From a distance, Yang Yongliang’s sculpture looks like a large, upside down cigarette. But a close inspection shows that the ashen tip depicts a city.
Non-Sign II is an installation by Seattle based Art collective Lead Pencil Studio located at the Canada-US border near Vancouver. The sculpture is made from small stainless steel rods that are assembled together to create the negative space of a billboard. While most billboards draw attention away from the landscape Non-Sign II frames the landscape, focusing attention back on it.
I know I said I was done posting cool photos of the recent annular “ring of fire” eclipse, but this one just found its way to me and I can’t resist. Here’s the story behind the photo.
(photo by Michael Chow, Arizona Republic)
The gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor) is a species of tree frog native to the eastern half of the US. As their Latin name implies, these frogs are capable of changing their colors from almost white to nearly black with shades of green and gray in between. They are physically indistinguishable from their cousins, the Cope’s gray tree frog (Hyla chrysoscelis), the main difference being in their calls. H. chrysoscelis maintains a more southern distribution from Virginia south, with H. versicolor likely being the only species present in Appalachia. Despite being nearly identical, these two species are unable to hybridize as H. versicolor is a tetraploid species and H. chrysoscelis is diploid. Due to their variable color, they can be difficult for amateurs to distinguish from other species, especially when they are the most green, but bright yellow patches on the insides of their legs are unique to both species and can aid in identification.
They live in forests and are highly arboreal. They call mostly during the night, but will occasionally call during the day time. During the day, they hide under the bark of trees. Like most frogs, the gray tree frog feeds on insects.
The bright yellow patch present on the legs of both H. versicolor and H. chrysoscelis.
