Western Bleeding Hearts

Western Bleeding Hearts

Against the backdrop of a fully opened crimson rose a hovering green hummingbird slips its bill down into the yet folded bud of another soon to bloom red rose.

It took several weeks to capture a good photo of the resident Anna's hummingbird at a rose in the front yard...
#BirdoftheDay #PetalsandPerches #Birds #ECK

Young blades of giant kelp growing in clear waters.

Some of the best times diving off of S. California was during the winter months when the water was so cold the plankton wasn't growing and visibility was in the hundreds of feet. Gliding thru a kelp forests is akin to walking thru a forest of sequoia trees or the light in a cathedral.

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Mount Roraima and the other tabletop mountains in Canaima National Park are considered to be the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back around two billion years to the Precambrian Era.

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A Spotted Sandpiper calling on the Cispus River. It's "known for a bobbing motion while walking along shorelines. It breeds near freshwater across North America and has a unique mating system where females may mate with multiple males, leaving them to incubate the eggs."

A Spotted Sandpiper calling on the Cispus River. It's "known for a bobbing motion while walking along shorelines. It breeds near freshwater across North America and has a unique mating system where females may mate with multiple males, leaving them to incubate the eggs."

#birds

A Young Sea Lion rests on the surface near a kelp bed. The fin is raised to absorb warmth from the sun, thermoregulation. This young sea lion was so worn out from hunting it didn't even notice as I motored by only a few feet away.

A Young Sea Lion rests on the surface near a kelp bed. The fin is raised to absorb warmth from the sun, thermoregulation. This young sea lion was so worn out from hunting it didn't even notice as I motored by only a few feet away.

The years they get blown in the pelagic red crabs do too. Plus there's often a lot of other species.

When the pyrosomes show up they're so weird people often mistake them for sea cucumbers. The Guardian had an article like that recently. Otherwise the Guardian is OK.

Yes, Velella velella, an easier name to remember than the last one. Taken just out of Santa Barbara Harbor looking south.

These are Jack-by-the-wind sailors, they're related to the Portuguese Man O'War, and they feed on plankton. Nekton fliers at the boundary where most of life is found in the seas. One of those days when the wind wasn't blowing.

These are Jack-by-the-wind sailors, they're related to the Portuguese Man O'War, and they feed on plankton. Nekton fliers at the boundary where most of life is found in the seas. One of those days when the wind wasn't blowing.

I don't think I'll ever get over Clarence Thomas ruling on cases related to Jan 6 knowing that his wife was an active participant in the attempted coup.

Or ruling on cases related to government regulations and a wealth tax knowing he took gifts from billionaires.

It's a disgrace.

A Bat Star peeks out from under some seaweed and tests the current for food with the tiny suckers extended on the ends of the arms. The sucker feet have taste buds or the equivalent and see stars use that to find food.

A Bat Star peeks out from under some seaweed and tests the current for food with the tiny suckers extended on the ends of the arms. The sucker feet have taste buds or the equivalent and see stars use that to find food.

I took some pic of this Anna's Hummingbird around April 11 a few years back when it was still cold and the cherry blossoms hadn't yet opened but this hummingbird was determined to stay on the site & claim it for himself. He's puffed up his feather for warmth.

I took some pic of this Anna's Hummingbird around April 11 a few years back when it was still cold and the cherry blossoms hadn't yet opened but this hummingbird was determined to stay on the site & claim it for himself. He's puffed up his feather for warmth.

#birds

A microscopic tardigrade, also known as a water bear, walking across a glass slide. Extremely resilient, it can survive decades without food or water and are the only known animal that can survive in direct exposure in space. [🔬 Tobin Sparling]

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Breaking News!
Code: Preliminary Mega-Yikes!!!

Preliminary SSTs are spiking near a new record all-time high. The final data will take about 2 weeks to be posted. With the record ocean heatwave in the Eastern pacific and a rapidly developing El Nino, hang on to your tenterhooks!

100% of copper mines have polluted water downstream. This mine will be no different.

And why? So Twin Metals' Chilean parent company can profit by shipping our copper ore to China to be smelted and sold on the global market.

It’s up to Congress to permanently protect the Boundary Waters.

A Great Blue Heron strolls away in field next to Little Indian Slough in Padilla Bay, WA, a great area of mudflats, sea grasses, and lots of birds. I'll see four or five eagles early in the morning here as well as hawk owls. Great Blue Herons were hunted for their feathers.

A Great Blue Heron strolls away in field next to Little Indian Slough in Padilla Bay, WA, a great area of mudflats, sea grasses, and lots of birds. I'll see four or five eagles early in the morning here as well as hawk owls. Great Blue Herons were hunted for their feathers.

#birds

A Decorator Crab, Loxorhyncus crispatus, sometimes called the Moss Crab sticks algae, anemones, barnacles, and sponges to itself by holding the items on the shell until they attach. The barnacles probably attach themselves but the crabs have to start over after molting. Taken near Santa Barbara CA.

A Decorator Crab, Loxorhyncus crispatus, sometimes called the Moss Crab sticks algae, anemones, barnacles, and sponges to itself by holding the items on the shell until they attach. The barnacles probably attach themselves but the crabs have to start over after molting. Taken near Santa Barbara CA.

A Chickadee pauses near Baker Lake on a cold November morning. I know I'm ready for Spring and yesterday the dozens of chickadees near me were going over the new buds in the trees eating every bug they could find. I hope they eat their fill.

A Chickadee pauses near Baker Lake on a cold November morning. I know I'm ready for Spring and yesterday the dozens of chickadees near me were going over the new buds in the trees eating every bug they could find. I hope they eat their fill.

#birds

I'm pretty sure this fish is a juvenile Cabezon. The two appendages above the eyes are called cirrus but their purpose is not understood. Only the Cabezon knows for sure.

I'm pretty sure this fish is a juvenile Cabezon. The two appendages above the eyes are called cirrus but their purpose is not understood. Only the Cabezon knows for sure.

Just in case you think boycotting doesn’t work and are making excuses for what corporations you are supporting. Where your money goes MATTERS.

I saw them in Okla. & Tenn. when we lived there.

I miss seeing Scissortailed flycatchers too.

That photo was taken near Pt. Townsend WA on a pier w/nest boxes.

"Common Blue in flight off cornflower In wildflower meadow at edge of our Shropshire village"

#ButterflyWeek
#naturephotography
#Insects
#blueskykin

@andrewfusekpeters.bsky.social
@savebutterflies.bsky.social

‘First contact’ that may have led to complex life on Earth finally witnessed by scientists Stromatolites might look like rocks. But they are living relics of ancient systems that thrived on Earth billions of years ago.

"‘First contact’ that may have led to complex life on Earth finally witnessed by scientists". theconversation.com/first-contac...

The Purple Martin. "is the largest swallow in North America and has a unique relationship with humans, as it primarily nests in man-made structures like birdhouses and gourds". It's thought they moved their nests near humans long ago, nesting near native communities.

The Purple Martin. "is the largest swallow in North America and has a unique relationship with humans, as it primarily nests in man-made structures like birdhouses and gourds". It's thought they moved their nests near humans long ago, nesting near native communities.

#birds

Astropecten armatus, the Sand Sea Star is a fast moving sea star that eats sand dollars, sea pansies, and olive snails. It's said to eat one olive snail per day if it can find them. UCSC says it's a keystone predator for sand communities. Zuma Beach was the place I'd see them the most.

Astropecten armatus, the Sand Sea Star is a fast moving sea star that eats sand dollars, sea pansies, and olive snails. It's said to eat one olive snail per day if it can find them. UCSC says it's a keystone predator for sand communities. Zuma Beach was the place I'd see them the most.

FOIA reveals U.S. Forest Service considering nationwide chainsaw use in Wilderness - Wilderness Watch Wilderness Watch recently intercepted a letter from the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association (IOGA) to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz requesting

"...Forest Service wasn’t being forthright...The Idaho proposal is part of a nationwide effort to let outfitters run chainsaws through Wilderness and the Wilderness Act. ...

Chainsaws are not allowed in Wilderness except under extremely limited circumstances."
wildernesswatch.org/foia-reveals...

I can see it now. Thanks. Butterfly Beach was a favorite of mine.

Return to Old-Growth Liquidation in Western Oregon? Once again, 2.4 million acres of the nation’s forestlands in western Oregon are under existential threat.

www.thewildlifenews.com/2026/03/02/r...

Is that Arroyo Burro Beach looking south?

a woman in a blue tank top is drinking from a cup . ALT: a woman in a blue tank top is drinking from a cup .

Creationist once told me, “scientists don’t contradict each other.”

It’s the closest I’ve ever come to laughing in a guest’s face.

Told him “ #science is a bigger pissin’ contest than sports. Careers are literally made by disproving the work of other scientists.”

As usual, he stormed off.