Early Bloomers!

Although mainly rainy, we did have some sunny days this past week, which caused a few local plants to blossom profusely!  Pollen was in the air and there were a few insects buzzing around!

Willow - Salix sp.

After many months of having colorful but bare branches, the local willows have burst into bloom!  Willows are dioecious, and have separate male and female plants!  Right now both male and female plants are in their "Pussy Willow" stage.  Their soft silvery hairs help keep the developing reproductive parts of the plant warm!  Unlike most "non-attractive" (not bright in color) flowers, willows are insect pollinated.  The female flowers will produce a large amount of strongly scented nectar, and the male flowers will produce a ton of pollen! We'll just have to wait and see what insects they attract!

Pussy Willows - Salix sp.

Alder - Aldus sp. 
the male catkins

Alders are monoecious, and have both male and female parts on the same tree.  The yellow catkins above, are the male flowers of the alder.  The dark brown cones below, are the female flowers of the alder!  Unlike the willows, alders are wind pollinated, and do not depend upon insects for their pollination!

Alders live in a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria Frankia alni.  This bacterium lives underground, in the root nodules of the Alder.  The bacterium absorbs nitrogen from the air and makes it available to the Alder!  In turn, the Alder provides sugars to the bacterium, which it produces through photosynthesis!  Thus this symbiotic relationship improves the fertility of the soil!

the female cones 

Tree Manzanita - Arctostaphylos sp.

I was also surprised to find some Manzanitas in bloom!  Manzanitas are common, local, woody, evergreen plants, ranging from 7"-20' in height!  They have "perfect" flowers, meaning each flower has a male and female part.  They are insect pollinated, and use nectar as an attractant.  Although I did see some large, black bodied bees feeding on the nectar, I failed to get a photograph.  Hopefully I will next time! 

Manzanita - Arctostaphylos sp.

Earthworm - Phylum Annelida

Earthworms have been showing up in the puddles from the rain!  I haven't seen lots of them, just a few here and there.  I always thought that earthworms drown in the rain, but recently found that to be a myth!  Earthworms need to be moist, because they breathe through their skin!  They come above ground when it rains, because they can travel farther distances, when it's wet, without drying out!  Earthworms don't have feet, but they have groups of tiny bristles on each body segment. These bristles
move in and out to grip the surface, as a worm stretches and contracts its
muscles to push forward or backward!

Next week I'll get to the other questions I posted last week!  We're in for another batch of rainy weather, so the questions still apply! Thanks!

Here's the questions:

I wonder how all the underground 

mammals fared during this past rainy week.  

Did their burrows get flooded?  

How far down do they dig their burrows?