Smith

Jerry Smith Park was- for whatever reason- especially beautiful today; dramatic clouds- a low sun and blue sky- the warm temps and a few wonderful flowers transformed the already-extraordinary park into a more exciting version of itself. It was void of people, and despite a few stormy moments the park was quiet and peaceful. maybe the wind was able to send the sounds of traffic and target practice in another direction- at moments the wind was certainly strong enough.

Some areas of the park are still thick with young trees and cedars- I imagine if this scene- left- is what Larry Rizzo found when he first discovered the prairie remnants near Sager Woods CA.

The ground-cover was green and beautiful, and the still-bald trees could hide less than they will any other time of year. Pink globs of redbud flowers stuck out all over the park! Strawberries were the only flowers on the ground- some cool weathered crinoid fossils too. ..

Prairie Sunset

I headed back for home after the last of my Friday classes; The drive was the best one yet!

The remains of last week's big snowfall reflected everything the sky had to offer... Clouds marbled the sky between the sun and me in a beautiful and threatening way-

The rolling hills north of Savannah were orange, black and white and it all came together to send a mixed message of peace and turbulence.

All sorts of hawks and kestrels- even the occasional eagle. The birds of prey, a few flocks of crows and an early party of American Robins were much closer than all of the geese above, but not as noticeable.

The non-stop black chains of Canada Geese stretched to and from all horizons, as they had all day, but the late-afternoon light kinda forced them to my attention-

Traversing such calm country with no camera batteries was killing me, but I got home soon enough- I made a quick exchange of things and made it to JerrySmith Park as soon as I was able. ..

Almost felt bad for stopping home without seeing or greeting my parents (almost)-- haven't been home in a couple of weeks, but if they had been paying any attention to the spectacular sunset, they would've understood! I spent only a few minutes on the property- I hate having the park's kind caretaker chase me out...

Still, I got some cool photos and a much-needed breathe of something a bit more natural and peaceful than Campus. . enjoy!

Jsmith park

At least my favorite tree is still there. Its been forever since I walked through the park- enough time for a landscaping company, hired by the city to make the park handicap-accessible, to rip a web of long, wide trails from the ground. The trails are shaped and stripped bare of vegetation- the machinery and gravel are all ready for work above the restoration areas. Even the restoration area, however, is seeing it's share of abuse. A braid of trails edged in plastic orange fence leads through the prairie to the new viewing deck.
Even nature has done it's part! Last week's severe storms have left the grass in huge mats- it all lays on the ground now. Trees have shed many branches and the older, dead ones have fallen.
Even the big metal barn-building at the parking area has been hit!
A strip of sheet-metal from the front door is bent in the trees of the fence-row to the east, one from the back door is peeled half-way down and all of the goodies inside are finally visible!
All sorts of cool old farm equipment- from tractors to pull-behinds and even a decaying saddle.
Nothing real special on my little walk, but Jsmith is always a pleasure.

Blue Sage, Salvia azurea, in seed.

Jerry Smith Park

Ive discovered a bunch of photos that were taken a few weeks ago at JSmith. The folder was buried under some other files, but seems to be worth sharing. I visited the park an afternoon just a few days before I left for California. Nothing too exciting, though the Gentian was a nice surprise. The little orange and black guy in the photo was everywhere. I dont know what exactly it was.. would love to learn about it if you know!? Some wierd earth-tongue kind of fungi. The mushrooms were small and yellow, but they were more jello-y than the "earth Tongues" that I found in Colorado.

I did also find a very cool carrion beetle, Nicrophorus I think. The thing was pretty quick for a big clumsy beetle; I only got a few blurred photos. Here is him diving off of a log that i set him on.

I noticed a pile of mite-things swarming his underside. A bunch of tiny, salmon-egg coloured tick things. They especially liked the joints where his limbs came to his body.

JErry SMith

Jerry Smith Park- about a week+half ago. I stepped outside of my house and saw the clouds. The radar had not shown much, but the oddly-dimmed light in the window caught my attention and called me from the computer. a cloud broke the sun's rays and laid a strip of dark across the sky.
I decided to take advantage of the beautiful sky and departed for the one wildland that is open enough to accommodate.

The park host met me at the gate and demanded I turn around and leave. I did not bring up the fact that the park did not close until sunset (it was only about 5:30); I simply requested his permission to park on the road and walk through the park. he shook his head in disapproval, but his support was not anything I wanted. He granted me permission and I split up the dry gravel road with my camera. I immediately became distracted by some milkweeds and echinachias on the entrance road.
The large host locked the gate and drove past me in retreat to his house near the pond. He was on his phone- gave me a wave and a confusing look that could be perceived as anything but friendly. I dont mean to speak badly about the man- he is usually a very nice person; I simply did not like the fact that he would not let me enter the park a good 3.5 hours before it should have closed.

I caught the corridor of the power lines over to the prairies. It rained hard.. I hid my camera with my hat and had to empty my shoes every few minutes. the rain hit hard and for not only a few minutes like I had come to expect from similar storms. No lightning and no thunder. It hailed for a second- and nothing to be concerned about.

I got to the top of the hill and the sun emerged. It continued to pour. The phenomenon presented a photo opp. and I took a few shots in between drying the camera off and changing settings. I did not get anything worth showing off. I traversed the prairie- which has not yet become too thick with bluestem or rose. The clouds cut low enough to put me in a thin, dramatic layer of space between the ground the the opaque ceiling. At this point the rain had stopped-though everything was still swimming in the water that'd fallen from the sky- and the sun peeked just below the dark clouds.
THIS ONE WAS ODD- LOOKED LIKE A MILKWEED TO ME, BUT WAS COMPLETELY WHITE... ALBINO? ANY IDEAS???? There was no wind- the sound of distant traffic was equal to that of the park. The birds and bugs and the grasses and flowers that I brushed through. Found some cool bugs and spiders and lots of them!


Cant wait to get back with my macro!

JSmith- east

I visited the east prarie today just to see what it was looking like. I entered near the electrical station and paced it to see what was in bloom...

.. .I was not disapointed: the list of species is not anywhere near as impressive as the number of blooms that are carpeting the prairie. The compass plant is coming up!

rose verbena

orange puccoon

blue-eyed grass

wild strawberry

dewberry

Prairie Violet

Squaw weed

violet and yellow sorrels

Jerrysmith

Its sunny and the world seems to be drying up! It was 65 degrees today- just PERFECT! The clouds floated over from some tropical paradise and highlighted the park's vast open space.

Verbena, Squawweed, false garlic and redbuds added just the right amount of color!

I found a large male five-lined and a juvi. Two morels under some brush in the saeger woods part.

Visiting the park today was exactly what I needed to chill out...It was so beautiful! I was able to just be. I watched the shadows float across the prairie and I, too, seemed to just float. No, there were no drugs involved.

I wondered in any direction my feet took me and was pretty tired by the time I returned to the parkinglot. It was so cool!

Jerry Smith park

I got out there this morning. It was about 45 degrees F, but it didnt feel THAT cold. I walked to the big tree in the center of the park and followed the stream down. Its flowing well from yesterdays rains. I found several crayfish? borrows along the side of the hill above the stream that I had not seen before. I wrapped around to the sagerwoods trail and flipped some rocks. The snakes and skinks and beetles that I had found a week or so ago are not there- they must have been driven back into their winter places by the cold spell we've recieved this week. I flipped more and found a single, very cold Bombardier Beetle. He fled in slow motion- no fast enough! I put him on a piece of limestone and took some photos. These beetles are facinating! Read about them in a previous post, March 31. Click on the photo to get a larger, more detailed one!

The nettles are up- here is a pic of the underneath of a leaf.. The plant grows these toxic barbs on the stem and leaves. The needles can be so large and strong that they can go through jeans and gloves. They deliver an irritating, stingy-ithchy feeling when the fresh plants are touched- Ive heard its an acid in the needles. The plant is really harmless and has been used for a varitey of medicinal uses from kidney stones to hay fever. I read that the plant offers pain relief- by rubbing the irritating nettles on a wound or painful area... (probably just distracts you from the pain by itching you crazy)

I peeked behind the barn before I left and found a few skinks- two adult femails and a juvinal with a stubby blue tail. The two larger ones never bothered to move, but the little guy did- he was just about as successful as the poor, frozen beetle. He never stopped moving, but I got a pic and left them alone.

Jerry Smith thunderstorms

The first storms of the year. I was going to head over to the Blue River Glades, but decided to take advantage of JSmith's wide open skies for the incoming storms.
I am not too familiar with cloud formations, but I know that they were all there this afternoon. Thick and thin, fluffy and smooth.
I got to the park at about 4pm- the storms still had about an hour to arrive. I ventured onto the prairie- found a creek bed. It trickled, but there was a lot of dried rock and clay exposed. I followed the creek down toward the woods in SagerWoods CA and stumbled upon a puddle. The crystal water had accumulated between the walls of the creek bed and two mounds of eroded rock and clay. About a foot deep and the same in diameter- the clay substrate died it red.
I approached the tiny body of water and watched my faint shadow eclipse it's little sunlight. Something moved. Something small in the water had made a sudden movement and caught my attention.
The wind gusted gently- about 8mph and it rippled the surface of the darkened puddle. I jumped into the stream bed to study it's life- discovered that the bed was very muddy. My poor new shoes.
There it was again! This time the creature left a small cloud of sediment in it's track. Another. There were multiple creatures and I edged toward the water. Its like Quicksand, only nastier. I consider the damage I would do the the creek before I proceeded further, but decided that any storms this evening would undo my doings.
The red mud swallows my ankles. There goes another one! Its cloud disappeared under a rock on my side of the water. I set my cameras on the bank and set both hands in the water. One cupped the open side of the rock; my right hand flipped it.
I must have blinked, because I did not see the tiny crustacean pop out, but he was in my hand. I slowly lifted him out of the water- careful not to let the water rush over my hand too quickly as to take the critter with it. It was a tiny crawdad-maybe a shrimp, I thought- only a few mm in length.
A fairy shrimp? Maybe a blue-claw. No, this was different. And why was he in a small, temporary stream? I knew what it was. My heart jumped with excitement! All I had to do was to prove that it was a prairie crayfish. I dont think theyve been found on the area yet!
I set him on a dime and took a few photos- a shrimpy little thing!
When he realized he was back in the water he bolted. gone in a second!
Off I went to find the proof I knew had to be around. I needed to find an adult, or his chimney. Prairie Crayfish build huge mud tunnels that can stick several inches out of the ground- they had to be there!
I walked up the stream bed to where I had begun, but found nothing. I began to suspect every mud pile to be what I wanted. Back.
There it was. Just a few feet on the opposite side of the babes- a small tunnel, though no mud chimney. I took a photo and continued to search. Another. This one was huge, and was everything I wanted to find. Im still very excited about my discovery- I think its an important one!
The sky grew bright, but I had made my way into the woods and could only see what was directly above me. Sunlight- the trees became bright.
I flipped a rock. Another. Another. Nobody.
I strolled down the Sager Woods trail until I found a second creek bed. This one was bone-dry, but It was worth a try. I flipped a rock. A camouflaged skink was surprised. He shot under a near rock. The rock was flat and was tight to the ground. I let him alone and went up a few feet. A large, loose rock kept my eyes, and I was drawn to it. The overturned rock exposed four five-lined (bluetail) skinks. They are all very large- fat- one is significantly more colorful than the others, and smaller. I assume this one is a male-the others, female.
They scattered and I cornered one for a blurred photo. Disappointing; she was beautifully posed!
One of them iridescent purple beetles scurried from another rock. I snatched him up and cupped him against the larger rock until I felt him settle down. It took a few trys, but I got him to stay still enough for an exciting close-up. Click on the photo for a larger, more detailed view.

I returned the rock, satisfied with my photos. I immediately noticed how dark it was and remembered why I had come to the park in the first place. Such distractions are common for me in the natural places I visit. It is unusual and disappointing when I have an outing that does not find me in a place I did not expect to go, or show me a plant or bug that consumes more of my time than I have to spend with it.
But this was perfect. A rumble of thunder evoked a series of yells, screams, hoots and hollers from several different Great Horned owls in the woods below me. A kestrel replied. He was very close and his deafening scream surprised me.
In the distance- where the evening sun should be, were some darker clouds.- just dark enough to notice. They grew quickly and approached swiftly. They were more glorious and impressive with every second and they stole every bit of my attention for many minutes. The wind picked up- but it was headed west. Toward the clouds. .. odd.
They continued to grow and when they became as large as I thought they could be, the bottoms began to boil. They bubbled and blistered until they were close and huge. I took photos and ran up the hill for several different foregrounds. I think that these are called mammatus clouds.
the sky to my left was even darker. . The sky above the steel barn appeared black, but the bottom of the cloud was smooth and creepy. I couldnt get a good photo of this one.
The wind died. completely and suddenly. It was silent with the exception of a faint rumble of thunder and that of the nearby traffic. the clouds passed over me quickly and seemed to dissipate soon after. - they became grey and normal looking and the wind returned. It was very cool- even spooky for a few minutes, but it was missing the overall feel of a powerful storm that I miss from last season.. .Perhaps I'll get the severe part later this week. Images were only slightly altered (cropped and contrast-the usual) and no special anythings used. ENJOY! below photo I adjusted midtones to make darker+more dramatic.

Jsmith PArk

The weather is that of a cool, stormy June- Its very warm and humid; a strong, yet gentle breeze sweeps the prairie. There were thick, dark grey clouds above me and the sky elsewhere is marbled in grey and blue

I start my hike in a direction from those that I have started in the past- Down the muddy, eroded path that is the Saeger Woods trail and our fire line. Above the wind I can hear the Chorus Frogs- they get louder when the darkest clouds roll over.

The area surrounding the path has been thinned of trees and the tracks of heavy machines packed the earth. I eased down to my knees to pick up a small chrinoid fossil out of the trail/stream bed and, to my surprise, discovered a small snake at the base of the rock. HE was about 12 inches long and his head was thinner than his body. He was a faded clay-red and a tan strip stretched the length of his spine.

Adult Texas Brown Snake- out and about!

Intrigued by my unusually march discovery, I flipped another rock just to my right. There was nothing, but after I had continued down the trail a bit I flipped two more. One, on the left side of the trail, hosted a large female five-lined skink and an equally impressive ground-beetle that had an iridescent purple glow.

The other rock was home to a handful of Prairie ringneck snakes, another purple ground-beetle, and a couple bombardier beetles. After I was through photographing the critter I was able to catch, I fixed up their homes and set them next to the rocks. I tried to capture the beetles, but the larger purple ones proved to be too quick and the others were too intimidating without a container.
I was first introduced to the Bombardier beetles at Jerry Smith's Bioblitz, where, upon capturing one in my hands, received a nasty pinch and an irritating blast of 'acid' from it's rear. The large beetles, which have a bright orange thorax and legs and a dark, iridescent abdomen and wing-covers (elytra), force the dark fluid (a mix of hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide) into a thick-walled reaction chamber in their abdomen. The two chemicals are stored separately and when they meet with the chemicals in the reaction chamber, they are broken down and an exothermic reaction occurs which releases O2 and enough heat to vaporise a portion of it. A 'POP' is heard when the released O2 is pressurized enough to burst through a small opening on the tip of the abdomen and the vapors and boiling chemicals are squirted. It smells nasty and creates a sensation that is unique and sometimes painful.

I will have to get a photo of one this year to post up on the blog.

Anyways, I continued onto the prairie and the sun peaked through the clouds several times. I grabbed a hunk of OsageOrange wood that I found lying on the ground and iu headed back for the truck. The wood is very heavy compared to the size of the piece that I nabbed, and is a bright yellow colour. I will try to carve it.

My favorite tree on the park bears tiny green leaves and buds- it is the large one in the center of the prairie ( the one I got that cool sunset pic with)

The horizon behind it is as dark as grey can get before it must be considered black and is in awesome contrast to the remainder of the huge, bright sky. No rain yet.