In July of 2002 I produced an episode about the summer monsoon and spadefoots. It was so much fun to write and record. In July of 2013 I re-recorded it and this is the newer version from that year. There had been so much chatter about spadefoots this monsoon, that I thought it would be fun to make the 2013 version available. I don’t know if it’s as good as the original…ain’t that always the way, but here you go.
The photos are mine of a tiny spadefoot hopping across the page of a favorite field guide. I did return it to its puddle afterwards. Oh, and any mistakes with names or natural history in this episode are of course mine.
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) makes up for its lack of milky sap with the copious amount of nectar found in the flowers. Stand back...
Petey sings a Valentine. Let’s listen.
Bristlehead (Carphochaete bigelovii) is a small shrub…a subshrub…that I’m not sure I would have recognized without the flowers and bristles. I wonder if I’ve...