Sanborn County Park

On Saturday D. and I decided to visit Sanborn County Park, and I took these pics.

We set out on the John Nicholas Trail, heading into Lyndon Canyon, which coincidentally parallels the San Andreas Earthquake Fault.


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An Alien World in Menlo ParkOn Saturday D. and I went to the salt crystallization ponds in Menlo Park, where we found an alien landscape with few traces of life (and what little life there was struggling to survive). This contrasted sharply with the flourishing life in an adjacent flood control channel flowing with fresh water. Here's some pics I ( Read more... )

Sunday Bugs: Wolf Spider & Spiderlings

There are some wolf spiders (genus Pardosa) living in my backyard.  A few days ago I saw a female carrying an egg sac.  A couple of days after that I saw her with a teeming mass of just-hatched spiderlings clustered on her back, a common thing among mom wolf spiders.  I think they're kinda cute, in the way ( Read more... )

Local Spider: Wolf Spider with Egg Sac

Here's a mom wolf spider in my back yard, carrying her egg sac attached to her spinnerets. Her eye configuration leads me to conclude she is in the genus Pardosa. Spiders in this genus do not spin webs, preferring to hunt instead. They use their silk only for making an egg sac.


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Sunday BugsI saw a lot of bugs in the back garden on Sunday. Here are some of them ( Read more... )

Local spider

Small wolf spider near our back door. It was fast as lightning in spite of missing 2 rear legs.


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