Tracking down pumpkin pollen & Autumn photos

The temperature has been dropping steadily since the last weekend, when I was helping my friend searching for male pumpkin flowers with viable pollen.  We traveled to two different farms outside of Ottawa, but we only got about three small vials worth of pumpkin pollen because of the recent frost.

One of the farms we visited was Saunders Farm, a popular place to go during autumn with all of its pumpkin- and Halloween-related activies.  We got to go on a hayride to look for flowers.

Relearning the wildlife of Gothic

Yesterday I showed my labmate some of the common plants and insects (and birds) that she will likely encounter during her own research, which provided a good refresher lesson for me as well.

Gothic Mountain

Trout lily survey

Why are the anther colours different in trout lilies?  This might be a question that enters your mind every spring if you enjoy exploring forests and watching ephemeral plants flower before the canopy closes over and the presence of biting insects dissuades you from entering the forest.

For those not sure what I am talking about, here is a photo I took this morning (in McCarthy Woods) of two trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) growing side-by-side that have different anther colours (red versus yellow).

Daily life in Colorado - Part 3

Research

One of my study species - Mertensia brevistyla.

Daily life in Colorado - Part 2

Images since the last post.

Scenery

Mount Crested Butte

March Update

Sorry for not posting anything in March until the very last day.  Life is just too hectic at the moment.  I sometimes still bring my camera with me and take photos whenever opportunities arise, but it's hard to dedicate time solely just to go out searching for wildlife and taking photos.  Plus, the freezing temperature dampens my enthusiasm when I stay outside for too long and start to lose feelings in my face and hands.  The weather is getting warmer now though, so hopefully I will get back out photographing again in April.

Here are some of the photos I took this month.

March 3rd - walked along the canal on a nice but cold day (I think).

My Messy Desk

I had no time to go outside to take photographs today, so I took photos of my messy office desk during lunchtime.

Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides by Lester Short and Jennifer Horne. This book has practically become my bible during my research since the amount of researches on barbets (especially Asian Barbets) are surprisingly very very limited!

Piles and piles of paper and books on my desk.

The main purpose of today's post? To link the post of what I blogged one year ago.

365 days ago (2008-10-08) ...
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