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Lac Gilbert is a headwater lake in a valley, which protects it from the wind. It has a relatively deep hole (12 m) at one end that allows the bottom water to go anoxic over the course of the summer. The stability of the water column means that distinct bands of different communities develop in layers in the water, and also on the sediments. For instance, above the anaerobic zone that starts at 9 m depth, there is a band of Hydra on the sediments that feeds on migrating zooplankton.
The surface water is pristine and low in nutrients, so phytoplankton abundance is low, allowing light to penetrate deep into the lake. Photosynthetic pigments increase greatly in the anoxic layer, where large populations of anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria appear. Just above the oxygen-free zone, the sediments develop a dense mat of spiral cyanobacteria, Arthrospira jenneri. Their identity is given away by the thickness of the filament relative to coil length. A. jenneri, like all cyanobacteria, is facultatively anaerobic. That means it can grow in a zone that is bathed in the nutrients released by anaerobic processes.
These are images from both the water column and the sediment mat. Some are transmitted light and some are by epifluorescence. Some are unstained and some are stained with a fluorescent dye (DAPI) that makes nucleic acids fluoresce light blue. Arthrospira is blue-green by transmitted light, and red by epifluorescence. The red of epifluorescence signals the presence of chlorophyll. Sediment samples will have bright yellow particles. These are granules of polyphosphate that are stored by bacteria and that glow yellow when stained by DAPI. The deep water column samples, without DAPI, contain cyanobacteria, and also photosythetic picoplankton (red dots) that are probably photosynthetic bacteria.
The filament labelled Oscillatoria in one of the photos is orange because it contains a fluorescent auxiliary pigment, phycoerythrin. It might be another member of the Oscillatoriales, maybe Planktothrix, but there is no large Planktothrix layer in the lake.

Very curious ermine came about 10 feet from us, then went back and killed a vole. He was bringing it to us when the dogs chased him up the side of a tor. We took the vole from the dogs and propped up the camera to lure him back.

duplicate observation of plants growing in seasonal slough in second growth douglas fir and pine forest.

A: Habitat
B: Habit
C: Shoot with hooked leaves
D: Branching shoots showing variation in leaf form
E: Leaf base micrograph showing marginal teeth, costa and inflated hyaline alar cells
F: Detail of alar region
G: Detail of elongate laminal cells and toothed margin
H: Leaf cross section
I: Older stem cross section
J: Leaf tip showing teeth

My first butterfly of the year! Landed in this forest edge / opening I now call "The Butterfly Meadow", here in Lincoln Park, that I have been developing it as butterfly habitat, and habitat for locally lost, or locally rare plants, for about 6 years. This Satyr Comma / Anglewing failed to visit the patch of nettles I started for it, and for the 4 other Seattle butterflies that can lay eggs on it, but last year I did have one Satyr Comma, as well as one Red Admiral, lay eggs on the nettle patch! Today's Satyr Comma was right on time, as I usually see my first here just before the Spring eqinox.

Jepson Key to Amsinckia (Fiddlenecks): https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=8753

Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) COMPARED TO Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii):

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Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Native, annual, stiff-bristly plant in the Borage (Boraginaceae) family that grows in sandy, gravelly soil. There are several subspecies. Inflorescence consists of golden yellow-orange, tiny, tubular flowers arranged on spike-like cymes with coiled tips. Corolla has 20 veins just above base. Peak bloom time: March-June. The back of the nutlet or "seed" is tessellate like a mosaic.

Per Jepson eFlora: "calyx lobes unequal in width, reduced to 2--4 from fusion below middle, notched at tip; corolla 8--16 mm, yellow or orange, tube 20-veined near base"

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=13151
Jepson Key to Amsinckia: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=8753

Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers (and more) https://borregowildflowers.org/?type=search&searchtype=S&family=&name=Amsinckia%20tessellata%20tessellata

Calflora https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=332

Calflora lists 16 possible species of Amsinckia: https://www.calflora.org/entry/psearch.html?namesoup=Amsinckia&countylist=any&plantcomm=any&format=photos&orderby=taxon

California Desert Wildflowers, Philip A. Munz, 1975, p. 101.

Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page (species not listed as of 3/1/24)

Baja California Plant Field Guide, Jon P. Rebman, Norman C. Roberts, 3rd. ed, 2012

Southern California Plant Communities: http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/plantcommunities.html

Leaf Shape and Arrangement diagrams: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

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COMPARED TO

Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii) Native, annual plant that grows in open, disturbed areas at forest/woodland edges. Stems are bristly and ascending to erect. Leaves are linear to oblong, margins entire, surfaces sparsely hispid to hispid-hirsute. Inflorescence is shaped like the head of a fiddle (violin-like instrument). Tubular flowers are yellow and may have orange spots at the base of the 5 lobes. Peak bloom time April-August. Seeds and foliage may be poisonous to cattle.

Link to confirmed observation showing classic fiddleneck shape: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/112776149

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=13145
Jepson Key to Amsinckia: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=8753

Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers (and more) https://borregowildflowers.org/?type=search&searchtype=S&family=&name=Amsinckia%20intermedia (lists two subspecies not one species)

Calflora https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=326

Calflora lists 16 possible species of Amsinckia: https://www.calflora.org/entry/psearch.html?namesoup=Amsinckia&countylist=any&plantcomm=any&format=photos&orderby=taxon

Flora of North America (species not listed as of 3/1/24)

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 90-91.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/boraginaceae-amsinckia/

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 332.

Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=2726

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Borage (Boraginaceae) Most plants in this family are bristly or sharp-hairy with hairy leaves. Leaves are alternately arranged, or a combination of alternate and opposite leaves. Leaf blades usually have a narrow shape and many are linear or lance-shaped. They are smooth-edged or toothed, and some have petioles. Most species have inflorescences that have a coiling shape (scorpioid cymes). The flower usually has a 5-lobed calyx. The corolla varies in shape from bell-shaped to tubular. There are five stamens and one style with one or two stigmas. The fruit is a drupe, sometimes fleshy.
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=69

Saw a small orange beetle flying clumsily through the air and scooped it up with my hand. iNaturalist suggested the ID as tribe Anthophagini, from which I narrowed it down to this species using BugGuide.

The larva was found in a water sample with freshwater sponges (Spongillidae).

A water sample was taken from the shore of lake Istok. The air temperature was 24°C (75.2 °F). The sample was stored at room temperature and observed 4 days after collection.