others

this is a picture of a spider I found on the curtain. It is a common cellar spider. the two big eyes are shining in the light of the flash but it has four more at the front. It is absolutely harmless to people. This one is missing two legs on the left side. Spiders can shed legs as a defense mechanism

In the winter months, I can watch birds. But it is only when it snows that the other critters can be seen by their tracks. Most mammals in the wild have learnt to come out only in the ded of night. This picture shows something small like a squirrel gnawing on the nutrient layer of an elm tree. This is defintely different than a porcupine or beaver, maybe a rabbit?

this classic pattern of two big pawprints followed by two off center prints in a "y" shape is the marks of a desert cottontail, where the back feet land ahead of the front paws.

Usually coyote tracks show paw prints in a staight line, but the easier giveaway is that there is no human tracks nearby.

these tracks are a little harder to see, but show raven striding through the snow and probing the dirt

A lot of vehicle pollution is insidious, like the tire dust poisoning coho salmon. Or the climate change from carbon dioxide. However, after a snow the amount of oil dripping from old oil pans can be seen in these rainbow slicks. the numbers of these seen after 5pm when the communters have returned home is pretty startling.