Sunday, April 20, 2008

Our Lives in Oregon

For those of my readers who didn't know, I don't live on Maggie yet. I live with my Grandma Janet in Cottage Grove. Things are cramped with too many dogs and too many humans in one little house making a mess and sometimes we get into some nasty snits. We will have eventually renovated the house on the farm, although the move in date has been postponed until late May. (Hopefully this is the last postponement. )


Too many beings
Make a mess
All belongings absorbed







Clouded Salamander[Aneides ferreus]
A wild turkey on Maggie


Rubber Boa
(Charina bottae)

Ed Cooley (the guy who ranches the cattle on Maggie) found a rubber boa on his land near Elkton and brought it to the ranch to show off. The rubber boa is one of the few boa constrictors native to North America. They're docile and make great pets, but their numbers have declined in recent years. Cause unknown.







Snow on Maggie is uncommon, but in April it's downright bizarre. Global warming, aka climate change must be at work. I'm not joking!!!


I stand in the cold
Looking at a winter wonderland
My happiness tainted by fear


Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa)



To get this picture me and Dad drove into a remote area of Maggie to find the cows. After the photo was snapped the truck got stuck in the road (which was a mixture of mud and cow leavings). We had to reverse through the snow up the hill to get away.







Prune blossoms

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Springtime Maggie

Spring has sprung on Maggie. The newts are mating and laying eggs. The frog tadpoles are starting to swim around in the ponds. And the reptiles are becoming more frequent.






Dad took the picture at left.



We found this newt in one of the ponds on Maggie. She appears to be pregnant. We also found some egg sacks (probably newt). The species may be Rough Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)


We netted this tadpole in the pond. He/she could be a Pacific tree frog on the way.

The spotted frog below, which we found this weekend, is probably a Pacific tree frog: Hyla regilla. However we have not seen one with black speckles before.
Here is a Pacific tree frog with no speckles.





We found another skink, but it may be the same one we found before


This millipede was nearly five inches long!!