It's All Connected, Part II

A recent trash cleanup
along McCollister Blvd.

Everything is connected. We're all connected, to each other in our communities, to the trees, grasses, forbs, algae, and other photosynthesizing organisms to provide both oxygen to breathe and food to eat, to people down the block and around the world in the people we elect to pass laws and the decisions they make.

These connections have been a common refrain on this blog, particularly when it comes to water quality. Given the Sycamore Greenway's purpose in collecting and moving stormwater from our neighborhoods to its constructed wetlands, and beyond to the Iowa River and Mighty Mississippi, all the way to the Gulf. Each drop of water that lands in your yard has the potential to move along these water trails. 

1 Mississippi shared an amazing "River Runner" visualization that allows you to follow the path of that water drop: zoom in on your neighborhood, or even your backyard, and you can see how water drains and moves through neighborhoods, flowing into rivers and streams. 

The path of water to the Iowa River via the Sycamore Greenway

Now imagine you're a plastic bottle taking the same path. The Greenway and other stormwater management systems can sometimes filter out large pieces of litter to prevent them from getting into our waterways (allowing them to be collected by the wonderful volunteers at events like the in April), but sometimes a heavy rain washes trash directly from roadsides or parking lots into the Iowa River and other waterways.

That's why Sycamore Greenway Friends regularly patrols some of the more "litter-ary" streets around the Greenway to pick up trash before it has a chance to move along into the stormwater system. Not only does it do a small part to protect our aquatic wildlife and water quality, but it also helps keep our neighborhoods looking nice. And maybe even reduce some of the trash that finds its way into the Greenway cells throughout the year. It's win-win-win! 

Is there an area in the South District that could use a cleanup? You can do your part with a trash bag and pair of gloves, but if that's not an option you can request a small cleanup via this form.

A recent trash cleanup near
Whispering Meadows wetlands

Romance Among the Silphium

The lady, with meal

O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,

How can we know the dancer from the dance?

- William Butler Yeats

A glittering jewel of an arachnid, sparkly gold against the bright green leaf of a Cup Plant, holding a shriveled prize--perhaps an aphid. From below, a swift fellow approaches, waving his decoratively tufted forelegs as if flagging down a passing motorist for assistance. The glittery gal flees with her lunch, leaving the male dancing with himself. 

I first met the elegant dancer few years ago, a male Tutelina elegans jumping spider, but this was the first time I've encountered the object of his passion. I can see why he adores her, with her brilliantly robust abdomen and intense array of eyes. Not to mention her no-nonsense attitude: who has time for courtship when you've got a delicious aphid ready to devour? 

The gentleman

The gentleman below,
lady in upper right

Once she disappeared into the foliage, the male continued his dance over and around the leaves, first sidling to the left, then the right, all the time brandishing his forelegs in what one can only assume to be a beguiling display of arachnid choreography and masculinity. 

The video below doesn't do justice to his moves, but I assure you it was quite alluring.