Exploring Marine Ecosystems and Native Plants: Insights from Coral Reefs to Backyard Gardens
It was a busy morning at the torch flower bed today! I saw a new butterfly - the White Peacock butterfly along with a pair of mating Gulf Fritillary butterflies. The White Peacock butterfly is a native butterfly in the brush-footed (Nymphalidae) family of butterflies. These brush-footed (or sometimes called four-footed) butterflies are so-called because… Continue reading White Peacock Butterfly
We visited the Sunken gardens recently. This is an and utterly beautiful botanical garden. The highlight for me was when I sat down on a stone ledge and looked over to see who was sitting next to me. It was this guy who I had to look up later to know is a green heron.
We got up before the sun and made my out the the Bright Angel trailhead to watch the sun rise. I hiked 1.5 miles down the trail to the mile-and-a-half rest house and back. Those 3 miles I hiked at a botanical pace - which is to say, very slowly, taking plant pictures and canyon every few feet. Even with the short distance and slow pace, I have to say that that hike was harder for me than most of the hikes I done to date. I am really, really not acclimated to altitude.
"We're moving to Florida", I say. "Florida! ... but why?" Is what I keep hearing in response. I understand the confusion. It's hard to find a more distant and different place from the Pacific Northwest than Florida. But I know this is the right choice. There are a number of reasons for this move, but the simplest and most important one is this: there's coral in Florida and I want to study coral. I'm working on getting a Marine Science degree and this is part of that process.
One of my absolute favorite day hikes is the Hoh River trail. It never disappoints! The wildlife along the trail is beautiful and surprising every time.
Erica Lauer Vose 