Categories
outdoors Photography Plants

Meets the eye

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, almost 70 degrees. There was a breeze, but it was warm and gentle and one could go about with a light jacket and feel just right.

I hadn’t been up to Shaw in a long time because of the road construction on I-44. The state is adding an extra lane all the way to Gray Summit, and in the process the lanes are narrow and the road surface uneven. The speed limit is supposed to be 50, but I’ve yet to see anyone follow this. Well, other than myself. A Ford Focus handles beautifully on country roads, gravel, in the city and what not, but it does not do well on uneven roads.

At Shaw I debated on taking the forest path to the wet land, or the country road behind the back. I had my iPod in its new heavy duty Belkin leather case, and it was fun just walking along the road, listening to Bond; taking the ear buds out from time to time to listen to the wind through the trees and the birds singing.

I also took along my camera because, though Shaw is in the middle of its dormant stage, you never know when something will pop up that might be fun to photograph. Such was the case yesterday when I came across piles of cut Eastern redcedar.

woodpile

Eastern redcedar is really a juniper tree, but it still has a beautiful grain and smell. The photography gave me an excuse to get close to the wood and breath in the scent. I noticed that the trees must have been fresh cut, as they were still ‘bleeding’ from the cuts.

cedarcuts

pitch

pitch2

A couple of folks came along and seemed dismayed to see what looked like healthy young trees cut down. After all, this is a Nature Center, what could be more natural than trees? Especially when the Center replaces the stands of trees with what looked like fields of weed. However, this effort is part of the the ongoing effort to remove invasive species all across the park; restoring native wetland and prairie, as well as stands of hickory and oak, which are more natural for this area.

Environments are delicate, and the health of a particular environment is not necessarily obvious in the eye of the beholder. Though a vast empty prairie may look like ruin, and a forest of cedar look richly healthy, the opposite can be and often is in true–prairies are alive with many species of plants and animals that may be difficult to spot, while eastern redcedar forests may contain just that: big redcedar trees and nothing else.

At one time, Shaw was prairie and wetland, but people came along and plowed it under into farmland. When the farms were abandoned and the ground lay fallow, rather than be reclaimed by what was natural wildflowers and grasses, seeds contained in berries eaten by birds made their way to the fertile ground and honeysuckle and eastern redcedar thrived. Unfortunately, redcedar needles contain a high level of acidity, unpalatable to other plants. Both species choke out others by overrunning the ground as well as providing a canopy preventing young plants from getting enough sun.

woodgrain

Like many other areas in the Midwest, work is underway to pull up these invasive plants, and replant native species in their place. Until this is finished, every winter the park is a mass of pulled and destroyed honeysuckle vine and redcedar trees in addition to the marks of controlled burns.

I left the road half way around to take the forest path past the prairie. The park had added a new bench overlooking the hills in a nice place to sit and enjoy the view of the grassland and the sod house on the hill.

hillsidetree

I liked the inscription on the bench: He was in love with this world.

dedication

steppingstones

pond

bench2

Categories
Critters

Update on giant squid

I’m being inundated with Google and other searches looking for information on giant squid or architeuthis dux, and people coming to my previous entries (such as this). This is such an amazing story, and lots of people are hopping up and down today.

To keep up with the reports, check in with the SquidBlog and the other SquidBlog. One of the better reports from the media is at the BBC. In addition, the scientists’ paper is out now, and you can access it through SquidBlog number two.

Categories
Critters

Giant squid captured on film

If this checks out, the giant squid, Architeuthis Dux has been captured on film by a Japanese research team.

Marine biologists have been trying to film a live, adult giant squid for decades. This is a major breakthrough, especially as they have a sample from the creature filmed, for DNA verification. The Washington Post article has a single frame of the film. To get some perspective on the find, this particular squid is as big as a school bus. No news when the film will be released.

Tipped to the story by the SquidBlog.

Scott sent a link to a National Geographic article with several other photos.

Categories
Critters

Squid stuff

PZ Myers goes into wonderful detail on how cephlapods can bite with no internal skeleton; and Danny points to a photo of a baby octopus. Which most likely won’t be biting very hard.

Categories
Critters Events of note Weather

The last to be rescued

Excerpted from the Humane Society article After the flood, animals find way to survive in the Big Easy.

Adrift in this floating living room, the golden-coated pit bull found shelter in the only place the water couldn’t reach: a black-metal frame encasing the air conditioning unit in a nearby window. At least that’s where the rescue team found the frightened animal. He had somehow clawed his way through the accordion wing on the left side of the AC unit, and squeezed himself between the air conditioner and the metal bars.

Despite his dire predicament, the frightened dog was not about to leave his metal perch—at least not with strangers. Growling, barking and inching further back into his self-imposed jail, the dog fought every attempt by rescuers to grab him with a control pole, but the animal had literally backed himself into a tight spot, and the team was able to quickly collar him and pull him from the inhospitable house.

And yet, the hold on life for these animals who rely on the milk of human kindness for their survival, remains tenuous. Teams are already finding animals whose skin looks painted onto a skeleton. One, four-person team this week discovered, much to its horror, a dead bull dog in an upstairs bathroom. The owners, apparently thinking they would be gone for days and not weeks, locked the white-coated creature there, with limited food and water. He died beside the bathroom door, obviously hoping for an escape.

Team members heard the Jack Russell yipping as they walked along Monticello Avenue, near the canal that drains into Lake Ponchatrain. They chased the dog, white with a dashing brown patch over his left eye, under the brick house, where he refused to budge for minute after agonizing minute under the broiling Louisiana sun.

The rescuers mapped out their strategy on the fly. Earnest staked out the right side of the house, Moore and Anderson the left, and HSUS volunteer Jane Garrison monitored a small boxy hole in front of the house, through which the rescuers hoped to flush the terrier.

“Go the other way, Jack,” encouraged Anderson, in a tone meant to send the dog the opposition direction. “This is not the best way to go…It’s very bad for a Jack.”

“Go on, Jack,” yelled Earnest from the other side of the house. “Go through the hole.”

“I’m your best hope, Jack,” Garrison cooed at the animal, looking to entice him to her waiting leash.

For whatever reason, the dog followed orders. He eventually peeked his head through the boxy hole, just enough for Garrison to place a leash on him and hold on for dear life.

New Orleans resident Eugene Kaufman, re-united with this 20-year old blind dog, Samantha. At this time, the HSUS has rescued 2783 cats and dogs, 121 horses. and over a thousand other animals, mainly farm animals. But there are thousands more still to be rescued, and it could be weeks, even months, before these animals have a home again. (See slideshow of effort.)

You’re all tired out from giving: to the Red Cross, the United Way, so many other good and helping organizations. All I’m asking is that you give 5.00 to the Humane Society to help care for these animals. Just 5.00, that’s all I’m asking. But if you want to give more, I won’t argue with you.

I am donating 2 dollars for every picture pledged by the folks who volunteered for the Critters for Critters campaign–including this timely and charming picture of a dog dressed for Mardi Gras, donated by Neil at Life With Dogs and these lovely pictures from Baldur–in lieu of running the auction. I wish it could be more.

And if you have a pet or pets, now is the time to think about their care if you’re faced with a disaster. Remember, the rule of thumb is to have at least three days of supplies (a week is better) on hand for all living creatures in the house; have pet carriers within easy and quick access; and if you have to evacuate, evacuate early rather than late, and always assume it will be weeks before you can return.

If you don’t have a pet, you have a friend in need just waiting for you at your local shelter.

I have a difficult time going to the HSUS site and reading the stories anymore. As positive as so many are, others break your heart. There’s the one where the sherrif’s department searched a home for survivors and found two people dead, but the couple’s shepard was still alive, standing guard over their bodies. Chances are they did not evacuate because of their dog, and the bitter-sad irony is that the dog was the only one to survive.

The HSUS is pushing now to make pet rescue incorporated into all local, state, and federal evacuation procedures. There’s a petition you can sign at the site, as well as letters to send to Congress, FEMA, and your local government. You should also check your own state’s policy in this regard; several states include animal evactuation because they know that many people will put their lives at risk rather than leave their pets.

Another thing to consider is having microchips inserted into your cat or dog, just in case. Regardless, have a plan in place; don’t leave your pet behind.

Bid on the original artwork for a Mutts comic strip being auctioned by the cartoonist, Patrick McDonnell to raise money for the HSUS rescue operations.