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"Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."              

Kurt Vonnegut.

 

 Studying nature is awesome at asking what is it that is important in your life. Is it beauty? Rarity? Developing potential? Is remembering the past, being in the present, or planning for the future your priority? How will we cope if it turns out we need to do all of it?

Heidi's raspberry patch is not being used this year. No kids running around picking raspberries and blackberries. Now the field has head high grasses and all sorts of exotic creatures are thriving, completely protected and hidden from our view. Reports from California say the blackberry harvest was shortened to less than a week from a typical three weeks, so I can't really blame them for management decisions. Personally, I feel watering the weeds yields hidden secrets in nature we have forgotten.

 

 This poor picture of a Coopers hawk is rubbish, but shows a great view of those broad stripes on the tail that define this common bird. These hawks thrive because they are adapted to hunting near to bird feeders. Most other hawks are slowly being edged out by human development because they do not benefit from humans.

This bunting is watching warily as we get too close to her nest. Nesting close to a bird feeder is not a great plan for success for this species, as the increased traffic also attracts predators and nest robbers, reducing reproductive success.Those lessons that actually stick with us, we learn most often by failing. At least, in nature it does.

 

This bird is using a wall light as a roost in an abandoned niche of an academic building.  Would seem like a bad choice, but it is completely undisturbed and the light attracts insects at night. Couldn't have been better designed for this species.

Fledglings are growing. The drop in temperature this week means bird nesting behaviors are very important. This nest needs a mom to regulate temperature and moisture. This bird's nest is a bit further south than it should be according to the developed range maps, as animals continue to adapt to a changing world.

Most people do not look closely at ants. The one's that do, are usually trying to kill them. Ants can also teach us a lot. These are acrobat ants because they have a pointed "gaster" that they can point in many directions. They hunt wasps by scent and attack using venom. They are often seen carrying large insects back to their nests along scent mediated trails. These are drinking honeydew from aphid "farms". The lesson that they teach? Well, that's up to you. They are not dangerous, or destructive to humans. Most information about them online comes from pest control companies...

Long necked flowers like this ipomopsis are prefect for large moths and hummingbirds. The white color is attractive to moths in the evenings. The fact that this arrangement works so perfectly between two unconnected species, and is completely a lucky interaction between mutations, chance, and time, causes some philosophical headaches...

This is a plant that is a non photosynthesizing parasite is called broomrape. Basically mistletoe on roots instead of branches. The how's and why's of a "predator" plant are very vague in the literature. I have noticed that, in general. The internet and biological science are hazy at any question that starts with "how" and "why"... The other interesting parasitic plant, dodders, are out in force along Loma Larga ditches.

Metallic flea beetles have flash mobs on selected plants where they mate and eat in a frenzy before predators find them. Most of these beetles can only be separated to the human eye by the aedeagus. The beetles themselves use pheromones and smell. The term "flea" is because they do jump to avoid danger.

 

 Metallic blue is a popular beetle color. Notice the bright legs on this jewel beetle Lampetis drummondi. This family of beetles has some of the most species in it, over 15,500 different described species.

This robber fly is pretending to be a bumblebee, which is it's preferred prey. It obviously isn't one, because it held still long enough for me to take a picture... it looks like a fake teddy bear but is quite dangerous to large flying insects.

This actual bumblebee held still only because it was raining and the insect was taking a nap on some lavender, one of it's favorite flowers.

Monsoon rains are good for bringing out juvenile reptiles like this baby lizard. Many people also report the predators, like coachwhips and hognose snakes are also out, chasing these juveniles down.

This spadefoot was a tadpole a week ago. It is amazing how much they can survive. Not only in the inhospitable desert terrain, but this temporary puddle is in a parking lot in Rio Rancho city center. This water is contaminated with motor oil, lead, and tire dust. These frogs will continue to survive as long as there are no fish and the water puddle lasts 2 weeks.

Unusually, this hornworm is eating an elm tree. At this stage of development these caterpillar can strip a tomato plant in one night. While it looks like it has many legs, only the three pairs at the front are "true". Evolution can have a sense of humor sometimes.

The colors on many of the butterflies are pretty spectacular. This is another purple hairstreak. There are many species out dancing in the weeds along the banks right now. The eggs may survive the coming mowing to repeat the cycle. Weeds are a completely vital part of the beauty of the natural world. The fact that weeds persist, in spite of all human efforts to remove them, is a genuinely heart warming part of nature that links our past and future to our critical present. I for one love the fact that I do not know how everything works. Not being in control, and yet the world continues to work (mostly) fine is quite liberating for the soul.