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Photo: Joan Stevenson, April 9, 2016. Nothing makes a rainbow more magical than golden light at sunset. (Looks like the guard rail on Silver Ridge Ave could use a coat of paint.)
Photo: Joan Stevenson, April 9, 2016. Hey developers, it looks like the pot of gold is in Glasell Park.
We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge...
5 PM, April 8, 2016 to April 10, 2016: 0.2"
*Rain year to date: 9.1"
*Normally, the "rain year" would have ended June 30. However, this rain year, California joined the rest of the country, reporting rainfall totals between October 1 to September 30.
Who expected to have significant rain between July 1 and October 1?
There will always be an asterisk next to the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 rain years on Corralitas Drive. The 2014-2015 rain year ended with 15.17." We got an unprecedented 4" between July 1 and September 30, 2015.
Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 21, 2016. This appears to be lady bug larva. When you spend time working in your garden you do get to see a variety of bugs. (And we're not even going to speculate further on subspecies.)
Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 21, 2016. So the yellow beetle larva we highlighted yesterday, is more likely a lady bug pupa.
Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 21, 2016. Stevenson reports both the yellow pupa and the spikey larva are all about 1/4" long.
A Corralitas neighbor reports lady bugs are all over one portion of her yard, while aphids have infested the level directly above it. Maybe the lady bugs got lost on the way to the dining level.
Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016. While working in her yard, Stevenson caught sight of a rather large bug keeping an eye on her. (Click on photos to enlarge.)
Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016. It was a rather large yellow grasshopper. Check out the spikes on the hind legs.
It's the first bright yellow grasshopper I've seen in 26 years in the neighborhood.
Photo: Joan Stevenson, March 17, 2016. Stevenson wrote in a text "This grasshopper is rather obvious in the spring greens...he's letting his legs completely dangle, hoping I'll go away." Indeed he looks to be saying, "nope, nothin' to see here, move along. I'm just a dying leaf."
Resources for insect ID:
Bug Guide
What's That Bug?
Photo: Joan Stevenson, October 30, 2015. Slow down while driving the neighborhood. Little ones are enjoying the holiday.
This week, we've been celebrating Halloween in our Red Car Neighborhood way.
Photo: Joan Stevenson, April 14, 2015. I can't tell you how often people say they've never seen a coyote in the neighborhood. They do blend in well with our dry hillsides. (Click on photos to enlarge.)
Got Chickens? Stevenson's neighbor does. Tuesday morning, Stevenson awoke to the sounds of barking coyotes and panicked chickens. If you've got chickens, be a good neighbor & let your neighbors know so they can make an informed decision about letting their cats and small dogs outside. Fences are not a deterrent to coyotes.
Photo: Joan Stevenson, April 14, 2015 (enlarged from the upper photo). There were at least 2 large male coyotes up on the neighbor's retaining wall, watching the chickens in the pen below. A third coyote may be between the other 2.
The backyard chicken craze must be easy pickings for Silver Lake coyotes.
In the 25 years I've lived here, I'm always amazed at how well adapted coyotes are to the urban wilds of Silver Lake & Elysian Heights. They hunt in packs, using parked cars for cover. One coyote acts as a friendly decoy to lure a curious off leash dog toward them. Meanwhile the other 2 coyote are lying in wait on either side of a parked car ready to ambush the unsuspecting dog. Neighbors describe similar encounters on public staircases.
Click here for Dept of Animal Services: Living with Wildlife information
