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I have to admit, the Mountain Beaver is an animal I have wanted to see for many years, but chalked it up there with Spotted Bat and Pygmy Sperm Whale in that I know they are out there, but the odds of me finding one are......

So, I was more than delighted to have been able to spend a good 15 minutes watching this one at close range as it repeatedly carried mouthfuls of dry grass and green conifer twigs to its burrow under the snow.

Corticolous on pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa). Photobiont green. Medulla yellow. Upper surface green when moist, grey when dry. Thallus broadly lobed, upper surface without pseudocyphellae, phyllidia, isidia (well mostly), and maculae; soredia yellow, mostly labriform, sometimes appearing pseudoisidate If so then 'pseudoisidia' minute); underside dark brown, copiously covered in small fleck-like yellow pseudocyphellae. Apothecia not seen. Specimen on which this image is based lodged in F.

The snake was resting across the trail. After we mutually recognized each other, and I had obtained some pictures, I made some loud noises that convinced the snake to start moving. It crawled under the visible root system of a nearby dying California Live Oak, and gave a vigorous rattle to warn me away.

Bee was observed feeding on Calamintha ashei plant in full bloom. This was the beginning of the bloom for this calamint population, and an early observation of the bee compared to known samples. This is the first Blue Calamintha Bee ever photographed outside of known paratype locations. The previous records for the bee came from 16 square miles in Lake Placid, Florida. This specimen was released unharmed, only temporarily restrained for species identification photos.