paperpensive:

My future home is going to be so eclectic. 

(via paperpensives)

jtotheizzoe:

Fear Not, the Four-Leaf Clover Gene May Be Within Reach

Some crop biologists from the University of Georgia have gotten pretty close to pinpointing the gene(s) responsible for four-leaf clovers (called “quadrifoliolate” as opposed to their “trifoliolate” cousins).

By using a technique in genetics called “linkage mapping”, they have narrowed down the part of the clover genome that makes this pattern (which is no more “lucky” than someone handing you a head of lettuce, btw BUZZKILL). By looking at what other genes are mutated along with four-leafedness, they can map the trait near other genes without knowing the precise DNA sequence that is responsible for the feature. We’ll have fields of four-leafers before too long.

Bonus: Wanna see some quotes from people that get WAY too excited about clover breeding? Read here.

Double Pint O’ Guinness Bonus: A biologist’s Irish ode to beer and yeast and St. Patrick’s day … sing it while you drink!

(↬Forbes, image by DeviantArt user flyktplan)

deviantbirds:

Cedar Waxwing 2 by ~rctfan2

These are such pretty birds.  They migrate through my area every spring and fall, but I only catch glimpses of them.  Groups of them stay in the very tops of the trees, and I usually only know they’re there by their very high-pitched whistling calls.  My father and husband could never even hear them, having hearing damage in that range (they can’t hear a hummingbird’s buzzy song, either, which is a shame). 

Occasionally, they’ll roost in a tree near a fruiting Pyracantha, and take turns fluttering down to eat the berries.*  That’s about the only time I’ve been able to get a decent look at them.  Usually if they notice someone on the ground staring up at them, especially with binoculars, they’re off and flying away.

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*My grandmother had a huge Pyracantha at the side of her house, and always complained that it would just start looking pretty in the late fall/around Christmas, and the birds would descend on it and strip it of every red berry.

alchymista:

Coccolithophores

Tiny coccolithophores have had a big impact on the planet over time. Though they are single-celled, these photosynthesising organisms are enclosed in a mosaic, or cage, of microscopic plates that make many very beautiful to look at. The plates are made of calcium carbonate, which the coccoliths pull from the surrounding water. As these small organisms live and die in their trillions, they bequeath their tiny plates to the ocean floor where they form rocks such as chalk. Over geological time, coccoliths have removed significant amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to keep Earth cool as the sun grew hotter.

And if I remember rightly, they’re what makes up the White Cliffs of Dover in England.

(via onward-to-the-edge)

IMG_1377 on Flickr.

Beach Evening Primrose (Camissonia cheiranthifolia)
This lovely California native spreads along the ground and grows in flat lacey patterns on sand dunes and beaches. It spreads about 3 feet wide. Its small regularly spaced gray-green leaves are enhanced by silky yellow flowers which brighten up the Sand Dunes trail in the spring and summer. - BolsaChicaLandTrust.org

From one of Angus and I’s walks at Bolsa Chica, back in October. The sun had already gone down and this flower was in the process of closing up for the the night.

2011 Orange County District Garden Clubs Flower Show, a set on Flickr.

Nov. 5 - Sherman Library and Gardens, Newport Beach.

Angus and I went down to help set up and type in all the entries, but I couldn’t stay for the whole like usual as I had to attend a PFMC meeting starting at 1pm. So these are some pretty quick snaps. I left before the judging finished, so I don’t know who won what. Always lots of neat plants and arrangements though.