{"id":88875,"date":"2024-08-14T17:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T00:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=88875"},"modified":"2024-08-12T13:38:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T20:38:28","slug":"new-friends-and-newts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=88875","title":{"rendered":"New friends and Newts!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This month has been full of new plants, insects, and adventures! Seed collection has started to pick up in early July, so we began trying to scout as many populations as possible before they started to disperse. Dean and I found a gorgeous site for one of our target species, Penstemon newberryi, as well as a neat wetland with native pond lilies. I had to go take a look at the blooms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mountain Pride (Penstemon newberryi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Yellow pond lily<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Yellow pond lily<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Water Lily Pond<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We began exploring further away from the office and came across Pyramid Creek Trailhead, which happened to have a significant amount of our target species there, as well as gorgeous views of Horsetail Falls and the Desolation Wilderness. We have spent a few days going back there for phenology checks as well as seed collections! So far, we have collected Penstemon newberryi, Chlorogalum pomeridianum, Hosackia oblongifolia, and more to come soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lover”s Leap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Penstemon newberryi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fireweed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pyramid Creek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pyramid Creek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My family came and visited me to see my new home! we explored the area and went to Lake Tahoe. They were so excited to see California again after moving to Idaho! We also went to see the Rubicon Trail, which is an off-roading trail that is some serious business. I don’t think my little Jeep is up to the task!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mom and Dad!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rubicon Jeep Trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I love you both so much!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dean and I have had the amazing privilege of assisting the Pollinator Team from Cal State East Bay. We collected data for a pollinator network for Lewisia kellogii and Calochortus clavatus var. avius. Learning more about pollinator work is fascinating, and I’m feel so lucky that we made some amazing new friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Calochortus clavatus var. avius<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Majestic Dean<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pollinator surveying! (no bumble bees harmed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dean with a rare bumblebee he found!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yosemite!! I have been waiting for this for a while, and I finally got to go with Iris and Matt! We explored the park for a weekend, and it was absolutely fantastic. This park is very special and definitely worth the visit! We were there during a stormy weekend which was fantastic to see so much water and lightning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matt, Iris and I in yosemite!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Matt and Iris botanizing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tuolumne Meadows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tuolumne Meadows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tuolumne Meadows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Iris and I in Yosemite Valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Half Dome at sunset<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then, it finally happened. Dean and I drove to the north zone of the forest in search of some target species and stopped by a creek to eat lunch. There it was, sitting on a rock in the shallows… a NEWT! I have never seen a newt before, and it was magical. Best day yet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Newt swimming<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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NEWT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Newt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On my free time, I went to Grass Lake with Matt, which is California’s largest fen. I have never been in a fen before, which the feeling is like a waterbed. Matt and I explored, finding some neat, rare Carex species, some little friends, and a rare mushroom that Dean collected for sequencing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lil’ frog!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Grass Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rare mushroom!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Pong lillies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Eriophorum gracile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Neat sporing moss<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Drosera rotundifolia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cute garter snake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dean and I went to go check on an Anderson’s Thistle site to see if seeds were ready to be collected, and Dean spotted something amazing! There was a large bright yellow bumble bee, that turned out to be Morrisons Bumble Bee which is a threatened species. So wonderful to see two of them in one day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Morrison’s bumble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Morrison’s bumble x2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rufus Hummingbird<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, to end this month, we assisted in a training for Botrychium surveying. Seeing these in real life was pretty insane, they are smaller than I imagined! I am excited to now know what habitats they like to go look for them on my free time! We then finished off the day by watching a baby Saw-whet owl up in a tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Botrychium!!!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Botrychium!!!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Botrychium!!!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Botrychium!!!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Baby Saw Whet Owl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Daddy long leg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Caterpillar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dean kissing a mushroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And a little bug appreciation section!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Really cool and large spider<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Monarch in Yosemite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cool crab spider<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Milkweed beetle in Yosemite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Caterpillar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Painted Lady Butterfly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Millipede<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Neat beetle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Neat beetle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cicada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rare bumble! Bombus morrisoni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Neat bee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

July was amazing, I’m looking forward to what comes next! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This month has been full of new plants, insects, and adventures! Seed collection has started to pick up in early July, so we began trying to scout as many populations as possible before they started to disperse. Dean and I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7617,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[50,34,3489],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7617"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88875"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89404,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88875\/revisions\/89404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}