It’s Sunday and I remember someone said that when we say we are talking to God – we are said to be praying – but when we say God is talking to us – we are said to be crazy.  But what if the conversation is between me, myself, and I?  Which one is crazy?

 
New ferns recently named for Lady Gaga – Gaga germanotta in honour of her last name and Gaga monstra parva in honour of her fans whom she calls “little monsters.”  Other interesting tags – the Australian horse fly Scaptia beyonceae for Beyonce – the lichen in California with newly elected name of Caloplaca obamae after President Obama – the whirligig beetle Orectochilus orbisonorum after the late Roy Orbison (this beetle is black and white looking much like he is wearing a tuxedo) – and the trap door spider called MyrmeKiaphila neilyoungi after Neil Young…
 
 Spiders of the trapdoor genus are distinguished from one species to another on their differences in genitalia – the trick is getting them to show you their genitals…

trap doors of Western Australia

 

 
–Three principals: 1. Energy flows; 2. Nutrients recycle; 3. Ecosystems change. So – energy passes through an ecosystem whereas nutrients cycle within an ecosystem – and ultimately ecosystems change.

–Ligules are like a shirt collar.

–Prairie sod rarely freezes.

–Stipa spartea (renamed Hesperostipa spartea) – Commonly called Porcupine grass, it has awns that are so stiff they were firmly bound into a bundle, from which the pointed grains were burned off, leaving a brush used for dressing the hair (Omaha-Ponca-Pawnee).  It also has unusual seed dispersal noted at echinaceaproject.org.  “The fruits can continue to move along the ground after falling from the culm. This movement is caused by the fluctuation of humidity throughout the day.”
 

–Amorpha canescens – Commonly called Leadplant – aka “buffalo bellow plant.”  Its time of blooming is synchronous with the rutting season of the buffalo – and at that season it is the dominant blooming plant on the prairie of the loess plain.

–Silphium laciniatum – Commonly known as Compass plant. Children would gather chewing gum from the upper parts of the stem where a gummy, fragrant resin would exude forming large clumps. It was also said that where this plant abounds, lightning would be prevalent – so making camp in these areas would be avoided if possible.  And, hence the name, these plants orient themselves in north-south direction.

–Ecologically, a true Typha marsh is NOT homogeneous.

 
–When working with prairie restorations, do not expect instant results. Typically the first year is annual weeds followed by the second year of problems with sweet clover, thistles, etc. It is in the third year the fruits of the seeding labour will start to be evident. It follows the “SCL” process – 1st year is SLEEP, 2nd year is CREEP, and 3rd year is LEAP.

 In our most recent election a cat named Hank ran for US Senate in Virginia. He received 7,000 write-in votes and came in 3rd place. The two human candidates were separated by about 180,000 votes so Hank’s write-ins did not affect the outcome. Donations to Hank’s campaign, however, raised about $60,000 for animal rescue charities. Hank lives in Springfield, VA, with his human attendant.

–The Rolling Stones – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood – have an average age of 69 years…whereas the 9 members of the US Supreme Court have an average age of 67 years…I have no clue what this says about either group but it does sound significant!

–100 Years Old – The assembly line was invented 100 years ago in 1913 and developed at the Ford Motor Company for mass production of Model T cars.  

Looks like a load of corks rolled across the fields…

This moon of November was so named as it was the time to set beaver traps before all the swamps would freeze.  I wonder if climate change will impact the naming of the full moons…

Gute nacht