![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
summer_jackelOk, so maybe hard work does have its benefits. Today, I tackled a mess that I've been avoiding all winter, moving a pile of muddy, rotten wood and debris left over from last fall's retaining wall repair to someplace it can decompose peacefully. You can guess how much I've been looking forward to doing that, but it was really getting nasty. At the very bottom of the pile, between a plastic board and the cement, I found this exquisite little beast.
I think that this is a black salamander, Aneides flavipunctatus. It looks like they are evenly distributed across Northern CA but are scarce where I live. Although (as you may surmise) I turn over a fair number of rocks in search of things like this on a regular basis, I have never seen one. It's a "lifer."
After the first few seconds of incoherent glee, I set her up to take photos, moistened her skin with purified water and let her go in a safe spot very close to where I'd found her. She wriggled into the loose earth and rock quickly and with purpose, more like a lizard might than any of the other three species of skin-breathing salamanders I've met around here. (Ensatina, CA Slender and Pacific Giant). The grip of her little salamander fingers on my skin was distinct and firm, where the other three make no effort to hang on.
I cannot express the awe or joy I feel about meeting a neighbor so hidden and lovely.
Here are another couple of views:
Part of the woodpile cleanup involved splitting some half decomposed pine left over from some lousy firewood. The wood had lots of these huge fat grubs three years ago when I got it and the last of it still had some. Hey, Kyn, your Bugguide-fu is better than mine; care to take a stab at ID? Anyone? If I had to guess, I'd say Pine Sawyer larva because I think that those are the biggest beetle-kinda things we have going around here. I am very interested in what these might be. Other than shockingly vibrant in their 'ewwwwwww-bug'-ness; I am impressed.
And here's a closeup of it's cute lil face. AAAAUUUGH
One of the local Stellar's Jays has learned to associate me with bits of suet in the bird dish, and he was pretty excited about these grubs, bobbing around and trying to get me to leave. I gave him some more food but took the awful grubs temporarily into captivity. This is such a cool bird.
Kyn and I hiked on the ridge a few days ago, where of course we also carefully turned over interesting pieces of bark. In exactly the same place as we found a wood scorpion, Uroctonus mordax, last year, we found another one!
What a pretty little thing.
OK, that concludes all of the non-furry subjects of this post. Now you get rewarded with cute fuzzy dogs. I think it's hilarious that the photo makes it look like Bliss has all the coat in the universe. Meanwhile, Rooster is happy because he just indulged in one of his favorite things, muddy water.
The calendar shot.
Totally dorky pictures of the dogs playing. The effect of three young wolfdogs doing this was intense and quite beautiful, some of my most treasured memories; immature collies doing the same thing are a lot funnier.
Et tu, Brut?
We take Bliss so seriously!
When they are not making ridiculous faces, though, the boys are growing up to be handsome.
Some super neat fungus on rotten wood (it's all about the rotten wood today).
The fern tree doesn't photograph well, but
Back at home, a sleepy Jez and Magic:
Jezzie has the most amazing fur. It's uniquely shiny, a little like the glitter on a Bengal cat or the sheen of a satin rabbit. None of the other dogs in her line that I met or any of Fen's other puppies had quite this kind of texture and luster, and neither have any other wolfdogs or huskies I've met anywhere else. Fen had the typical coat type, and Pryde's was like a long-coated malamute.
Tiger describes himself visually.
Nocurne, actually looking better than she usually does in photos. She's been a lot friendlier recently, which is sweet.
I'll never get tired of how hilariously collie-things sleep.
I'm pedaling hard, preparing for what may prove to be a momentous day tomorrow, and feeling blessed.
I think that this is a black salamander, Aneides flavipunctatus. It looks like they are evenly distributed across Northern CA but are scarce where I live. Although (as you may surmise) I turn over a fair number of rocks in search of things like this on a regular basis, I have never seen one. It's a "lifer."
After the first few seconds of incoherent glee, I set her up to take photos, moistened her skin with purified water and let her go in a safe spot very close to where I'd found her. She wriggled into the loose earth and rock quickly and with purpose, more like a lizard might than any of the other three species of skin-breathing salamanders I've met around here. (Ensatina, CA Slender and Pacific Giant). The grip of her little salamander fingers on my skin was distinct and firm, where the other three make no effort to hang on.
I cannot express the awe or joy I feel about meeting a neighbor so hidden and lovely.
Here are another couple of views:
Part of the woodpile cleanup involved splitting some half decomposed pine left over from some lousy firewood. The wood had lots of these huge fat grubs three years ago when I got it and the last of it still had some. Hey, Kyn, your Bugguide-fu is better than mine; care to take a stab at ID? Anyone? If I had to guess, I'd say Pine Sawyer larva because I think that those are the biggest beetle-kinda things we have going around here. I am very interested in what these might be. Other than shockingly vibrant in their 'ewwwwwww-bug'-ness; I am impressed.
And here's a closeup of it's cute lil face. AAAAUUUGH
One of the local Stellar's Jays has learned to associate me with bits of suet in the bird dish, and he was pretty excited about these grubs, bobbing around and trying to get me to leave. I gave him some more food but took the awful grubs temporarily into captivity. This is such a cool bird.
Kyn and I hiked on the ridge a few days ago, where of course we also carefully turned over interesting pieces of bark. In exactly the same place as we found a wood scorpion, Uroctonus mordax, last year, we found another one!
What a pretty little thing.
OK, that concludes all of the non-furry subjects of this post. Now you get rewarded with cute fuzzy dogs. I think it's hilarious that the photo makes it look like Bliss has all the coat in the universe. Meanwhile, Rooster is happy because he just indulged in one of his favorite things, muddy water.
The calendar shot.
Totally dorky pictures of the dogs playing. The effect of three young wolfdogs doing this was intense and quite beautiful, some of my most treasured memories; immature collies doing the same thing are a lot funnier.
Et tu, Brut?
We take Bliss so seriously!
When they are not making ridiculous faces, though, the boys are growing up to be handsome.
Some super neat fungus on rotten wood (it's all about the rotten wood today).
The fern tree doesn't photograph well, but
Back at home, a sleepy Jez and Magic:
Jezzie has the most amazing fur. It's uniquely shiny, a little like the glitter on a Bengal cat or the sheen of a satin rabbit. None of the other dogs in her line that I met or any of Fen's other puppies had quite this kind of texture and luster, and neither have any other wolfdogs or huskies I've met anywhere else. Fen had the typical coat type, and Pryde's was like a long-coated malamute.
Tiger describes himself visually.
Nocurne, actually looking better than she usually does in photos. She's been a lot friendlier recently, which is sweet.
I'll never get tired of how hilariously collie-things sleep.
I'm pedaling hard, preparing for what may prove to be a momentous day tomorrow, and feeling blessed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 07:08 am (UTC)Slimy salamander: anything with a name like that HAS to be good.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 05:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 07:11 am (UTC)Tiger really beautifies the place, I have to say...there are fewer things nearly as lovely as a wild cat, and Tiger blesses my home with that grace. Living with him is definitely an adventure.
I love your Jaspurr-face icon. He has the coolest markings, and wow but has Mr. floofy kittenpants grown into a handsome guy!
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 07:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 07:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 07:36 pm (UTC)Maybe Bliss heard "sheepdog" wrong and is trying to be a Sheep-Dog?
no subject
Date: 2011-02-14 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-14 01:11 am (UTC)Also: SCORPION AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW OMGGG
no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 07:13 pm (UTC)Jezzie still runs a little every day on our morning walks, but at closer to eleven than nine, she's usually pretty content to be a couchwolf most of the time.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 11:14 pm (UTC)My beautiful Pryderi:
SwimmyJez!
This pretty guy is not one of mine, but the shot is one of my favorite action shots:
Fen, Pryde and Jez movin'!
This is my very favorite picture of the my three wolves:
no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 11:26 pm (UTC)I miss Pryde and Fen so much. But I'm glad I have all of these pictures to remember them by.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-14 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-14 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 04:03 pm (UTC)