Wildlife Profile: California Slender Salamander

Is it a worm? Is it a tiny snake?! No! It's a California Slender Salamander. A resident species at Pennsylvania Garden, at first I thought we had tiny little snakes but was excited to learn that they are in fact a lungless salamander, and a very cute one at that.

Name: California Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus)
Class: Amphibian
Length: 7-13cm, 5.5"
Geographical Distribution: The coastal mountain areas of Northern California, a small part of the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, California, in patches of the northern Central Valley of California, and in extreme southwestern Oregon.

In the right places - that is, shady, moist gardens, woodlands and forests - this salamander can be easily found. Especially at night, when you'll see them walking around during or after heavy rains in the winter and spring. Turn over a rock at PG or PRG and you're pretty likely to see one, at first coiled up but suddenly squirming away as it tries to escape being seen. 

They look like tiny brown or black snakes, or even worms, but you'll see four miniature legs that are a dead giveaway to ID them. And while they have tiny legs, they have no lungs at all.They breathe through their skin, in fact.

Another oddity is that their red blood cells don't have a nucleus. In general, red blood cells in mammals lack a cell nucleus when mature, and the red blood cells of other vertebrates have nuclei. The only known exceptions are salamanders of the genus Batrachoseps like the Slender Salamander, and fish of the genus Maurolicus.

If you try to pick one up, do be careful of their tails, which they can detach in order to escape. Don't worry - they will grow back, but it's certainly not ideal for them to be always growing tails...

These salamanders lay eggs as early as December. Clutches contain approximately five to twenty eggs, but five to ten different females may use the exact same egg laying site. Hatching around March or April, and in their 7-10 year lifespan they can grow to 5.5" long.

Rare butterfly sighted

Today Matt and I went to PG and PRG to plant some plants, look at the work done by Tomas and his crew at PRG yesterday, and yes, weed some weeds.

Starting at PRG we uncovered some Agave "Sharkskin" that were being engulfed by Artemisias. You can see the problem in the before and after shot, left.  Agaves don't like to be damp and shaded, and will rot if nearby plants grow over them, so keeping them weeded is important.

After that we planted three gorgeous specimens of Agave ocahui - a lovely donation from Emily who lives on the peninsula. Thanks Emily! Hopefully these three will turn into nice 2' wide plants along the pathway. 

The name "ocahui" was the name was used by the indigenous Sonoran Desert population for "fiber" and "cordage" because the leaf fibers of this Agave were used to make rope. Another common name is Amolillo - a reference to the tradition of making soap from the leaves.

After that, we put in five small Agave "Blue Flame" to go with the four larger ones already in place.  This is a nice, soft, medium-sized agave that pups a lot, so there will be more to come. Always good - we often try to pick Agaves that produce lots of offsets so we will have more in the future.

Lastly we planted two very small Dracaena draco plants. This is the gorgeous and rare Dragon Tree, and we have one at PRG already.  They are painfully slow growing though, and will get to tree size probably after Matt and I are too old to enjoy them. Consider it our gift to future Potrero Hill!

After all that we headed up to PG and took photos and just enjoyed the garden. It's lovely right now - and you might get to see something I saw today, the rare pipevine swallowtail, Battus philen. This stunning black and blue butterfly only lives for a few weeks and only eats California pipevine - you can read more about them, and one man's efforts to help them, here. Why it was at the garden, I don't know, but I really appreciated seeing it. Sorry the photo is so bad!

Late February and the sun is blazing'

Cussonia wants a drink

This weekend Matt and I hit the garden twice. And although Matt went to baseball practice shortly afterwards, we got a lot of weeding done in the gorgeous sun.

One thing we noticed when we arrived was that one of the Cussonias was wilting. This is a biggish tree, and after a few weeks with no water at the height of the winter growing season, it was quite alarming to see. We set up a hose and gave it a drink for an hour - the next day it was looking a bit better. This is not a great sign though - we're at about 38% of our usual rainfall for the winter season, which is a bit shocking.

Mulched and ready to rock!

Between us, we thoroughly weeded and mulched parts of the middle front bed, the back bed and the left bed. The parts that didn't have ground cover, that is - always an invitation to weeds, and despite the lack of rain they have been growing like maniacs.

The weeds went in the compost bins, two of which are almost full. It's time to turn the bins and make compost again!

On Sunday I set about weeding and mulching by the wrong way sign - an area about 10' x 20' in dimension, and around a lot of Agaves. My hands and forearms are looking pretty nicked up after that task. 

Slender salamander

I came across a nice little California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus) while I was repairing the path edging. So cute with his tiny little legs. These guys hunt for earthworms, and are a sign that the garden is pretty healthy. This one wriggled off to live under the bench.

After that I weeded around the new plants put in recently up at the top of the garden. They were in danger of being swallowed by weeds - seemingly overnight - so protecting them is key. I gave them water as well - the ones that needed it, anyway. 

Left bed weeded

I also weeded in the front bed and mulched thoroughly. Nothing like a nice layer of wood chips to keep those weeds from getting involved. The garden is looking very luscious right now - head out and enjoy it :)

Volunteer day projects

New terraces

Today Matt and I met Emily and John at the garden and knocked a few tasks out pretty quickly.

John got to work deadheading the Agapanthus right away. This year's flowering was not as impressive as other years - could be the drought, could be it's time to divide the Agapanthus, or give them some food aka compost.

While Emily got to work on the ever-important task of weeding, Matt finished up a project at the top of the garden: removing the asphalt he dug up last time and finishing up the terraces using the chunks he'd dug out. The two new areas are ready for some hardcore drought loving plants!

Before and after

Next we dug out some holes for the Agave americana pups Chris collected from the arch area for us last month. This is going to create a low Agave hedge, that replaces the old lavender hedge of yore, with Euphorbias, Calandrinias and feather grass in between.

I started a lot of Calandrinia cuttings, but we'll plant the Agaves now and the rest in winter when there's rain.  Spacing the Agaves 12' apart, it leaves room for other species between them. We gave them lots of compost and mulched them in, so they should be looking happier soon.

While all this was going on a few beds got water. The brights bed has some newish Cordylines that need a good start, and the middle border is just parched. Matt and I set up the sprinklers to also water the middle back bed and part of the left bed, then went for lunch.

We heard a shrieking bird as we set up one sprinkler, and I thought it was complaining about its nest getting wet. Then we saw it - a scrub jay who was REALLY enjoying the rain bath, and yelling for joy. Check out the video.
 

Stylish bird

You can just about see him in this bad photo flitting around the Agave americana flower. A lovely yellow and black colored male hooded oriole. Sharp looking bird!

Feralife

We saw her last week, for a second, and wondered if it was a trick of the light.

Then, today, I saw her again - she scurried away but as I stood still, she came back. A white mouse! I took some photos quickly as she sniffed about, coming all the way up to my feet.

And then... another: two white mice!

Someone has clearly let these two mice loose in the garden. I'm sad - they won't live long as they don't have enough fear, foraging or coping skills, and might die of dehydration or poisoning.

Releasing domesticated animals into the wild is a cruel thing to do. Perhaps these were some mice that the owner's snake wouldn't eat, and if so they should have made some decent living accommodations for the mice. But for now they're a little magic in the garden.

Critters

Mystery hole

Strange holes have been dug at the garden by a critter. I filled the two that posed a tripping hazard in, but left the third alone. 

Who is it? What are they up to? Why can't they dig in the compost heap and do me a favor?

Path full of weeds

Instead, I turned the compost myself, during which a rat jumped out of the middle bin. As I dug almost to the bottom I heard a squeak, and had poked my fork into a nest of baby rats. They seemed to be unhurt so I closed the bin and hopefully Rat Mum will be back to move the babies elsewhere.

After that, Matt and I spread four tubtrugs of finished compost, mulched a lot of areas, weeded the cactus wall, steps and assorted other areas, picked up trash, swept the steps and bricked areas, prepped for moving the bench, and cut back many Chasmanthe and Euphorbia plants. 4 hours well spent. 

Weekend happenings

Unfortunate hummingbird

Yesterday Matt and I popped out for the usual: a quick survey to see if we can do one job that will make us good about being at work in offices all week.

Unsurprisingly we found lots of weeds - still. Somehow the weed fairy has not magically removed them overnight. Pah! So we started weeding while we considered other tasks.

Matt planted 5 Puya laxa (Hay Stack Puya)  that had been growing in pots down on the terraces for some time. This is a fuzzy little bromeliad from Bolivia with blue-black flowers.

I weeded the right side of the brights bed - only the left side remains. I added compost to the base of the lovely Cussonia spicata there, and watered the newly planted plants from last week and mulched them even more. I also spread a lot of the foliage from the Hakea suaveolens that Chris had put to one side on the ground as mulch too - I think it will be very effective.

Matt sawed up the remains of the Hakea trunk and branches, and we now have several new piles of debris in the top area which I'll hire someone to take away shortly.

Today I went out to turn the compost and found the right bin full of ready to use compost. Always lovely. So I put three tubtrugs full on the middle back bed and weeded there. Then two wheelbarrows full on the brights bed. At some point I aggravated a muscle in my back so I had to stop, and couldn't finish the job. I did find a dead hummingbird and buried it under a bright Arctotis. Circle o'life...

False alarm

Sad Ficus

This morning Matt and I were up early to connect the hose from Fregosi Paints to water the trees at PRG.

We went about our business while the trees got water on this very hot weekend, then came back to weed and deadhead the plants on the street. Noticed a Ficus benjamina (house plant) that's been planted at PRG, randomly enough - it might not survive the transition from indoor plant to outdoor plant in this heatwave, but good luck...

Happy cactus

I also noticed that some of the cacti down there are sprouting new tips - a good sign! Some of the cacti took the transition poorly, but many are doing well, just as we'd helped. This one came from a giant cactus in the Haight that John helped Matt and I dismantle and relocate way back in July 2010 - a really tough, prickly, painful job but worth it in the end.

Later on, as I was about to go switch off the water, Alert Neighbor Adolfo sent me an email about a man at the garden, apparently tidying up. naturally I was up there in a matter of minutes and say Keyvan (hope I spelled that right!) weeding. He's a keen local gardener so of course I was delighted to show him what needs to be weeded and give him a pair of pruners. And some cuttings :)

Tough Santolina

On the way back down to PRG I decided to water as many of the plants as possible, and while doing that I noticed butterflies at the garden. A cabbage white, a swallowtail and then one I've never seen; all silvery blue-gray with a bight orange spot at the base of each wing. Google says it's a Gray Hairstreak and fairly common, but very pretty nonetheless. I also noticed that the Santolinas that someone apparently stood on, or sat on, are rejuvenating from the base. Hurrah for tough old Santolinas :)

Heavy marine layer

Aloe striatula flowering

That is what Matt calls the rain we had today - just "spitting" where I come from, but he calls it a "heavy marine layer" - hah!

Anyway, he was at work today (boooo!) so I went up to the garden and did some work. I cut back a patch of Chasmanthe and spread the leaves around the base as mulch. Then I thought it looked ugly, so I spread 2 bags of compost on top. Much better!

Next I folded up all the plastic bags we have lying around and put them away, as well as organizing a few other things in the shed.

I took a quick pic of the Cotinus coggygria (Purple Smokebush) that I coppiced (cut to the ground) on Jan 1st of this year - it already has 5' tall new canes sprouting up. Looks great - coppicing was the right thing to do after all. Also took a pic of the aphids on the cardoon - being hoovered up by ladybugs as usual and the Aloe striatula flowers - used to be such a tiny plant back in 2009!

Got aphids? Get ladybugs.

After that I got deeeep into the middle back bed and weeded more, then spread some compost there too. Three tubtrugs of weeds to the composter. We are making some lovely compost.

Lastly I took a trash bag and picked up trash, and prepared to walk down along MCG and PRG and pick up all the trash there. Just as I was leaving, I saw a little beastie in the bushes and stopped to video it. It was a little mouse eating the flowers on a Salvia leucantha! Very cute.

Cotinus recovery

I took pics and videoed a while, then someone with a dog came along and scared the mouse away. You see a lot more wildlife when there are no dogs around - I often see bobcats, deer, skunks, raccoons and so on at the barn where we keep our horses, but when people bring dogs it's deserted.

A moment of silence please

Kniphofia "Dwarf Yellow"

Today I have confirmed that our little Western Mockingbird baby is dead.

Yesterday there were no parents flitting about with meals for baby, and no squeaky noises coming from the nest - baby crying for food. Today, the same. So I stood on an upturned pot and had a look in the nest. Sadly, a nestling about a week or two from fledging was lying in there, lifeless.

It's possible the nest got infested with mites, or something else killed the baby and it died - birds in general are very delicate and sensitive, and baby birds can kick the bucket mere hours after becoming sick. As far as I know nobody else knew the location of the nest, and since the parents chose the middle of the garden to build the nest it's unlikely stress from humans made them abandon it.

Hopefully the parents will have another go and there'll be a Mockingbird family again soon. Still, it's a bit sad. :(

Even sunnier

California poppies with
Lamb's Ears in the background

Today I had to get out and water the plants that went in the last few days, so I made an early start. I wanted to plant the remaining plants, but somehow got side tracked in weeding. I did identify a spot for the Kniphofia thomsonii though, so that's saved for later.

Several large loads of plants went in the compost bin, and woody or fibrous stuff got piled on the side as we're expecting a green waste debris box to be delivered for the next volunteer day, which we hope will reduce the big compost heap a lot.

I did cut back a Euryops (Bush Daisy) on the bottom path that was encroaching a bit, and planted a Brachyglottis "Silver Dormouse" by the steps.

A pink Cordyline and
silvery Cotyledon orbiculata
var. oblonga

I also discovered why the Western Mockingbirds were so upset yesterday. I was working underneath a Cordyline all day yesterday, and today I noticed a nest in it's crown: they were scolding me to get away from their babies! They were very busy ferrying food to their squeaking babies while I worked today. More Mockingbirds for the neighborhood, and less insects for me to worry about ;)

Hummingbird captured

For those who can't get to the garden often, here's a short clip of a hummingbird enjoying the Echium fastuosum "Pride of Madera" up in the dog area last week.

Garden variety bees

This just in:

"The Xerces Society is happy to announce the release of Garden Variety Native Bees of North America - a perpetual calendar. The calendar is produced by the same team that brought us the last two calendars, bee enthusiast Celeste Ets-Hokin and nature photographer Rollin Coville. Each month introduces you to a different bee genus, with a gorgeous full-page pin-up photo accompanied by notes on preferred plants, nesting needs, and guidance on how to identify the genus.  

Garden Variety Native Bees of North America is both a guide to some of our more common native bees and a gardening calendar that never goes out of date. The perpetual calendar includes the dates in each month, but not the days of the week. Use this calendar to keep month to month, and even year to year comparative garden notes. It's a great way to record your observations of the bloom times and other characteristics of the bee-friendly plants you include in your garden, along with the numbers and different types of bees that visit them.     

PREVIEW A SAMPLE OF THE PERPETUAL CALENDAR

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this gardening calendar will be donated to the Xerces Society, but Xerces will not be directly selling the calendar, so please do not send calendar payments to Xerces.    

   

Click here for more information on how to order the calendar. Please note that you will be redirected to a website hosted by California Lithographers, the printer producing the calendar on behalf of Celeste Ets-Hokin and Rollin Coville. California Lithographers is solely responsible for calendar sales and shipping.   "

I'm watching you...

Jess spotted a visitor to the garden last week and took this great shot - I think it's a female Red-Tailed Hawk, because the females are larger than the males, and she's quite big. Pretty awesome, and apparently she hung out on top of the trellis arch for quite a while as Jess crept closer to her. Click the image to see a bigger versions of this photo.

I also took a photo of the garden from neightbor Sage and Barbara's window at the weekend. I don't often get to see the garden from this angle - talk about perspective.

Wildlife has a wild life

I see you creeping up on me...

Today I went down to Warm Water Cove to weed for a while with the other volunteers there. Great little garden, and the weather was excellent for weeding.

After that I met Dee at PG and we weeded for an hour - got the front bed sorted out, and I also planted two Coreopsis and a variegated Agapanthus in the middle back bed.

A nasty smell had been wafting across the neighborhood all morning. I saw Juana walking her dogs and she told me there was an unfortunate skunk who'd been killed in the intersection at 18th where the off ramp ends. Where was he going to? Coming from? Why did the skunk cross the road? We'll never know.

OK that's it - I'm out!

I went up and sure enough a little black and white corpse lay there. Oh dear. Not wanting to either a) wait for the city to come remove him, b) smell him any longer or c) let the smell get worse as he was repeatedly run over.... I went and picked him up and put him on the compost heap. Not that you do anyway, but do I need to tell you not to frolic on the compost heap any more?

Shortly after Nate and Tanya came by and pointed out that we had more wildlife in the garden. A juvenile red-tailed hawk (probably) was sitting on the wooden arch, making that whiny baby hawk cry they do when they want their parents to feed them. I managed to get a picture before s/he flew away. Pretty cool.

He hasn't croaked yet! And other godawful puns...

It has been brought to my attention by an inside source that another birthday is upon us. Yes, Gary of Brickley Production Services has just turned 21 again. Here he is looking delighted (left). Happy birthday Gary!

It is unlikely that you will appreciate the significance of the balloon he's holding, but if you look closely you'll see it has a frog on it. I can reveal to you now that P. Garden will soon be welcoming a colony of frogs to live among us! My friend Jack is a keen amphibian-liker and suggested adding a few Pacific Tree Frogs to the garden. I quite liked the idea of little frogs chirping in the bushes, and since this species is rare within San Francisco proper, it only seemed right to have them. I was a tad hesitant about their needs, but Gary found out and got all excited about the froggy business. He has agreed to be the frog ambassador and will be writing a little piece or two about them when the time comes.

So yay for Gary and yay for his impending army of frogs. Yes, that's right - the collective noun for frogs is an army. Or a colony, or a knot. But I like army.

New species visits P. Garden!

I keep catching sight of that durn rabbit out of the corner of my eye and having palpitations! So today when we had yet another species visit the garden I almost jumped out of my skin. However, it turned out to be "someone" I know!

At first she was a bit worried - she kept looking back at her home, the lovely white Victorian on the corner.

But she trotted over, meowing the whole way!

Wait! What's that?! Over there!

She's a sweetie though!

Stylish in her green collar. She has a short tail - she looks like a bobcat.

And off she bounded to work on her camouflage. Which isn't bad at all, I might add.

In other news, I went to Home Despot (uh-oh) and get a flat of red Gazanias which I planted in the red bed and front bed. They were also having a half off bulb sale (woot!) so I got (and planted) 14 Narcissus tazetta
(scented geranium daffodils), 10 Narcissus triandrus "Thalia" (white scented daffodils) and 14 Narcissus "Salome" (pink and white daffodils). Yep - daffodil addiction in full swing, people. I have never seen a garden with daffodils in it and thought "my god, they've really overdone it  - too many daffs!" Never. Not once.

I should mention another great surprise: Anna was at the garden, weeding away, when I arrived today. Sweet! Can't beat that for a Thanksgiving moment :)

Wildlife

Once or twice people have asked if we get any deer damage in the garden. I always say that any deer that braves freeway traffic to get to the garden will be welcome to any nourishment it can get!

We do get some wildlife at P. Garden, and today I saw a hummingbird feeding on the Mexican sage! (Yes, Annelle!) Always a sign of joy for me. What else?

Birds:
Crows
Mourning Doves
Pigeons
Robins
Starlings
Mockingbird
Sparrows
Hummingbird of some sort
Ravens

Insects:
Worms (various types, and lots of them)
Ladybugs (lots, with various spot patterns)
Butterflies (Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Monarch? At least three kinds)
Dragonflies
Bees
Ants
Slugs
Snails
Spiders
Aphids...
Probably millions of other things I don't know about

Amphibians:
California Slender Salamander

Mammals:
Humans
Dogs
Probably the occasional cat, at night.

Have you seen any other species in the garden?

H'mmmmmmmmmmmm...

What's that sound you hear? That distant buzz? It is the sound of hummingbirds flocking to Annelle's new hummingbird feeder in the garden! She and Gary put it up yesterday and I had to stop and admire it this morning.

It may take a while for the little guys to find their new feeder but when they do, we'll be able to lounge on the bench (to be built) and watch them congregating around the trellis, which one day will be convered in star jasmine (scented) and sits between the Ceanothus (scented) and the loquats (scented) - it's going to be an experience! The photo below shows what the view from the bench will be like, looking to the right.

This morning I also managed, despite a severe crick in my neck, to dig a hole for our newest, biggest, bluest Agave americana. He now sits at the end of the storm drain and will have some of his smaller friends around him, effectively blocking off easy access to the storm drain by hooligans. Unless they like to be scratched by spiky leaves, who knows?

No doubt our new Agave (whose possible name due to his sharp looks is "Agavin Newsome"? Anyone?) will grow a bit bigger, but I've left enough room at the sidewalk for spread, and access to the biodegradable dog bags is not blocked at all. As you can see from the picture, behind him is a massive pile of branches (for borders) and our Fuchsia. I suspect the Fuchsia is being a bit fried by the heat being reflected off the wall there, so I'm planning on moving it to the large left bed and putting a tall Opuntia in it's place. The whole entrance area will have a cool Southwestern feel - I just hope little kokopelli windchimes, stained glass mosaic howling coyote toilet roll holders and other assorted tchotchkes don't start showing up, as is the tendency in community gardens...