Dark sand

 

Close-up of a layer of dark sand — a mix of quartz, garnet, and magnetite — on a beach in Chatham, MA, photographed on 27 September 2018. 

Turnstones among stones

 

A Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) among stones in Humarock, MA, on 28 September 2018.

And here's a closer view of a Ruddy Turnstone in Bodega Harbor, CA, on 7 September 2018:

 

Beach hopper blues

 

A beautiful blue-eyed beach hopper (a type of amphipod) at the entrance to its burrow on a sandy beach in Chatham, MA, on 27 September 2018.

In the puddles

 

A few days ago we were walking in the woods in New Hampshire when Eric noticed some movement in pools of water on the trail. 

We couldn't see what it was at first, but then our eyes adjusted to the dim light and we spotted these wonderful Red-spotted Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens).  

Their scientific name means "greenish with eyespots" — and you can see why, with the greenish-brown background color and the bright-orange-ringed-with-black eyespots on the body:

 

Red-spotted Newts have an interesting life history — they're aquatic as adults.  Note the flattened tail (for swimming) in the photos above.  However, the juvenile stage (called an "eft") is terrestrial, spending 1-3 or more years on land before returning to the water.  

Efts are more reddish in color, have rougher skin, and more rounded tails.  Interestingly, we found one newt that might have been a juvenile transforming into an adult.  Note the reddish-orange color, the rougher skin texture, and a tail that appears to be undergoing metamorphosis into a more fin-like shape:

 

It was fun to visit with these wonderful salamanders!

On the lake

 

Common Loon (Gavia immer) in New Hampshire on 24 September 2018

A green-eyed welcome!

What a nice welcome to Massachusetts!  This is one of my favorite groups of dragonflies.  A beautiful Clamp-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora tenebrosa):

 

I'm on way out "out-the-door," so I don't have time to figure out which species this is yet (but now updated above and below).  But here are a couple of close-ups in case someone wants to help me with the i.d.

A close-up of the eyes and the thoracic markings:

 

And the terminal appendages, which are pretty impressive!

 

(P.S. I'll have intermittent Internet access this week, but I'll post when I can!)

ADDENDUM (25 September 2018): Just back with Internet access today.  A couple of nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the word "tenebrosa" in my head.  I haven't had to identify emeralds since moving to California, but my brain must have retained enough to work its way (slowly) to the identification of this dragonfly.  I've updated the name at the top of this post.

M & M

Did you look up at the sky tonight (19 September 2019)?  It was amazing to see Mars so bright just below the Moon!  In the photo below, look for Mars at the bottom of the image (almost directly below the Moon.)

 

Here's a close-up of Mars — a bit fuzzy, but you can see that intriguing reddish color:

 

And one of the Moon:

 

 A beautiful night sky!