The Nature Thread

I want that water feature in my yard!

David, your 'beasties' look beautiful. And, like they almost tolerate each other?

Steve

I took this snapshot last month on a cold, rainy day. I noticed that the bird feeder in the dogwood tree right next to the back porch had no birds when I expected many. Then I saw the reason sitting just above and to the left of the bird feeder - a cold, wet Cooper's hawk. It didn't mind me stepping onto the porch to snap a few shots before it flew away to the water company property & lake nearby where it lives.

A pair of Gila Woodpeckers in a palm tree at the Inn Suites during the Tucson Show. Male has the red patch.



Regards
Steve

A not-so-furry friend. Jefferson County, Montana. 1984.



Cheers!

Steve

AMERICAN ELK (WAPITI) National elk refuge, near Jackson, Wyoming February 2010.

Iron oxide joint surface coatings resistant to weathering. Cretaceous Dakota formation in the canyon of the Purgatoire River in Otero County, Colorado. The area shown is about 3 meters across. 1976



Cheers!

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2012 04:39AM by Stephen Rose.

Looking for a stibnite occurrence in June, 1984. Toiyabe Range, south of Austin, Lander County Nevada.



Cheers!

Steve



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 06:25AM by Stephen Rose.

It's a question of who has the right of way......clods of mud, mustang heels and butts, Harney County, Oregon, 1978.



Cheers!

Steve

Let me think; where to start collecting first????.................. Yosemite National Park, California ........ August 2010.......BOB

So, Bob, which one of those erratics ended up in your collection?

Nature found in an ancient shaft. A mushroom myzel growed up in the darkness to abt. 40 cm diameter.

Uwe Ludwig

Hallo Uwe,

erstaunlich! Danke!

Grüße Georg

This fellow was just hanging out on a fine, Oklahoma summer day in 1883 with some Wichita Mountains granite in the background. Ooops....I mean 1983!



Cheers!

Steve

Sunlight on columbines, LaPlata Mountains, Colorado 1975.



Cheers!

Steve

Searching For minerals in these places is marvelous:

[www.mindat.org]

Baby adder (poisonous), Boscastle, Cornwall, UK


Female grass snake (harmless) in our back yard, Gillingham. Dorset, UK




Amanda

Steller's sea lions, Southeast Alaska, June 2011. Over the last 20 years or so there has been a great reduction in numbers of these formerly common sea mammals. Not sure if the reduction in numbers results from human over fishing of the sea lion's food or changes in the water or increasing predation by orcas and sharks; it may be a combination of all of the above. Each bull can weigh up to 1200 lbs and preside over a harem of up to 15 - 20 smaller females. Sea lions differ from seals by the presence of visible ears. ENJOY!!

This little slimy salamander (that's actually the common name of the species, not a descriptor) was the original denizen of the small opening in a quartz vein that became a pocket which I collected a week ago. Fortunately for him, he dashed out of the entrance before I started any serious poking around with a screwdriver. Glad I didn't injure this little fella.





Best regards,
Jonathan

Close up view inside a foxglove ( digitalis purpurea ) flower, taken 2011.



Regards

The Indiana route 37 Harrodsburg road cuts as seen recently. The first pix is looking NW toward the NW cut. The overhang is devoid of minerals. The undercut area of the lowest level contains scattered geodes, but not vugs or voids. The upper levels are very steep, much more so than the photo shows so getting onto them and walking along up there is very difficult. The highest point is about 70' from the road surface to the top. The second pix shows a rock fall of about 2 tons from earlier this year. It was from the overhang of the Southeast cut and, while the overhang here is also devoid of minerals, it took down a bit of the under layer which had several nice geodes. All the rock rubble is both natural falls and collectors pulling down pieces in search of geodes and the occasional fossils The third pix shows several geodes in varying states of degeneration within the rock wall. As seen several are solid and the 2 largest appear hollow. These will slowly decay and fall out in pieces over the next several years. To find fresh ones, especially after freeze/ thaw cycles, collectors take pry bars and peel off the limestone. On the backside of these pieces there may be a half of a freshly opened geode with some surrounding limestone matrix. The piece of roadside garbage is a McDonald's hamburger box. The most common garbage is plastic and aluminum soft drink and beer containers. Next comes fast food bags, boxes and the like. Third in garbage frequency.......believe it or not.......is porno junk like magazines, old CDs etc. I guess if casual collector families are out and about, the kids might get an eye full!