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After-hours permit graciously provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The second picture presents a direct side-by-side comparison of E. californicalis and E. ocellea (3 individuals each; all observed at the same place and night) as I currently understand it. The main difference is the location of the dark line (marked by a red arrow in the top photos) within the surrounding white field. (Please, note though that there is no guarantee for this to work, and there seem to be counterexamples on BOLD.)
Based on this ID method, I have found E. californicalis only in one small area (Yolo Bypass) where others also have seen it. In contrast, E. ocellea is much more broadly distributed.

PLEASE READ FOR ID.
Just killed by Coyote. The coyote was joined by its juvenile pup and then the male. She chased the male away to have the meal to herself and let the juvenile watch.

Edit: Note I saw species in same area three years ago: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/54302918

This is not a gopher snake, contrary to what I IDed it as to start. I thought it was a weird "morph" but due to range; it was the only species that made sense. Zoom in and look closely; it does not have the correct barred markings. ID credit goes to herpetologist Robert Hanson. He also IDs it as female. This is a Sierra Gartersnake - Thamnophis couchii https://californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/t.couchii.html. Though east of its range it is possible that it came here via humans either released after tiring of it or by accident via produce box from the orchards in Tehachapi area or camping gear from someone camping at Brite Lake. It was caught in habitat where it would thrive due to lakes filled with fish and toads and plenty of tall grass, cattails, and other plants for mice and the snake to hide in.

Global GeoARTBlitz 2024 Project:

PAINTING BY TONY FOSTER. Submitted for Tony by Roseann Hanson.

This area, on the fringe of Bodmin Moor, was heavily mined for copper and tin in the 19th Century. It has since been left alone, with the exception of grazing sheep, and nature is gradually taking it back.

The Moor is the eroded remnant of a massive, sub-surface intruded granite boss of Armorican age.

Hollows and valleys on Bodmin Moor are typically colonized by a range of wetland communities, notably: Carex rostrata – Sphagnum fallax mire (bottle sedge – Sphagnum moss mire), Carex echinata – Sphagnum fallax/auriculatum mire (star sedge – Sphagnum moss mire) and Narthecium ossifragum – Sphagnum papillosum valley mire (bog asphodel – Sphagnum moss mire). These have been frequently subjected to burning and intense grazing pressure. Throughout the moor a number of such areas have been flooded by reservoir construction, though at the eastern end of Crowdy Reservoir a high degree of biological interest remains because of the gradual transition to peatland with a complex of islets and emergent vegetation and Cornwall’s only major colony of black-headed gulls. Rare or local flowering plants occurring within the bog communities include: bog pimpernel Anagallis tenella, oblong-leaved and round-leaved sundew Drosera intermedia and D.rotundifolia, bog orchid Hammarbya paludosa – a nationally scarce species, bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata, pale butterwort Pinguicula lusitanica, lesser skullcap Scutellaria minor and ivy-leaved bellflower Wahlenbergia hederacea. (Information from https://johnblanchard.net/index.php/some-sites/34-bodmin-moor-north-sssi )

Global GeoARTBlitz
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/global-geoartblitz-2024

I couldn't seem to find any photos showing real imagery for labial teeth / rows for CRLF. I wanted to provide some images one could compare to figures in Stebbins (Peterson Field Guide) for Rana mouth parts. That said, I welcome any links to any sort of publication / guide with actually good photos compared to mine.

~Individuals shown here were handled under permitted biologists~

These are two lightning trout from the Mt. Lassen trout farm in NorCal. These are essentially rainbow trout that have a genetic mutation, resulting in this striking yellow and red coloration. The fish with the original mutation was bred, allowing for offspring with the same trait. They are stocked at various lakes in CA.

Continuing odd Red-winged Blackbird. Outwardly male, but lower breast is very female-like. Lots of leucism mainly in tail and vent area but also leggings and odd patches such as a slight bit along the edge of the wing "shoulder". See https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/144558985 for earlier observations.

"Willamette phase" Mountain Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans elegans) found along the CZ Trail.

https://wildcolumbia.org/hiking-camping-wildlife-columbia-county-oregon/cz-trail-nehalem-divide-to-wilark-trailhead-overview/

Bursting out of the belly of a road-killed Red-shouldered Hawk. Probably yesterday's lunch, as today was quite cloudy. Further impressive as the ditches are full of snow and most of the water is frozen over

Found and photographed by Brian Hess

Counting DORs, this was part of a fairly ridiculous 10 snake species in a day - cal king, desert night, shovelnose, glossy, longnose, coachwhip, patchnose, gopher, rosy, sidewinder. 7 were found in less than 2 hours of road-cruising with the rosy-gopher-patchnose on the crawl the next day.

Large polygynous colony under stone on SW exposed hillside with Artemisia, Arctostaphylos, and Ceanothus shrubs.
Three dealate queens were observed together with brood and workers under the same stone. I'm not sure if this has been observed in the species before.

The timber of the Mulanje Cedar, which is endemic to the mountain, is highly prized, and that is what many of the woodcutters are after.
The cedar is Malawi's national tree, and is protected by law, but there's no enforcement.
Our guide told us that the woodcutter who actually cuts the trees and carries the boards down from the mountain only makes a handful of dollars for each ~12 foot plank. The people who buy the planks and resell them are the ones who make the real money.

I’m at a bit of a loss on this one. At first thought spider eggs which I thought was confirmed when I found a small spider inside of the mass but then found another small spider of an obviously different species, and when we pulled apart the mass we found the shell of a much larger insect that was not a spider.

Going off of iNat suggestion and visual similarity to eggs but eager to hear suggestions.

@aiva