Hollis
MY BLOGS
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In the Company of Plants and Rocks
http://plantsandrocks.blogspot.com/
Natural history blog focusing on botany, ecology and geology ... from the field as much as possible!
LATEST ARTICLES ( 431 )
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Gray Day in Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park -- land of wonders both natural and unnatural.No matter how carefully one plans a vacation, sometimes things just don’t work out. Read more
Posted on 31 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
Sweetwater River at the Devil’s Gate
Devil's Gate in 2014.In the mid-1800s, hundreds of thousands of gold-seekers, pioneers, pilgrims and other dreamers took the Oregon Trail west. Read more
Posted on 27 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
The Most Mysterious Mountains in Wyoming
This is the final post in a series about a recent trip through the “Heartland of Laramide Tectonics” in south central Wyoming. By definition, this a folded land. Read more
Posted on 17 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
Colorado Butterfly Plant and the US Air Force
Last week’s plant quiz featured the Colorado butterfly plant, growing in Wyoming.Every summer for 28 years, field botanists have walked through riparian... Read more
Posted on 11 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
Tree-following: Mid-summer Miscellany
Let me (re)introduce you to my tree -- a lanceleaf cottonwood, Populus x acuminata.If this is your first encounter with tree-following, first let me explain. Read more
Posted on 09 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
Hunting Pterosaurs by the Sundance Sea
This post is part of a series about my recent tour of the Heartland of Laramide Tectonics in south central Wyoming. I spent a good amount of time among rocks... Read more
Posted on 06 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
Mystery Plant + Three Clues
Clue #1, the site:Clue #2, habitat:Mystery plants in foreground, coyote willows behind.The Mystery Plant:Several mystery plants; note red stems.Buds, flowers an... Read more
Posted on 02 August 2014 OUTDOORS -
Redbeds
glow in the evening sun at Alcova Reservoir.Geologists are of two minds about Wyoming redbeds. Many consider them “perhaps the most striking sedimentary strata... Read more
Posted on 31 July 2014 OUTDOORS -
Urban Botany, Urban Art and the Instagram Effect
There’s a scrappy little Virginia creeper growing from the crevice below the right rear heel of the giant prairie dog (click on image to view). Read more
Posted on 27 July 2014 OUTDOORS -
The Great Unconformity is Greater Here.
The juniper-covered hillside above doesn’t look terribly spectacular, but don't be fooled! A really long and puzzling story is told by these rocks -- the ones... Read more
Posted on 24 July 2014 OUTDOORS -
Folded Land
Google Earth view of the "Heartland of Laramide Tectonics" in south central Wyoming. Red rectangle encloses area of photo below. Click on images to view details. Read more
Posted on 17 July 2014 OUTDOORS -
the Button That Would Keep Us There
“Our mothers wore dresses -- slim at the waist, skirts flaring”I don’t read a lot of poetry, and much that I do read is soon left behind. But sometimes I’m luck... Read more
Posted on 13 July 2014 OUTDOORS -
Cotton Trees
This is my monthly tree-following report. June was all about cotton, specifically the cotton attached to seeds of cottonwoods -- or “cotton trees” as they used... Read more
Posted on 06 July 2014 OUTDOORS -
Bitterroot in the Laramide Heartland
Several weeks ago I took a vacation in the Heartland of Laramide Tectonics. It was short but wonderful. I came home infused with Laramide stories -- of a time... Read more
Posted on 28 June 2014 OUTDOORS -
Welcome to My Yard, Leafcutter Bee!
Four or five years ago, I was chatting with a friend in the backyard when I noticed a bee carrying what looked to be a perfect little green circle into a crack... Read more
Posted on 22 June 2014 OUTDOORS -
Into the Heartland of Laramide Tectonics
My destination ... where on (Google) Earth??? (click on image for better view)I leave soon for the “Heartland of Laramide Tectonics” of Lillegraven and Snoke... Read more
Posted on 19 June 2014 OUTDOORS -
Face-to-Face with Plants
Heartleaf arnica in the afternoon sun.Lately it seems I’ve been mostly looking up at plants. Being a tree-follower, I've been monitoring my cottonwood and its... Read more
Posted on 15 June 2014 OUTDOORS -
A Very Busy Month for Cottonwoods
Another month has passed, and it’s time for all tree-followers to report on their chosen tree. For my cottonwood, this may be the newsiest report of the year... Read more
Posted on 08 June 2014 OUTDOORS -
Cottonwood Report (Sneak Preview)
What’s that mysterious perturbation on the water surface on the right?The Laramie River is a mighty river now -- not just a wimpy little plains stream. It’s... Read more
Posted on 27 May 2014 OUTDOORS -
My Sweet Wyoming Home (geology is Destiny)
“There's a silence on the prairie that a man can't help but feel;there a shadow growing longer now, and nipping at my heels.For I know that soon that old... Read more
Posted on 19 May 2014 OUTDOORS