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kvelligan.bsky.social
KVelligan
@kvelligan.bsky.social
1.4K followers 3.2K following 390 posts
Defend what you love.
Read, contemplate, the read some more.
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kvelligan.bsky.social
KVelligan @kvelligan.bsky.social · Dec 19
Half Dome reflected in the Merced River, Yosemite National Park, CA
Half Dome’s granite face rises above a tree line of green conifers and deciduous trees in oranges and yellows. Snow covers the ground in front of the trees and clings to the back of the dome with a brilliant blue sky overhead. The scene is mirrored upside down in the still water of the river in front of the trees.
kvelligan.bsky.social
Found this little dude on my outdoor table today (it’s glass - that why it looks like it’s floating). I think it is Phidippus adumbratus. It was gone before I could get a better picture. It was about a half inch long. Jumping spider!
A back and white spider with a reddish orange abdomen crawls across a glass table top
September 3, 2025 at 2:54 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Snake sunbathing on the trail. Probably a black diamond or Southern Pacific rattlesnake.
A long rattlesnake is stretched across a trail. It has a black diamond pattern.
August 25, 2025 at 9:48 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Penstemon newberryi known by the common name mountain pride or Newberry's penstemon. Favorite flower of John Muir.
Magenta flowers bloom on a penstemon growing between white quartz
August 25, 2025 at 9:41 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Shortly after seeing the iridescent clouds, there was a huge flick of birds circling. I couldn’t tell what kind they were.
A flock of large birds circling in a cloudy sky after a storm
August 21, 2025 at 4:21 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. Also called Irisations after the Greek goddess Iris, goddess of rainbows and messenger of Zeus and Hera to the mortals below.
Large cumulonimbus clouds near where the sun is shining through, have areas of pastel blue, lavender, and yellow iridescence
August 21, 2025 at 4:12 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
A covey of California quail (Callipepla californica) out searching for snacks
Several small birds are scattered across the broken pavement. They are speckled brown with curving plumes on their heads
August 20, 2025 at 7:26 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Yes, you’re totally hidden. I never would have notice that fluffy butt sticking out if I hadn’t seen you run in there. 😂🐰
A desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) hides its head under a bush, but its back and and fluffy white tail are sticking out
August 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Cute kitty or soot sprite? 🤔🐈‍⬛⚫️
A small black cat sits in her Totoro bed looking curious
August 15, 2025 at 6:33 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Native to Western North America, from South California to Southern British Columbia and Alberta. 🦋 🌿
A bright yellow butterfly with black stripes on its wings and "tails" on the hindwings that are often found in swallowtails. It’s hovering over a creamy white flower among green leaves.
August 15, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Reposted by KVelligan
restingdinoface.bsky.social
I'm endlessly fascinated by how life shapes life. When the Earth Was Green grew out of that affection. 🌱
August 13, 2025 at 9:30 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
From the native garden: Solidago or goldenrod starting to bloom. Gonna have a bee palooza here pretty soon 🐝🌿
Golden yellow flowers cover upright flower stalks. Many are still buds, but some are opening like little bursts of sunshine 🌞
August 13, 2025 at 7:29 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
The diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus). Native to the California Floristic Province in the states of California and Baja California. It eats fungi growing under rotting tree bark and is frequently found under oaks. Lives long for a beetle - 8 years. It is flightless, with fused elytra
A black beetle with dark gray speckled elytra crawls across a dirt trail
August 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Transitioning to day. The Sierra Nevada never disappoints.
The sun rises over rocky granite cliffs with conifers in the foreground. The sky is painted in gradients from baby blue on the edge of the cliff, to pink, to white above
August 13, 2025 at 3:56 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Sun on the wings of this raven look indigo blue, reminding me that scrub jays and Steller’s are also in the Corvidae family 🌿🪶
A raven stands sideways with its head turned toward the viewer. The sun is shining on its body making the feathers look indigo blue
August 9, 2025 at 3:28 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Pods starting to burst open on the milkweed and release the seeds with their silky hairs. Note the red and black milkweed bug on the dry pod. More info in alt text. 🌿
Narrow leaf milkweed (Asclepius fascicles) a monarch specific food plant with long narrow leaves. A fruit pod has dried out and opened releasing dark oblong seeds attached to long silky hairs that allow them to be dispersed by the wind. On the dried pod is a black and red milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) a Hemiptera (order) or true bug that feeds on milkweed seeds. Its front wings form an X on its back - a common wing pattern for Heteroptera (suborder of Hemiptera).
August 4, 2025 at 8:35 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Bee moving in on the Crepe Myrtle
A profusion of dark pink blossoms with a bee hovering in front of them
August 4, 2025 at 6:03 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Now blooming in the native garden: Eriogonum fasciculatum - California Buckwheat. Drought tolerant, important for pollinators, erosion control benefits, post wildfire mitigation, used in a variety of indigenous medicines. The flowers turn a lovely rust color in the fall.
Dense frilly clusters of tiny white and pink flowers cover a low shrub with narrow dark green leaves
July 31, 2025 at 1:16 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
From the native garden, now blooming: California aster. Corethrogyne is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Its only species is Corethrogyne filaginifolia (syn. Lessingia filaginifolia). There does seem to be a ground cover variant, but mine are tall
Dark green leaves surround pale lavender flowers with numerous petals arrayed around yellow orange centers covering the plant profusely on separate short stalks.
July 26, 2025 at 2:43 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Walk down any street in Los Angeles and the majority of plants and animals you see are non-natives. Biologist Craig Stanford walks us through the native and introduced mosaic of flora and fauna in L.A.’s unique and extensive wildland urban interface and their impact on its ecosystem 🌿
Book cover: Unnatural Habitat The Native and Exotic Wildlife of Los Angeles Craig Stanford Title and author in a yellow box in front of a picture of the sun shining down through the canopies of palm trees surrounded by blue sky with scattered white clouds
July 23, 2025 at 2:37 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
I’ve got Monarch caterpillars!
A monarch caterpillar with white, black, and yellow stripes looks like it has antennae on both ends of its body. It had left the milkweed plant - probably looking for a sturdy branch to build its chrysalis.
July 14, 2025 at 3:39 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Hello beautiful! Do you like the narrow leaf milkweed I planted for you? Are you laying eggs so your little caterpillars can feast? 🐛 The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. The caterpillars only feed on narrow leaf milkweed.
Female monarch with orange-yellow wings marked with black lines and a boarder of black with white spots alights on a narrow leaf milkweed with long narrow leaves and whitish pink flower clusters.
June 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
The colors of water. Lake Tahoe
A pine tree frames a view of the lake. Ripples in the water reflect a spectrum of blue from indigo to aqua
June 26, 2025 at 5:54 AM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Adelpha californica, the California sister, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. They are common in California, but can also be found in western Nevada and Oregon, as well as in northern Baja California.
A butterfly with dark brownish black wings with wide cream white bands dissecting both wings and two orange patches near the tips of the forewings perches on a scrub oak
June 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. This one was at the old sawmill pond in Verdi, Nevada 🪶🌿
A crane perches on dead branches by the side of a pond and its reflection shows in the water below. It has a dark cap on its head, grey wings and tail, a whitish yellow belly, and yellow legs Close up of the crane in a tree showing its hunched posture and thick dark bill
June 23, 2025 at 3:15 PM
kvelligan.bsky.social
Argemone munita - commonly called flatbud prickly poppy and chicalote. "Munita" means "armed", in reference to the many long prickles. Native to California, also extends into Baja California, Arizona, and Nevada. Similar looking to Matilija poppies with their “fried egg” flowers
Prickly poppies growing among dried grasses. The leaves are pale sage, serrated and prickly. Flowers have six large crinkly petals around a bright yellow-orange center. Close up of three prickly poppy flowers showing detail of large crinkly white petals surrounding yellow-orange center.
June 16, 2025 at 2:09 AM