Jack's Pond, part 2

There was one last plant we learned about before we went home from Jack's Pond....

Jack's Pond

Today, our family had a lovely time visiting Jack's Pond! Here are some native plants that we saw along the way:

Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush.

Timothy correctly identified this aromatic plant as a plant that Native Americans used to make tea. It was also used as a spice in foods. We have a small specimen growing in our front yard and I love to smell it!

Heteromeles arbutifolia, also known as Toyon, Christmas berry or California holly.

This plant grew in large bushes all around the park. They were very lovely and would make a wonderful addition to a yard. Native Americans also used to eat the berries of this plant. I suppose many other people thought they were nice plants as well, because there is a special law protecting it! According to Wikipedia, "In the 1920s, collecting toyon branches for Christmas became so popular in Los Angeles, California that the State of California passed a law forbidding collecting on public land or on any land not owned by the person picking the plant without the landowner's written permission (CA Penal Code § 384a)." It's a good thing we didn't try to take any home!

Mimulus aurantiacus, the Sticky monkey-flower.

We can tell you from experience that the Stick Monkey-flower is, indeed, very sticky.

Opuntia occidentalis, also known as a Prickly pear.

The thick flat structure you see pictured is called a "cladode". It looks like a leaf, and indeed it carries out photosynthesis like a leaf, but it is actually part of the stem!

Xylococcus bicolor, also known as a Mission manzanita.

This is a lovely member of the chaparral plant species. Apparently, coyotes will eat it's berries. I didn't even know coyotes ate berries.

Marah macrocarpus, also known as manroot, wild cucumber, or "Old man in the ground".

Timothy identified this one as well, I would not have noticed it if he hadn't! This is a very strange plant; vines grow from a large, bulbous central root which can weigh over 200 pounds. It grows large spiny fruits, but it is poisonous.

My family may want to look at the list of plants that grow at Jack's Pond to see if you can remember any other plants we saw!

Steam Engine Museum

Cyclocosmia

OK, so imagine this: one day you're digging around in the dirt for no reason, and suddenly you see this thing that sort of looks like a crazy ancient artifact hanging out in the dirt.

And you're like "Wow! I found some cool ancient coin or... something!" Well, you're not sure what it is, but you're pretty sure it's man made.

WRONG

IT'S A SPIDER

This spider is named Cyclocosmia Truncata (think "truncated") and it is a trapdoor spider. Apparently, it's strange "truncated" abdomen is used sort of like a shield to protect itself against predators. If a predator enters it's trapdoor-spider-tunnel, the spider rushes into a tight passageway and uses it's hard abdomen to block it off - it's body safe behind the shield.

When I first saw this spider, I could not believe that such an amazing looking thing actually existed!

What an awesome and creative God this spider had!

Nathaniel on GodTube.com -- almost 3,000 views!

hay doh wee from wings-as-eagles on GodTube.

Monkey head dancing. By Nathaniel.

Nathaniel age 8

Pleasant Pheasant

We had a pleasant pheasant in our backyard.

Amazing predatory slugs!!

When the word "slug" comes to mind, many of us think of something slow, something humble, something that could only avoid predation if it were poisonous or just very, very, bad tasting - and never something that could catch prey of any kind, let alone keep pace with it! But not so! Behold, the amazing predatory slug!

Here we see the voracious predator having successfully wrestled it's prey into submission; thoroughly immobilizing and entrapping it's prey in sticky slime. Soon the digestive juices secreted through it's pharynx will begin to act, dissolving and externally digesting it's prey. And here is video from this astonishing natural drama captured by a Japanese amateur wildlife filmmaker: This "slug" is in the strictest sense not a "slug" at all (slugs being mollusks), but rather a member of the Family Geoplanidae, commonly called land planarians. Planarians are a type a flatworm, but don't freak out! These little guys are completely harmless to humans.

There are many interesting facts about these amazing little critters! Some are known to hunt by picking up chemical signals left by their prey. They eat just about any other little bug that might be crawling along the ground, such as earthworms, mites and spiders, snails and slugs, all types of insects, and even each other! They can grow up to 20 cm, that's nearly 8 inches! Some kinds have their eyes on their "tails" instead of their "heads" (how the scientists tell which is which, I have no idea). And although they can lay eggsacks, their primary method of reproductive system involves breaking off bits of themselves, somehow... something I don't entirely understand, but it's still interesting! They also come in many colorful varieties:

But even with all these interesting facts, land planarians are a poorly known and understudied group of animals. I could find very little specific information about them on the internet!

More videos of interest:

• A land planarian eating a moth
• a hammer-head land planarian slithering on moss
• a stripy one (apparently a juvenile?)

More on how it eats: It's pharynx (it's "throat") comes out of it's "belly" as seen here (warning! TOTALLY GROSS!!!! BLEH!! YUK!!)

Nathaniel's Birthday!

We went to Legoland!

Nathaniel was king for the day.

And, of course, we had cake.

Happy Birthday Nathaniel!

Lost Pigeon

San Diego BlackOut

Timbuktu!

Food Stand

Made by Nathaniel.

Catalina Island trip (Video)

Catalina Island trip (picture)

Spreckels Organ

Baby Quails

Today we saw quails outside our window. There were big mommy and daddy quails, and there were lots of baby quails following them.

We saw them go to the back yard and saw the parents jump up on the wall. The babies couldn't follow, because they were too small. Then we went outside to see the babies. When we came up to them we couldn't see them anymore because they were hiding. But suddenly they burst out of their hiding and ran everywhere!

Then we went inside, but after awhile, we realized there was one in the house! It ran and hid, and all we could hear was chirping, but we couldn't find it. Finally we found it in Timothy's notebook, hiding in the spine.

We caught it and let it go back to its mommy!