“Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty.” —Aldo Leopold
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Owl at Friant Dam, Photo by John Bohrman, Reclamation
Love the owl!
Nature is beautiful!
The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. Peak bloom of the cherry blossoms on the National Mall and Memorial Parks!
Photo: National Park Service
Wetlands function as water filters and provide a place for wildlife to live.
Autumn sunset over freshwater #wetlands (at Kooragang wetlands)
An endangered species, the lesser prairie-chicken is spotted moving across a prairie.
The presence of the lesser prairie-chicken is an indicator of the rangeland health of the southern Great Plains. NRCS works with farmers and ranchers to bring the chicken back and make their operations more resilient to drought.
Photo: Gary Kramer
Rush hour traffic takes on a whole new meaning at Yellowstone National Park.
Photo: National Park Service
Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence — neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish — it is an imponderably valuable gift. —Maya Angelou
Two years ago this week, Yosemite Valley looked a bit different! The snowy photo is from 2011 (which was an extremely snowy winter); the other photo is from yesterday afternoon.
Photo: National Park Service
Asparagus on my mind…
Yeah yeah, I know, it’s only April 2nd, but my mouth is already watering with the thought of big fat spears of asparagus, roasted with olive oil, lemon juice and loads of black pepper. I like to eat them straight off the baking sheet, with my fingers, juices dripping down my chin. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll make a nice garlicky aioli for dipping. Or how about a nice asparagus risotto with lemon zest? Or crostini topped with ricotta and the just the tender tips of asparagus? Spring is in the air, and I’m happy about that, really I am. But I want it in my mouth, in the form of some local asparagus.
A Day Monitoring Sage-grouse
I am one lucky intern.Through the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Conservation and Land Management internship program, I will be working under my wildlife biologist mentor in the BLM’s Cody Field Office for my third summer now. It’s a delightfully diverse job in an amazingly diverse place. I can hardly begin to describe everything I’ve learned here, but perhaps I’ll start with the task that consumes most of my energy this early in the spring: Sage-grouse monitoring.
The iconic Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a species that is specially adapted to life in sagebrush steppe habitat found across many western states, including Wyoming. Male Sage-grouse establish and are loyal to particular leks, which are the areas where they perform their elaborate displays in order to attract a mate. Here in Cody, Wyoming, Sage-grouse lek monitoring has been going on for years, with data for some leks in the Cody Field Office stretching back over 54 years.
This monitoring data can be used to assess Sage-grouse population levels, which has become crucial information in light of the species’ classification as a Candidate Species for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Lek monitoring is early work, since you have to be in place at the lek before the sunrises. On the bright side, having work that takes one outside in the wee hours of the day does offer a unique opportunity to see other treasures of the field office, such as seeing the McCullough Peaks wild horses, in a different light.
By: Sammy Bray, BLM-Wyoming
The perfect spot to play duck, duck, goose.
Constructed wetlands treating runoff & providing habitat for birds (at Sydney Olympic Park Osmosis)
Great photo!
Spring is here and the Joshua Trees are blooming!
The Joshua tree typically grows in the Mojave Desert, in southwestern North America. They grow on average 3 inches a year, although because its trunk is made of thousands of small fibers, it lacks the typical tree rings, making it tough to determine its exact age. We do know that it can live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
The flowers don’t bloom every year, but when they do they can be seen at the ends of the sword-like evergreen leaves from February to late April. Once they bloom, the trees are pollinated by the yucca moth. Wildfires can be devastating, since the moth will not find it advantageous to pollinate trees left isolated by fires, but prefer instead to pollinate within tree clusters.
Story: Iris Picat; Photo: Lynne Scott, St George Field Office Landscape Architect
Wonderful a Critter Cam photo of a baby mule deer!
Mule Deer usually give birth from April to June. A doe usually has a single fawn the first year she gives birth and twins in the following years. The fawn, colored reddish with white spots, weighs about 6 pounds at birth. It must nurse within the first hour and stand within the first 12 hours. During early weeks of life, the fawn sees its mother only at mealtimes for feeding. Spots begin to fade by the end of the first month. They have white camouflage spots and are further protected by having little or no scent. Fawns usually stay with the doe for the first full year.Photo: BLM Las Cruces Facebook
