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In My Yard #3
I tell my students that the small things rule in terms of how this planet functions and in the same vein you don't need a big fancy garden and professional landscaping to enjoy the little pleasures of a garden. So in that spirit, here are a few pictures from this weekend. Clicking on a picture will take you to my Flickr photostream where you can see the full sized images.
These ants belong to the genus Crematogaster. These workers were on a busy trail by my pond. I took about 30 shots to get one relatively sharp shot of the ants.
This is my pond in 2006. A bit over grown. By the way my pond does not have a pump or filter and yet it has a couple of nice healthy mock coy(A.K.A. feeder goldfish from the pet store) that made it through the winter.
The left hand side of the pond has just been reworked and now has a small group of dwarf trees. So I had some macro fun with those today. Here is a dwarf Norway Spruce up real close. The droplets are not dew; I had just watered the plants..but you can pretend.
Vinca up close. A common ground cover but a wonderful plant none the less.
Finally...here are some chives, the flower heads still in their lavender sheaths.
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5 May 2008 at 5:12 a.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
Great shots again!
So Paul, which of your dogs knows the secret password for the ants?
Like in the movie Babe, it must have told those ants to hold still for the photo.
We love feeder goldfish. Knowing a hand full of food gets tossed in a big tank, so only a few eat at any one feeding, they don't have a good chance for long life. But we choose one larger one anyway. It was named and welcomed into the family. It actually would swim into a cupped hand held in the water, sort of a fish hug. It grew some, and was the star of the tank, it being the only occupant other than the plecostemus that had grown from 1 1/2 inches to over 12 in a very short time. (Give the fish a big tank and it will take advantage of it LOL)
Then horror struck.
One morning I came downstairs to see something going in a circular, “current” motion counter clockwise up and down in the tank.
The poor thing had died during the night, and was being circulated by the power filter.
The kids were devastated, it was just as emotional as if a beloved dog had passed.
*~D
5 May 2008 at 3:54 p.m.
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punkrockmom (Anonymous) says…
Amazing pictures.
5 May 2008 at 4:24 p.m.
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liggyon (David Lignell) says…
“These ants belong to the genus Crematogaster… I took about 30 shots to get one relatively sharp shot of the ants.”
Relatively sharp?! Hokey Peat!!
I'd say these are fantastic shots. Maybe it's best to leave the mini-world to the Scientists, such as you, who understand the Ecosystem. One more “relatively” sharp photo like that one and I'm apt to stay up at night at the slightest sound.
Thanks again, Dr. Paul, for a well-researched, interesting post.
Dave
5 May 2008 at 4:48 p.m.
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pdecell (Paul Decelles) says…
Don't worry Dave,
The ants are only a couple of mm long at most. There is a really neat Crematogaster around here which is golden with wonderful gold colored “hairs” on its body and I 'd love to get some shots of that ant. Also we do have army ants around here too and they would be neat to get shots of.
5 May 2008 at 4:52 p.m.
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pdecell (Paul Decelles) says…
Multi,
Your story reminds me of the time we had a big fresh water aquarium in our living room and two crayfish that divided the tank between them. One morning my son excitedly yelled that we had three crayfish and one of them was getting eaten by another. Turned out one had shed-and the “extra” crayfish was the shed exoskeleton of one of the others.
Of course the crayfish that had shed was soft, rendering it a choice morsel for the other one.
5 May 2008 at 5:07 p.m.
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Logan72 (Alia Ahmed) says…
Paul,
Great photographs and even greater patience on your part to get them.
5 May 2008 at 5:43 p.m.
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justbegintowrite (Ronda Miller) says…
The picture of the ants make them look as though they are made out of crystal or something like it - they look beautiful and fragile.
I really enjoyed all of the photos, Paul! Thank you for taking us someplace small and different - nice change for the world I usually see.
The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah
5 May 2008 at 9:31 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
Great, now I have to go research what the red and black ants were in my back window at the same time they found red ant hills in some landscaping trees in the nieghborhood just over “there”.
If Paul's were only 2mm, that means they aren't the same ones I saw.
At my age, I feel the curiousity that has fed my brain, may also be a curse.
5 May 2008 at 9:41 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
I just went to the KSDA Insect website.
They really need to hire you for their photos.
I obtained more reasons to question, than I did answers.
One insect that I was told was a “Crane Fly” isn't on the list.
Only a couple of ants.
6 May 2008 at 3:49 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
Hey look at what this goldfish was trained to do!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopi…
6 May 2008 at 4:14 p.m.
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pdecell (Paul Decelles) says…
ROFL how cute!
Actually there have been serious attempts to condition free range fish to come to a net in response to a sound. The idea is to condition fish to a sound with a food reward, let them free range and then give the sound at which time the fish come to the net to be caught…
http://www.ariamarine.com/Fish%20Ranchin…
To me it seems like an exercise in selecting for stupid fish since the smart one's get eaten.
6 May 2008 at 5:31 p.m.
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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…
I just love to see the tv shows, where they tell about the attempts and successes of training zoo animals to respond to training to help individually feed, get treatment etc.
LIke training little frogs to hop up a ramp into individual little pens, so they can medicate and feed, making sure each is eating. Visual inspection without handling.
Training crocs and alligators with food, to automatically crawl into long low boxes about as big as their bodies..with doors on the top and sides at the places the vet needs to access them for blood draws, etc. (When the entrance door is opened the croc knows it's time to crawl in and get food.)
The croc then doesn't have to go through trapping, being jumped on by 14 men, mouth taped, blindfolded. They have found it works like a charm. Makes me wonder why someone didn't think of it long ago.
I still love remembering the time at the fish hatchery, and I moved my arm out and to the side close to a long outdoor tank, and all the fish struck the surface. We laughed so hard. We could do it many times before the strike volume lessened. But heck, we just walked over to the next tank!
The little girls thought they had gained immortal powers over fish!
8 May 2008 at 11:05 a.m.
Paul Decelles blogs…
Is being smart better? A couple of articles ask the question in two very different ways...
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