It’s getting to be the cozy time of year, where all I want is to be wrapped up in nice warm blankets on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book. Unfortunately the need to make an income doesn’t allow me to do that 24/7, unlike my friends the bears who are going to snooze the whole winter through. Of course, where I am on the Washington coast the winters are so mild that the black bears often get up in the middle of winter for a quick snack, so no one’s trash is safe!

Anyway, I wish you all a good winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and may all in the Southern half of the world be well as things heat up for the next few months.

Incidentally, I finally got my new-to-me Epson scanner hooked up. This is the first comic that I scanned in with it–the colors quality and detail are so much better! And no more weird gray line in the margins! This is gonna be a game-changer for sure.

Species portrayed: Brown bear (Ursus arctos)

For a lot of people, a bunch of trees in a place counts as a “forest”. Yet those of us who have a more ecological eye can take a look at those trees and figure out whether they’re an established forest, or whether they’re in a younger stage of succession, just by looking at the age of the trees and the various species of living being represented. Other ecosystems may be a bit more challenging to assess, but they have their own chains of succession as well. And as I explained in my comic on old growth forests, not all species can live in a younger, recovering ecosystem. So consider this comic a very basic introduction to the idea that there’s more to a given habitat than what immediately meets the eye!

Also, I had a lot of fun drawing new ecosystems I’ve never tried before! I’m especially proud of my portrait of Loowit (Mt. St. Helens.) 

Species portrayed: Plains zebra (Equus quagga), yellow-billed oxpecker (Buphagus africanus), acacia tree (Acacia sp.) big bluestem grass (Andropogon gerardii), common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), greenshield lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata), wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), Pacific bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli), noble fir (Abies procera), beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica), mesquite (Prosopis sp.), paloverde (Parkinsonia sp.), paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides), northern red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), green brittle star (Ophiarachna incrassata), assorted corals

One of my goals with this comic is to get people outside more. What that looks like, though, varies from person to person. Not everyone is able to get up and do a new trail every week, or try something new to them like horseback riding or kayaking. The 52 Nature Awareness Challenge was created by Disabled Hikers, a resource site for people with disabilities, chronic illnesses and other conditions that can limit mobility. You can find out more about the challenge here. I also think the rest of the site has a lot of good resources, and not just for disabled people. I found it eye-opening and it showed me how many ways I often make the assumption that others can go to the same places and see the same things I do. I am not disabled, but I have friends who are, and I’m happy to see there’s a resource to help them enjoy the great outdoors as well as educate everyone about accessibility and nature.

Species portrayed: frigid bumblebee (Bombus frigidus), domesticated aster (Asteraceae sp.)

I know I’ve been pretty plant-heavy in my comics lately. They’re just such a wonderful and fascinating kingdom of beings! I love how some trees just don’t seem to bother so much with boundaries and will happily grow together. That may give us mammals the heebie-jeebies to think about, but it’s one of the things that I think makes plants really cool. 

Species portrayed: sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

If you celebrate Christmas, Yule, or another holiday that involves decorating a conifer tree, consider how much carbon may be trapped in it (assuming you have a real tree and not an artificial one.) Unless your tree has an intact root ball and will be planted after the holiday, it’s going to begin to decay, thereby releasing that carbon back into the air and soil. the same goes for any houseplants you have, plants in your garden, yard or lawn. Even live plants in aquariums follow the same carbon cycle!

Also, I decided to try and find another native slug besides the banana slug, which has been in multiple comics now, including its very own one-panel feature. I’ve never actually seen a taildropper, yellow bordered or otherwise, but I’m going to keep my eyes open! Unfortunately pretty much every other slug I’ve met in the Northwest besides banana slugs has been a European invasive, but here’s hoping that the habitat restoration I’ve been helping with will make a difference.

Species portrayed: coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), western gull (Larus occidentalis), coyote (Canis latrans), Atlantic beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata), gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), white clover (Trifolium repens), Pacific golden chanterelle (Cantharellus formosus), yellow bordered taildropper (Prophysaon foliolatum), windswept moss (Dicranum scoparium), red alder (Alnus rubra), yellow wood violet (Viola biflora)

Lots of new comics, actually, if you haven’t been following things here at the website or on social media. I just now realized, nearly half a year after launching this site, that subscribing only gets you the blog posts (of which there haven’t been any), not the actual comics. Oops. So I’ll post notifications of new comics here on the blog, too, so you’re not missing out on any of the new content!

The new comic is at http://www.whatyouneedtoknowaboutnature.com/comic/not-so-cute-animal-videos/ and you can read all the archives at http://www.wyntkan.com. Enjoy 🙂