the area to go more or less untouched into the 21st century as a biological time capsule.

This comparatively pristine area is the crown jewel of Mackenzie Park and of the Lubbock park system. It is high time for it to be recognized as such.

We have two confirmed identifications of species not previously reported in Lubbock, Lubbock County, or the South Plains. There may be others in our data. Time will tell.

Congratulations, and thank you to our friends and supporters of this project. The work continues!

Posted on 05 de julho de 2018, 05:41 AM by thebark thebark | 5 comentários | Deixar um comentário

Change has come ...

... to Mackenzie Park Wilds. Well, most species will survive. For a while. And "a while" is all any of us have, whether individuals or species. The trampling and grazing of bison herds and woolly mammoths didn't kill off the species that survive in Mackenzie Park Wilds. Why should informed careful disk golfers?

Since it came out that one of the observed jaguars in Southern Arizona was killed and skinned, my expectation for the planet and the variety of life on it is even more pessimistic. And we want to spread our species out into the solar system? The non-finding of radio transmissions from far far off has led to a revision of ideas about whether we are alone in the universe and fueled new speculation that intelligent life [as we define it to include us, naturally!] is unique. I think SETI has found nothing because "intelligent" species like us poison themselves and their environment. They (we) use up resources, pollute, change climate, experience internal conflicts, overpopulate, facilitate disease, decline into addictions and apathy. The outer limit for the life span of intelligent species is probably quite short, and we may be nearing the end of ours. Maybe the life span of technological civilizations is 200 years. But enough of depressing thoughts.

We have dialog about this unique Lubbock area going on Facebook. Exchange of information and views. Everybody, feel free to join in. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1825012874221270/

Posted on 05 de julho de 2018, 07:08 PM by thebark thebark | 2 comentários | Deixar um comentário

07 de julho de 2018

Meet the Neighbors!

Starting a series of posts over on https://www.facebook.com/groups/1825012874221270/ called "Meet the Neighbors!" First one is Feather Dalea, already up. Already put up photos aplenty of Escobaria missouriensis and Lace Hedgehog cacti.

Next maybe Bigfruit Evening Primrose, sandmats, Downy Indian Paintbrush, Gordon's Bladderpods... What else?

Posted on 07 de julho de 2018, 10:22 PM by thebark thebark | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

08 de julho de 2018

A Never-Ending Story...

204 Species. This finally inputs all my observations in this area to-date -- 573 -- beginning back in March and ending June 29. Because I'm the worst identifier of our group and was truly guessing at some species, the total might be as low as the 190s. Dr. E.H. added 20+ new species and 50 observations this evening and they are rock-solid IDs by one of the best, and I think the Doc is caught up as well.

I am pleased that those last observations include a favorite genus of mine, Oenothera, I had hoped to see Oxytropis lambertii stubs among the mowed-down damaged plants on the caliche knoll but just didn't spot them. Maybe somebody else can. Maybe they'll come back and bloom next year. For me and likely for others, it began and ended as a labor of love, and as with all love stories there are elements of pain and loss. But it doesn't end, does it? This project continues...

Imperfect as it is, this survey of species -- think of it as a protracted bioblitz -- establishes a baseline against which future change can be measured. And it all was up until the last month quite inadvertent; after hours of exploration and hundreds of photos I received a hint in mid-May from a city employee that change was coming and the picture has clarified only in the last four days.

Posted on 08 de julho de 2018, 06:52 AM by thebark thebark | 1 comentário | Deixar um comentário

19 de julho de 2018

Mothing Week!

Amzapp and Ellen5 told us about moth week coming up. The black light moth attraction rehearsal at LLL Saturday evening didn't bring in any moths. What went wrong? I'm guessing it was because the moth table was set up under fairly bright lights, against a wall, on a concrete patio. where the light would have been visible at a distance for an angle of maybe 15 degrees, because the whole area facing the wall was at a higher level and the building cut off 270 degrees of view.

In the open, in the dark, maybe it would have been different.

I plan to try some black lighting in my yard. Will report back.

Here btw are some Youtube videos about black lighting.

https://youtu.be/cbKyHo6Y2-o

These use a fan or slow vacuum for collecting.
https://youtu.be/6ryVMHTZzmc Merc vapor light
https://youtu.be/8kGwWLrqqJw Black light

Flashlight. https://youtu.be/NpzywHMprWk

Storebought apparatus. https://youtu.be/jgQfZNawpT0 140 British pounds? Gasp.

Posted on 19 de julho de 2018, 01:35 AM by thebark thebark | 7 comentários | Deixar um comentário

Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel

literally, when I start posting drowned and dead insects. Need to get out more. :) Actually I have a couple of hundred photos I have not looked through for uploading and have been avoiding thinking about because they mean w-o-r-k.

Do plan to try some mothing out in the yard, see if I find any. Around midnight last night I saw something buzzing around some Bird of Paradise blooms under the streetlight, so I know there are critters out.

Good hunting, y'all!

Posted on 19 de julho de 2018, 08:18 PM by thebark thebark | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

26 de julho de 2018

Mothing Success, But Not In Identifying ...

The second outing with experienced moth-ers Amzapp and Ellen5 was a success, not only with the black light but with insects drawn to low power trail lights and additionally examining a long dimly-lit masonry wall with flashlights. Lot o' critters out, and multiple ways of attracting or finding them. (Did I disclose any secret techniques? Oh, well.)

But the process does not end with seeing and photographing. It ends with correctly identifying. And here I break down. Love Indomitable Melipotlis for the name and easy ID, and the Five Spotted Hawk Moth for the easy ID, but it is rough going with other moths. Or with most insects.

Looking over my observations in morning light I see that I uploaded the same photo twice, once identifying it as a Texas Gray and again as a Drab Brown Wave. This is worse than plants! I need to go back and check everything!

Posted on 26 de julho de 2018, 12:20 PM by thebark thebark | 8 observações | 17 comentários | Deixar um comentário

28 de julho de 2018

Palo Duro State Park Trip

Friday, July 27, was at unusually cool day, with temps starting out at 68 F and warming into the mid-80s with loud cover for half the day. I arrived by 0730 and phoned to arrange my meeting another photo-naturalist who beat me there by 15 minutes.

By the time we exited the park before 4 p.m., the two of us took nearly 500 pictures. I totaled about 190 over the 8 hours, well below my usual rate, but I tried NOT to log everything in sight but only the different and interesting.

Three things stand out from this visit.

(1) The park had pleasant surprise presents for us, four of them. I won't explain further but will let our observations speak for themselves when we get them posted.

(2) While I photographed only one moth, the number and variety of butterflies was awesome. Our photos are not adequate to fully show this, because we each spent much time chasing butterfies that ultimately got away. For our last 15 minutes we tried and failed to catch a photo of at least one Monarch.

(3) The plants were a surprise. Some really different from the plants in the Lubbock canyons.

(4) One objective was to find and photograph a Painted Bunting. Far easier said than done and we failed. But we kept moving. As my co-hiker said, it might be better to stay still and let the birds come to us.

Posted on 28 de julho de 2018, 05:26 AM by thebark thebark | 1 comentário | Deixar um comentário