Macro Monday: Dew Drop By!

I'm still under the weather with an inner ear/sinus infection trying to finish up some client ad designs. If you've ever had inner ear trouble, you know how unbalanced your coordination can get. The drizzle and cooler weather we've received has been delightful and made for some nice photos this morning. At least shooting macro I am closer to the ground, not so far to fall!

Native Fall Aster

Ground spider web

Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar

Mold, not snow!

Fall color in grass seedheads

For more up close views of the world, visit Macro Monday.

How to Tell Girls from Boys

Most plants are bisexual, containing both male (stamens) and female (pistil) parts. Sometimes the stamens and pistil are together in the same flower and sometimes there are separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Either way, these are called monoecious, from the Greek "one household".

However, some plants still depend on the wind to pollinate them and are called dioecious, that is, having separate male and female plants. Typically they do not have petals and they make a lot of pollen. This is our native Cardinal Feather flower, Acalypha radians, which is dioecious. It is always a favorite on my botanical tours.

This is also Cardinal Feather flower.

 

Sometimes it doesn't take a botanist to tell which flowers are the girls and which are the boys. Just sayin'.

Sunday Stills: Signs of Fall

Living so close to Mexico as I do, we won't be seeing too many signs of fall until October or even November. Mostly we are feeling the signs of fall. After an abnormally hot summer, with three entire months of temperatures between 103-110, having 80 degrees at noon feels rather pleasant!

So instead, I will show you some signs of September color where I live. Your life has probably been touched by this stuff, and you never knew about it. This is the time of year that the female Cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus) lays a white fluffy substance containing larvae on the pads of our Prickly Pear  Cactus (Opuntia sp.).

When this white fluff is collected...

...and crushed...

...it produces a natural red dye that is more stable than synthetic colors. The Cochineal is native to South America and Mexico (and obviously this part of Texas which once belonged to Mexico). Cochineal dye was used by the Aztecs and Mayas, and once was the second largest commodity after silver exported from Mexico. The Navajos still use it to dye wool red for their rugs.

After the Spanish conquest, it was exported to Europe, and even was so valuable as to be quoted regularly on the London and Amsterdam Commodities Exchange.

England, wanting to control their own source for the coloring, transplanted it from Brazil to Australia in 1787. Can you guess the use for which the British wanted it?

That's right...there would have been no Red Coats without this little insect and its white fluff.

Chances are very high that you've worn and consumed this insect in your daily life! It is currently used in both the food and cosmetic industry. You'll see it listed as carminic acid, red color E120, and carmine. It's found in alcohol and soft drinks, meats, cheeses, pastries, jams, lipstick, blush, face powder, eyeshadow, hair coloring, oil paint, water colors just to name a few.

Each year people consume an estimated 1-2 drops with their food. This could be of concern if you are vegetarian, vegan, Jewish, or Muslim. Don't like the idea of consuming crushed insect larvae? A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation will require all foods and cosmetics containing cochineal to declare it on their ingredient labels as of January 5, 2011. Still, with cochineal red being one of the safest colorants, I kind of doubt there will be much information letting people know its source.

For some classic signs of fall, visit Sunday Stills!

Macro Monday: Maple Seeds

I remember the first time as a child I found a maple seed floating in a small lake at summer camp and thought it was the wings of an insect. The counselor assured me it was plant life and nothing to be worried about.

There is a nearby canyon of Bigtooth Maples, an isolated remnant of ones from the north. These photos are from mine, even more astray. Since my macro shots didn't come out as crisp as I would have liked them, I decided to make them more artsy with filters.

I've already seen the first of the migratory Viceroy and Monarch Butterflies coming through to feed on our Frostweed, and I think the maple seeds back lit by the sun greatly resemble their wings. It's interesting how much mimicry there is in nature. In the case of the Viceroy, it is a comimic of the Monarch butterfly. But what is the purpose of the maple seed to resemble insect wings?

For more up close views on the world, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Leaving Impressions

It's neat to discover something I missed before, like how the agave plant leaves an impression of itself. I checked all our agave plants, and every leaf holds a record like this of its unfurling growth. Being succulents, they have saved up for the rainless days.

In Mexico the sap of this plant is fermented to produce a drink called pulque which is distilled into mezcal, or tequila. These can leave an impression on you, too.

Visit Macro Monday for more sights of the up close world.

Jemez Springs or at Least Looking for Them

Driving up from Bernalillo, through the Jemez Pueblo and the mountain town of Jemez Springs, we stopped at the Soda Dam. It has been over a decade since I was here last and it was sad to see that all the little dams within the cave had been broken away by people crawling through it.

Some creative soul, though, had made snakes and lizards out of nails hammered closely together on the entrance logs. Pretty cool.

There were probably 50+ people swimming here in the Jemez River, so it was quite a feat to get photos without them in it. We stopped at the first campground where I'd stayed before and it was full! Guess I'd never come during summer before.

Where have all the flowers gone? Young girls picked them every one.

The Jemez Falls campground also said full, but the park host let us know someone had just left and the site was ours if we could claim it before anyone else. It was a beautiful site.

We opted to stay two nights. Each evening an electrical storm blew in and it rained. This might have discouraged some campers, but since we haven't seen much of the stuff lately we were delighted. Rain--what a concept!

Sunday we spent the day looking for hot springs. We got up very early to beat the crowds the park host had described, and hiked the trail to Jemez Falls. There were numerous wild orchids blooming in the pine duff.

These little falls above the big falls were delightful...

as were the Harebells, Campanula rotundifolia.

Jemez Falls is always a lovely spot.

We backtracked up to the trail head and followed the trail sign toward McCauley Springs. Now, all of the hot springs I've ever visited were right alongside the river they were associated with.

The trail was strenuous, up and down, and kept climbing up and away from the river. Maybe because I was out of shape it seemed like we had already gone the 2.5 miles. Looking down from this precipice I could not imagine us further away from them. We came upon a little stream, and in retrospect, I should have stuck a foot in it. But at this point we gave up and turned around, retracing our way. The parking lot was almost empty, where were the throngs?

We met only a woman and her daughters looking for the springs. We talked again to the park host, who admitted he wasn't sure where they were as it had been a while since he had been. We decided to drive up the road where lots of people park, assuming hot springs were nearby.

Nope, folks were just going down to some part of the river where it was deep enough to jump from cliffs. Along the way we saw this flower. At first I thought it was Apache Plume, but I think it's something else I'll have to study. The locals here told us we should go to Spence hot springs as they were easiest to find and right on the river.

We got there and a strangely dressed man from Russia greeted us. I said hello in Russian and he corrected my pronunciation. He was wearing a dress shirt, shoes, and socks, but with outdoor shorts and sort of a woven safari hat. Maybe his luggage was lost, or is this how they look adventuring in Steppes? Or, perhaps a nuclear scientist (or spy) from Los Alamos with a small wardrobe?

Anyway, he seemed well versed on how to get to all the local hot springs, and in recounting our earlier trek to find McCauley he said we were basically there when we turned around! Rats! The newest problem, though, was both trails to Spence hot spring were closed due to landslides. While we were talking numerous locals ignored the signs and headed for warm waters. He did not want to risk his visa, and we really didn't want to incur any fines so we left.

Down the hill, and around the bend was a day use fishing park...might not a short hike up the river lead us to the springs? We were off, pushing through brush. And snakes. And crossing the river. And displacing fly fishermen. Finally, we saw the highway above and hiked out, realizing we still were no where near the springs.

Our solution? We drove down to Jemez Spring and rented a hot spring at Giggling Springs.

Years ago I rented this as part of an accommodation...there was the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and the small cabin I stayed in, the Skinny Dipper! But the owners turned that into the dressing room, and now make their money renting the hot spring by the hour.

No wonder, as it's impossible to find the others!

Color Carnival: Gonolobus

No, it isn't an STD. It's a type of Milkweed flower that inhabits Mexico. I love the intricate, magenta center. Originally called Gonolobus cyclophyllus, it is now known as Matelea cyclophyllus. Like many asclepiads it is pollinated by flies and has the fragrance of carrion. I must need two of them, as this one has never developed a seed pod. Do you have one I could borrow?

For more colorful photos, visit this week's Color Carnival!

Sunday Stills: Things with Wings

This week's photography challenge was wings. I have been working on my own challenge of color manipulating backgrounds without altering the colors of the subject.

Here is the winged stem of Frostweed, Verbesina virginica. It gets its common name from the fact that in the winter when it freezes the dead stems will split and curly shavings of ice will extrude out. They live in colonies in the understory of our creek and serve as butterfly cafes when blooming. You can see a photo of one in bloom with a butterfly at this older post.

I think Borage is one of the most intensely beautiful blue flowers in the herb garden. After we finished picking blackberries yesterday (see previous post) I caught these ladybugs enjoying them too. There is a folktale that if you float these flowers in the drink of a man you like he will ask you to marry him.

This is a Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, so perfect it must have just emerged from its chrysalis to sun itself. The bitterness of its host plant--Pipevine--makes it unpalatable to birds.

Check out more interpretations of wings at Sunday Stills.

Easy for You to Say

Today I came across this bright orange Large Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, on the ripening pods of Antelope Horns, Asclepias asperula. He was extremely shy after this first shot and I kept chasing him around the plant--on my knees in a wet ditch--but this was the best one, with him smack dab in the middle of the frame. To crop would be to lose the pod and the image is really about their relationship. Maybe tomorrow he'll warm up to me and go about his business as I go about mine.

Ideal

This morning I caught this beetle on a flower known as Crow Poison, Nothoscordum bivalve. Over the next week I will be sharing the various native wildflowers blooming on the farm. Because of the exceptional drought there aren't the usual big stands of things, but most species are represented if you are willing to look for them. I had the pleasure of guiding some folks from out of state recently who were interested in the flora of the Hill Country.

Normally the short grass prairie would be so full of flowers you could not leave the path without stepping on one.

The garden is looking good, although we are behind on planting many things.

The lettuce grew so slowly, even with irrigation, that by the time it was the right size to eat it was already bitter.

Farmer Rick has been doing a great job with the compost process. We will be adding more bins across the creek near the new coop once it is finished.

A week ago we heard the Chuck Wills Widow calling from the creek. It is such an ethereal sound. Wednesday the Hooded Oriole and his gal showed up at their feeder. It's nice to have them back.

I wish I could say the same for the bird that sings (if you can call it that!) so loudly by my bedroom window that I cannot get a good night's sleep. He showed up for the second year in a row on Tuesday. My friend Bob B. helped me identify it as the Yellow-Breasted Chat, Icteria virens. Their song is described as "an odd, variable mixture of cackles, clucks, whistles and hoots. Their calls are harsh chak's". To this I would add very loud, and continuous from midnight to 5 a.m. I've started turning the sprinkler on under the tree all night to shoo him off. I hear him in the back keeping the sheep awake now.

After all, Finley is already used to annoying birds.

Avo...well he's just Avo. What can be said for a rooster in love with a blind sheep and thinks he has fathered Finley? (Notice how he's posing by the word Ideal?)

Here's Finley's idea of the ideal rooster...

Pinning the Pieces Wednesday

Today we learned how to use foil. I am thinking about foiling some of the butterfly wings tonight. Because Creations, our on-site store, did not have lining fabric and I want this back shield to move freely across the back of the coat, I had to venture into town. Currently there are about 200 pins holding this together.

We also learned about using different threads, and I picked some mid-value variegated to do the first pass. I love every one's finger ring pin cushions and will have to make myself one when I get home.

Fortunately Nancy, a local quilter attending a different workshop, not only knew how to get to a store, she offered to drive me there. I have never worked with satin before, but since this is a project of many firsts, it seemed OK. I "auditioned" the collage on teal and there was too much contrast, and apple green was to bright. I settled on this dark maroon. It seems to bring out the rich hues. I bought enough to line the entire coat.

As an added perk, she took me on a tour of the park, and through downtown where I saw a mural I actually helped with about a decade ago--the artist contacted me to borrow a photo of the Lindheimer's Morning Glory to use in the art that decorates the museum of the famous Texas botanist. I was invited to the grand opening, but my boss wouldn't let me off. This was the first time I ever saw it.