Newt in the Garden of Eden
images from the UC-Berkeley Botanical Gardens, CA, Feburary 2010
At the UC-Berkeley Botanical Gardens for the afternoon, magnolias and rhododendrons already in bloom, wandering over to the Japanese Garden section, where the ponds and streams and moss-covered boulders along the trails never fail to soothe and relax, the pond is full of newts.
Newts are amphibious. The exist mostly in water, but can also live on land, and do for part of the year. One of the California State Parks south of San Francisco has an actual "Newt Crossing" sign on its entrance drive, reminding you to watch out for the soft-bodied critters dashing across the road during mating season.
Those little white spheres or bubbles are egg sacs, attached along the stems of the water lilies, or other pond plants. The newts like to attach the egg sacs along a frond or stem, rather than in clusters.
We sat there and watched the newts playing, patrolling the eggs, and engaging in sexual activities. They danced and dove in the water, and put on quite the lascivious ballet. How often do you get to see such glories? (I'll resist several newt puns that come to mind, for now.)
At the UC-Berkeley Botanical Gardens for the afternoon, magnolias and rhododendrons already in bloom, wandering over to the Japanese Garden section, where the ponds and streams and moss-covered boulders along the trails never fail to soothe and relax, the pond is full of newts.
Newts are amphibious. The exist mostly in water, but can also live on land, and do for part of the year. One of the California State Parks south of San Francisco has an actual "Newt Crossing" sign on its entrance drive, reminding you to watch out for the soft-bodied critters dashing across the road during mating season.
Those little white spheres or bubbles are egg sacs, attached along the stems of the water lilies, or other pond plants. The newts like to attach the egg sacs along a frond or stem, rather than in clusters.
We sat there and watched the newts playing, patrolling the eggs, and engaging in sexual activities. They danced and dove in the water, and put on quite the lascivious ballet. How often do you get to see such glories? (I'll resist several newt puns that come to mind, for now.)
Labels: gardens, Japanese gardens, nature, newts, photography, roadtrip
posted by Art Durkee at 10:20 AM
2 Comments:
You do get around this sprawling country, Art. God bless you.
Just trying to spread the good newts, John. After all, no newts is good newts. What's newt with you?
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