by CKR
Ugh. I'm sitting here popping Jelly Bellies (one at a time, of course, to enjoy the diverse flavors) instead of pruning my cultivated shrubs and the multiple and overgrown chamisa bushes. It's not snow this weekend, but rather our famous New Mexico spring winds. It seems that as the ground warms in the spring, the air above it also warms in such a way as to bring down the jet streams to ground level.
This brings out the once-a-year sex life of the one-seed junipers (Juniperus monosperma). Each tree is either male or female, and they have no attractively-scented flowers to draw pollinators. To make up for this deficiency, they produce what must be thousands of tons of pollen over their growing area in the US Southwest and launch it on the winds.
The pollen convinces human immune systems that it must be cleared from the body at all costs, preferably by production of copious mucus and violent sneezing. We humans have gotten a bit smart about this, and the antihistamines prevent most of this. Everyone I've talked to so far this year agrees that it seems much less irritating than last. I've wondered if the provocative chemical compounds vary from year to year, or if my system varies, because there do seem to be different impacts.
That all adds up to not so bad this year. So far.
In any case, it is maximum foolishness to be outside in the maelstrom of toxic tree particulates and flying plastic bags.
So let's see what's in the camera anyway. And maybe some links.
That photo up at the top is the only bird photo I've taken lately. In my rearrangements to discourage the ravens, I moved a thistle-seed stocking around from the north side of the house to the south. It didn't have much activity on the north side, any how. It's not too far from the sunflower-safflower-millet feeder, which all the other finches prefer, although occasionally a housefinch or two will check out the thistle seeds.
This photo is of a pine siskin (Carduelis pinus). You can see a bit of yellow at its tail. Maybe I'll see some American and Western goldfinches as spring attempts to get through the wind. They're in the Carduelis genus, too, and they love thistle seeds.
If you like to look at photos of galaxies and would also like to contribute to astronomy, wander over to GalaxyZoo. After passing a fairly easy test of your ability to distinguish a spiral galaxy from a star, you will be able to send in your analyses of new galaxies.
For the photos of tapirs you won't get from me (none in the back yard, sadly), check out Tapirs.org. Their international symposium is coming up the last week of April in Mexico! Check it out!
For more (much more) information on Tibet than you're getting in today's newspapers (or even from Jamie at Blood & Treasure), check out the Center for Research on Tibet. It's worth it just for the slide show across the top.