Pen In Hand: Tehachapi moves into Autumn with a light rain
Pen In Hand: Tehachapi moves into Autumn with a light rain
By: Jon Hammond, Tehachapi News Columnist
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments That little dust-settler of a rain that we had on Friday didn’t amount to much precipitation, but it was welcome nonetheless as it washed the air, returning pollen and other particulate matter back down to Earth and clearing the way for those typically stunning blue Tehachapi skies in October.
We had .17 of an inch of rain at our place, which is normal for these early season storms. Golden Hills reported .25 of an inch and the rain tapered off towards the east end of the Tehachapi Valley, which it usually does unless the storm is one of the unusual ones that arrives from the east.
The Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) leaves are beginning to turn yellow at the higher elevations where they are found, typically between 5,000 and 8,000 feet. We haven’t had a killing frost at our lower elevations yet, though, so the warmer days still bring a flurry of activity among insects, birds and other wildlife.
Acorns began dropping from local oak trees in late August, and the nuts continue to rain down from those trees with a heavy crop. Under the cover of the rain and darkened skies, I saw a group of wild pigs out foraging among Blue Oaks (Quercus douglasii) on Loop Ranch property.
It is unusual to see them out during daylight hours — pigs are happy to be diurnal, but the outraged responses they earn from homeowners because of the damage they do, as well as hunting pressure, has made most of the wild pigs in our areas into more strictly nocturnal animals.
Butterflies continue to decorate the air with their colorful wings and erratic flight, often nectar-feeding on those few plants that continue to bloom this late in the year, including bright golden Rabbit Brush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) and the red trumpet-shaped flowers of California Fucshia (Zauschneira latifolia).
The ancient dragonflies still appear as well, among the oldest orders of predators on the planet. Entomologists don’t believe that dragonflies date back to the age of dinosaurs — they are considered to have predated dinosaurs by 100 million years.
The photos on this page are of Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) which are named for the dark patterns on their wings close to their body, which make this species of dragonfly look like an aerial version of the Pony Express riders of the American West. These dragonflies are fairly common in Tehachapi during their main flight periods, but they don’t seem to be here in as big a numbers as Flame Skimmers, Blue Darners, Whitetails and other dragonfly species.
Because our house is old and fairly porous (it is the first home ever built on Cherry Lane), smaller creatures can find their way in and out. The little Pacific Chorus Frog (Hyla regilla) pictured was happy to occupy one of the overflow holes in the old porcelain sink in the bathroom, though it disappeared on Friday when it rained. The small amphibian probably didn’t want to miss a chance to sit outside during a rare and welcome October rain.
Have a good week.
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