A fallen tree with beautiful patterns and shadows as decomposition starts. Are insects making these patterns or is it just water prompted rotting?

Flowers on shrubs attract certain insects; for example, butterflies & bees.   Flowers turn into berries and the birds feed on the berries.  A garden lizard (Anole) flashes his bright red gizzard to ward off other males.  He is protecting his territory.  Common Gallinules protect their young by keeping them close by and if they wander off the adults are always aware of their location.  They show them how to find food.  The young watch and learn from the adults.

I got to watch this little mallard family at a lake not far from my house. Although I often see mallards there I think this was the first family sighting. The ducklings stayed so tightly clustered together that they were impossible to count. I would think they stay so close for safety.  I also started to wonder if staying directly behind the mama also helps cut the current making easier for them to swim (they were swimming under the dam against the current which can get pretty strong at times,  I've seen a small turtle get swept away). Ps.  If this posts twice I apologize, I tried posting and it read error so I re posted.

I went to observe the sand crabs - tinny creatures that will disappear with the any movement around it. So, you have to stay still for a bit more than 5 minutes for them to comeback and continue their pieces of art on the sand. They appear when the tide is low. They are at the lowest level of the ecosystems, shore birds would eat them (I  don’t know if the fishes does too  but this makes me wonder where do they go when to seawater covers this area of the beach). The create clean pretty forms in the ground with the beach sand. I was able to video several scenes while they are sucking the sand into their lower body whole then bubbling it out of their mouth creating mini-sand balls. They try to rearrange the sandballs by fixing them in lines with their back legs (Am I using the right word here?).   The upper part of the page has a wide scene of the beach; the sand balls looks amazing in reality. The lower part of the page has a close-up of one of the holes , the sand balls, the prints of the sand bubbler crab and the crab (owner of this in process piece of art). While observing, sketching and videographing,  lots of unanswered questions popped into my mind. Some of which are: 1) do they “see” with their eyes or do they sense the vibrations of any movement with their whole body?  (They are too fast) 2) why do they form such shapes? Does the bubbled sand-balls has some liquid or smell that comes out of them while bubbling it? 3) is this an indicator of the crab’s territory?  Or a mating sign? 4) what is the lifespan of the crab ? At which age(?) do they start designing these bubbled sand ? 5) when the tide is high, and when all their sand-balls are ruins where do they go ? Why do they insist on bubbling new sand-balls over and over and never give up? 6) if they can be pray of birds - doesn’t these sand-balls are clear marks of their existence ? (Bird-view wise they can be spotted easily!) Guess I have to research it to find answers :)

I have a big patch of Siberian Iris in my backyard that is currently showing all phases of its reproductive cycle, and showing the life cycle change the flower is going through including the seedhead that is formed after pollination. The seedheads in my garden are from last year's flowers that were never deadheaded. Siberian Iris reproduce by seed and by their rhizomes spreading. The Anther is hidden under the Style arms and above the Fall (the lower petal). You really have to look for the Anther. I could not find it at first. I imagine that pollinators are enticed in by the Signal (the yellow patch) and the veining which seems to be saying "here I am...come pollinate me". I drew the central flower with a yellow glow to indicate that it is at the height of readiness for reproduction to occur, and doing all it can to communicate that readiness to creatures that can make pollination occur.

• Yes I noticed the scale, quantity, and patterns of the cherry blossoms 🌸 on the branch my husband brought in this past March.

I have been doing post sunrise walk along a meadow facing the woods. The Stars of Bethlehem in the tall grasses are starting to open again from their green striped like close umbrella  overnights. The spittle bugs are busy  already. I looked up their life cycle because I did not know they(the nymphs) have to come up for air in the spittle!

I have done a walk and I observed the different types of trees and colours. They have different shapes and roots and I would like to learn how to draw the roots of the trees. By reflecting on the scale and quantity, there are many, some areas have lots of trees. I have reflect upon my students and their learning. They come to University to study, we treat them equally, but the reality is that - as the trees - they are very different to each other, they have different lights and dimensions. Therefore, they will not have the same learning experience. Forms: the forms of the trees are very different and their leave might have different colors too even if they are the same trees.

Pattern around flower center *might* become the top of the seedhead. Sawtooth leaves. Flower opened today and hairy bud covering fell to the ground. Different life stages...bud, flower open, later followed by seedhead. Reading about the plant made me decide to dig it up and replant it with more compost so it has better drainage. It is such a dramatic flower.

I did a skull comparison of a prairie dog and rabbit of their size and observations about the teeth.  

One of my favorite things about keeping a nature journal has been allowing myself the time to observe closely tiny events in nature...either in my backyard, at the beach or on a hike in the woods. My goal each time I make a new journal entry is to observe something I would otherwise have not noticed, either by overlooking it or simply not taking the time to look slowly and closely. This always leads to so many questions that I am following up with -- also more observations, as well as a rabbit hole of research. So rewarding and fun! The journal entry I am including here is of bees in my garden -- I noticed many patterns: in behavior (ie, small groups of my garden honey bees seem to stay around foraging in their own distinct Geranium clumping the garden (see map in my journal) and they seem to be able to make immediate decisions about whether they will dive headfirst into the flower for nectar or move on to the next flower straight away (I timed many of these "flower stops"; form and function (of the lovely Geranium flower design for attracting bees as pollinators, the bees' body and leg designs for pollen gathering and so much more!; patterns of change throughout the garden as spring deepens and more types of flowers and leaves begin opening up. This observation day led to so many questions (and even a few answers!).

The sketch below shows the trials of nesting season.  A pair of redwing blackbirds have a nest in the lake grass along the shoreline.  I constantly see one of the blackbirds, male I'm assuming, chasing a crow away.  The crow keeps coming back and the blackbird has to expend so much energy chasing the crow! Then one morning, there was a turkey vulture there.  I wondered if the eggs or hatchlings were destroyed.  But the little blackbird chased away this huge vulture.  The vulture did not come back but the crow is around.  Daily, for over a week, the blackbird chases the crow.  I wonder if any survived in the nest, and if not, whether another clutch of eggs was laid.  There is still something there to protect.

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On April 9, I came across a "crime scene" on a snowy trail in Moosehorn WR in Maine.  Feathers were scattered on the trail. I was not sure about the identities of the prey or the predator.  Woodcocks had been displaying for about a week, and the feathers looked as if they could have belonged to a woodcock, so that was my hypothesis. I sketched a few feathers, then looked for and found the bill which was very long and oddly shaped at the end - certainly a woodcock.  None of the feathers were broken.  They appeared to have been neatly plucked. I imagine a mammal would have been messier, breaking feathers or leaving feathers in clumps, so a hawk or owl was most likely the predator.  I looked for signs of an owl's roost but didn't find anything, so I really don't know. It was fun to play detective and look more closely to try to solve a mystery.

Noticing - Form & Function.  On a recent walk at our local wildlife refuge, I noticed two large patches with multiple 1” holes in the sand, as seen in the photos above. It was startling to see all these holes along the paths, and me wonder who made them and whether both patches were made by the same creature. The refuge has lots of fire ants and also lots of Lubber grasshoppers (who hatch from the ground in early spring) at this time of year, so I guessed that these holes were homes to one of them. But when I looked up ‘ant holes’, I made a fascinating discovery - these crater-like pits appear to be the engineering feat of Antlion larvae, known to be voracious little predators.  I remembered learning years ago about how Antlion larvae hide in wait and feed on ants and other insects that fall into their traps. What an ingenious design! I also discovered that these insects are sometimes called Doodlebugs, because of the winding, spiraling trails they make in the sand when they emerge from their pits!

As a field biologist, most of my work consisted of looking out for specific behaviours. So much that sometimes I forget I don't know everything and some themes are foreign to my scientific comprehension. This class has taught me again the value of asking questions, and the beauty behind it, instead of simply 'knowing' the answer.

Well, I tried your spot sit that you suggested plus still doing my birdsitting out back as well. I think I will drive down next time. I packed my items I wanted to carry in my Audobon field type bag. I have a folding stool so with that in tow and my camera I headed down to the woods edge where a creek flows through close to the woods. The area has a closed sign due to the virus thing. So I just sat by the edge near the roadside. Was a great experience but shorter than I had planned as needed to run back home. That's why I said perhaps I should drive down so no need to rush right back home. I have written my notes and thoughts and sketches in my sketchpad to share.

Sit spot, back yard, small town, eastern NC April 10, 2020   Mid morning theme; changes Observation/ The poor little rhododendron has healthier, more abundant blooms than the first and second spring after it was planted. Explanation possibilities: the roots are more established; the soil is becoming more fertile secondary to leaf fall, time, ; the rhododendron is responding positively to the wet winter; warmer winters are advantageous to its' growth. Questions / Will the rhododendron ultimately thrive in its' current location?  Will foliage improve over the spring and summer? Will it actually grow? What modifications would be beneficial beyond leaving the plant site to natures' cycles?

I am, the swans that live not to far from our house now have eggs!  

As a biology teacher, I have for years emphasized the relationship between form and function. We start with simple examples, like the human hand. Then we revisit it throughout the year, whether we are studying the fit of a species in its environment, the structure of the digestive system, or the shape of an individual protein, like ATP synthase in our mitochondria. I love the idea of revisiting the same sit spot regularly over the course of a year to watch for change over time.

I found that I naturally think for form and function as a theme. I found this wasp on the inside of my window. Not super pumped that it is indoors but it was a perfect chance to journal! I looked at body parts and thought why would they be that shape, why does this wasp have hairs or barbs on its legs. That led me to think of its behavior. Why is it rubbing its legs like that? 

I think that I'm starting to recognize some of the "themes" in nature more often, but I would like to improve on seeing them more easily. I think if you can recognize themes easily, you can see unique things about different plants and animals to make them more distinguishable.