Salamanders, slugs, millipedes… Our deck is a minefield of critters in the rainy season. We have to use flashlights at night to avoid them. I made some signs to remind us & our visitors. 😁 (click thru ⬇️ to see @schofield.bsky.social’s pic of a big ol’ Arboreal Salamander!)
Omg look at this tiny spotted Banana Slug! 😍
One last time-lapse video, wherein Banana Slug schlorps back down below the deck. They sped up a bit after the sprinklers came on - look how their body texture changes when the water hits them! So long for now, little buddy. I hope to see you again soon! 💚
Here is a video to show you how slowly the Banana Slug glides in real time. I just love watching how the sensory tentacles on their heads move. Turn on the sound for music courtesy of a local Black-headed Grosbeak!
I think this lil Reticulate Taildropper was interested in whatever the larger Banana Slug is eating (dead slug??), but they changed their mind at the last minute. I found them enjoying the meal together about half an hour later.
Movin' & groovin'! The stuff at the end of their tail is called a mucus plug. It's an accumulation of detritus that was stuck to their body; they excrete a sheet of slime that moves backward on their body, carrying dirt & plant bits down to the tail. It keeps them clean - and gives them a lil snack!
Cat woke me up before 6:00 this morning, and as it turns out, that's a great time to do some slug-watching on our deck! So here is a Slug Appreciation Thread for you, mostly featuring this great big Banana Slug (with guest appearances by Reticulate Taildroppers!) Some time-lapse videos to start...
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A small ankylosaur figurine standing at the edge of running water.
Found an ankylosaur foraging down by the creek today.
A small light yellowish egg with ribs. It is nestled in fuzz on the underside of a leaf.
A tiny bit of magic on the underside of a milkweed leaf, a Monarch Butterfly egg. #invert
I’m helping my kid make a lined full-length cape, and I *really* need just one corner of an infinitely-sized table
Lil Mama's still hanging around, even after our annual cutback for wildfire safety. She seemed to appreciate the convenience of the cut grasses and the blackberry branches left behind. She got pretty close to me for those last couple photos, and I could hear her grunting softly. Might be in labor.
Such a happy little family 🥰
A Black-tailed Deer doe stands on a green hillside with her head down. Uphill from her, a pair of spotted fawns stand with their ears cocked, directly facing the camera.
Big Mama and the twins stopped by just now for supper! Look at those lil scamps ❤️❤️
A pregnant Black-tailed Deer lies down on a wooden deck with her back up against a sliding glass door.
A pregnant Black-tailed Deer lies down on a small wooden deck near a flower pot. Her head is turned toward the camera, and her ears are up.
Lil Mama (still pregnant) stayed close to the house again today. Her morning resting spot was outside @schofield.bsky.social’s office door, and she spent the afternoon outside our front door. We have to check where she is before leaving the house now 😅
Lil Mama - still pregnant - spent half of Monday resting up against our front door. She strolled across the deck right in front of us that evening for a sip from the birdbath & a few nibbles from the ferns. Sleeps just uphill from our back door at night. I guess this is the Deer maternity ward now?
A female Black-tailed deer stands behind two half-barrel planters, facing the camera, with her right ear cocked back & left facing forward. A pair of spotted fawns stands on either side of her, nursing.
A female Black-tailed deer stands behind two half-barrel planters, with her head turned to her left and her tongue visible. A pair of spotted fawns stands on either side of her, nursing.
A female Black-tailed deer stands behind two half-barrel planters, with her head turned to her left and her ears cocked back. A pair of spotted fawns stands on either side of her, nursing. She is cleaning the fawn on her left.
Woke up early on Monday, and I was just in time to see Big Mama and her two brand-new little ones out the south window. She was still cleaning them.
They are like bouncy spotted puppies with hooves & I LOVE them.
I melted into a puddle and have not recovered.
Don’t send help.
That's just, like, your opinion, man.
Photograph of the Sacramento River in Colusa, California. A hillside in a park rises on the left, with trees in the background. The swollen Sacramento River lies on the right. A paved road in the center runs from the mid-background to the foreground, only to be submerged in high water.
Photograph of the Sacramento River in Colusa, California. The swollen river lies on the left, lined by trees. A green bank rises on the right, and there is a small gray building in the foreground. A digital sign on the building shows the river’s height in feet: 67.01. A sign to the right of the digital readout says “MONITOR STAGE: 63.0 FLOOD STAGE: 70.0”
Photograph of the Sacramento River in Colusa, California. The river is high, filling most of the lower half of the photograph from the bottom left to the right. Bare trees line both side of the river. The Sutter Buttes are visible in the distance in the center below a clear blue sky.
Photograph of the Sutter Buttes from Colusa, California. A flat green agricultural field lies in the foreground. Blackberry brambles and trees form a line on the right, and a tree-lined road is visible in the distance. Beyond the road are the Sutter Buttes below a clear blue sky.
Capped off my visit 'round the Sutter Buttes with a walk along the Sacramento River in Colusa. The last photo is my favorite view of the Buttes from my whole trip. 💚
Photograph of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California. The front of the tractor is at the right. The body of the tractor is painted forest green, and the engine housing has metallic gold trim. A wide metal spoked wheel at the front of the tractor provides steering. At the rear of the tractor are two tank-style treads on either side of a metal seat for the tractor operator.
View of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California from the rear. A sign on the right in the foreground reads “Exhibits in Progress - (Nisesan, Gold Rush & Westward Expansion, Yuba-Sutter Floods) - Coming before the Museum’s 50th Anniversary on April 25, 2025!”
View of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California from the front. A silver-colored arrow is situated above the front steering wheel. The gold-trimmed engine housing is visible in the background.
Photograph of the logo on the side of the Yuba Ball Tread Tractor Model 12 in the Sutter County History Museum, Yuba City, California. Background is forest green. A string of white circles in the shape of an elongated oval, like the treads on a tank, surround the logo that reads THE YUBA BALL TREAD TRACTOR, painted in yellow with white trim. Below the logo are the words MARYSVILLE, CALIF. painted in yellow with red trim.
More pics from my Feb 5 trip to see the Sutter Buttes. I took a side trip to the Sutter County Museum in Yuba City just to see this: a fully restored Model 12 Yuba Ball Tread Tractor, built in 1915.
If you ever find yourself in Yuba City, visit the Sutter County Museum. It is an absolute delight
Photograph of a flooded landscape under a clear blue sky. Bare trees rise out of the water, and two signs are visible in the distance. The top of a yellow sign reads SHARE. A brown and red sign on the right reads FEATHER RIVER PARKWAY -> ATTENTION PARK CLOSES 9:00 PM with further text submerged.
A flooded plain with bare trees stretching off into the distance. A green sign on the right reads NOTICE CAMPING PROHIBITED - OVERNIGHT CAMPING IN THE RIVER BOTTOMS AREA WITHIN THE CITY LIMIT OF YUBA CITY IS PROHIBITED AND IS A MISDEMEANOR VIOLATION PER BLAH BLAH BLAH, ETC. VIOLATIONS MAY BE SUBJECT TO ARREST AND CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. PROPERTY OF POSSIBLE VALUE THAT IS LEFT IN THIS AREA MAY BE SEIZED BY THE CITY OF YUBA CITY AND STORED FOR UP TO SIX MONTHS. INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETRIEVING PERSONAL PROPERTY - A CLAIM TO THESE MATERIALS MAY BE MADE BY CALLING 530-822-4725 BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8:00AM AND 4:30PM MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, EXCEPT HOLIDAYS, AND ARRANGING FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO PICK UP THE PROPERTY WHICH WILL BE STORED BY THE CITY OF YUBA CITY. TO CLAIM PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION AND SOME MEANS TO IDENTIFY THE PROPERTY MUST BE PROVIDED.
Feather River in Yuba City was flooded well into the recreational areas.
Photograph of the Sutter Buttes. Four peaks of the buttes are visible beyond a low grassy hill. A barbed wire fence in the foreground separates the viewer from a flooded field.
Photograph of the Sutter Buttes from the north. The buttes lie in shadow below a cloudless blue sky. Furrowed rows, lined with stakes, stretch from the foreground along the plain to the base of the buttes.
Photograph of the Sutter Buttes. The green buttes lie beyond a flooded field, with a cluster of bare trees on the right. A paved road runs diagonally across the lower right corner.
Photograph of the Sutter Buttes. The buttes lie half in shadow under a cloudless blue sky. A line of bare trees - Oaks - stretch before the buttes, lining a flooded field. The grass under the Oaks is bright green. A barbed wire fence runs across the foreground.
Views of the Buttes from the East & Northeast. I tried to circumnavigate the buttes from Yuba City in the southeast, but the roads heading west on the north side of the buttes were closed due to flooding. Map apps didn't know this, so I got to explore a lot of lovely roads and make a few U-turns.
Photograph of the Sutter Butters (Maidu: Histum Yani/Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast just before sunrise. The nine-ish points of the buttes lie in shadow against a peach-to-bluish predawn sky. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie between the viewer and the road; two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground line a canal.
Photograph of the Sutter Butters ((Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast at the first moments of sunrise. The lower two-thirds buttes lie in shadow against a peach-to-bluish predawn sky, and the peaks of the buttes are faintly lit by the first rays of dawn from the right. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie between the viewer and the road; two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground line a canal.
Photograph of the Sutter Butters ((Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast at sunrise. The buttes are fully illuminated by the rising sun from the right. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie in shadow between the viewer and the road; two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground, lining a canal, bear the faint light of the rising sun.
Photograph of the Sutter Butters ((Maidu: Histum Yani or Esto Yamani, Wintun: Olonai-Tol, Nisenan: Estom Yanim) viewed from the Southeast just after sunrise. The buttes are fully illuminated by the rising sun from above to the right. A line of trees and utility poles delineates a road at the base of the buttes. Flooded agricultural fields lie in shadow between the viewer and the road. Two rows of Blackberry vines in the foreground, lining a canal; the tops of the vines nearest the viewer are fully illuminated by the rising sun.
Last week, I went to see the dawn light on the Sutter Buttes on my birthday. I wanted to see them against a flooded landscape, and I couldn't have picked a better day. This is the view from the Larry Munger Vista Point just west of Yuba City.
All right folks, let's start a Roadside Attraction thread. SHOW ME YOUR GIANT SILLY ROADSIDE THINGS!
My town doesn't have one, but here's a photo of Duncan's late great "World's Largest Hockey Stick" and "Norm" the creepy giant gnome, formerly just north of Nanoose, now safely retired in Saanich
A star's spectrum taken by Hubble spectrographs rended as a rainbow of blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
Well, our federally funded organization was just told to take down any DEIA displays in our offices, like pride flags.
Meanwhile, a nice astronomer gave us this Hubble spectrum of HD 233622a, variable type B2V E star. Science displays are still allowed. 🏳️🌈 🔭
They are very big and very ROUND. You’ll know what I mean if you see one - Very Obvious Millipedes. They only roam at night. Spend their days under forest litter making lots of very big millipede poops.
Ha, we’ve helped a few Tylobolus millipedes cross the road! Love the inverts too. 😊
Best steak fingers ever.
You can support the Chileno Valley Newt Brigade by donating at the link up above, or get yourself some swell swag from their shop: www.chilenovalleynewtbrigade.org/store
The Chileno Valley Newt Brigade's work has become an inspiration for conservationists all over the world. It makes me so happy to know that there are so many other people who care this much about their amphibian neighbors. 💚 www.sfgate.com/local/articl...
