The top and bottom are from last week, after a snowfall; the middle is from today. Most of the snow has melted in the interim, but there is still ice on the water, and the ground remains frozen.
2 Likes
There are some good books on the mussel ecology, such as Haag North American Freshwater Mussels. For a much more general-level audience, there’s always Russell the Mussel (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdIywaO8XRI). I’ve worked the most on the Pleurobema and Fusconaia group, but the lampsilines have the most impressive specializations for attracting the fish host, with Epioblasma grabbing the fish as the most dramatic.
4 Likes
If jaws could really fall like in cartoons I would be picking mine up off the ground – I just took Knox out, and straight ahead was the moon shining through a narrow gap in the dark clouds. I immediately thought, “The moon is there, so Jupiter should be right . . . there!” and there it was! which made me think, “Then Mars should be – there”, and there it was.
I scanned the sky for any stars, but – this is cray! – those three were the only lights in the sky.
Wild.
2 Likes
Last night, no more amazing occurrences of visibility – but Venus and Jupiter and Mars and Saturn were all in the sky at the same time, Venus so bright that it rivaled an airplane.
Tonight, just black.
4 Likes
Ten years ago I put a solar-powered transmitter on this male owl we named Sovereign. The transmitter just checked-in to a cellphone tower in Saskatchewan today so it looks like he’s down south for his 10th consecutive winter. Exciting! Unfortunately, it seems like the 3G phone network will be shut down in the province next March, so this may be the last we hear from our owl friends.
6 Likes
Beautiful! Thank you
2 Likes
By the way, thanks to all who commented with advice on my mouse problem…after releasing them much further away (from 0.6 to 8 miles) the number of trapped animals has dropped a lot! 
2 Likes
What an incredible creature! How beautiful! And intimidating!
And what a really cool project!
2 Likes
Just remember. It’s sand not snow. Though we did hit 34°f this morning. It was cold enough I wanted to open a tiny portal to hell in my bedroom for some extra heat. Played with the ouija board with 80s rock music playing backwards while eating my breakfast without saying a blessing over it.
3 Likes
There’s one (I forget if it was Nature Trail to Hell or I Remember Larry) that had “Satan eats Cheez Whiz” as a deliberate backwards message (the other of the two had “Wow, you must have had a lot of time on your hands”).
2 Likes
I heard of one that said “Playing songs backwards is bad for the record” back on vinyl.
2 Likes
The acorn and buds of the turkey oak.
Nice day to hike around 10 miles. Started off at 56°f and ended at 70°f.
6 Likes
Also today potentially found another fairly rare mushroom known as the Hixson’s Brittlegill. If so, it will be the most western distribution of this species known so far and the first one within 340 miles. It’s an older specimen. But found around 30 total today. I see a lot of brittle gills and though similar, I also realized it’s one I’ve not seen before.
5 Likes
Beautiful! The deer make it more peaceful, too. I wonder what temperature @adamjedgar has in Australia now.
We have a lot of snow, still, too, though Saturday we are supposed to have 47 degrees. My nieces and nephews are visiting from North Carolina, and a nephew from Canada; so we’re sort of in between. My North Carolina relatives were excited to throw snowballs, sled, and make a snowman.
Merry Christmas!
4 Likes
I think I could be jealous of someone who can see deer from their kitchen window.
Richard
4 Likes
Beautiful! Is that also a slender bird–grouse? standing on the snow in the foreground or just a piece of branch playing tricks with me?
3 Likes
If she had a walk-in freezer she could just leave the door open and leave a trail of deer food to it. But I’m with the millennials on this one, grocery store meat is good with me.
3 Likes
Our neighbor hunts and is generous to us.
4 Likes