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Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, April 10, 2011

A double H day!

That’s heat and humidity.  Oh my goodness, snow in Arizona, but high temps and thick air here in Mississippi.  Before I take you on our early morning hike through the savannah, I want to thank all of you commenters for your suggestions about my tire situation.  I certainly will seek a second opinion, and DAVE really gave me a good suggestion about not letting the mechanic at the new place know what I had been told previously.  I’m not sure I’ll get that done tomorrow, as this morning two more volunteers pulled in.  I told them I’d show them the ropes tomorrow.  Smile  I’ve got about three weeks before I leave, so I’ve got some time to work this out.  The tires are not in danger of exploding or anything.

 

I wanted to take Emma for a good walk before the temps got too high today, so we did the Dees trail around 8:00. 

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On our way to the trailhead, I noticed that one of the birdhouses was missing from the purple martin condo.  I can’t remember if there were actually six of them there to start with or only five.  At any rate, I found one of the gourds on the ground.  It was broken in with pieces lying on top of the nest.  We haven’t had any high winds recently, so I don’t know what could have caused this gourd to fall down.  The hook that attaches it to the arm seemed to be fully intact.  That’s too bad.  Now what’s that pair of martins going to do?  Could some super glue come to the rescue?  Only if there’s a way to get the gourd back up without taking down or disturbing the other nests to my way of thinking.  Hmmm… the plot thickens.

 

Remember all those pitcher plant blossoms I posted last week?  Well, today I was hoping to find the actual ‘pitchers’ forming.

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I was not disappointed.  Pitcher plants have their own unique way of capturing insects.  The pitcher is actually a modified leaf that can hold water.  Insects are attracted to nectar produced at the rim and on the inside of the pitcher.  As the insect crawls into the pitcher to get more nectar, it is trapped by downward-pointing hairs that do not allow the insect to crawl back out.  The insect falls into the base of the pitcher, which is filled with digestive enzymes.  How interesting is that?  Cool beans!

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I also finally got a half way decent photo of the butterwort bloom.  This is a much smaller carnivorous plant.  It captures prey on small, sticky, glue-like pads on their leaves.  Insects are attracted to the sticky substance.  Once they land on a leaf, they are trapped by the glue.  The leaf will roll up around the insect to digest and absorb its nutrients.   What a wild and crazy place the wet pine savannah is.

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I also found what I think is honeysuckle blooming.  I’m just not sure if this is a native species or an invasive species. 

 

I’m glad we took our hike in the early morning, because by the time we got back to the rig I needed a big towel to wipe off all the perspiration dripping off of me.

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

18 comments:

  1. I always look forward to your posts cause I know I'm going to learn lots of new things. So interesting to learn how those plants feed. Still seems weird that those beautiful things eat insects.

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  2. try and stay cool today, Judy!..nothing worse than the dreaded double H!!

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  3. So, as a kid, I remember biting the tip off honeysuckle blooms, and sucking the "honey" out....was it just me?

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  4. Oh, I love honeysuckle! I need to see if it will grow here. We had it in KC, and I loved the wonderful scent wafting in the widows.

    I wonder if some large bird dive-bombed the gourd or tried to land in/on it to get at the Martin eggs?

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  5. Judy!

    I was watching a documentary after dinner tonight and something was eating at me that I couldn't shake. And then I realized - I forgot to mention you in my blog post today when listing the people who keep me inspired. I immediately jumped up to edit the post (& saw your comment).

    Anyway, I'm pleased to have rectified the error. (Something had been nagging at me but I couldn't figure out what it was - do you ever get that)?

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  6. We have Honeysuckles planted in our front yard but they are yellow. Will be another month before they are out though. We're still at the Snowdrops & very early Crocus stage here.

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  7. Love the smell of honeysuckle, hate the heat & humidity. Wonderful pics -- again! I think you should write a book -- with all your knowledge & pics, it would be a best seller! I tried to comment on your alignment/tire post, but had connection probs on my end...second opins are always good.

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  8. Hey, good news about no government shutdown. Now you can pick up that big paycheck on Friday... :c)

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  9. I can't relate to heat and humidity, because I'm sitting here with my little electric heater just a few inches away from me. I can't seem to get warm, and I know I'm soon in for some H&H myself just for saying it.

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  10. We're sitting here on the Oregon coast with the wind howling and the rain coming down. Heat and humidity are a long way from my mind right now!

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  11. Hate the double H, plus it make for a really bad hair day. Thanks for the lesson on the insect eating plants, I have always found it interesting how they all have a different function.

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  12. I love honey suckle but the common one with the best perfume is so invasive it's been declared a noxious weed and must be eradicated when ever found. The same goes for fragrant Jasmine.

    Your photos of plants are delightful.

    Blessings

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  13. We had some Spiderwort plants here, purple ones...Could these be carnivorous plants too?? Isn't it neat how Mother Nature takes care of its' own?? However, watching the Eagles on live webcam became upsetting when the biggest Eaglet started pecking the head and being mean to the smallets one...survival of the fittest, I guess...

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  14. Judy, be careful on these double H days. They can be dangerous for us little girls. I think a second opinion on tires is a great idea. I've seen a lot of those little yellow flowers around here. Didn't know they were carnivorus though. thanks for the info.

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  15. Those are very interesting looking pitcher plants. I can imagine you down near the ground taking these shots. I'm sure that you and Emma had a good time on your hike.

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  16. I'm with Deborah, honeysuckle was a treat as a kid and I will still pick it today if I see it. The honey is sweet. Don't leave without trying it, or you will always wish you had. To sample it, pick the flower off with the green part at the base of the flower left intact. Using your fingernails, "gently" pinch the white part near the green base. Don't pinch all the way through; you just want to pinch the white part leaving the rod (stamen) in the middle. Slowly pull that rod (stamen) out and as it's being pulled backwards out of the bloom, it will bring the honey out. It will only be a drop, but is still sweet. Awww, childhood revisited. Thanks

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  17. Judy, where in Indiana will you spend the summer? We are just south of Indianapolis and would love to meet you.

    I really enjoy your photos and posts! And today's about the double H is a reminder of what is to come here in Indiana this summer. But to have it already must be miserable.

    Keep up the great posts! Nan of www.nantalleyfiberart.blogspot.com

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  18. I enjoyed your photos and comments about the carniverous plants. Nature is amazing!

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