(Updated 11/27/16: fixed broken links, changed photo) During the long summer days, the hills to the east of San Francisco Bay (Alameda and Contra Costa County) are wonderful places to walk — not too hot and with remarkable views to the east, west, and north (until the fog rolls in, and then it’s grey in […]
Arachno-high-wire
These line drawings aren’t some kind of code or ancient writing, they represent spider webs that have been in my backyard in recent days. The circle represents the web and the radiating lines represent the support structures. At the center of the circle is a dot that represents the 1-cm diameter spider (probably a cross […]
Oak Tree Galls
(Updated 10/2/16: fixed broken links, added ink drawing image. Updated 7/21/17: added link to KQED Deep Look video) The nodule on this valley oak tree (quercus lobata) is not an oversized acorn or fruit, but is an interesting case of parasitism. A wasp larvae induces the tree to make the nodule — called a gall […]