Closeup of the dark pink bougainvillea against a clear blue sky

Wordless Wednesday: Bougainvillea

It’s just a glorious time of year for flowering plants in California. Google tells me this one is a bougainvillea.

View of the tussock moth caterpillar from the side.

Wordless Wednesday: Obligatory summer caterpillar post

It’s not summer if I don’t have at least one bug post. Google tells me this caterpillar will probably grow up to be a Western Tussock Moth.

Silk tree have feathery pink flowers on their tops.

Wordless Wednesday: Silk Tree

While touring the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose, CA, The Twelve-Year-Old and I spotted a tree with a smattering of feathery pink flowers.…

A capybara stands under his wooden shelter. Capybara's are the world's largest rodent.

Wordless Wednesday: R.O.U.S.’s do exist

That R.O.U.S (rodent of unusual size) is a Capybara, the world’s largest rodent. We spotted him at the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose,…

line drawing of several large and small sauropods underwater.

Why does a book from 1999 still show a sauropod living in a swamp?

In the spring, a curiosity blogger’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of dinosaurs. Specifically, the sauropod tracks in Glen Rose, Texas, and whether this will be the summer I get to see them.

Red bush in a California garden in springtime.

Wordless Wednesday: Gardening in a drought-prone state

Amazingly, this is just someone’s front yard. Every time I look at this photo, my brain tries to tell me that there’s a river swooping along the bottom of that tree with the orange leaves. But really it’s just dirt.

Rear View of my daughter dressed as Mothman crossing the street.

Caterpickles Consults the 12-Year-Old: “What is Mothman?”

My daughter came down one morning dressed entirely in black, sporting a pair of gold-tinted sunglasses and a green knit cap with two blue feathers sticking out of it. She was clearly dressed up as some superhero, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out who. “I’m Mothman, Mommyo.” Mothman? Who’s that? Some crappy off-brand Batman?

Rose bush with mostly dark pink flowers, and one or two orange ones.

Wordless Wednesday: Roses

My neighbor’s rose bush blooms in both orange and pink. I’ve never seen anything like it. When I asked, they told me that particular variety of rose was called Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors.

The bird of paradise flower has tall spiky orange petals and a blue poky thing. (Sorry, not a botanist)

Why did the Bird of Paradise flower evolve to look like that?

It’s easy to see how the Bird of Paradise flower got its name. It looks like a crane’s head crafted from flower parts. Now I’m no botanist, but even I know enough about plants to realize that when such a highly specialized and unique structure evolves in nature, there’s generally a reason for it. All of which made me wonder: Why did the Bird of Paradise flower evolve to look the way it does?

Wordless Wednesday: Cherry tree in bloom

I had more or less stopped doing Wordless Wednesday posts last year, but recently my daughter told me that she missed seeing them. I have to admit, I missed them too. Pictures like these are a helpful counterweight to the news. So I’m resurrecting Wordless Wednesday as a regular feature of the blog.