Garden time!

Organic gardening, heirloom seed saving, native plants, hiking, plant and animal identification.

[specimentality]

On April 16th 2025 the US federal government has proposed to change the interpretation of the endangered species act so that it no longer protects habitat.

This is open for public comment until the end of May 19th. Please comment and make your voice heard.

Wildlife need their habitat. If the ESA redefines harm so that habitat is no longer protected, the implications for wildlife would be catastrophic.

[gr33nguys]

I just submitted my comment. I know things can feel overwhelming or hopeless right now, but please use your voice where you can. It does matter.

[typhlonectes]

Bornean Chorus Frog – Life in the Pitcher

The dark, wet rainforests of Borneo provide the perfect habitat for amphibians. The problem for an amphibian fanatic and photographer like me is finding them in these huge, dense jungles. The search becomes even more difficult when the frog that you are looking for is one of the smallest frogs on the planet – The Bornean Chorus Frog (Microhyla nepenthicola), or Bornean Narrow-mouthed Frog. While this species of chorus frog is attractive, if you like that sort of thing, you might wonder why I had a particular interest in seeing it. What is special about a little brown frog? Well, this little brown frog has a secret lifestyle. If you are going to be tiny, soft and potentially a tasty meal for just about everything in the jungle then you had better have some tricks to keep your species alive. Nepenthicola’s trick is its breeding habit. Rather than risking the hazards of the big pond, nepenthicola has learned to utilize the tiny pools that form in a pitcher plant with which it shares its name – Flask-shaped Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes ampullaria)...

Read more: https://incidentalnaturalist.com/2024/11/25/bornean-chorus-frog-life-in-the-pitcher

[gr33nguys]

I may or may not have cried while looking at these pictures. They are just so darling and precious. I'm so glad this tiny frog is in the world with me.

[gr33nguys]

Some homegrown meals from this summer! Tomato soup, roasted okra, and tomato sauce (pre-blender).

[gr33nguys]

Baby lizard (probably anole) blending into the basil. He was a little suspicious of me.

[gr33nguys]

The biggest patch of Marsh Flea Bane I've ever found! One of my favorite herbs, recognizable by its strong soapy smell.

[gr33nguys]

A truly fantastic historic tree! I love his funny little arm.

[onenicebugperday]

Jumping spider mimic planthoppers in the genus Rhotana

Photo 1 by tenebrionidfan, 2 by gancw1, 3 by budak, and 4 by deeqld

[gr33nguys]

It's really worth taking the extra minute to look at these and notice their clever illusion! So amazing!

[herpsandbirds]

Uakari Poison Frog (Ranitomeya uakarii), father transporting tadpoles to water, family Dendrobatidae, Peru

photograph by Jonghyun Park 

[myxomycota]

a mite (Daemaeidae sp.) feeding on Stemonitopsis typhina by Barry Webb

[gr33nguys]

Ms. Bee enjoying a thistle bloom.

[gr33nguys]

Beautiful zig zag orb weaver stabilimenta. She has such amazing skill!

[alienbath]

Today I want to show off feather millipedes. Super cool millipede that I've loved for a while, they come anywhere from tan to pink.

Look at these babies!

Finally, they brood their eggs, with the male millipede wrapping around them to keep them safe.

(Source: iNaturalist)

[gr33nguys]

Coffee buddy

[gr33nguys]

[gr33nguys]

Little wildflower in the legume family. I think it's Desmodium paniculatum?

[gr33nguys]

Late morning sunlight though the trees.

[despazito]

thinking about that kakapo egg that got crushed but the conservation team patched it up and it survived

[despazito]

life will persist against all odds

[despazito]

For those who don’t follow kakapo conservation, they are critically endangered parrots who only breed on years where the rimu tree they rely on meet a certain threshold of fruit production. One breeding season in 4 years can be typical, and about half of all eggs laid by kakapo are infertile (they still aren’t completely certain why, it could be a recent population bottleneck) so each fertile egg is worth its weight in gold.

This was one of only 5 fertile eggs laid on the Whenua Hou island population in the 2014 breeding season and it got crushed by its mother on accident. It was mended with glue and tape and incubated by the rangers until hatching.

At 150 days old kakapo chicks are officially added to the population total and given a unique name, until then they are given their mother’s name and a number for birth order laid in the clutch. This chick was known as Lisa-one before officially being given the name Ruapuke by local indigenous Ngai Tahu people.Here he is grown up:

[bogleech]

It’s sad when a species is so rare we know them all individually but at the same time I love that you can point at this one bird and say oh that’s Ruapuke, his mom sat on him too hard