Here’s a bird you won’t see in Pennsylvania. He was photographed at Carrizo Plain National Monument, 100 miles (as the crow flies) northwest of Los Angeles, California.
Quiz: Who is this on the wire? … Notice his long legs.
(photo by Bob Wick, BLM via Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
Here’s a puzzle. Don’t google it. Look at the photos to arrive at an answer.
In botany: What is a peduncle?
We encounter peduncles every day though we don’t use the word much anymore. Since 1950 the word has fallen out of common use and because it looks like pedophile+uncle the urban dictionary lists a raunchy meaning. But that’s not what it is.
Peduncle comes from ped (Latin for foot) plus -uncle (an Old French diminutive ending) so it literally means tiny foot.
Each photo on this page has at least one visible peduncle. Can you find it?
Black raspberries (photo by Kate St. John)Elderberries at Jennings, 4 Aug 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)Fruit of the ginkgo tree (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Here’s a clue. The number of peduncles in each photo above is:
Apples = 1
Black raspberries = 5 (three are hidden)
Elderberries = too many to count
Ginkgos = 9
Final clue: The photo below shows no fruit, but it has peduncles.
Fruit stems on a Sassafras Tree (photo by Dianne Machesney)
a. Reindeer live in Europe, Asia and North America, but on our continent they have a different name. What are they called?
Map of reindeer range (image from Wikimedia Commons)
b. Among moose, elk and white-tailed deer, only the males grow antlers. What about reindeer?
c. Reindeer coats change from winter to summer and so do their hooves. What’s different about their hooves and why do they change?
Reindeer in Svalbard (photo by Per Harald Olsen via Wikimedia Commons)
d. “Some subspecies have knees that make a clicking noise when they walk.” What’s the advantage to making this noise? (Do your knees click? Here’s an excuse for it.)
e. Reindeer do migrate and those in North America travel quite far. How far do they go?
f. Reindeer used to live in the Lower 48. Which state? And how long ago was that?
g. Where did we get the idea that reindeer can pull sleighs? Here’s a visual answer.
Reindeer pulling a sleigh circa 1900 in Archangel, Russia (photo from Wikimedia Commons)
h. Who is the leading predator of reindeer calves? (Hint: It’s a bird!)
Green eggs on stinging nettle leaves (photo by Kate St.John)
Today, a quiz.
I found green eggs on stinging nettle on August 9 at Wolf Creek Narrows, Butler County, PA.
Are they eggs or something else?
And who laid them?
Post a comment with your answer.
I’ll reveal their identity later today.
THE ANSWER: 29 August, 3:15pm
This was a tricky quiz because the structures really do look like eggs. I thought they were butterfly eggs but they are too smooth. The butterflies most likely to lay eggs on nettle have very wrinkled eggs. For instance, click here to see the eggs of the small tortoiseshell butterfly.
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