It’s always nice to have something you can count on. Although it may not always occur on your schedule or terms nature always makes good on the promise of spring.
Tag: macro
Sumac, Snow and Blue Skies.
Sumac buds busting out to meet the sun after a light dusting of snow the previous evening. Today it feels like spring is here to stay.
Inching Along
Bringing a warm welcome to the start of another wintery month a Caterpillar inches along. We are inching are way though winter, and enjoying every moment of it, yet just like this caterpillar will emerge as a wonderful butterfly (or perhaps a moth) spring will be here in the blink of an eye. So get out and enjoy that snow before it’s melted and gone away.
Happy Friday, welcome to February and have a wonderful weekend.
More Mantids
We recently came across numerous mantids in a field of golden fall grasses near us. These Mantids dressed in gold were so well camouflaged they were hard to see at all. It was only when they took flight we were able to follow them to their landing spots and get a good glimpse of these wonderful insects. A fun way to spend a bit of time on an Autumn afternoon.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Fritillary Friday
Is there a word you run across that no matter how many times you say it it just is a struggle to get past your brain and out your lips?
Well for me that word is Fritillary.
A beautiful species of butterflies, I confess, but I sure would rather look at them than have to address one directly… Hello Mr. or Mrs. Fritillary….that would not go well.
With that in mind here are some photos of these beautiful butterflies (notice how I did not say Fritillary) that we encountered this past summer.
Happy Fritillary Friday and have a wonderful weekend.
Mormon Cricket: Anabrus simplex
The Mormon cricket is actually not a true cricket, but rather a shield-backed katydid. The common name derives from an invasion of the crops of Mormon settlers in the Salt Lake area in the mid-1800s.
We ran across plenty of these katydids on a recent hike although not in the numbers depicted in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy3dQJYquoY. While these insects can be quite destructive to crops they do eat the grasses and plants in natural rangelands much as large grazing mammals do (or did). I also find them quite interning to look at as each has subtle color variations.
Given these were not marching across our hiking trail in plague proportions I enjoyed seeing them on a late fall afternoon moving through the already dry grasses.
Waiting for a moment.
Seems like we are always waiting for that moment. A moment that seems to have no beginning and perhaps no ending. Such is the case with trying to photograph bees just taking to flight or just landing. The results are seldom clear but like life itself what is?
A job well done
The other day I saw a yellow flash land in a nice cedar tree. Thinking it was an unusual insect I quickly went over to get a look. Alas, it was not a new insect but a Honey Bee and to say this one was covered in pollen might be an understatement. This little bee could hard fly with the load they had acquired. After a few minutes of rest they slowly lifted off and headed back to the hive. A job well done.
Gracing the pond
Given my abysmal skills at dragonfly identification I suspect this beautiful looking creature is some species of Red Meadowhawk Dragonfly.
Even though Fall is almost here there are some Dragonflies still buzzing about when the sun is out.
On a single thistle
With all the other wildflowers long gone to seed a single thistle along the side of the road reminded me of one of those photos of the lone remaining watering hole in the Serengeti attracting animals from near and far for a nice cool drink. Only this thistle attracted the remaining nectar and pollen lovers in the area including skippers galore, whites and several alpine butterflies which all gathered to get that one last sip of nectar before summer slips away.
nature has no boss 
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