Time Lapse

No self-respecting nature journal would be complete without a time-lapse post. Of course, time-lapse recording is an art unto itself these days with thousands of them available on YouTube and elsewhere. Most high end digital cameras have time-lapse capabilities built in - even so, a great deal of planning is required to pull off some of the stuff you see on the Internet. You can watch a bridge construction compressed into a minute or two and even watch children age years in a few minutes.

My humble time-lapses are far more simplistic. Just some seasonal scenes, marching though time, like my own slow, but highly enjoyable journey through life. At some point I hope to create some more sophisticated ones, involving plants and flowers. But first I'll have to read the camera manual and figure out how to do them. LOL.

Meanwhile, here's a mini-series of a wheat field near our home. This was more of an accidental experiment to test the waters so to speak. The main thing I learned was that next time using a calendar to set up shooting dates would be very helpful.

Oct. 2, 2013 - Sprouting winter wheat

Nov. 21, 2013 -  On its way...

May 20, 2014 - About 18 in. Tall

Jul 28, 2014 - Ready to Harvest

Sept. 16, 2014 - Plowed Under

Oct. 7, 2014 - Tiny seedlings barely visible

Oct. 16, 2014 - After 10 days of sunny weather, more green!

Nov. 6, 2014 - Cooler and wetter days now.

My only other time-lapse effort predates the one above. It covers a year in the life of the Harris bridge on Farmington Road. Pretty exciting stuff - if you're a salamander!

Harris Bridge Time-Lapse

Curious Plant Names

If you've read some of my previous posts, then you know I have a fascination with plant names. And it's not only me; entire books have been written about weird plants and their strange names. Searching the Internet also produces hundreds of sites with articles about strange plants and names. For me, I prefer to "focus" on the local findings, so as to make it more relevant. I try to envision what went through the minds of the original folks doing the name giving. Sometimes this seems to have little connection to the real world, but in most cases the name does have some bearing on usage or appearance.

Here's a few of those local favorites, previously unpublished in this blog (wow!).

Shoo-Fly Plant (Nicandra physalodes)

As the name implies, this member of the Nightshade family has some insect repellent qualities. It is native to South America and can grow to about 3 feet high. I found these growing at Champoeg State Park, which can be a buggy place by the river. The flowers have a wonderful blue tint and produce a "paper lantern" type of seed pod, seen below.

The attractive flower is about the size of a silver dollar.

     

Leafy Beggarticks (Bidens frondosa)

These wetland plants can populate large areas, where their fruits provide good eating for songbirds and waterfowl. The curious name is derived from the tick-like appearance of the tiny fruits and their habit of sticking to just about anything, such as my socks and pants! Rood Bridge Park and Jackson Bottom have acres of these currently in bloom, as well as the similar Nodding Beggartick, which has flowers that "nod" their flower heads downward.

      

   

Nodding Beggarticks

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

This small daisy-like, bushy plant is a traditional medicinal herb that has been used for migraines and arthritis. The name implies it can be used as a fever reducer, but scientific evidence shows it has little use beyond the placebo effect! Interestingly, you can search the Internet and buy bottles of Feverfew capsules even now. Feverfew is native to Eurasia and is sometimes grown as an ornamental. We found some growing in our yard as well as along the road where we walk the dog!

     

This bush is about 18 in. tall and the flowers are about the
 size of a quarter

Bugloss Fiddleneck (Amsinckia lycopsoides)

Also called Tarweed Fiddleneck, you'll see this easy to spot, native weedy plant growing in disturbed areas and wetlands in late spring and summer. The bent top end of the plant resembles a fiddle, hence the name. The sticky nature of the plant accounts for the Tarweed but the Bugloss part is a stretch as Fiddlenecks are part of the Borage family and most of those have blue flowers. Hmmm... We found these blooming at Jackson Bottom in late May 2014.

Classic Fiddleck bloom

A stand of Fiddlenecks.

Jointed Charlock (Raphanus raphanistrum)

One of my favorite weedy flowers, this non-native wild radish belongs to the Mustard family. The simple flowers have just four petals, and can vary in color from white to blue. They are excellent pollinators and grow in most sunny spots at low elevations. The Jointed name refers to the string bean-like fruits that have joints between the seeds. As for Charlock, this name is elusive. Its origins are unclear and it may well be a phonetic adaptation of a proper name (i.e., Sherlock). In any event, we found this rare tan one at Jackson Bottom.

Ladybird Beetles?

On Iris tenax at Cape Perpetua

Just the other day I was sitting out on the deck having my afternoon coffee. I was thinking to myself, what a perfect summer we have enjoyed this year. Our senior-aged cat, Pandora, was stretched out on the table staring at me through half opened eyes as I ruminated about summer. Then, I swear, she put a bug in my ear... "critters," was the silent mental deposit she left with me; or was I just real low on caffeine? Well, no matter, with the bloom season drying up like last year's tube of sunscreen, the blog is starting to be a bit anemic.

OK, I thought to myself, that's not a bad idea, we can do a post devoted to the critters seen while on my quest for flowers - how exciting would that be?! Pandora yawned and seemed to nod slightly in approval, prior to resuming her nap.  As I pondered the possibilities for such a post, the phone rang, so I came back to reality like a used car salesman closing a deal on the last day of the month. Soon I was on another track, the critters post taking a distant place in memory...

In my quest to find more blooms, I often find butterflies, bees, and ladybugs on plants or flowers. Although the butterflies are more photogenic, the tiny ladybugs are usually easier to capture because they don't fly as much. So when I was looking through a raft of my yet to be posted photos, I noticed quite a few ladybugs - and then my critters thought returned like an unsigned Form 1040 on tax day. So, here's a small collection of ladybird beetles for your viewing pleasure as you sip the beverage of your choice.

Elsewhere in the world, ladybugs are called ladybird beetles, and are members of the Coccinellidae family of beetles. It's a huge family with over 5,000 species worldwide and 450 just in North America. For the most part, ladybird beetles are desirable because they eat large numbers of aphids and other garden pests. The "lady" part of the common name comes from a middle ages European tale of farmers who were losing their crops to pests. They prayed to the Virgin Mary for relief and the beetles showed up to rid the pests. They were named lady beetles after that. See the links below for other fascinating ladybird beetle factoids!

Several years ago, for her birthday, I gave Sharon a bag of live ladybugs for the garden. The bag had at least 100 of the beetles so naming them was not an option. Those little "buggers" quickly dispersed over our property and who knows, we probably still have descendants flying around doing their work today (see photo below)!

On Rose of Sharon in our yard (2014)

On Tarweed at Jackson Bottom Wetlands

Pupal form on Lupine at Jackson Bottom Wetlands

On Yellow Salsify at the Tualatin River
Wildlife Refuge in Sherwood

Looking for aphids at Jenkins Estate

Links

Ladybug wiki article

Ladybug Factoids

Ladybug, Ladybug fly away poem