tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18939975016586086012024-03-13T03:22:19.362-07:00Bees, Birds & ButterfliesJanet, Nancy, and Glen are Pacific Northwest naturalists who have a passion for learning about and sharing the amazing natural history around us all. This blog is a window into what we see. Welcome!Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-25116601319460995612019-02-12T21:32:00.000-08:002019-02-13T14:41:23.723-08:00Suet and snow
Now it is thawing, but when I began this draft Janet and I were sitting in a powerless house with a ten inch burden of snow on branches and lawns and cars and walkways, and a chilly chilly nighttime forecast. I shifted to more urgent human-based chores of clearing walkways, shaking branches, checking pipes but my camera joined me outside. When not shoveling and scraping, my cold-clumsy hands Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-32409565654980748192019-02-11T20:10:00.000-08:002019-02-12T21:58:17.249-08:00Winter warriors… For it it is in the dew of little things we find our morning and are refreshed. Kahlil Gilbran
It has been 15 months since our last post. We have excuses. But as convincing as our reasons may seem, as I begin to write they seem lame. And while it has over a year since our last post, it been ten years since our first post. Our first test of the blogging world was a post about Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-41759421944889583422017-11-06T11:13:00.000-08:002017-11-06T11:13:36.106-08:00A Smoke Tree Gets Creative
Text and photos by Nancy Partlow©
Smoke trees are really cool shrubs. The gazillions of teeny flowers that smother them in the spring attract pollinators like nobody's business. But that is a story for another time.
This tale is about a plain, ordinary smoke tree that one autumn did something extraordinary.  Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-17197684452440485892017-10-26T15:16:00.000-07:002017-10-26T20:17:56.143-07:00Clueless Juvies
Text, photos and videos by Nancy Partlow©
Late summer and early fall can be a fun time for observing juvenile bird behavior. One way to identify a first-year bird is by its appearance: coloration, a fading but still brightly-hued gape, puffy primary feathers (the downy ones beneath the tail being the last to go), and Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-73267783342735795282017-09-23T14:14:00.001-07:002017-10-26T20:18:36.563-07:00A Walk in the Woods
Text and photos by Nancy Partlow©
On a recent walk with Janet through the shady environs of Priest Point Park, I noticed an ivy-covered log lying on the ground. This is a not an unusual sight at this park, but what is unusual is that many of the ivy's leaves were rusty-looking. Ivy is nearly indestructible, Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-16173268005827945442017-09-01T10:52:00.003-07:002017-10-26T20:09:56.611-07:00Jellyfish at Sunset
A couple of weeks ago, Glen and I went to the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea of Washington state for a week long Marine Naturalist Training Program, offered by the Friday Harbor Whale Museum. This was something of a departure for us, Glen especially: he describes himself as a terrestrial naturalist. This was also challenging because our class was full of Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-89505417121138621262017-07-17T15:14:00.000-07:002017-10-26T20:07:28.063-07:00Pasting Pollinators
Text and photos by Nancy Partlow©
Neon-pink flowers are in currently in bloom along the East Bay waterfront. I didn't know what they were until following the theory of, "to find bees, go where the flowers are", I decided to check them out. I was delighted to discover that these Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-78586626112468434822017-05-22T10:43:00.000-07:002017-10-26T20:05:27.346-07:00Hope is the Thing With Feathers
Text and photos by Nancy Partlow©
At long last, our weather pattern seems to be changing, but it was a hard winter and early spring. In addition to the months of relentless rain and gloom, I lost my father. We were very close, and since his death, the lack of light and warmth outside has been the persistent&Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-53349594308378449562017-05-15T17:19:00.003-07:002017-05-15T23:28:43.787-07:00Prairie (etc.) Appreciation Day
The prairies at Glacial Heritage Preserve, Thurston County, May 2017
Saturday May 13 was a cool rainy Prairie Appreciation Day. Janet and I were grateful for the canopy that sheltered us and our visitors during several impressive showers. At rather the last minute we were filling in as the main instructors at a booth on indigenous uses of prairie plants, training ourselves more deeply in Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-89552267914355680532017-05-03T11:42:00.002-07:002017-06-03T00:09:05.701-07:00Blog updateHi all. We have a few posts pending, but life has had some upheavals. In the meantime we have put into our blog a new reference page with our three 11x17 Thurston County pollinator posters -- Bumblebees -- Flower Flies -- Bee Diversity. Check it out. (The different colored text means "Click here".)
Our study group continues too. My current system of displaying allJanet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-14277376169973722262017-03-01T08:17:00.001-08:002017-05-15T23:29:54.386-07:00Do worker bumble bees camp out?Rusty Burlew is a beekeeper friend who lives in the same county and writes a regular (at least weekly!) blog about bees. While these days she writes mostly about honey bees, she knows alot about native bees as well. Anyway, I replied to a recent post of hers about bumble bees -- Honey Bee Suite / Bumble bee answers ... -- and she asked me to elaborate on whether or not Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-31380407170294254082016-11-27T13:33:00.002-08:002017-05-16T05:11:41.397-07:00Beaver Sign at the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center
Text and photos by Nancy Partlow©
Yesterday, I came
across a large alder tree that beavers had toppled across the CLIC main trail.
I spoke to a couple who were walking by. I commented that "it must be really tough to be an alder tree here because of the beavers." The woman asked if I really thought Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-43277052202271804052016-09-15T07:15:00.000-07:002016-09-15T07:15:10.558-07:00Random Acts of BloggingIn trying to update our blog, I too hit the dreaded Publish button. Indeed there be dragons, and they reproduce at will. MOST of the time we like Blogger. BUT, sorry for the multiple reposts of Nancy's recent blog on dragonflies. (She does have great photos.)

My intended post was / is in large part a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Native PollinatorsJanet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-37582878616204667802016-09-06T12:41:00.002-07:002017-05-16T05:09:16.280-07:00Here Be Dragons
Text by Nancy Partlow©. All photos taken at Capitol Lake by Nancy Partlow©, unless other wise noted.
In our community there is a magical kingdom. Towered over by a castle on a hill, it is known by the mundane name of Capitol Lake, but for the countless creatures roaming its aqueous realm, it is a cradleNancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-3235803105259036822016-06-10T12:19:00.000-07:002017-05-16T05:10:15.169-07:00A Wild Success - Pollinators
Text, photos and videos by Nancy Partlow © All photos and videos taken at the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center, unless otherwise noted.
Renowned biologist E. O. Wilson calls invertebrates "the little things that run the world". My interest in insects, particularly pollinators, has always been in observing and Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-31883313554927454362016-05-14T08:31:00.000-07:002016-09-05T23:32:32.021-07:00Prairie Appreciation Day
Here in Thurston county, at the southern end of Budd inlet in Washington state, we are fortunate to have some beautiful, very unique prairies. Historically, this land was covered with trees, especially Douglas fir trees. However the southern reach of the county marks the final boundary of the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago.
Gray Hairstreak butterfly Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-41911025092713880122016-04-24T12:42:00.000-07:002016-09-05T23:31:29.177-07:00Prairie in Bloom
Text and photos by Nancy Partlow ©
Every year, I keep trying to see the prairies at the peak of bloom, but never manage to time it just right. This year, serendipitously, I finally did. A few days ago I was driving along Delphi Road when I noticed that the grounds of the Old Delphi Schoolhouse were a gorgeous carpet of blue Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-7356951464244716262016-04-18T12:51:00.001-07:002017-05-16T05:11:06.995-07:00A Wild Success: Food
Part 3 in a series of stories about the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center
Text by Nancy Partlow© All photos were taken at the Interpretive Center by Nancy Partlow© or Barry Troutman©
The Capitol Lake Interpretive Center attracts so much wildlife because of its abundance of food. This is not surprising, since the native plants installed there were chosen Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-66419211242604803692016-03-18T11:21:00.000-07:002017-05-16T05:12:13.867-07:00Olympic Mountain Vistas from the Capitol Lake Interpretive TrailText and photos
by Nancy Partlow©
I was so
surprised when I first realized that the Olympic Mountains can be seen from the
Capitol Lake Interpretive Center.
When looking up
the estuary, my sense of direction gets all turned around, so it just didn’t
make sense to me. Since then, I’ve
learned to orient myself and now enjoy the beautiful views that avail
themselves to all Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-19840239167141845432016-02-27T12:29:00.000-08:002017-05-16T05:12:36.396-07:00A Wild Success - The Capitol Lake Interpretive Center, Part 2 - Plants
Text and photos
by Nancy Partlow©
All photos taken
at the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center unless otherwise noted
The Capitol Lake
Interpretive Center is a verdant refuge for wildlife. Its extensive palette of native trees and
shrubs provide a bounty of food and shelter for many creatures.
Native plants
create healthy ecosystems. Indigenous
insects have Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-56047459781852365992016-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:002017-05-16T05:12:57.592-07:00A Wild Success - The Capitol Lake Interpretive Center- Part 1Text by Nancy Partlow ©
All photos were taken at the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center by Nancy Partlow©, unless otherwise noted.
My family’s
interest in the Capitol Lake Interpretive Center began circa 2010. We were
looking for someplace easily walkable, wheelchair accessible, and in a natural
setting. The Interpretive Center on
Deschutes Parkway fit the Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-70219735443183000502016-01-07T11:30:00.000-08:002016-09-05T23:05:13.677-07:00Eagles and Salmon at McLane CreekText and photos
by Nancy Partlow©
The annual
gatherings of bald eagles on the Skagit River in the North Cascades are quite
famous, but I never dreamed we had anything similar to that here in south Puget
Sound. I was excited to learn that every late fall and early winter, bald
eagles converge in numbers near the mouth of McLane Creek to feast on the
bodies of dead and dying Nancy Partlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10849848097812803570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-37136520218268415842015-12-30T21:37:00.001-08:002016-09-05T23:03:22.386-07:00Native Pollinator Study Group (and Blog) UpdateEvery fourth Monday evening in Olympia a number of us gather to explore the
rich diversity of bees. Right now, with winter rain and wind and lack
of flowers, there is not much chance to observe pollinators except in a
book. Despite this, our January topic is shaped by two bumble bee
optimists whom we hope to glimpse. To prepare for February’s topic,
(and in case you got a Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-85508445172270814922015-10-11T11:02:00.001-07:002015-10-22T08:03:20.391-07:00Owls in the Night
Barred Owl
Somewhere in the deep dark of early morning, the Barred Owl called. A piercing series of low hoots, repeated over and over again. I came out of deep sleep and groggily pieced together the pattern: Who COOKS for YOU? Who COOKS for you? With that voice pattern I knew it was a Barred Owl.
I noticed Glen was Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893997501658608601.post-48231695462717187042015-09-21T09:47:00.001-07:002015-10-22T08:01:37.552-07:00They're BAAAACCK! Part 2
American Widgeons, loafing along the lake
A few days ago Nancy, my dad and I took a walk around Capitol Lake. In the dog days of late summer, the lake is thick and turgid with clots of algae: there are very few waterbirds. But as the weather shifts into more cold & rain, and the days move into September, the waterbirds who winter over on this lake start Janet Partlow and Glen Buschmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247658146405190485noreply@blogger.com0