This little guy was on my screen door. He let me take his picture then flew off. Quite a beauty I thought. Nice wing spread and great patience for the fumbling photographer. I don’t know if he’s a Fire Fly or a Dragon Fly or what. I think he’s beautiful though. Thank God he didn’t fly off the screen into my hair and cause me to run screaming like a girl. Oh wait, I am a girl. Still, you see my point. It would have been really an ugly moment. Ugly like the day I stood on the chair screaming because there was a mouse in my living room. I seriously considered calling 911 but thought better of it. Bella, the huntress, abandoned me that day. I guess she thought it was nap time so she left me with Gracie, the non-huntress. So there I was on the chair with a mouse in the house. What option did I have but to call 911 or stay stranded on the chair? Actually, Grace rose to the occasion and killed the mouse. I was stunned. I was still on the chair for awhile because ya know the little bugger could have been faking his untimely death. Finally my roommate got home. I called him back, still standing on the chair, and had him remove the carcass. I came down from the chair and said, “We must never speak of this again.”
Okay, on to a more pleasant subject. Here are some of Cappy Crunch’s toys in the yard.
And yes, he even has a little sailor duck that squeaks. Unfortunetly this photo is a bit out of focus but I had nothing else to blog about so I’m tossing y’all crumbs….blurry little crumbs.
For other stuff in my yard click here. They’re mostly bug photos, cicadas and spiders and spider webs and a brown manid. Click only if you have mad love for bugs.
Austin
I usually handle the physical pain pretty well but right now I’m an irritable, angry mess. Add in therapy issues and poor sleep and you’ve got yourself one galactic bitch.
I’ve described chronic pain as a pair of glasses made for someone else that I’m forced to wear. I put them on and I’m to adjust my life to someone else’s eyes, a totally different depth of field and understanding of sight in general. I can’t see anything without it filtering first through those glasses. I can’t think straight in this kind of pain. Usually I do okay wearing someone else’s glasses, with my sight off the usual mark. But sometimes my vision is too distorted. My ability to function fails. My responsibilities fall to the way side and all I can do is wait for it to ease up. Usually I handle it pretty well. I go about my day, get stuff done and don’t complain outwardly. But add lack of sleep and therapy issues and I’m just pissed!!! I’m pissed, depressed and physically exhausted. That’s all I have to say about that.
My neighbor is having brain surgery. I’ll be taking care of his dogs while he’s gone. Three dogs, my dog and two cats and a bunch of me….this should be fun. Truthfully, I feel honored that he’d trust me in his home while he’s not there. He loves those dogs (he gives them beer but he loves them) and wouldn’t leave them with just anyone. They’re sweet. I enjoy my time over there. All I have to do is go over and let them out for a bit, fill their water bowl and feed them, that’s all. With my energy level the way it is it feels like a lot but really, I’m happy to do it. I know I just complained about pain and energy and everything but when someone trusts me with something precious I can’t help but accept the joy that comes with it. My twisted glasses do at least let me see that much.
Austin
This is a shot from the recent full moon taken from the backyard.
Off the Mark
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 – 12:16AM EST
I had quite the nice week end with only one regret. I have no idea what possessed me to pick up a football and play with two 9 year old boys. I suppose I forgot that my bones are aged. But, for a bit I didn’t feel any pain. I just had fun. There was one 13 inch deep dish apple pie, 4 adults, two kids, 4 dogs and 2 cats. It was a spontaneous gathering of neighbors. Cappy Crunch got to play with his pals and I got to play football. It’s been awhile. I can’t believe I got my butt kicked by tiny 9 year olds.
This morning I sat on the porch in my big red fluffy warm slippers and smiled as I reflected on football and apple pie. I wish I had more pie and fewer football “memories.”
Austin
This Brown Mantid was on my door for hours. I find him quite amazing. For those of you that might not appreciate looking him/her in the eye I made the image thumbnail size. LOL
If ever you wanted to see a praying mantid/mantis close up without it biting you or flying on you here’s your chance. This is certainly not a prize winning photo. It’s a quick capture of a bug on my door right after it sank his little claws in my right upper arm.
I found out today that these little carnivores are capable of eating small mammals like humming birds and little bitty mice. Despite popular belief the female doesn’t always eat her mate. And, did you know in some countries the praying mantid/mantis is an endangered species? My gracious.
Guess how you can tell the difference between the male and female? A male has more abdominal segments than a female. A female has 6. A male has 7. How cool is that. From my photo I wasn’t able to determine the sex. I’m not sure where to start counting either. Does the very last little sticking out stinger appearing thingie count as a segment? I have no clue. All I know is before I hit the sheets I’ll take one more look of my mantid/mantis bite, put some sort of gel on it and lay my head down.
Night
Austin
The webs line the inner and outer fence of the entire yard. They climb two trees and circle the very bottom of one trunk completely. A pile of wood is condos to what can only be called the biggest mo-fo spider of the season. This one condo-like web sits on a pile of wood beside my front door. It will be moved very soon. Before moving it I wanted to make sure the spider wasn’t home. After verifying that I could shoot without being bitten I then proceeded to do the unimaginable. I ganged up on it with a can of Raid. I’m sorry nature lovers but this spider had to die. If you click on the link, heck, even if you don’t click on the link to see the actual spider who was murdered at least look at it from my point of view. I have a problem here. I’m being invaded. Beautiful craftsmanship or not, this spider poses a threat to my peace of mind. Look at what was built and tell me you would have let it live outside your friggin door. To see a slideshow of all webs and NO spiders click the link. The following link DOES NOT show a spider, just the web.
Now, for the ex-resident. If you’re the squirmy type then move to the next entry or the next blog. This is not an entry for the weak at heart. But if you, like me, love bugs and their homes, then you might be interested by these shots. While viewing it Blossom said, “How many times is this bitch gonna raise the hair on my neck?” Okay, I think what Blossom means is this is one ugly spider. If you look closely you can see the stripes and all legs. If you look even closer you can see all prey caught in the web. It’s quite a detailed shot I must say. The web itself is incredible. He/she spun a perfect circle entering the base of the tree. The following link contains a CLOSE UP of an unidentified spider.
For all images of the spider and its web click the slide show link. As much building as they’ve done I have to wonder, is it up to code? Does this spider community have a license to build here and if so, why haven’t I seen it?
If you dare to view the slide shows be ready to see them only as they are shown. For some reason they don’t get larger than on the slide show. You can click “view larger” until the cows come home but Photobucket.com seems to have issues with my spider shots in slide shows. I’m not sure why. Maybe they feel a spider should only be seen so large and after that there must be restrictions enforced. I get an error message saying the file no longer exists but perhaps that’s just Photobucket’s way of putting this whole spider thing behind him. It’s a shame when web sites give into blocking.
However, if you just can’t help yourself I will provide for your viewing pleasure full resolution images upon email request. Just leave a comment and I’ll send ‘em to you. Come on, don’t be shy, let the world know you love bugs. It’s okay. No one will judge you….except maybe photobucket. I even have high resolution photos of a locus I watched breach the shell and of a praying mantis sitting on my coffee cup. Awesome I tell you, absolutely awesome. I’m still trying to figure out what the curious caterpillar was on my door yesterday. I’d like to also know what he was doing with my hair. Why is he on a piece of my curly hair? Its sickness I tell ya, caterpillar sickness.
J of A (bugs are just one of my many interests)
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