Tribute Trail, from downtown Nevada City

What is this pest? on almond, walnut, locust...?

It swathes a branch tip in webbing, and the leaves disappear.

Nevada City Tree Map, on Google Maps

My weekend project; it's at http://tinyurl.com/NevadaCityTrees.

I populated it with the 40+ trees from the Nevada City Tree Tour brochure, put together by Friends of Trees of Nevada County; then added some others. Best N.C. shade tree, hands down: the American Linden.
(See the ones in the lot on N. Pine next to the historical library.)

What's missing?

Tomorrow, back to climate change.

Fine old NYTimes story on Amigo Bob Cantisano, Peaceful Valley Farm Supply founder; and Felix Gillet

Amigo Cantisano's Organic Dream, by Verlyn Klinkenborg, from March 1996.

"... So I became a test plot," Amigo says -- a metaphor that describes his working life almost perfectly. ...

The wonders of Nevada City nature

...some of which are more wonderful than others.

A ponderosa pine doing its best to become a flowering plant:



A black morel, I'm told; "probably the greatest tasting mushroom you will ever find" (although I myself wouldn't dare). From last month, in a shady north-facing side yard.


What is this?



And, in the "red in tooth and claw" dept, it seems the Hall's Hardy Almond isn't so hardy after all, at least not in the Glacier Gulch area (microclimate) of Nevada City; the street trees I planted and nurtured (and sometimes neglected) are dying.


They came down with gummosis; I was told to rub the wounds with bleach, but I guess once it's systemic, it's too late.

Nevada County Nature wiki (nascent)

Today for displacement activity I created a Nevada County Nature wiki, and populated it with one large and one small mushroom.

I envision it as a thumbnail-photo field guide, linking to existing web writeups on the species in question. And I hope others will contribute, because I'm not planning on devoting much time to it.
(Feel free to replace the rainbow photo with something less dark...)

(I'd originally started with a Nevada County Calif wiki, then realized that this was biting off way more than I intended to chew; but if someone else wants to take that on, I think you can just start editing.)

The fungus that ate Penn Valley

Anyone know what it is?

Disturbing moments in horticulture

If your tomato plant seems to be....shrinking...and growing sparser by the day, it might not be your imagination, and it might not be due to poor plant health.

But who ever heard of squirrels eating tomato leaves?

Silent Spring

Have you noticed that this spring the "dawn chorus" of birdsong is underwhelming?

May update: more reports.

The sun is shining, the robins and Steller's jays are nesting, the insects are making a racket, but it seems the songbirds are out to lunch.

perhaps this is why the insects are making a racket.

(and honeybees seem to be sparse this year too, in my yard at least, which had me wondering if Colony Collapse Disorder had hit Nevada County. But the neighborhood beekeeper says no, hers are fine, and county honeybee expert Randy Oliver reports that to his knowledge C.C.D. is not here.)

for a final fauna report, your correspondent's first black widow spider sighting of 2007: a mere infant, still gray, with very, very long front legs.

Yes, it's Valentine's Day

Love is in the air...

or rather, on the sleeve


Happy Valentine's day, folks.

Related, a nice thing about this time of year - you can tell where all the ponds in the neighborhood are, without having to look.