This [roadkill] is a relatively new source of fatality; and if one
were to estimate the entire mileage of such roads in the state, the
mortality must mount into the hundreds and perhaps thousands every 24
hours." (Joseph Grinnell, 1920) found on wildlifecrossing.net.
Crowd sourcing has yet another use. It turns out that there is significant scientific interest in roadkill. For example,
Over the last few decades, Eastern Fox Squirrel have been migrating from their original sites of invasion in California (Bay Area and Los Angeles) toward other areas, where they tend to displace the native Western Grey Squirrel. Because these two species are commonly-reported as roadkill, we can study their co-distribution and where Eastern Fox Squirrel have successfully invaded or are invading the habitat of Western Grey Squirrel. As you can see from the map below, there are several areas where only Eastern Fox Squirrel or Western Grey Squirrel occur and other areas, such as Sacramento, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Bay where both species occur. These mixing zones may indicate active invasion by the non-native species. (CROS Annual Report)
Knowing the locations of roadkill hotspots will also allow researchers to recommend best practices for road builders.
The states of California and Maine are now using an online reporting tool to track road kill. Anyone in those states can report identifiable roadkill using a web interface at http://www.wildlifecrossing.net/california/node/add/roadkill (registration required).
Is there an app for that? Turns out that the plans are in the works for one.
2012-01-25
2012-01-24
Rain 1.6"; season total 5.11"
We had the good fortune to pick up some rain over the weekend and Monday, bringing the season total to about 5" at my new house.
On 22 Jan in the morning, I measured 0.70" at my house (weather.com had it at 0.54" for my zip code) and 0.30" at the San Pedro annex.
We had a day of respite from rain and then on Tuesday I measured 0.9" in my backyard that had fallen the day before. For the same time period the San Pedro annex was about 0.7". Weather.com put this rainfall at 0.6" in my zip code, so it looks like I'm running a bit ahead of the official figures.
A high degree of variation is expected between the San Pedro annex, my house, and the official figures for my zip code due to the large variation in topography in the area.
Some unreported (on this blog) previous rainfall:
11-Dec 0.60"
17-Dec 0.10"
18-Dec 0.01"
- Posted at great expense from my iPhone
On 22 Jan in the morning, I measured 0.70" at my house (weather.com had it at 0.54" for my zip code) and 0.30" at the San Pedro annex.
We had a day of respite from rain and then on Tuesday I measured 0.9" in my backyard that had fallen the day before. For the same time period the San Pedro annex was about 0.7". Weather.com put this rainfall at 0.6" in my zip code, so it looks like I'm running a bit ahead of the official figures.
A high degree of variation is expected between the San Pedro annex, my house, and the official figures for my zip code due to the large variation in topography in the area.
Some unreported (on this blog) previous rainfall:
11-Dec 0.60"
17-Dec 0.10"
18-Dec 0.01"
- Posted at great expense from my iPhone
2012-01-19
Knitted chain link
This is firmly in the camp of "What will they think of next?".
This isn't breaking news, but it's worth retelling. From http://www.architerials.com/:
Dutch design firm Demakersvan has produced a line of chain link fence that incorporates the ancient craft of lace-making into the fabrication of industrial chain link fence, taking something which was meant to be purely functional and gently encouraging it to be decorative. Think of Lace Fence as your Blanche Devereaux fencing option: it’s a flirty southern charmer with a stubborn streak and perhaps a little bit of a temper.
Get more information from the source, lacefence.com
This isn't breaking news, but it's worth retelling. From http://www.architerials.com/:
Dutch design firm Demakersvan has produced a line of chain link fence that incorporates the ancient craft of lace-making into the fabrication of industrial chain link fence, taking something which was meant to be purely functional and gently encouraging it to be decorative. Think of Lace Fence as your Blanche Devereaux fencing option: it’s a flirty southern charmer with a stubborn streak and perhaps a little bit of a temper.
Napa river walk
Juli and I had a nice vacation in northern California over New Years. We stayed in the town of Napa, which has a certain amount of appeal all on it's own, even leaving aside the fact that it's the gateway to the Napa Valley wine region. Napa celebrates its river in ways that we don't see much of here in Los Angeles.
Near the place we stayed is a 1.2 mile paved trail that runs along the Napa river.
Interesting side paths go down to the river's edge.
I think we stayed at River Pointe - a timeshare. The buildings are all mobile and the infrastructure is designed to accommodate seasonal flooding. These fences pivot as water washes by but that wasn't a concern for us: all the locals were commenting on the lack of rain when we were there.
- Posted at great expense from my iPhone
Near the place we stayed is a 1.2 mile paved trail that runs along the Napa river.
Interesting side paths go down to the river's edge.
I think we stayed at River Pointe - a timeshare. The buildings are all mobile and the infrastructure is designed to accommodate seasonal flooding. These fences pivot as water washes by but that wasn't a concern for us: all the locals were commenting on the lack of rain when we were there.
- Posted at great expense from my iPhone