Each spring, California’s Antelope Valley explodes with color as vast quantities of flowers bloom. While there are several types of wildflowers in the mix, it’s the state flower—the California poppy—that is the star of the show. Typically visitors flock to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve to take in the breathtaking scene, but this year is proving a bit different.
With the reserve temporarily closed due to COVID-19 measures, in-person poppy watching isn’t possible. But thanks to NASA, we’re able to have a whole different perspective on the event. As the poppy fields are located close to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, it’s only fitting that a land imager aboard the Landsat 8 satellite captured the superbloom at its peak.
As organizations are shuttered indefinitely due to ongoing coronavirus embargoes, more and more institutions seem to be taking steps to make their collections accessible and explorable by virtual means. Whether this is due to the altruistic aspect of art that seeks to bring meaning to life during troubled times, or the ways in which the disruption of business-as-usual has enabled many of us to get into the “deep cuts” of our to-do lists, the result is an abundance of truly beautiful online resources to delight and divert us during self-quarantine efforts. Recent among these, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries announced a new addition to “OPenn” — the Manuscripts of the Muslim World project.
I am a board member of Friends of the Island Fox and help do a variety of work to preserve this threatened/endangered species that live just right off our coastline. They are amazing animals and I highly encourage everyone to visit the Channel Islands (Santa Cruz Island is our usual destination) and spend some time among the foxes and other nature. It is a relatively quick 1.5 hour trip out from Ventura Harbor vis Island Packers. A great way to spend a day.
You can find many pictures of the channel island fox on my Instagram and Flickr photo accounts.
As a Valentine’s Birthday gift to me (and the foxes), please consider a donation to continue our work to protect and educate the public (through school programs and Road Scholar presentations) about this amazing animal in their own backyard.
You can donate any amount by visiting the Friends of the Island Fox web site and clicking the donate button. You’ll also find tons of information there about the foxes, their habitats, their issues and what we and our donors have done to help them, the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy and many others.
It’s February – time to help the unique island foxes that live on California’s Channel Islands! Why does Friends of the Island Fox ask for your donations? Funding is essential for island fox conservation. You can help this pup. Won’t you be her Valentine?
In December of 2019, she was fitted with a radio-tracking collarfunded by FIF and had another whisker removed for analysis. All of this work–the examination and work by the technician; blood sample testing, the microchip, radio-tracking collar, and diagnostic research on the whiskers–requires funding.
That is where you can make a difference. We ask you to donate, so FIF can help fund important island fox conservation work across the Channel Islands in conjunction with the various island land managers.
Pup F257 has so much to tell us.
Throughout her life, when captured, her microchip reveals her identity. Her data, gathered during annual check-ups, will form her profile history. Data collected on individual foxes is valuable for researchers and understanding how to keep island fox populations healthy and stable. Her radio collar will monitor her movements and safety.
The analysis of her two whiskers will tell us how her diet has changed from a very young pup to her life at 10 months old. If the winter rains don’t return and F257 faces her first year in drought conditions, will she change her diet? FIF’s Research Grant recipients are investigating important science on island fox health. Are foxes finding adequate nutritional food in their island ecosystem? Can we expect F257 to live a lifespan of 8–12 years?
This young pup is starting her life on Santa Rosa Island. You can be part of her success. Your donation will help make sure she is watched over and healthy.
It’s becoming more and more common for museums to digitize their collections. The latest one to join the trend is The Cleveland Museum of Art. After digitizing its collection, it made it publicly accessible online, with 30,000 images free for download and remix.
The CMA has shared the images from its permanent collection that are in the public domain open access. This means that you can download, share, reproduce, reuse and remix the images for scholarly, non-commercial, but also commercial purposes.
The CMA’s director, William Griswold, said in a statement regarding this project:
Another great collection of public information freely available on the Internet and to use in your own educational projects.
No matter if you enjoy taking or just watching images of space, NASA has a treat for you. They have made their entire collection of images, sounds, and video available and publicly searchable online. It’s 140,000 photos and other resources available for you to see, or even download and use it any way you like.
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